Antenna and mount selection help for my Zuk

[jta]

I'm about to start collecting the stuff I need to put a CB in my Zuk but I need some help with this part. I have a few requirements for this antenna and mount. I can't mount it on the roof. I need to be able to put the Zuk in my garage, I had to adjust my garage door just to make it fit as it is. I need to be able to easily remove the antenna from the base, for reasons above. Most of all I want it to work well. Lastly it's going to need to be tough cause it's going to get hit from time to time. I'm willing to spend a little cash if needed because I don't really want to do this twice. I was thinking about mounting it on the cowl dead center of the windshield. This would be as close to the center of the truck as I can get and I could easily remove the antenna there. I'm not going to run an amp to this so I want to make the most of whatever CB I get. Here are some pics of my zuk.

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This is the only pic I have of the cowl area.

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[Pro-Tech]

A seven foot Skip Shooter mounted on the back would give the best performance. But getting in the garage is important too. So you may need a five footer. They will take a beating. Last weeking I parked in one of those high rise parking garages in down town Memphis with eight foot clearance. I smacked every bulk head and fixture for two stories and smashed a florescent light fixture and the bulbs too. After a night on the town I unscrewed the five footer for my desent out of the building fearing of tearing up more property. Mounted it back Monday morning and checked the SWRs and they hadn't changed. The only damage to the antenna is were the Skip Shooter label had been scraped off.

Oh well just my two cents. We back out reading the mail.

[nutcracker]

Most offroaders around here, including me mount a flexible fiberglass, or ss whip on the rear bumper. If your just looking to talk to people on the trail a nice fiberglass 5'er on the bumper would do the trick well as long as the swr was suitable. Nice zuki btw

[MysteryMan]

JTA,
I have 2 Jeeps and they are Off Road toys. They both have 4 antennas on them and they are for local or trail communication. They are also 1/4 wave spikes and I carry 5/8 replacement if needed. When I am out on the town or in the open and not 4x4ing I mount the larger antenna in the center if I want to use it.

My suggestion if your just using it for around town in the woods then use a spring steel type and mount it on the hood area. If you want to run power and talk further, then carry another antenna you can stick on the roof and remove when done.

Your issue is parking in the garage. It gets tiring removing or lowering the antenna all the time, especially when it's pouring. You do have other options but what I suggested are simple solutions.

[231]

It might not be a bad idea to consider more than one antenna and use a quick disconnect. That's what I've done for years and it works great. Keep in mind that most (if not all) public OHV parks and clubs have banned 102"/108" SS whips. Most have a limitation of 5'. So given that fact, why not just have at least two available? I run the Everhardt Tiger 4' TSM Superflex when on the trail (and keep a 3' back up just in case...which I've never needed). But on the road, I usually run my 102" SS whip. I also use an HD spring and ball mount on my Jeep TJ, and have a fender mount on the wife's Jeep XJ. Both work well and can be swapped out in seconds to fit the need.

Just what I've found works for us.
Good luck.

[jta]

How directional is it going to be mounted on the rear bumper like that? As to going in and out of the garage that's not to big of a deal. I don't drive it but a once or twice every two weeks.

['Doc]

Putting an antenna on one end or the other of a vehicle does make it -sort of- directional but not really all that much. It is never going to be a 'beam' by any means! Most of the time you'll never know that it's directional at all. If it's really noticeable for some reason, make a 90 degree turn, problem solved. If two of those kind of turns doesn't 'cure' the problem, then you're trying to solve the wrong problem. The shape of the radiation pattern is affected by everything around you to some extent, environment, even if the antenna is in the center of the roof. That 'directional' thingy is something to keep in mind, but I wouldn't waste a lot of worry on it.
- 'Doc

[MysteryMan]

Doc is correct. 1st off, all of this is about an Omni directional antenna not a directional type & only talking about a vehicle.

The Directional pattern wont be much to a station within a close distance. The further you move away (miles) from the station you are talking to the more you will notice the Lobe pattern. (nothing like a beam) That being said, A few factors play into the pattern. Antenna size and type, the vehicle body, the antenna placement and the band your operating on. The higher the freq the less you notice the pattern. The lower bands like 11M and so on (HF, MF, LF & VLF) you will notice more of a pattern and all of this subject to change in weather, location or what is around you, the distance you are talking to another station, Effective Radiated Power (ERP) & height above average terrain (HAAT).

This is were my expertize starts to come into play. I specialize is DFing & I train SAR Teams, Civil Air Patrol and other Gov agencies how to find transmitters in all weather and terrains. I am a Professional Electronic tracker or Transmitter Hunter. Rf can do some crazy stuff.

I digress. If you mount a SS whip on the rear corner you can bend it over and clip it to the gutter around the front window and drive straight into the garage.
Also, Comet and Diamond both make a motorized antenna mounts also called Lift & Lay mounts. You would need to figure out what antenna to use on them.

[jta]

Thinks for all the info guys. I'm willing to have 2 antennas to run even though I don't think the 102" whip will be a problem. Are some these antennas better than others? What about coax? This thing my end up being a little higher than than the bumper becasue I'm thinking about making a rack to put my tow strap on that would go in place of the OEM tire carrier. That would be a better place as it would be a little bit farther from the side of the truck witch would protect it a little better.

[treetall]

i just put a ball mount on the back right fender on my sami and it works great. i have a 102 whip with spring with rg8x coax and all works great. and i have my connex and two pill behind it. nice sami by the way. wish mine was that nice