The C27 is narrow band and you tune it to a specific frequency within the 26-28MHz range. It will not cover the whole range without retuning.
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What is considered to be the BEST Base Station and Mobile CB Radio Antennas?
- Thread starter K4EET
- Start date
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I bought a new Little Wil antenna in 1996 and still use it occasionally. Always a good performer for me with my el cheapo Radio Shack rig that put out 12 watts right out of the box (no golden screwdriver required!). At my last house I had a Solarcon A-99 mounted at 30 feet that I talked all over the continent with on 75 watts. I'll probably get that back up in the air here at the new house this summer and get back to chatting, since it seems like the sun is starting to cooperate again...
Retroradio
Member
Hy-Gain 5/8th penetrator albeit IIRC is a 10/12m antenna has quite a reputation as being the bees knees so to speak. I have never run one but hear great things.
My favorite is the old Radio Shack 5/8th antenna. Unfortunately mine is long gone and haven't found a replacement. For the last 30+years Ive had an Antron 99. No issues no TVI with multiple neighbors and various installations due to moves.
IMHO did it outperform the 5/8th..no but it is solid and dependable.
Mobile - I like stock, no fancy ratings and will probably get flack from the purists but I have never had an Issue with the Wilson Lil Wil or others in that line. Have run them exclusively since about 1990. No issues , worked great. Stock power etc.. as CB s are meant to be.
Very versatile and not that expensive around here.
My favorite is the old Radio Shack 5/8th antenna. Unfortunately mine is long gone and haven't found a replacement. For the last 30+years Ive had an Antron 99. No issues no TVI with multiple neighbors and various installations due to moves.
IMHO did it outperform the 5/8th..no but it is solid and dependable.
Mobile - I like stock, no fancy ratings and will probably get flack from the purists but I have never had an Issue with the Wilson Lil Wil or others in that line. Have run them exclusively since about 1990. No issues , worked great. Stock power etc.. as CB s are meant to be.
Very versatile and not that expensive around here.
K4EET
Chaplain
Getting ready to make the final tally and post the results in a table similar to what I did in my CB Radio Thread. Anybody else want to provide an input before I post the table with the results of what everybody posted about CB antennas?
As other folks have mentioned the Laird CW27 seems to have been discontinued. There is a company called ALLICDATA out of Hong Kong that claims to have them in stock but I'm a bit skeptical of the legitimacy of this vendor:
www.allicdata.com
I once had this antenna but for some reason sold it a few years ago. I'd like to retry it since it can apparently cover 10m (at least the sideband part) and CB. Anyone know of a different source that still sells the CW27?
CW27 Laird Technologies IAS-Allicdata Electronics
CW27 ANT WHIP WB VHF 26.8-29.7MHZ 64' 28MHz Whip, Straight RF Antenna 26.8MHz ~ 29.7MHz 0dB Connector, NMO Base Mount RF Antennas
I once had this antenna but for some reason sold it a few years ago. I'd like to retry it since it can apparently cover 10m (at least the sideband part) and CB. Anyone know of a different source that still sells the CW27?
They show up on Ebay occasionally, I bought two over the years for good prices.
As other folks have mentioned the Laird CW27 seems to have been discontinued. There is a company called ALLICDATA out of Hong Kong that claims to have them in stock but I'm a bit skeptical of the legitimacy of this vendor:
CW27 Laird Technologies IAS-Allicdata Electronics
CW27 ANT WHIP WB VHF 26.8-29.7MHZ 64' 28MHz Whip, Straight RF Antenna 26.8MHz ~ 29.7MHz 0dB Connector, NMO Base Mount RF Antennas
I once had this antenna but for some reason sold it a few years ago. I'd like to retry it since it can apparently cover 10m (at least the sideband part) and CB. Anyone know of a different source that still sells the CW27?
you ask 1000 people you will get 1000 different antennas. had many different base antennas but for me for the last 50 years on every car or truck i use 102" steel whip with ball mount on left side rear fender i have used K40 and Larsen nmo 27 or antennax but i still use 102
FPR1981
Active Member
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I have the Tram 3500, which is a Wilson 5000 with a Tram badge. Has a lot of distance talk quality for far less than the Wilson. My only complaint is that it is a bit on the noisy side. Seems very susceptible to power line RFI, whereas friends who have the Stryer SR-A10 say they're dead quiet by comparison.
Seeing how popular my other thread was on CB Radios, I thought perhaps we might take a look at CB Radio Antennas for both the Base Station and the Mobile installations. My criteria for the antennas are:
I really appreciate everyone's input in my CB Radio thread. I am also in the market for a decent antenna that will withstand Maryland's environmental conditions when mounted outside and I really like those "install it right the first time and forget about it" antennas. One thing we want to watch for in this thread are "wild" claims by the manufacturers. For example:
- Cost is not a factor (within reason)
- Size is not a factor (within reason)
- Antenna gain is important for enhanced coverage
- Power handling need not be more than legal limits for AM/SSB operations (specify maximums though)
- Mounting criteria will be as required for a quality installation
- User comments about performance, durability, appearance, etc. very much appreciated
- Durability is very important (my Hustler CGT-144 ham antenna was on various cars for 25+ years)
The Wilson 1000 antenna with a 3,000 watt rating has always amused me. The Wilson 1000 comes with 17 feet of RG-8/X coax with a soldered PL-259 connector. What is amusing, while all of the materials seem to be of decent quality, the coax itself (manufacturer unknown to me) is rated somewhere around 700 watts maximum at 27 MHz using the Belden RG-8/X specification sheet found at:
https://static.dxengineering.com/pdf/Belden RG8X Date 9258.pdf
So if anybody tries to push a kilowatt or more down the pipe to the Wilson 1000 antenna that can supposedly handle 3 kilowatts, there will surely be a catastrophic failure somewhere in the setup.
So let's see what all we can learn from this thread and see what everyone thinks might be the "best" antennas out there. If you know of any "wild" claims, be sure to point them out too! I'm looking forward to lots of good inputs. Thanks in advance folks!
For mobile installations, the 102" Steel Whip can't be beat since there's no lossy coils. Plus it's essentially a 1/4 wave base antenna you're running mobile.
As for a base antenna, I'd say a quad antenna, due to gain factors. Or if you have a ton of acreage to spare, 4 rhombic antennas in the cardinal directions.
Stainless steel is actually lossy for an antenna and a fiberglass 102" whip with thick imbedded copper wire is a tiny bit better. At VHF people have accurately measured identical antennas made of different materials and stainless was up to 1dB lower in efficiency compared to copper. Aluminum was not bad enough to worry about compared to copper.
I've seen some old fiberglass whips with a thin film of copper foil inside, some with tiny thin wire and a few with adequate thick copper cable. I wish I could remember what brands had the better construction.
I've seen some old fiberglass whips with a thin film of copper foil inside, some with tiny thin wire and a few with adequate thick copper cable. I wish I could remember what brands had the better construction.
K5MPH
Member
I agree back in the day I talked all over and some country Japan for one and others with the Antron 99 i have had two of these antennas and have never had any trouble .............
AB5ID
Member
The Hustler HQ-27 has been my favorite mobile antenna when I couldn't have a full size 1/4 wave.
jhooten
Member
Okay, I'll date myself a little bit here. One in a trunk lip mount on each side of the hatch back of a 72 Vega with a co-phasing harness connected to a Royce 1-639. Yeah, they have been making them that long.
slowmover
Active Member
Had one on a trunk-lip mount on a Maverick circa ‘75.
The mention of Mavericks (& the Mercury version--the Comet) of that era certainly brings back memories! My dad had one of those cars--what I remember most are the big bumpers--big space between the bumpers & car body and a wide, strong lip around at least the top edge. The easiest and most solid place to mount antennas to (even though they were off-center and low--not the most ideal place for getting a signal out, but it made up for it in convenience & ease of installation.) I ended up with a 102" whip, which probably did the best range-wise and it took something like less than five minutes to install, if memory serves...
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I used an A99 back in the day. Worked very well.
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