Compact CB antenna?

[OkieBoyKJ5JFG]

I need a recommendation for a compact (i.e., not more than 36" long) CB antenna that I can put on an NMO mount. I have a couple of 3/8" to NMO adapters, so a traditional CB antenna would be fine if it works. I have a Nagoya CB-72 which is 28" long and works great, but it only comes on a mag mount and it has some kind of wonky 1/4" stud attachment, so I can't find an adapter for it. I've tried a 2' Firestick and a 4' Firestick, and they both have SWRs off the chart, even on a good ground plane, so I don't want another Firestick. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

 

[slowmover]

NMO27 is your standard HD, but low-performing choice.

NMO34 + W640 whip & Springb if you want to play in what’s today possible, given an AM/SSB radio with NRC.

27 will do what’s shown as ground wave to about 1/4—1/3. 34 will do nearly all of what’s shaded. Height is Might.



That two feet is a substantial penalty to overcome even assuming roof-center mount.
1-2/mile average against 3-5/miles or better in heavy metro, same conditions.

5’ whip is the minimum to be able to say, “My vehicle is equipped with Citizen Band”, not a walkie-talkie.

The other men out there have poor rigs — it is to be assumed — and the job of one’s own is to tackle that shortcoming.

Said another way, Height is Time, as everyone is fast moving away from each other. May only have one chance.

I run an antenna in city on my pickup roof that meets 13’. When it encounters obstacles, it flexes away. No spring. It’s a 7’ no-compromise choice.

34 w/spring is going to shrug off most every hit. For years. 90% of what mine’ll do, is the guess. But low-key & higher QC.

The short antennas are so low performing that on roads I travel 10,000+ miles per month it’s a shock that my (previous) rental car radio rig picked up nothing along Interstates I know as to the Where, When, Why & How which is operative at that hour of a weekday.

Ever hear others say, “CB is dead”? This is why: poor antenna design, mount & location. (The radios available just the last couple years changed the whole game; but antenna still first). This is past poor installation.

Great Install
Great Radio
Great External Speaker
Lousy Antenna Choice.

The first three can’t overcome the problem of not being able to, Hear, and Be Heard.

A fiberglass antenna has no give. Requires a potential pair of failure points (spring). NMO antennas built to a different standard. Can take the hits reasonably well. Remove? Buy the optional cover cap to screw into place.

If my garage had 3.5’-4.0’ clearance to my vehicle I’d choose the 5’ tall 34 without a second thought. The point to having this radio service is otherwise a missed target without right antenna (right location).

.

 

[GadgetGeek]

3 foot cb antenna will be very limiting. I use a Sirio 5000 magnet mount, going on five years now. Works very good for local and dx.

 

[WSAC829]

3 foot cb antenna will be very limiting

Here’s a video proving otherwise. 2 foot firestik, barefoot radio, Rhode Island to Jamaica.

 

[WSAC829]

I've tried a 2' Firestick and a 4' Firestick, and they both have SWRs off the chart

Did you try tuning them? You have to pull back the wrap at the tip and either shorten the wire or add to it.

 

[slowmover]

Here’s a video proving otherwise. 2 foot firestik, barefoot radio, Rhode Island to Jamaica.

A video sitting on Gods Amplifier (the seashore) ain’t squat compared to moving on the road 24/7/365. Otherwise we’d use the short ones.

Skip can be powerful enough to create plenty of weird doorways for a period. But it sure doesn’t solve the reason for the radio in the first place: Local comms.

I’ve picked up northern England from New Mexico in the big truck. (M0OGY). A KL503 and we’d have been talking. On AM-19, not SSB.

Skip isn’t a reliable indicator.

.

 

[EAFrizzle]

Slowmover is correct. Shortened antennas are a compromise over a 1/4 wave vertical, and that compromise is more noticeable the shorter the radiating section (the whip) is. Some base loaded antennas work great, but they have longer whips in common. The Lil Wil fits the bill for your size requirements, but you'll get more distance from rolling the windows down and hollering. Firesticks are a joke; you'd be better off picking up a stick from your yard.

If you want good performance plus low clearance, some sort of fold-over like the Sirio would work. I used a Hustler fold-down mast mounted in the bed of my truck for years. Left the 11-meter coil on most of the time, but kept 10, 20, and 40 meter coil/whip combos for campsite DXing. The fold-down mast made it easy to get into parking garages without busting out the lights.

Of course, if you're willing to exchange better performance for getting out of the car and removing/lowering an antenna, then the sky's the limit. My best mobile antenna was a triple magnet T-mount split-feeding twin Dominators. Once I started using that, I regularly got accused of running a whole lot more wattage than I actually was.

 

[EAFrizzle]

And, yes, skip on 11 meters isn't a good way to determine if your antenna is working well on groundwave. Back in the 80s I talked to a guy in Hawaii on a barefoot Cobra 148 on a 6' Firestik mounted on the corner of the toolbox. Couldn't talk to locals worth a flip, though.

Finally started using good antenna setups when I found a CB shop on the Northside of Houston. If you're using any radio that's more than 4 watts, you're wasting time and money if you're not getting every single watt you can out of that antenna, and getting it in an effective radiation pattern, IMO.

 

[WSAC829]

The majority of my mobile antennas i’ve used since the 80’s have been 2’, 3’ and 4’. No issues ever with local comms or DX. I have my reasons for not using bigger.
(A) Wont fit in garage without taking it off or listening to it bang and scrape the door and rafters.
(B) Looks ridiculous on certain vehicles. (I once owned a 3cyl Geo Metro with a 102 dead center of roof. It looked like an oversized RC car)
(C) Too big to fit in trunk or back seat when not in use, or going through a car wash etc.
(D) Didn’t notice much difference in range or performance to give up A, B, and C.
To each there own. I use what meets my requirements and has proven to work well for me for decades. Plain and simple.
As the ladies say…. It ain’t the size of your antenna, it's how you use it.

 

[KK4JUG]

102" telescoping whip for a walkie-talkie? Maybe not.

 

[EAFrizzle]

As the ladies say…. It ain’t the size of your antenna, it's how you use it.

There's never been a  truthful lady ever say that.

 

[WSAC829]

There's never been a  truthful lady ever say that.

Well… My wife didn’t marry me for my looks or the money i didn’t have when we met...

 

[niceguy71]

I need a recommendation for a compact (i.e., not more than 36" long) CB antenna that I can put on an NMO mount. I have a couple of 3/8" to NMO adapters, so a traditional CB antenna would be fine if it works. I have a Nagoya CB-72 which is 28" long and works great, but it only comes on a mag mount and it has some kind of wonky 1/4" stud attachment, so I can't find an adapter for it. I've tried a 2' Firestick and a 4' Firestick, and they both have SWRs off the chart, even on a good ground plane, so I don't want another Firestick. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

why the limitation of 36"s???

most antenna's will bend and go in and out of the garage with no problem at all
if it's the garage holding you back, you should try a cheap 5 foot antenna for a couple weeks and see how it does... I will admit the first week I was like wow I can hear it clicking and tapping the garage door... it scared me a bit... after a couple weeks I no longer noticed it.
been two years ...no marks on my garage door and everything still working fine
I made a video just to show how a garage door is not a problem for most 5 foot antenna's I'll post it at the bottom of this post.

a small antenna just doesn't do the job, as slow mover said it's why people think CB is dead... they get a 2 or 3 foot firestick and never talk to anyone local and say this CB sucks and take the cb out and give up on the hobby... a good antenna lets you hear people and talk to them.. that's the whole point of a CB! if you're not going to put a proven good working antenna on your vehicle... you may as well put a 2 foot firestick and not bother to connect the coax... you can still point to your vehicle and say you have a CB... it will never talk to anyone or help you out in an emergency... but it will be on the vehicle. ( that's just what I think of the 36 inch and smaller antenna's )

if you can do a 49" whip with a 3' base they say the NMO Larsen CB27 is a great antenna, people swear by them! it may not be the best... but it's pretty damn good they say... so that would be an easy way to go and only 16 inches more than your goal.

NMO27 - Larsen NMO 52" CB Antenna 1/4 Wave​

just my opinion don't take it the wrong way.... me personally I just don't see having a small antenna that can only do a couple miles range.... pretty unlikely to ever talk to anyone on an antenna 36 inches or smaller.

 

[OkieBoyKJ5JFG]

I apologize that I wasn't clear enough on why I want a short one. I have a whip on my truck that's 50+ inches and I get great performance from it. I'm not really a CB guy, but if I'm going to be off the road or out on the farm or something and I'm with people who use CBs, I'll take the truck. However, unless I have a specific need for a truck, I don't take it on long trips. I want one to put on my little car for long road trips to keep up with road conditions. I only need a couple of miles for that; just enough to hear that the exit ahead is closed and be able to reply if I feel the need. As I said, the Nagoya CB-72 worked just fine for that, but I'm trying to get away from mag mounts in favor of NMO mounts. It has to be short enough to screw it off the NMO and stash it in the back compartment, and 3' is about the maximum length on that. Otherwise, I'd use one like the one on my truck.

I don't dispute anything you gentlemen have said, but for my purpose, I don't need much distance, and I don't want a 102" whip on my little Trax. I hope this clarifies my question.

 

[niceguy71]

I apologize that I wasn't clear enough on why I want a short one. I have a whip on my truck that's 50+ inches and I get great performance from it. I'm not really a CB guy, but if I'm going to be off the road or out on the farm or something and I'm with people who use CBs, I'll take the truck. However, unless I have a specific need for a truck, I don't take it on long trips. I want one to put on my little car for long road trips to keep up with road conditions. I only need a couple of miles for that; just enough to hear that the exit ahead is closed and be able to reply if I feel the need. As I said, the Nagoya CB-72 worked just fine for that, but I'm trying to get away from mag mounts in favor of NMO mounts. It has to be short enough to screw it off the NMO and stash it in the back compartment, and 3' is about the maximum length on that. Otherwise, I'd use one like the one on my truck.

I don't dispute anything you gentlemen have said, but for my purpose, I don't need much distance, and I don't want a 102" whip on my little Trax. I hope this clarifies my question.

thanks for clarifying
I don't mean to be so negative on the small antenna's... I just see guys buy the small ones and have no luck with them and waste their money, I hate seeing people waste their time and money so I "try" to stop people before they do..... seen people buy the small ones ...pull their hair out in frustration and then go out and buy a 5 foot plus antenna and then their very happy with it.....they will generally come on here and thank everyone.... so again just trying to save some aggravation.

now that I see your reason, it certainly makes sense.
I understand not wanting the mag mount.. the NMO is truly the way to go... with that said.... if you just wanted something to store in the back and use for very short range when needed I would say.. ( God help me) I would say the Wilson LiL Wil ... it's 36 inches tall. many people say they get 3 plus miles from it, so for a road trip it would probably hear from exit to exit and be great for off road and around a farm.

I don't know of a NMO equivalent.... but I'm sure some of the smart guys here will steer you in the right direction... I look forward to seeing what you get ...

just a thought... what if you got the Larsen NMO27 52 inch larsen for $80 bucks and didn't put it away? just leave it on the car... it doesn't look much different than a Stereo antenna... after a few weeks you will get used to it.... just a thought

please let us know what you decide to get.

best of luck

 

[slowmover]

NMO27 for short range is good choice.
But road trips are not short range conditions.

Re-read my earlier post about how worthless is a short antenna CB radio on the big road.

I easily fitted my 9.45’ tall quarter-wave modified & tuned yesterday into my 8’ truck bed because it flexes. NMO has same kind of “give”.

Post in thread 'Mobile Antenna: PRESIDENT Texas 1800'
Mobile Antenna: PRESIDENT Texas 1800

The important concept here is understanding that a mile or two of warning isn’t adequate to avoid entanglement.

The better radio & antenna may (it’s happened with me quite a few times) give one a 5 mile warning (can make an exit for avoidance as confusion waves created are coming back up the road) to a 65/mile heads-up where one’s plans can be changed with some leisure.

No warning is the likeliest outcome of trying to scrape by with inadequate gear. Misses the whole point of use, thereby. That was my original point. From nearly continual talk with Right Gear to near silence with kiddie toy.

Multi-vehicle pile-ups used to be rare, now they are common. Daily, in some areas.. Expect they are minimum weekly for every mile of road.

— Install 34 when leaving on trip and leave it there till return. Need NRC Radio for results.

Your biggest problem figuring Skip from Local is being on the right path, today.

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