Is this a CB antenna?

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Luca1369

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Feb 27, 2008
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Hello all,

   I hope this is the right place to post this, so here goes.

   In the photo you can see an antenna that is mounted on the glass on the passenger side of my RV.  The wire on the inside is not connected to anything but it has the type of end that fits the output of a CB. 

   I am preparing to install a CB radio and while searching online for a CB antenna found several that resemble this unit.  Can anyone tell me if this is indeed a CB antenna or is it something else perhaps?  I was just going to remove the antenna until I discovered that I might be able to use it.

Thanks in advance.

Steve
 

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Go ahead and connect your CB.  It will either work or it won't - i.e. you'll either receive and get out or you won't.  It's pretty difficult to damage modern CB transmitters so you won't hurt much by transmitting into a bad load, but if you want to be sure put a SWR meter in line with the antenna and measure the match to the CB.
 
It would be better if you connected it to MY cb.. or one like it

There are 3 ways to tell if it is, in fact a CB antenna

1: Locate model number if you can and feed it to GOOGLE

2: Use an antenna analyzer to "Sweep" the antenna..  (OF course who's got one of those?)

3: Plug in a CB and an SWR bridge.. If you can get it below 1.3 to 1. It's a cb antenna
 
I had one of those mounted on my old windshield, but it's so small I don't imagine that the effective CB broadcast range would be very far with that antenna.  When my windshield was replaced last summer I told the shop they didn't need to remount it.  There is also a mount on my RV's roof to screw in a much larger "whip" antenna, installed by the original owner.  See photo below of me messing with it soon after we bought our MH (boy I needed a shave in that photo!)... the antenna had struck some low-hanging branches on the way in to that campground and some of the coiled wire had stripped off as you can see.  It was pretty easy to wind up and re-attach with white electrical tape, but I've never put the antenna back up and/or used the CB in the nearly 2 years we've had the RV.
 

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I always run with the CB on.. I like evesdropping on the truckers and have, on occasion, been saved embarassement by doing so.

I don't think highly of on-glass antennas  But it seems a lot of folks like 'em
 
I like a CB, not for conversing, but for info.  For example, if traffic is bottled up ahead of you, you can find out how far it is backed up, where the problem is, and whether or not it is moving or will be soon.

I'm not wild about a through glass antenna, but it's here and I might as well use it, at least to see if it works and how well.

Steve
 
Luca.. I fully agree...

1: Though I have, on rare occasions, engaged in a "Chat" on CB.  My normal use is listening for traffic problems

2: Though I'd never pay for a "Through the glass" antenna.. You got it, you might as well use it.
 
Yes it's for a CB. I had the same one on my old RV. I thought it was a old cell phone unit. So I cut the wire and removed it, than found the other end went to the CB. But that was fine because I just removed the CB.
 
No doubt it is a CB antenna. What caught my eye was the 3-4 turn heavy duty coils below the resonator. Normally that means it is designed for hi-power application, such as in illegal amplifiers transmitting above the legal limit on 27 Mhz. A lot of truckers used them to get another mile or two out of the system.

   Of course, when the sunspot cycle is in play, not now, it would be possible to reach thousands of miles; why, on CB?

   I don't see how a thru-glass mount could handle that amount of power. Something is fishy here.

   What say?

carson FL

 
Thanks all! 

I tested the antenna today with my new CB and it works.  Now I need to get an SWR meter and see if any adjustments need to be made (and also run the antenna wire to where I plan to mount the new CB; I can't find where the original owner mounted their unit).

I have no idea about the hi-power stuff Carson, I really won't need it.

Steve
 
In my Old Rv the old owner ever mounted his CB it just lay in a wooden box on the engine cover. I guess that he moved it in and out as needed.
 
it would be possible to reach thousands of miles; why, on CB?

Carson, some really strange things happen with CBs.  A number of years ago we were on a Copper Canyon train caravan in Mexico and we communicated with one another by CB.  One day we turned it on and heard truckers talking in the U.S. up on either I-10 or I-40 (don't remember which it was).  Jerry tried talking with them, but of course we were much too far away.  It was just a strange set of atmospheric conditions that allowed their reception.  It came in with perfect clarity just as though they were across the street.

By the same token, reception can be terrible even a short distance away if you don't have some kind of ground plane under the antenna.  On that same caravan they put us in the middle because we had a good ground plane and could hear everyone on both ends of the train.  That allowed us to transmit messages between other caravaners at opposite ends who couldn't hear one another.

By the way, we don't use our CB very much but it has come in handy a few times such as during bad weather or bad traffic.  The truckers usually talk about accidents and how long the tie-up will be.  We've also told truckers ahead of us that they had a problem they might want to check.

ArdraF
 
For the cb radios in my rig (NOTE I do not have a driver's door, the only thing on my left is a wall and a window)

I took a 2x4  cut and sanded it, tapered part of it so it's now a 5 sided figure and stained it as close as I could to match the woodwork in the rig.

Screwed it to the wall and screwed the CB's mounting brackets to it.

Worked out very well,  Holds 2 CB's (on on 19 one on 13) and a TM-733 Kenwood dual band ham rig

 
Ardra, you are quite correct, weird things happen in CB, especially in the CB frequency spectrum.(27Mhz).

  Here are some of the facts as I know them. Radio communication in that frequency range are mainly line-of sight, unless we are in a sunspot cycle favorable to long distance communication. The sunspot cycle is eleven (11) years. We are now at the low point of the cycle, coming out of it slowly, hence long distance communication is still very poor. This cycle seems to be slow in coming around, who knows why.

  I am a ham operator since 1958 and have witnessed many cycles. On lower frequencies I can presently talk to Europe easily but it is still intermittent. In another 3-8 years things will shape up for strong signal paths. Then it will degrade again and we'll be back where we are now.

  It all has to do with the Ionosphere, solar radiation. among other factors, where radio signals bounce around the globe. In good time hams can communicate virtually around the globe and then some. But we all know that nothing is forever. The CB band is one of the first to suffer from the degradation.

  CB was never meant for long distance communication, just line of sight, similar to your present day cell phones walkies-talkie. (FRS). On my authorized frequencies as a ham operator I can presently communicate with the entire USA, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, and with some difficulty, Asia. But all these destination depend on the time of day, where the sun-lit and night-time areas are. Quite a hobby, very challenging and for a lot of us a real challenge.

  CB radio was a forerunner of the current cell phone craze; people wanted to talk, chat, scream at each other, etc. Ham people did not participate and stayed within normal decorum, with a few exceptions, and concentrated on public service, disaster aid, friendship (no screaming), and concentrating on furthering the science of radio communications. You'll be surprised how many things were pioneered/invented by folks like us to bring us into this wonderful world "new science".
  We even talk to satellites and bounce signals off the Moon.

  Anyway, enjoy your CB or FRS, it is Mother Nature at work. Nothing we can do to change it.

Questions?


carson FL
 
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