Disguise CB antennas - Did any of them actually work worth a crap?

[FPR1981]

I remember, once upon a time, Antenna Specialists and Turner got into the business of manufacturing "disguise" CB antennas - or CB antennas that looked like AM/FM antennas that were cowl mounted, but had all the coil wiring hidden. Antenna Specialists/Avanti was known to turn out some of the greatest base station products, and they had good mobile antennas once upon a time, but the question I've always wondered was did they or anyone else make a disguise antenna that actually worked worth a crap?

I got a lot of catalogs from an old CB shop recently and I have an Antenna Specialists brochure that lists four different models of disguise cowl mounted antennas that used a "patented tri-band coupler for outstanding performance," or "superior performance on all bands."

Was that a load of BS, or did any of them work in at least an acceptable fashion? Realizing that antenna physics is very limited in how it can be influenced by "technology," did anyone you know ever have a disguise antenna that they felt worked okay?

And, I remember being a kid and seeing in the J.C. Whitney catalog where there was a converter box that used to tout that you could use your car chassis as a CB antenna. Am I imagining that?

 

[FPR1981]

Here are a couple examples...

 

[mmckenna]

Did they work? Sure.
Did they work well? Well, depends on what your expectations were.

They never worked as well as a dedicated CB antenna. As has been said many times before, taking a 102" whip and trying to compact it down into something cute and low profile doesn't work well on these frequencies.

They were good for local/short range.

StiCo still makes these. Mostly used on VHF, UHF and 800MHz, they do make a 'low band' version that can be tuned down to 25MHz.

 

[FPR1981]

Here's more

 

[BushDoctor]

Here are a couple examples...

That antenna specialists looks like the same antenna with extra wiring to match the antenna for low-band disguise antennas for some of the police departments i serviced when i worked for a Motorola shop in the early 60s

 

[garys]

While AS made very good professional antennas, I always found their CB stuff lacking a bit. Sti-Co makes very good antennas, but you pay for them.

Overall, I'd say that disguise CB antennas are not a great idea. Well, maybe the idea is great, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

 

[WB9YBM]

I remember, once upon a time, Antenna Specialists and Turner got into the business of manufacturing "disguise" CB antennas - or CB antennas that looked like AM/FM antennas that were cowl mounted, but had all the coil wiring hidden. Antenna Specialists/Avanti was known to turn out some of the greatest base station products, and they had good mobile antennas once upon a time, but the question I've always wondered was did they or anyone else make a disguise antenna that actually worked worth a crap?

I haven't been able to find a decent one myself...that's not to say they don't exist, just hard to find...

 

[FPR1981]

I haven't been able to find a decent one myself...that's not to say they don't exist, just hard to find...

I have no real interest in using one on a permanent basis, but I'm about to drop coin on a couple so that I can do reviews on my YouTube channel as a "classic CB revisited" type theme.

I looked at Sti-Co, and good lord! What private citizen would ever pay that much for a disguise antenna?!

 

[FiveFilter]

Make sure you check the SWR with those shorty antennas. The short ranges they might yield are harmless, but the high SWR they might yield are not. Harmless, that is.

 

[prcguy]

There were two disguise antennas that turned one of the vehicle windows into a "slot antenna". They had a small tuning box with two variable capacitors and a wire that stretched across a window, preferable the large front or rear window. The tuning box and far end of the wire had to be grounded to the vehicle. These worked ok and usually better than a 2ft loaded whip plus they were basically invisible. I think one brand was "InTenna" and I forget the other but I have examples of each here somewhere. These show up on Ebay now and then but you have to be looking for them.


Edit: I found some on Ebay but I like the other brand, whatever it was. They seem to be getting a premium for these. CB RADIO mobile antennae 10-4 Products InTenna UNIT matching network citizens | eBay

Here is another I was completely unaware of. Gold Line Secret Sam Hidden CB Auto Antenna Amateur Radio New Old Stock NIP VTG | eBay

 

[mmckenna]

Make sure you check the SWR with those shorty antennas. The short ranges they might yield are harmless, but the high SWR they might yield are not. Harmless, that is.

They include a matching box/diplexer. The matching box allows them to be 'tuned' so they present a low SWR to the radio.

 

[GlobalNorth]

The driver behind the concealed/disguise CB antenna was the thefts of the radios themselves. Back in the day, CB radios were very popular and not inexpensive, so they became the targets of thieves. CB radio antennas marked which vehicles to target and few vehicles allowed for secure mounting.

The concealed/disguise antenna was an answer to prevent the vehicle from being targeted, although diligent thieves would look into vehicles to see if the radio inside was a high end radio or a $29.95 special.

 

[n1nte]

I did some testing today on my AM/FM antenna coupled CB in my vehicle. I use it mainly to listen to channel 19 during my commute. Today, I used my KiwiSDR (online remote receiver) to listen to my signal as I drove away from my home. I am in very hilly terrain and I was 10 over S9 for the first 1/2 mile then it slowly dropped down to S5 as I approached a mile and half. Mobile to mobile might be a little less (the KiwiSDR's antenna is up high but horizontal polarization). It works, not extremely well, but would be OK for short range comms.

 

[slowmover]

I did some testing today on my AM/FM antenna coupled CB in my vehicle. I use it mainly to listen to channel 19 during my commute. Today, I used my KiwiSDR (online remote receiver) to listen to my signal as I drove away from my home. I am in very hilly terrain and I was 10 over S9 for the first 1/2 mile then it slowly dropped down to S5 as I approached a mile and half. Mobile to mobile might be a little less (the KiwiSDR's antenna is up high but horizontal polarization). It works, not extremely well, but would be OK for short range comms.

With a pair of semi-tractors one can generally get two miles where one truck is in motion and the other isn’t. (Flat to rolling terrain).

It takes more (of just about everything; with dead-serious installation) to get more.

Cadillac had an optional AM/FM/CB in the late 1970s that I believe it shared with Buick & Oldsmobile. Power telescoping antenna. Never knew anyone happy with it. Reception was okay for highway, but that was about it.

 

[GlobalNorth]

That option was not inexpensive either.

 

[highwayman1224]

With a pair of semi-tractors one can generally get two miles where one truck is in motion and the other isn’t. (Flat to rolling terrain).

It takes more (of just about everything; with dead-serious installation) to get more.

Cadillac had an optional AM/FM/CB in the late 1970s that I believe it shared with Buick & Oldsmobile. Power telescoping antenna. Never knew anyone happy with it. Reception was okay for highway, but that was about it.
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My parents had a Ford Crown Victoria back in the late 70's with a built in cb that used the am/fm antenna. It was all controlled by the microphone. I was just getting into cb's back then, I was around 13 years old, and I would talk to the truckers when I was in the car. It sure didn't get out very far, lol.

 

[FPR1981]

I confess that I always wanted to get a throw-away linear that was close to the end of its lifespan and run a bunch of power through an AM/FM antenna with the converter box to watch the smoke show. Anyone have a best guess as to how much power one of those converter boxes would tolerate? Or the antenna itself?

 

[mmckenna]

I confess that I always wanted to get a throw-away linear that was close to the end of its lifespan and run a bunch of power through an AM/FM antenna with the converter box to watch the smoke show. Anyone have a best guess as to how much power one of those converter boxes would tolerate? Or the antenna itself?

Would totally depend on the brand. The Sti-Co models are usually rated up to 100 watts, so something north of there to let the smoke out.

 

[FPR1981]

A ham buddy told me he has one of those converter rigs still new in the box. He said I could have it. Might make a fun experiment for my YouTube

 

[CaptDan]

I agree, and the disguise ones on the unmarked cop cars were - and I am guessing here - about 4 foot long. Although they didn't stick out like a 102inch whip antenna did, they were obvious once you knew what to look for.

They were used - successfully - throughout NJ back in the 70's, 80's and 90's.