Wilson 5000 antenna for a base station

[Franks97]

Hello I’m knew to the forum and any help would be greatly appreciated, that being said donto where I live and the wife freaking out about a 25 foot antenna above the house I was thinking of mounting a Wilson 5000antenna on an old J- mount from an old satellite dish for talking on regular cb and side band . Will the work ?

 

[cmdrwill]

The 'Wilson 500' IS a mobile antenna, and all mobile antennas like the Wilson require a groundplane to work correctly. A groundplane at CB 27mHz requires at least a area similar to the roof of a van at minimum.

The ideal groundplane would be 216 inches in diameter. ie, 1/4 wave in all directions.

Maybe, going out on a limb here, one of the Firestick no groundplane mobile antenna would be a better choice on an old J- mount from an old satellite dish.

 

[Franks97]

Thank you so much for your advice I just assumed the higher end antenna would be a better choice , I’ve also been reading about a Dipole style in my atttic

 

[mmckenna]

I'll add to cmdrwill…

That antenna will require a ground plane, but you may have some options…
Any large electrically conductive surface can work as a ground plane. Some who live in manufactured homes that have aluminum skinned roof materials have had good luck by sticking the antenna in the center of the roof. If you have a covered patio that has a corrugated style roof, or a shed, barn, etc, those can all work.

You can also use 3 or more lengths of wire, 108 inches long or more, stretching out horizontally from the base of the antenna in equal directions (3 @ 120º, 4 @ 90º etc).

The half wave antenna is a good option, as they will work without a ground plane. But, if you already own the Wilson, you can pick up some wire pretty cheap and give it a try.

If your roof is flat, or you have a raised flat area, you can lay down some wire, wire mesh, etc. on the roof and place the antenna in the center.

Not having a suitable ground plane is going to result in high SWR and pretty terrible performance.

 

[mmckenna]

I’ve also been reading about a Dipole style in my atttic

A good option, however…
Stretching a dipole through your attic will likely result in it being horizontally polarized, unless you have the room to mount it vertically (!). A horizontally polarized antenna isn't going to work as well as a vertically polarized antenna since most other users are using vertical antennas.

You also have to be cautious about metal near the antenna, that could be HVAC ducting, wire, plumbing, vapor barrier insulation, or even a roof with any metallic content.

 

[Franks97]

A good option, however…
Stretching a dipole through your attic will likely result in it being horizontally polarized, unless you have the room to mount it vertically (!). A horizontally polarized antenna isn't going to work as well as a vertically polarized antenna since most other users are using vertical antennas.

You also have to be cautious about metal near the antenna, that could be HVAC ducting, wire, plumbing, vapor barrier insulation, or even a roof with any metallic content.

I’m pretty sure I have room to do a vertical and a horizontal and just switch when I want to go back fourth I hope anyways !

 

[SnowWalker]

Even if an antenna has a metal ground plane, would a foot or more of snow sitting on the metal negate the metal ground plane? As you are aware -Mmckenna- I live high in the mountains so we get a massive build up of snow.

@Franks 97. apologies for cutting into your thread as I did.

 

[lou9155]

Hello I’m knew to the forum and any help would be greatly appreciated, that being said donto where I live and the wife freaking out about a 25 foot antenna above the house I was thinking of mounting a Wilson 5000antenna on an old J- mount from an old satellite dish for talking on regular cb and side band . Will the work ?

lol..feel your pain..my wife is very antenna nervous..im trying to get more height on my scanner discone...

 

[asuddendeath]

My wife got over it. I got hell over it.
Like i said my wife does not like it but she is willing because she loves me.

 

[mmckenna]

Even if an antenna has a metal ground plane, would a foot or more of snow sitting on the metal negate the metal ground plane? As you are aware -Mmckenna- I live high in the mountains so we get a massive build up of snow.

@Franks 97. apologies for cutting into your thread as I did.

No.

Only time I've ever heard of an issue was when water collected at the base of a vertical antenna and would cause issues.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

My wife got over it. I got hell over it.
Like i said my wife does not like it but she is willing because she loves me.

My other half used to flip out with my antennas! I bought her a new Mercedes for her birthday, and all is forgiven!!

 

[cmdrwill]

My other half used to flip out with my antennas! I bought her a new Mercedes for her birthday, and all is forgiven!!

Some have had to take their antennas and leave home... and never come back.

 

[Franks97]

Thanks for the help guys I’ve decided to go with the Workman B-100 it’s cheap and it’s not to tall I will give it try and go from there

 

[asuddendeath]

I think I read that you need to run a determined amount of coax to get the performance out of it.
Hope you didnt spend much. I bought mine for 20-25 dollars off of amazon.

 

[mmckenna]

I think I read that you need to run a determined amount of coax to get the performance out of it.
Hope you didnt spend much. I bought mine for 20-25 dollars off of amazon.

Running specific lengths of coax (often 1/2 wavelength) will hide the high SWR from the radio (or SWR meter), but it won't help the antenna work. This is an old CB'er trick that makes it look like the antenna is "perfect match" when it isn't.

It's why you may often see people claim that you have to run the full 18 feet of coax that comes with the mount and shouldn't cut it. The problem with the 18 feet/half wavelength is that it doesn't take into account the velocity of propagation of the specific coaxial cable being used.

A properly tuned/setup antenna doesn't need a specific length of coax to work well. Ideally you want to keep the coaxial cable to the minimum length.

 

[Franks97]

I think I read that you need to run a determined amount of coax to get the performance out of it.
Hope you didnt spend much. I bought mine for 20-25 dollars off of amazon.

Yes I read the same ! There’s a guy on you tube that reviewed it and he pointed all that out and actually why it calls for a specific amount of length , I also bought mine for 32 bucks shipped , if it doesn’t work that well I will try 106” whip .

 

[cmdrwill]

, if it doesn’t work that well I will try 106” whip .

And a 102 inch whip will require a groundplane. 108 inches IS a quarter wave for CB, so you will need a spring or rod to make up the 6 inches.

 

[Franks97]

And a 102 inch whip will require a groundplane. 108 inches IS a quarter wave for CB, so you will need a spring or rod to make up the 6 inches.

I meant to say 102 and yes everything I’ve seen on the interweb say I will have to get a ground plane but I didn’t know about the spring . Thanks for the help

 

[BloodandRoses]

just get an a99..............

 

[Franks97]

Well spend the whole day running around getting **** and running coax just to be disappointed in that goddamn B-100 **** antenna .........next try will be a dipole antenna in the attic already ordered