antenna on jeep

[jacobs132]

i just purchased a jeep wrangler and was wondering if anyone can give me any suggestions on where to mount a cb antenna. it has the soft top on it, spare tire carrier on back. it looks like i am pretty unlimited on where, just thought some one may have done this and can give me some pointers. jim

[jacobs132]

well i mounted a ball mount just above the left tail lamp 102 whip and spring, grounded the body to frame in several places and it works great, 1.1 swr, i like it when a plan comes together!,, jimbo

[cbrown]

It's tough to beat the 102" whip if you can fit it on the vehicle.

[Tombstone (R.I.P.)]

I agree with the above suggestions. Every Jeep I've seen has that setup. That's the only option that I know of and it will surprise you with the performance.

Tombstone

[cutlass327]

You have to watch if you are in any Jeep clubs - some won't let you use anything over a certain length, and many do not allow the 102 whip anymore. Even if it is attached at the tip, they can become a dangerous thing on rough terrain whipping around if they become loose. I had my 6' Antron 1700 mounted on the rear bumper of my CJ 5, and on the highway it was swinging around and hitting my roll bar, which isn't far back from my head. I took it off that night when I got home to my tools.

I am personally looking for a good suggestion for an antenna for my '5. I want to get it off my bumper, where I keep ripping the coax off of the bottom of it. 3 PL259's later, I want to move it! I was on Firestik's website, and their Tech documents (http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm) make me believe a non ground plane antenna would be my best choice, since my CJ is a soft top, fiberglass body vehicle. Only steel is the hood, grille, and windshield frame.

Any suggestions on antenna or if this would be my best route? I am running an 80's Cobra 19 Ultra radio (stock) and was going to put a 4' Wilson fiberglass antenna on a mount just above the taillight - one of those mounts that use the taillight bolts to hold it on the Tub....

Thanks

[Sandbagger]

Aug 25, 2010 2:58:10 GMT -5 cutlass327 said:

You have to watch if you are in any Jeep clubs - some won't let you use anything over a certain length, and many do not allow the 102 whip anymore. Even if it is attached at the tip, they can become a dangerous thing on rough terrain whipping around if they become loose. I had my 6' Antron 1700 mounted on the rear bumper of my CJ 5, and on the highway it was swinging around and hitting my roll bar, which isn't far back from my head. I took it off that night when I got home to my tools.

I am personally looking for a good suggestion for an antenna for my '5. I want to get it off my bumper, where I keep ripping the coax off of the bottom of it. 3 PL259's later, I want to move it! I was on Firestik's website, and their Tech documents (http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm) make me believe a non ground plane antenna would be my best choice, since my CJ is a soft top, fiberglass body vehicle. Only steel is the hood, grille, and windshield frame.

Any suggestions on antenna or if this would be my best route? I am running an 80's Cobra 19 Ultra radio (stock) and was going to put a 4' Wilson fiberglass antenna on a mount just above the taillight - one of those mounts that use the taillight bolts to hold it on the Tub....

Thanks

When deciding on which antenna setup works best for you on any mobile setup, you have to consider and decide on the balance between maximum performance and aesthetic appeal and convenience. The best mobile antenna setup is a full length 102" whip mounted on the highest point in the center of the vehicle. Obviously, that doesn't work well for most people, so they either move the whip to a fender or bumper mount, or select an electrically shortened loaded whip. But the thing to remember is that the shorter the antenna, the less physical area there is to radiate signal, so the performance of a 3' or 4' whip will not match that of a 9' whip. However, a 4' whip in the center of the roof, may work better overall than a 9' whip mounted on the right rear of the bumper.

Your Jeep has additional considerations to influence where you mount the antenna, but the basic rules still apply. So my advice to you would be to select the longest antenna you feel comfortable with and mount it as high up as practical if you want to get some sort of decent performance out of it.

You might also want to consider a dual mounting scheme. One which mounts a shorter antenna, placed in the safest and most practical place to use while off-roading. The other mount utilizes a (removable of course) longer antenna placed in a more favorable place for use when not 4-wheeling and you want best performance.

[cutlass327]

I don't use it that much anymore, I just want something mainly for trails and such, so a 4 fotter will suffice. I just am not sure if I should go with the non-ground plane set-up like Firestik seems to recommend for a fiberglass vehicle since my Jeep is mainly fiberglass, or would my 4' Wilson work? I would of course have a good ground wire connected to the mount, especially since the tail light grounds thru the mountin bolts like the antenna would..

[cbrown]

Go with the Firestick, the Wilson requires a ground plane to operate off of.