Cb Antenna Reception near house

[Jjoshjl]

So, After reading several reviews, i got the Workman B100 as it seemed to be a good "entry" antenna for a base station. Most people seemed to be pleased with it, but there are always naysayers. However, here is my setup and here is what i am seeing

1) Antenna is mounted to my small Balcony outside my frog/office.
2) Balcony is about 20 feet about ground
3) Balcony only goes out about 5 feet from the house
4) I have about 50ft of Coax as I read you want to have that to work properly
5) It is next to a VHF/UHF antenna (I read these will not interfere). This antenna works fine for my 2M and 70CM
6) It is connected to a Uniden PRO505XL (it works great in my car with a mag mount antenna)
7) House as plastic siding, wood underneath

Results
1) No better than Mag Mount
2) lots of static and cant hear anything over the static
3) Reconfirmed the radio and works wonderful in the car.

What do you guys think may still be my issue? as mentioned, comments make it seems likes its a good entry base. its not the best in the world but great for its designed purpose. I am not going to skip across the state but its real good for local which is my purpose.

I understand I can spend lots of money and get the things but budget isnt always in agreement (especially now).

My purpose is to reach out to my father in law with medical issues who is abut 1.5 miles away as the crow flies. He is staying cooped up during all of "this" and want to give him a back up way to reach us as he has a little car mounted CB as well. He doesnt have a HAM license so we cant use that. I want to bring it inside so I can leave it on.

thanks all for the help so far...

 

[jonwienke]

The crap about needing a specific length of coax is a myth. The correct length is the shortest practical length that will link the radio and antenna.

A poorly setup antenna can radiate from the coax (always a bad thing), and exact 1/4-wave multiples of cable length (after applying velocity factor) can fool an SWR meter into giving false good readings. Neither of those things is a good reason to have unnecessarily long coax.

 

[WB9YBM]

My primary question/concern is: where's the static coming from? How close are power lines? Any power line transformers nearby? (I've had one go bad here--was a partial failure and the power company was unwilling to fix it until it actaully blew up and caught fire--problem solved once the new one was put it.) If the static is part-time, maybe it's "hash" kicked up by an electric motor from a washing machine, refridgerator, etc...

 

[Jjoshjl]

Im starting to wonder if it's the power supply I am using indoors. I had my son go away from the house to see if there was interference and there was none... I also tested it higher to no effect. That has been the only common. I will test it later by using the new antenna but plugged into the lighter port on the car....

 

[Jjoshjl]

OK, so after much testing, I think I solved the issue. It appears the 10 dollar AC-> cigarette adapter I purchased is kicking back a whole bunch of electrical noise that is being translated into reception static. I connected the Uniden to the 12V port in the car and had my son hold the antenna about 10 feet away from the car and everything appeared to work normal. (better than normal with the new antenna). Thanks to all who provided assistance. Now i just need to find a reliable indoor AC->Cigarette power supply if anyone has any suggestions.... Cheers all!

 

[chief21]

Im starting to wonder if it's the power supply I am using indoors. I had my son go away from the house to see if there was interference and there was none...

What kind of power supply are you using? Quality supplies intended for CB/ham radios have filters to prevent interference/noise. Another possibility could be one or more poor/open connections in the coax, connectors, or antenna.

 

[WB9YBM]

"OK, so after much testing, I think I solved the issue. It appears the 10 dollar AC-> cigarette adapter I purchased is kicking back a whole bunch of electrical noise"

the cigarette adapter? I'm surprised!

 

[WB9YBM]

What kind of power supply are you using? Quality supplies intended for CB/ham radios have filters to prevent interference/noise. Another possibility could be one or more poor/open connections in the coax, connectors, or antenna.

I can recommend Astron (available through ham radio stores). I've had great luck with that brand for several decades, both for CB use as well as ham radio use. Conversely I've had bad luck with switchers to varying degrees...

 

[chief21]

Now i just need to find a reliable indoor AC->Cigarette power supply if anyone has any suggestions.... Cheers all!

Try to buy a power supply that is intended to be used with radios. Online ham radio vendors should be able to help you with this. It might cost a bit more than the typical WalMart type, but it will operate a lot quieter. Consider buying one with more capacity (amperage) than you need, as this will allow you to add more equipment in the future (perhaps a VHF/UHF base?)

 

[MisterLongwire]

A good power supply.....not a cheap one!

 

[WB9YBM]

Try to buy a power supply that is intended to be used with radios. Online ham radio vendors should be able to help you with this. It might cost a bit more than the typical WalMart type, but it will operate a lot quieter. Consider buying one with more capacity (amperage) than you need, as this will allow you to add more equipment in the future (perhaps a VHF/UHF base?)

I've been using Astron for about 45 years with good luck...

 

[chief21]

I've been using Astron for about 45 years with good luck...

+1