My friend gave me an old Radio Shack TRC-865 CB radio and an old Antron-99 antenna. I used to have a CB station back in the late 80's but ended up getting my ham license in 1989. I ended up giving my CB away. But we thought it would be fun to set up CB stations again, although I am not sure how much I will actually use it. The antenna was an old Antron 99 that he bought back in early 90's. When he got his ham ticket shortly after, this antenna sat unused for years in his backyard. So today I got a VERY HEAVY 20' metal pole and mounted the Antron on it. I weatherproofed the connection and ran 65' of LMR-240 coax to my room. The 20' pole is mounted inside a bigger steel pipe thats buried in the ground. And I guyed the pole in 3 places. So the Antron 99 was cut for the lower end of 10 meters back when my friend (and all of us) were active on 10 meters in early to late 90's. I connected everything and the CB has an acceptable match on all 40 channels averaging 1:6 SWR. The CB has sideband capabilities so tonight we're going to test it out. We probably wont use the AM mode really, but SSB will work better. I listened around this afternoon and there is only 1 channel (21) with local activity. The only thing is my wife hasnt seen the Antron yet! It's on the side of garage behind a holly tree. Its pretty visible from street though. I didnt think it would look so obvious once I got it put up. It's just a matter of time before she notices it. And I did get the "no more antennas!" speech not long ago. But the good news is you cant see it from in the house.
