niceguy71
Active Member
Very nice looking antenna... Not goofy at all
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goofy antenna
- Thread starter niceguy71
- Start date
niceguy71
Active Member
I think the Predator 10K is the king of goofy antennas... But this is a close second
niceguy71
Active Member
I don't care if they are sweet and kind., If you put 100 antennas on a vehicle.... Your just not right in the head...... Don't get me wrong I'm the biggest free rights supporter there is .. if you pay the taxes on your property you should be able to do anything you want ... Pile trash up to the sky ... Have a 100 junk cars... Make a 50 foot ball of tinfoil... And no neighbors should say a word ... What someone does on their property or vehicle is none of anyone else's business.......... ( But 100 antennas???? Guys gotta be nuts)
slowmover
Active Member
You wouldn’t if you had a 27” 10K.
What looks like the dark side, . . isn’t.
We need ya to make a run out to Sioux City, IA from Middleboro, MA. Xtra-tight schedule. Major holiday weekend traffic will be part of it. Tornado/hail forcast once into Iowa. Bad weather possible throughout.
Won’t get paid if delivery is late, just fuel mileage. A payday that’ll change your month, maybe the year as the shipper & receiver both stand to lose far more than transport cost.
Will have to operate under Federal HOS rules. Speed limiter to be installed. Safety devices disallowing tail-gating or excessive lane-changing will shut down the vehicle via dispatch center.
Your pickup will be loaded to legal maximum (axle/tire/wheel limits). Doubled braking distances and not a prayer of steering an S-turn to avoid collision. You’ll also need to comply with every scale house requirement.
— Lose 3-MPH from the average planned speed (engine run time into odometer miles) and you won’t make it.
Margin of Risk. (Always in play).
There’s reason men want “best” and are willing to experiment to get it.
(We’re being easy on you as this route features excellent roads and is heavily traveled with no end of good-to-very-good-to-extraordinary radio rigs. Alternate highways abound).
— Unlike a 108” whip a Predator 10K stays upright at speed (don’t forget headwinds) thus doesn’t need to be re-tuned once underway; the flexible whip isn’t going to strike adjacent vehicles or structure; will clear 13’ 5” Federal minimums; and it can be stowed inside almost any passenger vehicle.
One can say he’ll never be in an analogous situation, but that belies getting best antenna performance out of the way, once and for all. Time spent with the rest of that system plus the others can be focused.
A rooftop 108” is great till it ain’t. Won’t clear, whips around, and has screwy readings.
Lesser performance affecting wallet and well-being? Lost time, money and damaged vehicle plus was injured. This is not uncommon.
The Road has serious penalties.
It’s “you” with your radio rig and nothing else (is how to look at it, IMO).
That NMO34 + WD640 looks best for most . . . but it won’t have the ears for the above based on a helluva lot of experience.
A SIRIO 5000 3/8 is the likeliest choice for aesthetic plus performance for most. Why I’ve a pair on the big truck as the 10k is known to leave home when one is buying lunch inside the truckstop. But you’ll replace the entire antenna if anything breaks versus the modular (lighter) Predator.
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slowmover
Active Member
The 3/8 version (mid coil). This is the minimum possible tilt angle. Have to find correct perspective to photograph as it doesn’t stand out in most cases (any distance). I get some guff from other drivers about length, but not when I key up to reply. (Xtra-long shafts of 44” to get coils away from cab).
Top-load 7’ Skipshooters whip around a fair amount. If I wasn’t on the plains I’d still run them. Going to 6’ is a noticeable decrease in range though they’re easier to tune and more rigid.
Same highway wind problem is true for roof of pickup. Just don’t need much of a shaft (10” or so) with the 3/8. Price is comparable to 10K.
PERFORMER 5000 3/8
Trucker antenna, Omnidirectional, 27 … 30 MHz Tunable, High Power Handling Capability, Systems: CB 27MHz, 10m-HAM
www.sirioantenne.it
And here’s a guy doesn’t like big goofy antennas who’s re-considered (non-DSP):
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niceguy71
Active Member
It may work ... But it's still a goofy looking antenna.... I bought a Stryker AR 10 mag mount this week ... I put it on the roof of my pickup and said.... hell no..... I may not even range test it .. going to be a nice candidate for the right rear corner of My friends Jeep ... I'll range test that and see how it does ... But it's a bit too goofy for me.
Slowmover I'm curious about what type of antenna mount you use. Most of the drivers at the company that I work for use the Cascadia mirror mount that uses 2 of the mirror mount bolts to secure it. But poor grounding of the door caused other issues.
slowmover
Active Member
That’s the Driver Extreme version (brand) of the same standard aftermarket mount.
I’ve had to RF BOND door hinges, then across to firewall from mount and more woven braid down to frame (existing bolt holes). 25’ of 3/4’?
44” shafts on that antenna are the real trick. The 6’ Skipshooter lagged in performance comparably. Had to tilt too far forward.
CMC choke under antenna feedpoint.
And another at radio.
That pair plus above was an easy $700 all the way back to radio gear if I include having had a tech to install the cophase coax. ($400 downstream from antennas). Given that a few experiments didn’t work, it’s actually higher than that.
I wouldn’t get hung up on $$. Bonded mounts come first. The rest as one goes along.
Most drivers have antennas too short. 4’ or 5’ just won’t cut it assuming a van/reefer.
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slowmover
Active Member
You need the 5’+ NMO set-up. Move it rearwards past squared dead-center for best truck appearance.
slowmover
Active Member
Great to hear! Helping others to help themselves has been my goal in all of this.http://forums.radioreference.com/th...e-truck-drivers-doing-now.470575/post-4004620
Post in thread 'I guess channel 19 is dead??? what are the truck drivers doing now?'
I guess channel 19 is dead??? what are the truck drivers doing now?
Most drivers are intimidated by running clean power then how to run the coax.
This thread is on 12V.
Big Truck Radio 12V Source Upgrade
Semi-truck tractors come pre-wired with a fused 10A or 15A harness which connects to a standard radio cord via binding posts (in almost all cases). Problem is that it’s both noisy (from fuse panel), and consists of a minimal wire gauge which allows for a greater than .5V (3%) volt drop while in...
Go to last post (today). 12V + Speaker then bonded antenna mount with 6’ Skipshooter (drivers side).
Radio on dash under a sun cover. RG8 coax run to air line panel unused (FME connector). The D-E brand RG-213 18’ would be tops.
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niceguy71
Active Member
that is a pretty good video... hard to believe that huge Siro is completely blown away by the Predator???? and 10 miles???? the Siro couldn't be heard at 10 miles???? I find that hard to believe.View attachment 162827
The 3/8 version (mid coil). This is the minimum possible tilt angle. Have to find correct perspective to photograph as it doesn’t stand out in most cases (any distance). I get some guff from other drivers about length, but not when I key up to reply. (Xtra-long shafts of 44” to get coils away from cab).
Top-load 7’ Skipshooters whip around a fair amount. If I wasn’t on the plains I’d still run them. Going to 6’ is a noticeable decrease in range though they’re easier to tune and more rigid.
Same highway wind problem is true for roof of pickup. Just don’t need much of a shaft (10” or so) with the 3/8. Price is comparable to 10K.
PERFORMER 5000 3/8
Trucker antenna, Omnidirectional, 27 … 30 MHz Tunable, High Power Handling Capability, Systems: CB 27MHz, 10m-HAM
And here’s a guy doesn’t like big goofy antennas who’s re-considered (non-DSP):
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niceguy71
Active Member
I wanted to try one on my friends Jeep and was even getting excited about it... looks really good
NMO27 - Larsen NMO 52" CB Antenna 1/4 Wave BUT
I saw a few bad reviews and the largest one I can find is only 52 inches tall total....... so about a 4 foot whip..... I don't want to waste my time with a 4 foot whip on the hood... as the first 2 feet will be blocked by the body of the jeep
slowmover
Active Member
Search on:
NMO30
W640b whip
You have an SWR meter and an antenna analyzer, so = piece of cake to tune.
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NMO30
W640b whip
You have an SWR meter and an antenna analyzer, so = piece of cake to tune.
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slowmover
Active Member
Might add Springb as option.
slowmover
Active Member
Working on thread expectations.
7’ PREDATOR 10K K-1-27
I’ll also get a side-view so OP can make his upgrade plans.
This mid-coil for the highway is quieter than the base load do-it-all President Texas.
This parking spot is literally one of the worst places I know for location noise. If I can improve something here, it’s a WIN! That describes difference between these antennas despite same height.
Air checks say it’s about the same. But RX my end is another thing.
The Final Mile
7’ PREDATOR 10K K-1-27
I’ll also get a side-view so OP can make his upgrade plans.
This mid-coil for the highway is quieter than the base load do-it-all President Texas.
This parking spot is literally one of the worst places I know for location noise. If I can improve something here, it’s a WIN! That describes difference between these antennas despite same height.
Air checks say it’s about the same. But RX my end is another thing.
The Final Mile
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niceguy71
Active Member
that's not really a terribly goofy antenna... but then again you don't see that sucker on regular vehicles much.
I think unless you plan on running 10 KW, this would be overkill.
After I fried the coil in my old super magnum, I rewound the coil on the outside of the cover with # 4 solid copper,
About like this, and now I can run my 3 KW little Bertha with it.
No real surprise there, but consider the very different mounting platform.
Swap that antenna for a Wilson 1000M, and a difference between night and day.
