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how to tweak range on a CB radio.

40K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  WIG19 
#1 ·
Im looking into buying a cheap cb radio and make it into a base unit (to be stored for future events) what is the best way to (if any) to give it more range ?

I have been told that you can get an inline amp that will boost the range/signal and if so where would i look to obtain one?

I know antenna lenght will play a big part as well as line of sight ... or is this project a total waste of time and money?

So can one of you really nice comms ppl ;) give me some of your knowledge on this.

As always all help is greatly received
 
#2 ·
you can stop at almost any "big rig" truck stop, and find a box.
In TX however they were illegal to have hooked up, own all you want and have it sitting next to the C.B. but dont hook it up :D
I have a 70 amp model sitting in the jeep, and with good antenna, skip, luck, etc. I have talked to people several hundred miles from me.
 
#29 ·
I live in an area with a lot of CB activity. I wanted a CB radio so that I could monitor local activity but also so I had an emergency off grid method of communication. I picked up a radio at a local thrift shop for $10. I then put together an inexpensive 1/4 wave antenna system which has a very discrete profile. I painted the 102" stainless steel whip and the mast/mount with a flat brown spray paint and it blends in perfectly with it's oak tree background. Even when you're looking for it it's almost impossible to see from the street.

I receive transmissions from the all over the country as well as South America and the Bahamas on it. I can transmit about 30 miles with it when conditions are good and that's with no amplifier. I use a mobile CB for the radio and I can use the radio either mobile or as a base station. I made a video about it.

Here it is:
 
#8 ·
Not sure how to make,but I know antenna placement on the vehicle affects ground plane.If you mount your antenna centrally,it will broadcast more radially.If you mount on the rear,it will tend to broadcast in a forward direction. I did this on a Jeep,using a 108 inch whip,and found by aiming the vehicle in a direction,I could direct the broadcast in that direction.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Mr, AK

If you do not have a cheap CB on hand and you will be buying all the necessary items to be radio ready , I strongly suggest and urge you to look at HAM radio. HAM radio is the current nation wide dare I say world wide emergency communications back bone, it has proven its worth in several wars , and in several emergency's on a huge scale as well as provided communications networks for NASA, National Weather center, and many more.
It is the Ideal communications network for survivalist and hobbyist alike. No matter what you do with CB, it will never hold a candle to HAM radio.

A ham radio license is required, this cost from 11-15 bucks for ten years and you must pass a basic test. Many years ago Ham radio guys got together and agreed that a licensing system was necessary to insure that all Hams had the basic knowledge to operate radios in a safe and respectful manor, And this is today still enforced and controlled by armature radio operators through vote. This also grants you certain legal right as a radio operator that cant be violated by local regulation.

FRS, and CB is what every American should have, HAM radio is what every survival minded person should have.

As a MARS operator, I have a EOC card. This card allows me to pass through road blocks , avoid any sort of police interference, or walk on my National guard bases without question during a state of emergency. No police or federal police is allowed to detain me, stop me, or hinder my activity during a state of emergency. I also have a direct line of communication to national guard as well as US military. I could ride up to a road block on a dirt bike with an AR15 across my back, show them my card and they will have to let me through, they cant even question me. Mars is also leased out to FEMA, we are the communications hub, so i will know everything that is going on even before they do.

HAM radio is KEY.
 
#7 ·
Problem I see with ham is,its power being greater=range being greater=more people hearing you broadcast.Fine if you want to be heard,not cool if you are trying to just talk to the next ridge. CB's are expendible.If one gets fried,or gets wet,so what?I got a crate full.Plus,the license thing....
 
#9 ·
Power levels are variable, you can set power to well below what a CB puts out. There are also certain bands of Ham radio that will not go far for just what you speak of. I can run fully encrypted digital modes, you would need a computer with the correct software and decoding keys to even know what I'm saying. My Personal radio is completely waterproof, while my base stations are not they are extremely rugged and it would take a crap load of water to mess them up, I also have an old tube type radio that is EMP proof. I have several Ham radios here as you have CBs, I can also use my ham gear to talk to your CBs, or any other form of radio you can think of. I can broadcast real time video as well as use a GPS to transmit my location , in theory I could hook my dog up with a tracker and a camera and he could run around and be surveillance. Even if you don't get the license the radio gear could be used it a time of emergency by unlicensed persons.

CB is a bit cheaper, but ham gear can be had at just a few bucks more.

The license is necessary, but as I said its very minor and having the license dose more good then harm.
 
#10 ·
Here is a sight that will explain the antennas
http://www.ve3sqb.com/
here is what you are looking for as far as MHZ go.


1
26.965


21
27.215

2
26.975

22
27.225

3
26.985


23
27.255

4
27.005


24
27.235

5
27.015


25
27.245

6
27.025


26
27.265

7
27.035


27
27.275

8
27.055


28
27.285

9
27.065


29
27.295

10
27.075


30
27.305

11
27.085


31
27.315

12
27.105


32
27.325

13
27.115


33
27.335

14
27.125


34
27.345

15
27.135


35
27.355

16
27.155


36
27.365

17
27.165


37
27.375

18
27.175


38
27.385

19
27.185


39
27.395

20
27.205


40
27.405
 
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#11 · (Edited)
This place has everything the 11 meter bandit may want . Order a catalog .

I have spent many hard earned $$$ there and never had one problem .

http://www.copper.com/cart/

I'm a freebander , I dont need no stinking gov to tell me how much power or anything else I can run . I do stay off the HAM bands , but do listen .

11 meter ( CB ) can run 7 watts power , or on Single Side Band 12 watts . You MIGHT get in trouble if you run any more power . In 20 years , I have never , ever been bothered by the FCC . At one time I was running a TS 440 at 100 watts hitting a Henery 2k with a out put of 1800 watts . This thru a Moonraker . Where I pointed the 'tenna it talked . It would also bleed on every TV , cordless phone in the hood :D , it could get bad in the winter after a few beers :rolleyes:.

Heres what you need .

Corbra 148 or a Grant . Get it , " tweaked and peaked , with funny's "
Good power supply , IE; 120V to 12V . Or solar panel and a car bat .
18 feet of RG58 . with PL259's installed .
Antron 99 with ground plane kit .
Add a Silver Eagle power mic .

GTG .

This would be a great simple base station .
 
#12 ·
I would just add, the better the coax the more power will get to the antenna. I don't use RG58 as its pretty high loss, something like RG8, Beldin9913, Andrews Helix, or LMR 400 or better is going to improve your signal strength dramatically.

Typically the bleeding on to TVs and radios comes because CB amps are illegal, so people have to modify Amps that were intended to be used in other bands, in doing so it makes the signal real dirty. This is often why Chicken Bander are caught using an amp, some one calls in because you are bleeding through there TV. Ham Radio license protects the operator from this, and as long as the Ham is fallowing the rules the owner of the TV is responsible for putting a filter on his TV or Phone.

STAY OUT OF HAM BANDS! I will find you and I will call the FCC, I don't care if you pump 2000 watts through CB bands but stay out of ham bands. There are groups here of EXTREME radio nuts who make it there lives mission to track down illegal broadcasters and turn them in, its a game for them and they have near unlimited funding and a amazing array of knowledge.

Penalties can be pretty extreme if you are caught breaking FCC regulations. Recently a small shop in Michigan was fined $10,000 bucks for selling CBs that transmit either out of band or above legal power limits. The small shop had to close down due to the fine.

A Florida man was fined $8,000 bucks after he was caught transmitting above the legal power limit. A fued with another Chicken Bander got out of hand and he would transmit on extremely high power to prevent the other guy from getting out. After he was fined he again did got caught transmitting an extreme amount of power and was give 7 years in prison. This was an extreme case as the power he was using was EXTREMELY high.

A group of hunters was caught using marine band radios as hunting radios. Each man was fined $10,000 bucks, the FCC cut them a break actually because they had been monitoring the activity and had over a dozen different times they used these radios, the FCC could have fined them for every time they used the radio.

I get these notifications through my Ham radio Email list.

For the most part if you stay away from bands others are using such as HAM, Marine , Aircraft, and so on you are pretty safe , but as I said you come trying to talk on HAM bands and they will have No mercy.
 
#14 ·
hmmm sorry but you lost me at typically ... LOL
CB's are totally new to me ... im guessing they have preset CB freq's on them only 1-40 ... oh and a emergency band 9 i think. or am i totally wrong and they have a digital dial in freq?
please correct me if im wrong.
I just need something very simple as me and modern technology dont really go together ... LOL
So i wouldnt even know how to transmit on HAM bands etc etc ... why would i want to?
however thanks for the advice on the coax ... as high loss thru the cabling is something i would like to minimalise as much as possible.
This equipment will be obtained then set up to work then tested then bowed for future events only.
I have no intention to play on it more then necessary as i still have plently of prep to do.
Thanks for the advance please keep it comming :)
 
#13 ·
A fued with another Chicken Bander got out of hand and he would transmit on extremely high power to prevent the other guy from getting out.
Its even more fun when pipe bombs are thrown in back yards . It happened in Oregon in 94 .

For the most part if you stay away from bands others are using such as HAM, Marine , Aircraft, and so on you are pretty safe , but as I said you come trying to talk on HAM bands and they will have No mercy.
FACT . Did you know you can make a phone call on a Marine ?? For Free :D in the middle of the desert . Lake Powell to FL ...............called CT from a boat on a bet . Never a bill on eaither end .....

Typically the bleeding on to TVs and radios comes because CB amps are illegal, so people have to modify Amps that were intended to be used in other bands, in doing so it makes the signal real dirty.
Over Modulation . Some think they need it to be heard . Not so .

Chicken Bander
See , told ya HAMS dont like CB'rs ...........Snobs . :rolleyes:
 
#15 ·
Mr, AK

You need a decent name quality CB that has been peaked and tuned by a CB guy with single side bands. There are plenty around at truck stops and on line just do a search or S.James provided a quality link.

You need Quality Coax, you can get this from several places on line.

Get a simple loaded whip antenna again from your local truck stop, this will get you up and able to broadcast. After that you can worry about large directional antennas , or Dipoles.


CB is Channelized , but each channel is a frequency. If you were to tune in a CB channel on a ham radio you would do it by its MHZ. The MHZ of the channel must be known in order to make an antenna that is going to work well. The MHZ dictate the length of the antenna and tune the antenna to operate in a certain area of the band.


ALL radio operation is a skill, you must at minimum learn how to use it well before you need it in an emergency so don't just buy it and put it up. Make sure that you use it enough to know how to tweak it.


Also make sure that along with the CB you have suitable personal communications gear such as FRS hand held radios or MURS radios, GMRS requires a license though I have seen many people who use them without the license (This is Illegal and I cant advocate anything illegal)
 
#16 ·
it's all about power, ha

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but do keep in mind that the FCC, while they are still enforcing the rules, frequently slaps those high power CB, free-banders, etc, with a $10, 000 fine. Another point on this before I get to my real topic. Your tax dollars have purchased some pretty darned sophisticated equipment for the FCC enforcement arm. They may not get around to you anytime soon, but... When you first press that transmit button their equipment does what is called "transmitter fingerprinting". This is old technology, in Viet Nam, the enemies radios were "fingerprinted" and tracked and bombed, ha. It did not make any difference how short the communication was, the first second of transmission identified the radio. You can do a goggle search to read about how this works. Not only would the FCC be able to identify your specific transmitter, but they will have exact coordinates of your transmissions. Hmmm, enough big brother talk.

My real addition to this thread would be to point out that a high power transmitter, either legal or illegal makes no difference, require a lot of power. For example a 500 watt transmitter would consume well over 50 amps while transmitting, more like 80 amps, yikes. Consider that your car or truck has a battery that is really only rated at maybe 100 amp hours (20 hour rate), this is not the advertised CCA number, another topic. Automotive batteries do not appreciate deep cycling and will be permanently damaged by only a few episodes. Simple math says that your will likely strand yourself if you chat for as little as a half hour on the above example radio. It would be better to save the last battery you may ever own after TEOTWAWKI to keep your vehicle running as long as possible. My suggestion would be to develop more sophisticated communication skills, learning to make contact with the lowest power you can use and still reliably communicate. Regardless of what you decide, try googling QRP (low power radio) and see what skills are discussed there that might improve your communication goals. A "better antenna might cut your power requirements to one tenth with the same capabilities.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I am a former ARRL County Emergency Coordinator. I have an Extra Class Ham, a General Radiotelephone license with Ship Radar Endorsement, a Global Maritime Safety System Operator and Maintainer license, a certiified FCC license examiner, and MARS licensee, with ARRL level III Emergency Communications certification. I maintain commercial trunked radio systems for a living, and am a former Radio Officer at sea (merchant mariner). I got all of this through self study. SELF study!!! The knowledge is there if you take communications seriously, you can do it if I did it. Really.

Get a ham license. It’s not just the license that counts, it’s the process of getting one. It’s the knowledge you will gain by actually studying good material that teaches you all you want to know about the subject of communications and antennas and what is best for what etc. As I read these posts asking about tweaking CB’s and such, I see all sorts of bad info. Lots of guesses, and just plain wrong stuff. It’s not as though hams simply don’t like CB’ers, it’s that this can be a lot like listening to a group of kids discuss their knowledge of sex. The info is there for you, and it actually takes some study and work to learn something new. Actual work. If you want the benefits of effective communications ability all for free, you can’t have it. There are 70 cm HAM frequencies with repeater links that will get you a few thousand miles range on less than 5 watts on a handheld radio. I worked Japan on 5 watts from Philadelphia using an HF digital mode. You can do the same with a battery powered low power HF ham radio and a laptop. With ham, you can change your band according to the time of day to adjust for the shift to “E” layer propagation, or maybe greyline path propagation. You cannot do any of these things with a CB. Radio communications is more technical than anything offered at a truck stop. You can get a diseased hooker at a truck stop, and you still have to pay. You can tweek her I guess, but still, it is what it is.

You take the time to figure out preps. Time to figure out ammo and arms. Time to train. Time to stay up on the news. Time to post rants. Time to store food and water. Why? Because our life may one day depend on what we have done while we have the chance to prep. Communications can be a life saver. That’s’ why we talk about it here. But when it comes to putting time into that, it’s time to bypass the best knowledge and it needs to be something we can purchase and get out of a box. Directional antennas? I could make one out of a couple of gift wrap paper tubes and aluminum foil. Amperage is the measure of the flow of electricity through a conductor. You cannot direct it anywhere. You can direct an RF signal with a directional antenna. Coax? It needs to be sized for your frequency to minimize loss. “Better” coax will only rot slower. Extra mileage from the CB? Why? So you can ask for help from drug dealers in South America? Given the likely scenario that 99% of the CB’ers that hear you will not have the range to talk back to you, it’s a waste of time anyway. Right, the truckers with a “box” will go 200 miles out of there way to assist. The interference to other services is not necessarily a matter of overmodulation. It very well could be due to poor station construction by people with no knowledge of how to do it correctly, no concept of what sort of signal they are transmitting, and therefore absolutely no way to remain stealth. If your ham station is getting into your neighbors tv, then you can check your station with confidence, and if you have a good install, then you could recommend the proper filter for your neighbors tv. No license? You neighbor complains and the FCC cooks you. Don’t worry about someone else’s lack of experience with getting caught. Who knows what environment they operate in, or what conditions are at his place, or why no one has complained. Even if they have enough knowledge to put out a clean signal, staying out of jail long enough to actually survive and use his knowledge is still a matter of luck that no one complains. And the FCC does set up random monitoring stations with direction finding gear just for that purpose. Big brother or not or whatever, they actually do it, and that is reality. When they find you, no one that told you how to do the illegal stuff will be there for your defense. They will not take your place in a cell or pay your fine. Worry about yourself and survive. If you do not know about rf signals, and you start putting up home brew antennas with “tweaked” CB’s, you will very likely be creating significant spurious emissions, which will seriously increase the odds that you will be caught. Again, study and get it done, you can do it, and there are clubs just about everywhere that will jump at the chance to teach you and mentor you. You can start with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever. Fine, we all start there, the hams will help.
 
#22 ·
The Question is how to tweak range on a CB RADIO?

First you need to understand Radio wave propagation. I do not care how much power you have, if there is not propagation you are not going to be heard. I have made CB contacts of 1200 miles on 10.5 watts SSB (IE LEGAL LIMITS)

So first thing, get a decent recieving CB with Side Band. Put some work into an antenna. Now before you jump on the triband 100 foot tower, who are you trying to communicate with?

Think about it. Are you trying to get the "POWER MASTER OF DISASTER IN THE OCCUPIED TERRORTORIES BEHIND ENEMY LINES"? or are you trying to get hold of a MAG member across the valley in his Suburban?

If you are trying to reach local members then you will want a Vertically Polarized Antenna. If you are going for SKIP (which by the way is about as realible as a Politician), then you will want to go with a horizontally polarized antenna.

I have a few 27 MHZ capable rigs. However my best is a COBRA GTL148, fully legal that has reception that can not be beat in this price range. I have a center loaded mag mount that I cut (normally you do not cut center loaded, do not attempt unless you willing to toss and replace) to resonate at channel 38. I lose some at channel 19, but that is local driving and I am close enough to talk to the truckers around me, which is all I need.

I often call CQ on 38 lower side band as 234 South East Idaho.

I also have my General Ticket, so I have more available. I can tell you from experiance, that if you put all of your communications hopes into one band, you will be disappointed when the time comes to need it. I will always have Citizens Band though, because as long as I can communicate with the larger number of honest people on the road (THE TRUCKERS) then I am closer to help. Being that many areas of this country are dead to cell phones (YES THERE ARE STILL PLACES IN THE US WHERE CELL PHONES DO NOT WORK), having a CB to talk local while mobile is a huge plus.

So my suggestion, is stay legal, make sure the radio has SSB. the illegal radios with FM will be of little use, and for heavans sake, if you want to move to 10 meters get a ham license, it is not hard at all, and the quality of radios jumps up immediately once you start buying the plain brown boxes and stop bying the shiny boxes.

These of course are my opinions and as such are the right ones.:)
 
#23 ·
There are many ways to communicate when TSHTF. Some are covert some are not.
CB and ham radio are one option but these frequencies will be monitored and triangulated to find where you are. You may be mobile but the other person may not be and they can get to you by getting to your stationary contact first.
If you are just a few miles apart and need to contact family and friends there are means to do so covertly.
One method is to use underground communications. Yes......literally underground! this does require both parties to have the same equipment and your communications cannot be monitored at all!
It was used during WWII in many parts of Germany. the system basically consists of two audio amps one at each location, some copper ground rods, headphones and microphones. You are using the earth to send a signal and it has been successfully done up to 20 miles or so depending on terrain. There is NO way your communications can be heard and the equipment looks just like an ordinary home sound system and can be made portable. Yes....you will need a generator, inverter, batteries or whatever to power the system but it does work!
 
#25 ·
There are many ways to communicate when TSHTF. Some are covert some are not.
CB and ham radio are one option but {snip}
Umm, what does this have to do with tweaking a CB radio to gain distance? You've posted about this technique in another thread in this forum as well... One that dies out about 2.5 years ago, only to be resurrected by your fascination with this technology.

I really can't see someone trying to connect to a power line with any kind of comm equipment in a SHTF situation.. Wouldn't you think the power company might be trying to turn the power back on?? Are you sure all the wires are indeed dead??

Before you connect, let me know so I can get my digital camera and film what you're doing. When Youtube comes back online, I want to be the first to post the video on there..
 
#24 ·
Just forgot to mention another system that uses the power grid. More than likely the grid will be down so guess whats available to each and every home for miles and miles around? The non functioning power lines!! you can actually hook up an intercom system using the grid and communicate for miles around you as long as your family and friends have the same setup! This too is untraceable and works better than the underground system as long as the power lines are intact but not powered up.
I tried both underground and powerline systems years back and they both work.
 
#26 ·
Most of the newer stuff cant be tuned up. Something in the new finals makes impossible to do. Older stuff, Cobra 29 LTD classic can be made to pump out some power. What ever kind you get you can just google the name brand and tweeks you will find help. On top of tuning up finals, (witch you should do with a meter), you can open up the ears on most by clipping certain diodes. Just depends on what you get but all the work and money is lost without a good antana. Good old Amtron 99 will work for most any setup. It is multi-directional, 360 degree and they are tuneable to knock down SWRs. One good stand by for straight 40 channel, Navaho by Realistic. It can be AC or DC and with the right stuuf done to it, you can do good. I got one and with about fifteen minutes of work am getting a dead key of 14 and swing 18. Not bad for a $20 radio. Ebay has them and most swap meets has one or two laying around. Slap on a good power mic or not, just a good little radio that wont break the bank.
 
#27 ·
Just depends on what you get but all the work and money is lost without a good antana. Good old Amtron 99 will work for most any setup. It is multi-directional, 360 degree and they are tuneable to knock down SWRs.
So glad to see you mentioned antennas on this post. Increasing your 5 watts of power to 14-18 is nothing compared to what a decent antenna can do.

The only thing I see wrong with your antenna choice is that's it's a vertical antenna. Vertical antennas work equally poor in all directions.

It's like taking a rabbit ear antenna and putting it on top of your TV vs the yagi style antenna you put on the roof of your house and point it towards the TV tower. You KNOW which one gets the better picture = better reception..

Works the same in radio land. Tuning a vertical does improve it's reception and transmission but, using a tuned directional antenna and being able to swing it a little this way or that way once you have a signal makes the difference in whether you make the contact or not.

Pushing 100 watts through a finely tuned vertical is about as useful as increasing your 2 watt qrp rig to 5 watts on a decent yagi.

It's like trying to put out a fire with a round lawn sprinkler versus a straight stream nozzle..

Skip "tweaking" the CB, buy or build a decent antenna(s), tune it to the best SWR and enjoy a decent contact.
 
#30 ·
I have been playing with c.b.'s for a few months now. I have the whole family on board, and we are in the process of getting larger, better tuned antennas to help with our range. It has become clear that a standard c.b. will just not quite cut it for clear, reliable transmission over more than a few miles, if you live in a place with a lot of hills and valleys like I do. But, Ham is an expensive way to go, that also requires licensing and a bit more radio knowledge than most people seeking basic comms possess.
There are a few things you can do. The first and most simple: It's all about the antenna. Don't pay any attention to the wild claims made by some of the compact designs. Although some are pretty darn good, there is just no substitute for a MASSIVE antenna. You want the tallest thing you can find, and you want to mount it as high up as possible. Think of a c.b. as a "line of sight" tool, because that's more or less what you get. If you are in the desert, great, you will trans/receive for miles. In the woods; forget it. You need the giant whip antenna, or do home base to base comms with something large attached to the gable of you house.
As for "tweaking" the range: Most c.b. manufacturers have their units "turned down" at the factory in order to always pass an FCC test. Most are turned down to about 80% give or take. You can not only turn up the modulation on some units, you can get rid of the limit by removing key parts. There are a lot of websites that describe these tweaks in detail, but I would recommend a visit to a reputable shop to get things started. It's highly unlikely that you would get caught running too much power, but if you did, it's the FCC. They don't mess around with people like us, they throw the book at you (from what I've heard). The shop can not only turn up your modulation, but they can break out the meter and fine tune your antenna for the best performance.
Now, if you are anything like me, you are a do it your self'er, and hate to pay money for something you can do yourself. You probably could, but the shop does it better, and you are guaranteed good results. You will also walk out of there with a new found wealth of knowledge about radio comms. I'm still learning, but I'm hopelessly hooked
 
#31 ·
Two of my friends and I have just ordered each a Galaxy DX 959 SSB. The radios are coming with a 102 in whip and a super tune on the radios to stabilize the ssb freq and radio power.I may not have all of my facts right but I am just starting and hope you do not mind some novice questions from time to time,and just mabey sunspots willing we may talk on the air with each other.Oh BTW I had been wondering how to set up a ground plane when I found CCs post and video. thanks
 
#32 ·
...Oh BTW I had been wondering how to set up a ground plane when I found CCs post and video. thanks

You're very welcome ssonb.
When I was looking for information on how to set up an efficient antenna/ground plane system for 11 meters I didn't find much information that explained 11 meter systems very well. I only found one person between radio and the web that knew and understood that stainless steel is resonate for 11 meters at about 102” when copper is resonate at about 108” for the 11 meter wavelength. Once I understood it and applied it- I got results. Seems like the science is almost forgotten these days. I had to publish my result for others so that maybe others wouldn't have to go through what I did to figure it out.
Another aspect of ground planes: Well, I learned that the angle of the ground plane in relationship to the antenna has an impact on the takeoff angle of the transmitted signal and an impact on how much of your signal gets projected towards receiving antennas. I think my angle could be steeper and would as a result perform better for my conditions. getting a steeper angle would require a taller mast for my antenna.
I probably won't change what I have though because what I have seems to perform pretty well.

I recommend that anyone setting up transmitting antennas use an SWR meter to tune their antenna to frequency and check the efficiency of the system. I think it may also be best to tune the antenna to the frequency the very best that you can before using the SWR tuning function on a radio to adjust/match the system's impedance. If you have the tools to check efficiency when you set up the system then you'll also be able to check efficency when something goes wrong and then know if something is wrong with your equipment or if it's just the local conditions.

My .02 :)
 
#33 ·
I have another friend who talks about the great range he gets from his 102" when it was mounted on the top middle of his homes gable steel roof. When you mentioned angles the angle of this persons steel ground plane came to mind.
 
#34 ·
Most of the shops at/around the giant truck stops will peak out your CB. Getting a good rig, with SSB capability applied with a really tuned antenna will get you further than you might think.

Lots of the trucking community on 10 meter or trunked stuff nowadays anyway, so the air clearer in more ways than one.
 
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