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Old 02-21-2011, 11:21 PM   #551
williaty
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Yeah, there's pretty much no way around a big antenna for CB.

There's a lot of differences between Amateur Radio Service radios and CB radios. Part of it gets even more complicated because there's SOOOOOOO many different kinds of ARS radios but if we confine ourselves to just the ones most often used in cars, it gets easier.

1) CBs are AM radios, ARS radios are typically FM (much nicer for this kind of use)
2) CB is in the 27MHz range, ARS radios are in the 145MHz and 440MHz range (means ARS antennas are MUCH smaller. a 440 antenna is tiny and still works great)
3) CB is limited to 20-odd channels, ARS has a huge range of frequencies.
4) CB is limited to 4 watts of power, ARS is limited to 1500 watts (though the off-the-shelf ones are usually 50W)
5) ARS radios are typically constructed out of better parts than CB radios
6) CB is limited to line-of-sight overall and typically to 10mi or less by other factors. ARS radios (in this range) are limited to line-of-sight as well but commonly can reach many hundreds of miles if you're on a mountain or something. Additionally, ARS radios can access repeaters, which often have coverage areas of hundreds or thousands of square miles.
7) CB is full of bloody idiot rednecks swearing and talking about $5 hookers. ARS is full of polite people talking about a wide range of things.
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Old 02-22-2011, 09:06 AM   #552
ScoobieNoobie790
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
Yeah, there's pretty much no way around a big antenna for CB.

There's a lot of differences between Amateur Radio Service radios and CB radios. Part of it gets even more complicated because there's SOOOOOOO many different kinds of ARS radios but if we confine ourselves to just the ones most often used in cars, it gets easier.

1) CBs are AM radios, ARS radios are typically FM (much nicer for this kind of use)
2) CB is in the 27MHz range, ARS radios are in the 145MHz and 440MHz range (means ARS antennas are MUCH smaller. a 440 antenna is tiny and still works great)
3) CB is limited to 20-odd channels, ARS has a huge range of frequencies.
4) CB is limited to 4 watts of power, ARS is limited to 1500 watts (though the off-the-shelf ones are usually 50W)
5) ARS radios are typically constructed out of better parts than CB radios
6) CB is limited to line-of-sight overall and typically to 10mi or less by other factors. ARS radios (in this range) are limited to line-of-sight as well but commonly can reach many hundreds of miles if you're on a mountain or something. Additionally, ARS radios can access repeaters, which often have coverage areas of hundreds or thousands of square miles.
7) CB is full of bloody idiot rednecks swearing and talking about $5 hookers. ARS is full of polite people talking about a wide range of things.

okay, for example i just saw a police car in front of me that had alot of smaller antenna on the back of it, id say a MAX of maybe 14-16" long...would that be an ARS antenna? because i know police can speak to dispatch and other cars from cross town n such. something like a smaller antenna like that i wouldnt mind having on my car at all.

also, are ARS radios as simple to buy as a CB?
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Old 02-22-2011, 09:18 AM   #553
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My Lil-Wil works pretty decent with my tweaked and peaked Uniden PC68XL(I have used better). The Lil-Wil is still 36" or so, but is a whole lot smaller than most others.
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Old 02-22-2011, 09:57 AM   #554
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoobieNoobie790 View Post
okay, for example i just saw a police car in front of me that had alot of smaller antenna on the back of it, id say a MAX of maybe 14-16" long...would that be an ARS antenna? because i know police can speak to dispatch and other cars from cross town n such. something like a smaller antenna like that i wouldnt mind having on my car at all.

also, are ARS radios as simple to buy as a CB?
PD's use VHF or UHF frequencies (similar to those used by mobiles in the amateur radio service, just in a different range) so the antennas are shorter than those for CB. The length of the antenna is determined by the frequency not the service.
Amateur radio gear is not as readily available at retail stores as CB stuff. There are some brick-and-mortar dealers but not as many as there used to be, most sales of new gear these days are online. More important is the fact that a federal license is required to operate on the amateur bands, unlike CB where you can take the radio out of the box and start yakking.
There are also restriction on what type of communications can take place via the amateur service. It is strictly for non-commercial, hobby and experimental use. So it would be ok for a group of licensed amateurs out for a recreational drive to use their mobile radios to communicate, but not ok to run a business-related event.
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Old 02-22-2011, 02:39 PM   #555
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WeldingHank View Post
My Lil-Wil works pretty decent with my tweaked and peaked Uniden PC68XL(I have used better). The Lil-Wil is still 36" or so, but is a whole lot smaller than most others.
i just looked up the 'little will'? i like that style, its just the little magnet with the metal spike coming from it correct? but the actual antenna length is from the wire it comes from? im confused.

im just trying to figured out the most cost efficient way to communicate with a convoy, with a small antenna...basically. lol
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Old 02-22-2011, 02:44 PM   #556
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoobieNoobie790 View Post
i just looked up the 'little will'? i like that style, its just the little magnet with the metal spike coming from it correct? but the actual antenna length is from the wire it comes from? im confused.
Only the silver rod sticking out the top is the part of the antenna that receives/radiates. The coil in the base allows it to "fake" being longer. However, like most things that are fake, it's not quite as good as the real thing. The coil-loaded antenna is not as efficient, meaning you can't send or receive as far. As such things go, the Lil'Wil is better than average, though.

Mag-mount antennas are a mixed bag. Sure, they're convenient. However, they can easily mess up your paint if you're not careful. They're also much less efficient than a properly mounted antenna due to the losses in the capacitive coupling between the antenna and the roof. Additionally, if that antenna comes off during an accident and causes property damage or hurts a person, your insurance won't cover the lawsuit against you.

One thing I think you're missing overall, though, is that each type of radio generally won't communicate with another type. For instance, a CB can't talk to a little hand-held Motorola 2-way. You need to buy whatever everyone else in your convoy is buying.
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Old 02-22-2011, 03:40 PM   #557
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^^^ good point. im going to do some more research and dig around a little to found out what locals are using, and to see some other opinions.
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Old 02-24-2011, 01:58 PM   #558
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KC2IEW here. I'm going to install my Kenwood Dual Bander (TM- D700A) in my car this weekend. Originally I had it in my old RS. When I traded that car in, I tried taking the glass mount antenna off but all I did was break the framing around the mount

Has anyone put a glass mount on a 3G Impreza? I'm looking for ideas on placement. I'm sticking with glass mount because my last one held up for what I needed it to do. I don't feel like dealing with a Mag mount and I don't want to cut a hole in this car.

73
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Old 03-21-2011, 10:05 AM   #559
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does the cable come with the Larsen antenna? or is that a separate purchase?
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Old 03-21-2011, 10:33 AM   #560
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoxyTheImpreza View Post
does the cable come with the Larsen antenna? or is that a separate purchase?

Ended up going ahead and ordering the Larsen NMO27B...damn thing almost cost more than the CB radio >.< (but I heard it's best not to go cheap on the antenna...so hopefully it will pay off...) is there anything else I need (already ordered my Cobra 18 WX... CB radio) do I need a cable now? if so which one and how long to run it from the dash DIN pocket to the trunk....

also anyone around the Austin, TX area that could help me tune my antenna/CB
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:21 PM   #561
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoxyTheImpreza View Post
does the cable come with the Larsen antenna? or is that a separate purchase?
The cable comes with the mount, not the antenna. You'll have to buy a mount to stick that antenna to.
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:49 PM   #562
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
The cable comes with the mount, not the antenna. You'll have to buy a mount to stick that antenna to.
are you ****ing kidding me >.< $43 for an antenna (after shipping) and it doesn't come with the base blahhhh so what else am I supposed to drop money on?
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:50 PM   #563
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
The cable comes with the mount, not the antenna. You'll have to buy a mount to stick that antenna to.
also I thought that antenna stuck through a hole you made on the car 0.o

so this isn't all I need: http://kollmanradio.com/larsen-nmo27...ip-p-8175.html (<--- that's what I ordered...)

Last edited by RoxyTheImpreza; 03-21-2011 at 01:58 PM.
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:01 PM   #564
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoxyTheImpreza View Post
also I thought that antenna stuck through a hole you made on the car 0.o

so this isn't all I need: http://kollmanradio.com/larsen-nmo27...ip-p-8175.html (<--- that's what I ordered...)
Nope. That's just the loading coil and the whip. You also need a Larson NMOK, which is the base (that mounts through the hole, as you noticed) and the cabling.
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:07 PM   #565
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And williaty beat me to it, but this is what you need.

All in all a pretty inexpensive package compared to the 'depreciation' from drilling a hole in your car and how bulletproof they seem to be. Just follow the instructions and be careful not to over-torque.
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:11 PM   #566
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lichtwald View Post
All in all a pretty inexpensive package compared to the 'depreciation' from drilling a hole in your car.
Except for the fact that there isn't any.


This has been beaten to death in the amateur radio community. Not a single person has been able to show that they got less for their car because of the antenna mount. The dealers/buyers apparently just don't care.
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:14 PM   #567
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
Except for the fact that there isn't any.


This has been beaten to death in the amateur radio community. Not a single person has been able to show that they got less for their car because of the antenna mount. The dealers/buyers apparently just don't care.
not to mention my trunk already has dents/scratches from a previous lip style mount antenna I had on it >.< bad idea...
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:19 PM   #568
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty
Except for the fact that there isn't any.

This has been beaten to death in the amateur radio community. Not a single person has been able to show that they got less for their car because of the antenna mount. The dealers/buyers apparently just don't care.
Hence the apostrophes. Should have known better than to bring it up here. It's just a canned response at this point.
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Old 03-21-2011, 11:23 PM   #569
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While this thread is sort of alive, here's a picture of my current setup:




Yaesu FTM-10r and a Cobra CB. The Yaesu will be moved above the rear view mirror next time I drop the headliner. When that happens it'll have 2 Peltor headsets semi-permanently installed with hangers on the B pillars.

When that happens I'd also like to get a smaller CB that I can keep install in the cubby to clean things up. Hopefully I can find one that doesn't require the microphone to be attached for the speaker to work.
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Old 04-07-2011, 11:33 PM   #570
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty
Except for the fact that there isn't any.

This has been beaten to death in the amateur radio community. Not a single person has been able to show that they got less for their car because of the antenna mount. The dealers/buyers apparently just don't care.
Haha, I just traded in my 03 RS and after breaking the framing around my glass mount they told me to leave it on. It may not be a hole in the car but its still something not normally there. They don't care.

I found out that it is currently still on the vehicle and the person that bought it isn't even going to bother taking it off for fear of cracking the windshield! 3M FTMFW!!!!
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Old 04-28-2011, 02:03 PM   #571
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Reading through all these pages has given me some ideas.... But, figured I'd post before I start anything...

First - I'm a Jeeper, so I've already got a CB for there that I've installed, tuned, and tested. I sunk my Jeep in a lake and drowned the CB that was installed. The replacement I got was a Cobra 75 WX ST, all in one handheld unit... I've heard (and read here) that this unit will not be as good as a standard CB, but..... I'm not using this thing for long distance. For the most part, anyone I talk to will be in sight.

With that said... I'm a little confused about what I've read in the thread here about soldering the one end in place. Can someone explain more?

The coax I got looks like this:


It has a removable end on the one side so that I could run it outside without having to drill a huge hole. It then connects to a mount and screws in place to connect:

(this, without the actual "mount" that is shown there too)

Sooo...... Am I missing something? Do I have to solder my coax to that mount somehow?

Before I started using the new mount, I used a mount like this (this was also connected to the drowned CB), and the coax spliced in:


I want to be able to swap the handheld between the Jeep and my Wagon as needed. So... Anyone have suggestions on what route to go? Use the mount that has been suggested a million times in this thread and /end?
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Old 04-28-2011, 02:30 PM   #572
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If the first picture is what it looks like, that is, a cable with a screw-on/twist on plug at the end, then no, you don't have to solder anything.
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Old 04-28-2011, 02:40 PM   #573
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That's what I remember being said before, and the guy at the CB shop (although he was a big a-hole for other reasons) said the same thing. So the soldering part comes in if/when you have to remove the plug (ie. splicing it), but where you want to still use the screw in piece vs. the mount that I used at first.

The CB tests fine and it works great in the Jeep (although, I do need to hard wire it onto the battery yet), but just needed to double check.
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Old 06-12-2011, 01:52 AM   #574
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I am so glad this thread exists. I read almost all of it. I am running a Cobra 29 WX NW ST in my 02 wagon. I don't have the balls to drill my roof just for CB. If I go HAM I'll contemplate it more seriously. I just ordered a Wilson 1000 mag mount for the roof. Here is the only question I have left after reading all of this: How the heck did y'all attach the radio to the side of the center console? I really don't want to have to drill/cut any plastic and was looking for a secure way to mount it. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
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Old 06-12-2011, 02:10 AM   #575
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Industrial self-adhesive velcro.
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