New to the Hobby. Looking for advice.

[mmckenna]

Great, That's exactly what I'm looking to do. I have my CB. Now I'm looking to purchase my antenna. A friend of mine gave me a dual band Diamond Antenna NR770HAB 140/440 Hz antenna. Can I discard the rod and use the connector/bracket and cable purchasing a longer rod that works CB frequency? See pic.
View attachment 82027View attachment 82028

That would be a lot of work. You'd need a 108" long rod, and you'd probably have to do some machining to get that to work.

Better option would be to look on line for one of the many tutorials on how to build a 1/4 wave antenna. It can be done with conduit, pipe, copper tubing, wire, etc. You may be able to reuse parts that you have.

 

[DavidZak]

That would be a lot of work. You'd need a 108" long rod, and you'd probably have to do some machining to get that to work.

Better option would be to look on line for one of the many tutorials on how to build a 1/4 wave antenna. It can be done with conduit, pipe, copper tubing, wire, etc. You may be able to reuse parts that you have.

Not much time for DYI. I need about 50 feet of cable unless I use the 75 ohm coax I have. Also a decent antenna that will reach at least 10 miles. My Budget is around $100. I would like something that will match up well without to much tuning. I don't believe my CB has a SWR meter. I will get one in the future though.

 

[mmckenna]

Other option, less than ideal, but that will get you on the air quickly, would be to make a dipole antenna for 11meters. It's pretty easy to do.

If you stretch it out horizontally, it'll work, but not ideally. If you can hang it from tree or other high support, so it's vertical, it'll work better.

 

[DavidZak]

Other option, less than ideal, but that will get you on the air quickly, would be to make a dipole antenna for 11meters. It's pretty easy to do.

If you stretch it out horizontally, it'll work, but not ideally. If you can hang it from tree or other high support, so it's vertical, it'll work better.

I was looking at them. Would hanging it on the TV antenna be an option or would I get interference? I'm not using the TV antenna.

 

[mmckenna]

You'd need to stand it off from the mast. Easy option might be to hang it form the top and slope it down to a point away from the house. It'll make it a bit directional, but that might work in your favor if it's towards your buddies house.

As for coaxial cable...
At these lower frequencies (27MHz), the losses that you'd see between lower end cable and higher cost cable is kind of minimal. If budget is the concern, you might do well with some RG-58 at the low end of the cost scale. RG-6 from your local hardware store will work, too, but there will be a bit additional loss.
If your budget will swing it, get some RG-8, LMR-400, etc.

But the loss numbers between those cables are likely not going to make enough difference at these frequencies.

 

[DavidZak]

You'd need to stand it off from the mast. Easy option might be to hang it form the top and slope it down to a point away from the house. It'll make it a bit directional, but that might work in your favor if it's towards your buddies house.

As for coaxial cable...
At these lower frequencies (27MHz), the losses that you'd see between lower end cable and higher cost cable is kind of minimal. If budget is the concern, you might do well with some RG-58 at the low end of the cost scale. RG-6 from your local hardware store will work, too, but there will be a bit additional loss.
If your budget will swing it, get some RG-8, LMR-400, etc.

But the loss numbers between those cables are likely not going to make enough difference at these frequencies.

Do I need 1/4 wave 11 meter dipole? Or just 11 meter dipole antenna? I see several on ebay very cheap.

HALF-WAVE DIPOLE ANTENNA FOR THE CB BAND (11 METERS) BASE STATION | eBay

Have a teflon SO239 female connector to direct feed your coaxial line. Made with #14 stranded wire, center insulator made of 1 1/4 pvc shedule 40 cap. and stainless steel eye bolts. Note: Center insulator IS NOT A BALUN.

www.ebay.com

 

[chief21]

A friend of mine gave me a dual band Diamond Antenna NR770HAB 140/440 Hz antenna.

That Diamond antenna is designed for VHF and UHF ham bands... it won't work at all for CB frequencies. If you're looking for maximum range for your CB, you're going to need a full-sized base antenna (either quarter or half-wave), mounted at least high enough to clear the peak of the roof. You probably won't be happy trying to use a mobile antenna as a base station.

It's also likely that the cable attached to the Diamond antenna is less than 20' long (you'll probably need longer) and it appears to be RG58-type cable. If you want to get maximum power to your base antenna, you should consider using RG8-type cable (it's a bit thicker and more efficient).

 

[DavidZak]

That Diamond antenna is designed for VHF and UHF ham bands... it won't work at all for CB frequencies. If you're looking for maximum range for your CB, you're going to need a full-sized base antenna (either quarter or half-wave), mounted at least high enough to clear the peak of the roof. You probably won't be happy trying to use a mobile antenna as a base station.

It's also likely that the cable attached to the Diamond antenna is less than 20' long (you'll probably need longer) and it appears to be RG58-type cable. If you want to get maximum power to your base antenna, you should consider using RG8-type cable (it's a bit thicker and more efficient).

NEW 50 ft RG-8X coaxial coax UHF male PL-259 antenna cable 50 ohm *USA Seller* | eBay

Cables must not be unwound.

www.ebay.com

 

[mmckenna]

Do I need 1/4 wave 11 meter dipole? Or just 11 meter dipole antenna? I see several on ebay very cheap.

HALF-WAVE DIPOLE ANTENNA FOR THE CB BAND (11 METERS) BASE STATION | eBay

Have a teflon SO239 female connector to direct feed your coaxial line. Made with #14 stranded wire, center insulator made of 1 1/4 pvc shedule 40 cap. and stainless steel eye bolts. Note: Center insulator IS NOT A BALUN.

www.ebay.com

Same thing. Sellers on E-Bay are going to post all kinds of things to get you to buy their antenna. Dipole antenna is probably the quickest/cheapest way to get up and running.

But, you've got to be careful. The antenna will make or break your system. A dedicated CB vertical antenna mounted up high is going to give you a better chance of reaching your 10 mile goal -reliably-
A dipole antenna like that should work if it's up high enough, but you may have to spend some time messing around with the install to get it to work ideally.

There's some science that goes into all this stuff. Unfortunately there is no off the shelf solution that is going to necessary solve your requirements. It's easy to throw a lot of money at your radio system and make it work the way you want. But when you have budget limitations, it's going to be harder. Not impossible, but harder.

The keys to a good system are:
Having a good antenna up high. The higher, the better.
Feed that antenna with good coaxial cable.
Have a radio that has not only a good transmitter, but a good receiver. Doesn't do any good if your radio is deaf.

With a few hundred dollars to throw at this, you could probably buy a directional CB antenna, good coax and get your 10 miles easily. With low budget antennas, it's going to be harder. I want to make sure that's clear, since we don't know your exact location, situation, local conditions, etc, anything we are suggesting is sort of a guess. In other words, ultimately it's on you. We're trying to help.

 

[mmckenna]

NEW 50 ft RG-8X coaxial coax UHF male PL-259 antenna cable 50 ohm *USA Seller* | eBay

Cables must not be unwound.

www.ebay.com

RG-8 and RG-8X are different things. RG-8X is a smaller cable.
Yeah, it'll work, but there's a slight performance difference at 27MHz between those two.

Use the best cable you can afford, and use the least amount possible. Since all cable has some amount of loss, unnecessary lengths of cable are going to cost you.

 

[prcguy]

There are plenty of OK CB base antennas under $100 like the Antron 99, Sirio M400 Starduster, etc. Just click on Amazon and it will show up in a day or two.

Amazon.com: Redman CB PT99 Proton CB 10-12 Meter Base cb Radio Antenna: Home Audio & Theater

Buy Redman CB PT99 Proton CB 10-12 Meter Base cb Radio Antenna: Electronics - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Sirio Antenna m400 Sirio Starduster M-400 26.5, Tunable Base Antenna: Electronics

Buy Sirio Antenna m400 Sirio Starduster M-400 26.5, Tunable Base Antenna: Antennas - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[mmckenna]

And with all this, keep in mind that it's going to depend on your buddies setup also. If he's got a cheap/inefficient antenna with crappy cable and a deaf radio, no amount of money you spend on your end is going to fix that.
So, hopefully your friend has a good setup already, or is working on his end, too.

 

[DavidZak]

Same thing. Sellers on E-Bay are going to post all kinds of things to get you to buy their antenna. Dipole antenna is probably the quickest/cheapest way to get up and running.

But, you've got to be careful. The antenna will make or break your system. A dedicated CB vertical antenna mounted up high is going to give you a better chance of reaching your 10 mile goal -reliably-
A dipole antenna like that should work if it's up high enough, but you may have to spend some time messing around with the install to get it to work ideally.

There's some science that goes into all this stuff. Unfortunately there is no off the shelf solution that is going to necessary solve your requirements. It's easy to throw a lot of money at your radio system and make it work the way you want. But when you have budget limitations, it's going to be harder. Not impossible, but harder.

The keys to a good system are:
Having a good antenna up high. The higher, the better.
Feed that antenna with good coaxial cable.
Have a radio that has not only a good transmitter, but a good receiver. Doesn't do any good if your radio is deaf.

With a few hundred dollars to throw at this, you could probably buy a directional CB antenna, good coax and get your 10 miles easily. With low budget antennas, it's going to be harder. I want to make sure that's clear, since we don't know your exact location, situation, local conditions, etc, anything we are suggesting is sort of a guess. In other words, ultimately it's on you. We're trying to help.

And with all this, keep in mind that it's going to depend on your buddies setup also. If he's got a cheap/inefficient antenna with crappy cable and a deaf radio, no amount of money you spend on your end is going to fix that.
So, hopefully your friend has a good setup already, or is working on his end, too.

Okay. So I ordered the Dipole antenna above and this cable. Thanks for you help. I will make this work with a little effort and help from you guys.

 

[DavidZak]

Same thing. Sellers on E-Bay are going to post all kinds of things to get you to buy their antenna. Dipole antenna is probably the quickest/cheapest way to get up and running.

But, you've got to be careful. The antenna will make or break your system. A dedicated CB vertical antenna mounted up high is going to give you a better chance of reaching your 10 mile goal -reliably-
A dipole antenna like that should work if it's up high enough, but you may have to spend some time messing around with the install to get it to work ideally.

There's some science that goes into all this stuff. Unfortunately there is no off the shelf solution that is going to necessary solve your requirements. It's easy to throw a lot of money at your radio system and make it work the way you want. But when you have budget limitations, it's going to be harder. Not impossible, but harder.

The keys to a good system are:
Having a good antenna up high. The higher, the better.
Feed that antenna with good coaxial cable.
Have a radio that has not only a good transmitter, but a good receiver. Doesn't do any good if your radio is deaf.

With a few hundred dollars to throw at this, you could probably buy a directional CB antenna, good coax and get your 10 miles easily. With low budget antennas, it's going to be harder. I want to make sure that's clear, since we don't know your exact location, situation, local conditions, etc, anything we are suggesting is sort of a guess. In other words, ultimately it's on you. We're trying to help.

It's not a big deal if I can't reach the 10 miles. I'll get there eventually. I'll enjoy getting the most out of what I have to work with. There's all ways room for upgrades. I'm sure that's half the fun of this hobby.

 

[pjtnascar]

If you can, get a dedicated CB base antenna. Put it up high, you will notice a world of difference.

 

[mmckenna]

It's not a big deal if I can't reach the 10 miles. I'll get there eventually. I'll enjoy getting the most out of what I have to work with. There's all ways room for upgrades. I'm sure that's half the fun of this hobby.

Yeah, stick within your budget and have fun. You'll learn as you go. As you gain experience, you will be able to make better choices about what you want to do.

 

[DavidZak]

Yeah, stick within your budget and have fun. You'll learn as you go. As you gain experience, you will be able to make better choices about what you want to do.

I didn't realize how much space the dipole needs to be set up until I did a little research.
I would not have enough cable to do it. I'm gonna return it and buy a base antenna. I did spend the extra money on good cable. So I'm still looking for a good antenna that wont break the bank.

 

[mmckenna]

I think PRCGUY made some good suggestions above.

Been a long time since I was into CB, so I don't have any advice, but others on this site do.

 

[DavidZak]

Well, I got her up and running. I put a lil-wil antenna outside the window on top the truck and Bingo I met a few locals. One of the guy's has an Antron A99 for sale $45. He volunteered to help me with the setup also. They asked what my handle was. I let them pick. GrassHopper it is.

 

[cmdrwill]

Nice radio, from a long time ago.