workman b100 base antenna

[scma127]

has anyone ever used a workman b100 antenna i found alot of them on ebay there only 39" ineed a good base antenna and do i need a antenna tuner?

 

[reedeb]

I used to work at a small TV repair sales shop a number of years ago. I have used several Workman antennas [in fact right now on my 2 mtr HT I have a Workman Metal extendable anttena for longer range use.] They are less expensive then the other brands BUT will give you the same all around.

As long as they're new buy with confidence.

 

[w2rea]

Did you buy this antenna? I am thinking about buying one to. I would like to know if they work OK. My wife does not want a huge antenna on the roof.

 

[sob153]

Did you buy this antenna? I am thinking about buying one to. I would like to know if they work OK. My wife does not want a huge antenna on the roof.

Works great has to be though nothing obstructing it... It's not an antron but it does the job

 

[reedeb]

Even antron an be obstructed as well

 

[dodgelover93]

Workman b100 cb antenna

Yess I bough the workman b100 antenna like 4 days ago and let me say I'm in windsor ontario canada the border city of Michigan and i believe I'm getting like 6 or 8 miles transieve range.. But like I sed I only bough it like 4 days ago and I would like to know how many miles i would roughly get with this antenna as im not surre if im getting 8 miles.. I have it mounted on a 20 foot pole with 100 feet of rg8x brand new antenna and brand new rg8x coax..I am not sure what the max range this antenna is saposto ptransieve but I no im picking up guys in michigan clear..

can any one tell me what the max miles the workman b100 will trancieve on a cobra 18wxst2 thanks..
or let me know what kind of range your getting with the workman b100 .

i was using a k30 magount antenna indoor and a fire stik indoor hhmm the b100 is better ..
id give it a 5 star considering its cheaply priced and well constructed.Also great in strong winds.millage..

 

[jonwienke]

Why 100 feet of coax? The first rule of antenna installation is keep the coax run as short as possible. You shouldn't need 100 feet of coax unless your antenna is at least 50 feet in the air.

 

[dodgelover93]

first of all i have to run the coax still to my house and i have to run it about 60 to 75 feet away from the top of the pole witch is like 30 feet off ground .. the antenna is above my garage roof..its about 80 feet from the pole to my room and i could only find 75 feet or 100 feet of rg8x coax..

 

[dodgelover93]

Also to add to the convo I'm getting max 4 watts and I'm getting just under the 1.5 on my swr meeter on channel 1 and 40 with 100 feet of rg8x coax.and its not even fully ran yet its rolled up on my garage floor untill i run it and people say they get bad swr if coax is rolled up.. so I dont see how people give this antenna bad reviews lol..

WHATS THE MAX MILES THE WORKMAN B1OO CAN TRANSIEVE ?

 

[jonwienke]

WHATS THE MAX MILES THE WORKMAN B1OO CAN TRANSIEVE ?

I think the word you're looking for is "transceiver" which refers to the radio. And it's a noun, not a verb.

There is no simple answer to maximum range questions. Your radio's output power, receiver sensitivity and selectivity, coax losses, antenna design and construction, and antenna height are the variables you have some control over. Other variables you cannot control are terrain between your antenna and your contact's antenna, weather and atmospheric conditions, and your contact's antenna type and height, radio specs, coax losses, etc.

You may only be able to get a half mile talking to a walkie-talkie with a damaged antenna, or you might be able to talk to someone hundreds of miles away when the skip is in. Every installation is different, so it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison between 2 antennas of the same brand and model, let alone different models and brands.

You should seriously consider putting the antenna pole closer to the radio so you can use more of the cable going up, instead of going over the river and through the woods just to get to the pole.

 

[dodgelover93]

ok so the less cable the better okie dokie..

 

[TheSpaceMann]

ok so the less cable the better okie dokie..

It's interesting that according to Workman, this antenna should use specific lengths of coaxial cable. I think they also recommend 50 feet of coaxial cable for optimal performance.

 

[jonwienke]

Requiring specific length of coax for "best performance" is an old wives' tale. Odd multiples of 1/4-wavelength (taking into account the velocity factor of the coax) can fool some SWR meters into inaccurately low readings. Shortest cable run is always best for actual performance.

 

[kc8kek]

I ran one of these as a temporary base. I like that it didn't require radials (yes, I know using radials is probably better), and could be put up quickly. I bought it with the idea of keeping it with my go kit, taking it camping, etc. It was damaged in a storm, and I didn't replace it since I couldn't get the swr below 2:1. I may have gotten a bad antenna, so it might be worth a try for $35 or so, and the small size is nice.

I compared it to a vertical wire dipole, and didn't see a difference - if anything the vertical performed one S unit or so better, but that wasn't a scientific comparison, and there was slightly more cable running to the Workman (negligible using LMR400 on 27 megs, IMHO).

Right now I keep a vertical dipole in my camping / go kit - same price if you use good cable, and easier to store and transport.

 

[riche_2]

I've got a B-100 mounted on a 20' aluminium mast with 50' of coax. It is dead silent, not even skip on on channel 6. I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm thinking maybe it's not performing because I've got it mounted to a metal mast. Perhaps too much ground-plane? Do I need to isolate it from the mast?

 

[jonwienke]

A metal mast is fine, as long as it doesn't extend higher than the mounting bracket.

If you're getting zero signal, you probably have a bad cable or connection, or a bad radio.

 

[riche_2]

I'll double check the coax. The mast does extend beyond the bracket though. I have the antenna mounted on a "yard arm" about 20" off to the side of the mast and a scanner antenna at the top of the mast (I do disconnect the scanner from the antenna when transmitting on the CB).

I should not have said dead silent, there is a noticeable increase in noise when I connect the antenna to the radio and I have picked up some signals. Not nearly as much as I get when I use the radio in my truck with a just a little mag-mount. Last night there chatter on several channels (out in the truck), but nothing came on on the base. I have swapped in a known, good working, radio (the one from the truck) just to be sure the one I was using in the house wasn't the issue. SWR is around 2:1 at it's worse and 1.5:1 at the best.

I'm going to go ahead an pull it down (since I need to check the coax anyway) and remount it on it's own mast (a 10' piece of galvanized pipe) and ensure it is at the top of the mast.

 

[prcguy]

Just be aware the Workman B100 is a very low performing antenna when its working properly and just about any antenna over 2ft long with a vehicle under it will work better.
prcguy

I'll double check the coax. The mast does extend beyond the bracket though. I have the antenna mounted on a "yard arm" about 20" off to the side of the mast and a scanner antenna at the top of the mast (I do disconnect the scanner from the antenna when transmitting on the CB).

I should not have said dead silent, there is a noticeable increase in noise when I connect the antenna to the radio and I have picked up some signals. Not nearly as much as I get when I use the radio in my truck with a just a little mag-mount. Last night there chatter on several channels (out in the truck), but nothing came on on the base. I have swapped in a known, good working, radio (the one from the truck) just to be sure the one I was using in the house wasn't the issue. SWR is around 2:1 at it's worse and 1.5:1 at the best.

I'm going to go ahead an pull it down (since I need to check the coax anyway) and remount it on it's own mast (a 10' piece of galvanized pipe) and ensure it is at the top of the mast.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

You should be hearing a quite a bit of skip when the band is open. I had a friend who used the b100 for awhile, but was not too happy with the performance. He replaced it with a homebrew ground plane made with a 102 inch whlp and 4 wire radials, and it was a great improvement! The next time 11 meters opens up, check the online receiver at: www.CBradioClub.com/san-francisco-bay-ca.html or CB RADIO ONLINE and compare it with your receiver. You can check for band openings in the DX maps website. There actually seems to be a bit of a band opening today!

 

[riche_2]

I thought I should at least be hearing some skip. The conditions were good on October 31st. And being Halloween, there were a lot of pranksters on the air. That's when I noticed, the radio in my truck was receiving a lot compared to the one in the house. I brought the truck radio in the house and hooked it to the B-100. It didn't do any better than the base station (an old Cobra 100GTL). I wasn't expecting too much for $29.95, but overall, the B-100 is a disappointment.

I'm going to experiment with some mobile antennas I've got laying around and see if I can't come up with something. Don't have a 102" whip available but I do have a couple of fiberglass antennas I was thinking of setting up in a dipole arrangement.