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CB antenna recommendation

Corbet

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I broke my cheap radio shack antenna last year at CM11. I'd better get on this soon as CM12 is only 14 days away.

I've got Nakman's hood channel mount for my 80. Been looking at the Firestik Firefly flexible fiberglass antenna and mount. Any other recommendations and a shop in Denver that could ship something to me ASAP wold be great.:eek:
 

DaveInDenver

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The Nak fender mount works well with NMO mounts, so I would suggest you get a Larsen NMO-K mount and Larsen NMO27. This is the combination I run, I goop silicone on the under side to seal it. They have them at HRO if want and I'll snap some photos tomorrow.
 

Corbet

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Looks like that antenna is 53" long? I was looking at a 36" Friestik. I like the shorter length better personally. But I do see that HRO hole size looks better for Nakman's bracket. The firestik needs a 16mm hole rather than 20mm I working with.

Did not see the antenna on the website (HRO).
 

Inukshuk

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I have a mag mount CB antenna I'm happy to lend you. Most any auto parts store in Durango will have something too.
 

wesintl

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Or in moab at ROYCE ELECTRONICS or anyone of the 4x4 shops

iirc http://www.rightchannelradios.com/ is in utah and they ship same day so you would probably get it before you left.
 

Corbet

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I have a mag mount CB antenna I'm happy to lend you. Most any auto parts store in Durango will have something too.

NAPA has some cheap options here. So does Radio Shack.

Or in moab at ROYCE ELECTRONICS or anyone of the 4x4 shops

iirc http://www.rightchannelradios.com/ is in utah and they ship same day so you would probably get it before you left.

I thought about buying one in Moab. I'd be the king of procrastination if I pulled that off. Did see righchannelradios online. Been looking at westcoastmall.net too as they have all the Firestik crap in stock.
 

Hulk

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I bought one from Royce in Moab for my 40 back in ~2003. I think it was a Firestik. Lasted for many years.
 

RockRunner

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Radio shack in MOab had firesticks last year. Had to fail a rig because of no CB so they went down there and came back with an entire set up.
 

DaveInDenver

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That's kind of a spendy antenna. Well relative to the Firestik anyway. The mount, coax, and antenna are less than Larson antenna alone. Suppose I do get what I pay for.
Yeah, Larsen is commercial type stuff and isn't particularly cheap. I've had this antenna for about 8 years and it's holding up so far. Knock wood... I have a second whip that I cut for 10m, so it can be pressed into service for ham use, although I don't have a mobile HF rig in the truck anymore.

BTW, the hole in Nak's mount is 3/4", which is designed for an NMO and they fit perfect. If you do use a different mount, it's fairly oversized. What I did for the ATAS-120 (which mounts on a SO239) was to drill a 1" disc from thin aluminum plate and then drill a 5/8" hole in the center to use as a washer. This works fine for most types of mounts that have plenty of threads but does make everything pretty thick.
 

nakman

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...I thought about buying one in Moab. I'd be the king of procrastination if I pulled that off....

that could be my plan Corbet at the rate I'm getting things done here.. :eek: buy an antenna on Wednesday on the way to registration.... :D

Though I'll likely hit up a truck stop in GJ or something, so give me a call if you need something.
 

DaveInDenver

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The mount, NMO base and Larsen NMO27B.
 

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Corbet

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FireFly 3' installed

Installed the FireStik FireFly 3' antenna and tuned the SWR today.

For the record, part numbers:

FL3-B - Black 3' FireStik FireFly
MU-8R9 - coax with "RireRing"
K-4R - mounting stud for "FireRing"
Gamiviti fender mount.

I had to use a pair of large washers on the mount as Tim's mount is drilled for NMO. On the radio end of the coax there is a removable fitting so you don't have to pull the standard CB 3/4" fitting through a grommet. I liked that as I was able to use an OEM grommet on the passenger side of my 80.

Everything is working good so far. I might look for some stainless steel washers to replace the cadmium ones I had laying around. SWR measures out about 2.4 (little high) on the far ends of the cb channels and about .1 on channel 19. Should be all set for CM12.
 

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