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Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 08:10:25 -0500
From: daitken@sugar-land.anadrill.slb.com (Douglas Aitken)
Subject: Re: [D90] CB Radio, Upgrades and New Parts
At 12:49 AM 7/11/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I wish I was getting 1.1. ;) I'm jealous!
>Doug, where did you get the longest, meanest antenna and the mounting kit?
>Is it that much better than the firesticks? What size firestick gave you
>the best reception?
Unlike in some things, size does matter! The 1/4 wavelength plain steel
whip will always get a better SWR than a Firestick, as there is no tuning
involved and you get the radiation way up there. I bought mine in a
(dedicated) Ham store, which I found in the Yellow Pages. It is mounted on
an extra-large donut on a bracket on the spare tire frame. Wiring is fed
through the same bodywork hole as the 3rd brakelight and then up to the
front through the hollow "lip" at the top of the bodywork. It's a bit of a
fiddle, but keeps it out of the elements.
I tried 3' and 4' Firesticks: the 3' was marginal, the 4' much better. But
I had to mount it with a quick disconnect and spring, as it would not fit
in my garage. But I gave up after I forgot to take it down one day the
valet parkers took it and they ran the truck up four storys of a parking
garage, beating it to death on every beam..... I think I never got better
than about 1.8-2 SWR.
The Whip gives much better transmit/receive and is virtually indestructable
(and looks cool!). It can happily bang on tree limbs without worry and
bends right over level with the bodywork if necessary (I normally have it
tied down to the opposive side taillight frame when not in use).
Doug
Doug and Kim Aitken
'95 Red Defender 90 5-speed
'95 Aspen Silver Range Rover 4.0
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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 07:50:04 -0500
From: Bill Ritchie billnsandi@kingwoodcable.com
Subject: Re: [D90] CB Radio, Upgrades and New Parts
FYI,
Even though Doug was only able to achieve an SWR of 1.8-2.0 with his
firestik combo - my combo and install (firestik 2 4', spring, quick
release, firestik supplied cable, and Radio Shack CB) yields an SWR around
1.2.
Some things I noted about the install after playing with everything to get
the best SWR were:
1) Make sure that your antenna is grounded properly (I forgot one
insulating washer on my setup and it increased the SWR to about 3). I used
a flat steel plate connected to the upper bolt of the swing out carrier.
You can check out some picts of the finished install on the Extreme Site:
http://www.learnlink.emory.edu/solaros/SolarosWWWConf/Extreme!/%2347875933
Some, like Alan Dobbs, have a dedicated insulated ground that goes all the
way to their antenna.
2)Routing of the cable from the antenna to the CB is very, very important.
If I got a coil or two of the cable too close to itself the SWR
skyrocketted. Use trial and error when routing the cable and use the route
with the best SWR.
Proper installation makes all the difference in the world. I have been
doing car stereo installs for myself and friends for years, but it still
took some effort to get the cb installed "correctly" and tuned well.
A very useful resource for CB info and installation help is the FireStik
website:
http://www.firestik.com/
The tech info on the site is very good. I have ordered products directly
from them in the past and the customer support is excellent. I have a
switch coming that will allow me to use the CB antenna as the AM/FM antenna
so I can delete the OEM antenna for routing a Snorkel.
Bill Ritchie
'97 AA Yellow Defender 90 #2078 (with lots of stuff)
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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 11:07:37 -0400
From: "H Jay Bird" Jaybird@Birdsnest.com
Subject: RE: [D90] Large Whip CB antenna's
FWIW, The Georgia Bounty Runners do not allow whip antenna on any organized
rides for safety reasons.
Jay Bird
AA Yellow 1997 D-90
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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 14:07:04 -0500
From: daitken@sugar-land.anadrill.slb.com (Douglas Aitken)
Subject: Re: [D90] firestick
At 11:38 AM 7/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
> does anybody know where I can get firestick products(mail order).
http://www.firestik.com/index.htm
or
http://linux1.asbank.com/~valco/catalog.htm
or
http://www.hi-techcomm.com/
Doug
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From: Doug Boehme[SMTP:DBoehme@PA.navisys.com]
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2000 12:32 PM
Subject: RE: [D90] CB antennas?
If you call Bill's 2-Way Radio Service (http://www.bills2way.com/) at
(888)710-4094 (orders) or (408)782-0064 (tech line), you should be able
to get all of your questions asked as well as the cheapest prices I've
seen on antennas and radios.
Douglas J. Boehme