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CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Yahoo Message Number: 64759
A casual search dug up very little info on preferred CB antennas and locations on LD's. Can anyone tell me the brand/location of the current factory antenna and/or preferred/favorite alternatives?
 I should make it clear that we're not interested in DX communications.
For that we have ham radio and cell phones. Something sufficient for casual use is fine. In fact, I'd experiment with a window antenna if the LD didn't have double pane glass. ;-)

BTW, Camping World has a sale on the Cobra C75 WXST.  Under $80.

Don
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64761
Quote
A casual search dug up very little info on preferred CB antennas and locations on LD's. Can anyone tell me the brand/location of the current factory antenna and/or preferred/favorite alternatives?
Don, I like you opted out of the factory CB when I ordered my 2003 MB thinking I would add it later if needed.  I decided last year that it might be a good thing to have with 25th coming up. I contacted LD to inquire if they would install it after the fact.  They declined stating that the antenna has to be installed and wire run through channeling while being built.  With the aluminum roof I will have to use a "no ground plane atenna" by Wilson or Firestik and attach it to a rail and figure out where to run wire.  Biggest mistake I made was not having factory and least install antenna and ground it properly.
Joe Hamm 26.5 MB
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64763
Joe, the factory told me "all or nothing" re: CB installation. If I wanted the wiring/antenna I had to buy the whole $300 package. Maybe had I asked before handing over a deposit it might have been different.

For the minimal use I've gotten out of CB
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: CB antenna types and locations o
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64764
are people using a lot of cb's? we prefer the family service radios but we do have both.
Michelle

Joe Hamm bagmanhamm@...> wrote:
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64765
Quote
Joe, the factory told me "all or nothing" re: CB installation. If I wanted the wiring/antenna clip
Don, both Wilson and Firestik have plenty on info on their web for antenna installation on RV.
Joe
[Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64766
Quote
are people using a lot of cb's? we prefer the family service radios but we do have both.
Michelle
Michelle, I have both as well.  CB for LD events.
Joe
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64767
are people using a lot of cb's? we prefer the family service radios but we do have both.


 While we do have a hand-held CB, we rarely use it.  In fact, the last time we used it (which was the first time in a long, long time) was last year when we attended a Caravan Club GTG.  We do not travel with it on...and even if we had a built-in CB, we wouldn't travel with it on.
 We also have a couple of the family service radios that are principally used when we're setting up our Direcway.

Linda Hylton

2004 Red 23.5' TK http://map.datastormusers.com/user3.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64769
"I contacted LD to inquire if they would install it after the fact. They declined stating that the antenna has to be installed and wire run through channeling while being built."
 The factory, as usual, carries caution to extremes. Of course you can get a CB cable inside the rig! Depending on your rig, you can bring it down a tank vent (I did that with my CB antenna), snake it in through the overcab escape hatch (I did that with my XM satellite radio and GPS antennas)...or just plain drill a hole in the roof and seal it up afterward with Parlastic or a similar RV sealant. (Just don't use silicone rubber sealants.)
 Yes, that's right--I said DRILL A HOLE IN THE ROOF. Now don't everybody faint at once. ;-) Folks, this isn't rocket science, and it isn't voodoo. Drilling a hole in your roof doesn't mean you'll spend the rest of your life listening to water dripping. ;-) Sealants like Parlastic, when applied correctly, do their job very well. Lazy Daze does it--so can you.
 "With the aluminum roof I will have to use a 'no ground plane atenna' by Wilson or Firestik and attach it to a rail and figure out where to run wire."
 Why? Radio waves don't care whether the ground plane is ferrous or nonferrous; it just has to be electrically conductive. Aluminum is a better conductor than steel, so you should have absolutely no problems in that regard.
 You will need to think about mounting--a magnet mount won't stick to aluminum, of course. You can drill a hole and seal it (see above), or you can do what I did: glue a piece of steel to the roof and stick a magnet-mount antenna to that. I used a 59ยข electrical box cover plate and attached it with Liquid Nails. It's worked well for five years now with my magnet-mount CB antenna, and I use the same scheme with my magnet-mount Wilson cell phone antenna, which sits on a steel soup can lid glued to the roof. :-)

Andy Baird
Benson, AZ
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64770
"Are people using a lot of cb's? we prefer the family service radios but we do have both."
 Michelle, you might want to take a look at the file "Do I need a cell phone, CB radio, or...? " in the Frequently Asked Questions folder (in the Files area) for a plain-language discussion of the pros and cons of various communication methods. I think it'll answer your question better than I can here. :-)

Andy Baird
Benson, AZ
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64775
Quote
Don, both Wilson and Firestik have plenty on info on their web for
antenna installation on

Quote
RV.
Joe
I'm going through the same process as some of you trying to determine the best place to mount the CB antenna.  For those who wish to utilize the maximum benefit of a CB then antenna selection, location and tuning is essential.  www.firestik.com is a wealth of information.

Malcolm
2002 Mid Bath
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: CB antenna types and locations o
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64776
Good info in your post, but I am curious about a few things .....
 Did you use the high quality Campbell's soup can, or a lower quality Walmart generic soup can?
 Did you swipe the lid with TP (to conserve water) before mounting it?  If not, are the food particles interfering with phone reception?
 Does it matter what type soup it was covering before you removed it for use on the LD roof?

Have you found any innovative uses for the rest of the can?
 Would being able to spell out SOS on top of your LD when broken down in the boonies be worth stocking up on a hundred or so cans of soup as part of an emergency aid kit?
 LOL (Brain damaged from still having to do Katrina cleanup stuff instead of at Grandma's Pie Shop at the north end of the Bourne Bridge, having a hot bowl of clam chowder and a slice of pie.)

George & Carolyn Culp 2001 23.5 T/K (Golden Daze) Retired In: Saucier, Mississippi
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64777
Thank you, Andy. Your post makes perfect sense.  The galvanized steel plate/mag mount is a great idea, especially since I'm paranoid about overhead objects and things that stick up above A/C height, but I'm never worried about poking holes
Re: CB antenna types and locations on LDs
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64822
RE: Don, Et All: "all or nothing" re: CB installation. Biggest mistake I made was not having factory and least install antenna and ground it properly.
Joe Hamm 26.5 MB

After looking at my install I had to grin. Here's LD talking about proper grounding, routing wires, ect., and the terminal coax connector is cut off at the antenna, and soldered bare-wire back on! I would usually prefer the K40 - TR40 Base Loaded Antenna, but with a 49" stainless whip it is too tall for our use.
I have no idea what brand of antenna LD used, or if it was even tuned or can be tuned. When I hit the transmit button the indicator shows a high output level. I'll test this set-up later to see how the unit really performs, reflective Vs signal output.
BTW, I'd rather have the antenna higher than the air conditioner unit, kinda acts like a feeler gauge. (grin) Best, Jim Pappas
 
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: CB antenna types and locations o
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64823
BTW, I'd rather have the antenna higher than the air conditioner unit, kinda acts like a feeler gauge. (grin) Best, Jim Pappas

Jim,
 We put antenna balls on both our antennas, just so they're easier to see.  We also like that they act like the old  curb feelers, but on the roof.

Kate

In Serenity/Cholula, the Red 30TB  . . . Want to find us? Click
below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096