CB Radio Talk

So I'm hoping to have a base set up sometime soon... Gettin me a Galaxy Saturn identical to the one in 1 Adam12's avatar pic... and a lil power mic to go with... ordered the coax as well... basically the only thing i do have physically on hand is the 102inch whip i plan to use for an antenna... such an awesome all purpose antenna.... if i'm unhappy with that tho.. i'll be asking around for a metal ground plane antenna... i know where there is one local to me, but rarely see anyone at the place it's mounted on... maybe i'll get lucky and be able to get it off the people who own the building... i'll follow up with more details as i start getting all the parts in for my set up...
thx
Battletude

hello battletude,

glad to hear your setting up a base, unless you have some restrictions stopping you from using a base antenna might i suggest you go with one over the 102 ' whip , you will be much happier in the long run.

It will get the job for a bit till you get a real base antenna ,i like the enforcer but ive heard a maco shooting star does great too.

I use a 102" whip with 2 opposed 102's angled down about 40 degrees. I have made contact to New York from SW Ohio barefoot.

i used a 102 whip with some wires for a ground plane at about 18' high,, it worked great for dx within the states and canada.

Way back decades ago my first base antenna was a 102" whip. I would get on my bedroom window sill and vise grip clamp the mount to the edge of the house rain gutter each night. It worked well enough to get me out around my local area. It wasn't long before my dad and I were putting up a more permanent mast and ground plane antenna...

sure a 102 ' whip designed for a mobile will work, so will a wilson 1000 stuck to an ac unit, but if you have the means and no one stopping you from setting up an antenna designed for base use,I would personally go that route to begin with, something worth doing is worth doing right the 1st time.
Good luck with whatever you go with and enjoy your radio however you choose. I was merely throwing out some advice

wi 544 wrote:i used a 102 whip with some wires for a ground plane

That's what your going to need if you plan on using a 102" whip for a base antenna a groundplane or counterpoise otherwise it's not going to work properly.

My avatar is an RCI 2980wx....but I know exactly what radio you are talking about. Hope to hear you on the band soon!

Night Crawler wrote:

wi 544 wrote:i used a 102 whip with some wires for a ground plane

That's what your going to need if you plan on using a 102" whip for a base antenna a groundplane or counterpoise otherwise it's not going to work properly.

hey can you give me more info on how you made the ground plane??? I.E. type of wire and lengths needed etc.

Hi Battletude,
To use the 102" whip your ground plane wires should be of equal length, at least 3 to make it omnidirectional but 2 will work. It would be easier to make a dipole antenna, all you need for that is 2 lengths of wire, a coax to feed it, and some kind of insulators for the center and ends. Wire length start at 108" and trim both ends the same amount until a good swr is achieved.

3's

Greg