Newbie needs Help with Pred 10k Antenna Set Up

[ronthereptile]

I have been away from the CB world for over 13 years. Back then, I was told the Wilson 1000 antenna was the way to go. I have a stock Realistic TRC-465 am/ssb(don't laugh). I am reading a lot of good things about this Predator 10K. After checking it out online, I noticed a lot of different shaft lengths. I have a pickup and would like to mount the antenna either on the drivers side fender, behind the cab, or the roof. I would drill if necessary. What size and placement would give me the best results? Any help would be great.

[Big Guns]

Height is might. I would get a 9 or 12 inch single coil and mount it on the roof or get a 27 inch shaft and mount it on the bed rail so that it gets the coils above the roof.

[rayray1963]

You'll love the 10K, I just got one last month and I am here to tell ya, it got ears for days on it....it is a super antenna, I would do as was stated before and go with the 9 inch shaft and single coil for a roof mount. And if you do mount it on the roof make sure you use a good base mount. These antenna's are kinda massive not as heavy as their look but do need to be mounted very securely.

[jessejamesdallas]

If your going to mount to the Bed Rail, I would go with the 27" shaft single coil 10K, and mount in center of the rail right behind the cab. Only problem mounting here though, would be it's going to be close to the cab itself, which may be a problem setting swr.

Best place of course, is on the roof. To get your swr as low as possible, go with 17" shaft, Single or Dual Coil. (Using the Dual Coil,the antenna will be just as good as the single coil, just a little shorter in over-all height)

[troy]

REMEMBER THAT HAVING YOUR ANTENNA ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT WILL HIT MORE TREES THAN MOUNTED IN CENTER. TREES ARE A PROBLEM WHERE I'M AT. MAYBE NOT WHERE YOU ARE.

[ronthereptile]

Thanks Everyone...
I will mount it on the roof. I live in the country, so trees are always an issue. My local CB store does not carry the Predator 10K, so I would have to order one online (unless someone here knows where I can get one in Ontario, Canada). Every antenna I had came fully assembled with base and coax. Can the Pred be ordered complete? or do I have to buy everything (base, mounts,etc.) separate?

[521 Houston]

It's all seperate, bud. When you buy a REAL antenna, you have to buy the parts to mount them too. Welcome to the world of CB Radio!

[ronthereptile]

It's all separate, bud. When you buy a REAL antenna, you have to buy the parts to mount them too. Welcome to the world of CB Radio!

OK... I will have to get some advice on what parts I would need.
Thanks...

[521 Houston]

To start... what type vehicle you going to mount it on, and where do you intend to mount it? Mirror mount? Roof mount? Rear of cab? Headache rack? Tool box mounted? If roof mounted, are you going to try a magnet mount or drill for a puck mount? Next, how much clearance do you have under the mount? Are you going to use a pl-259 connector to the mount or pigtail it? Next again, how much power are you planning to run? Makes a big difference on what type coax you use.

Give us this info and it will be easy to steer you in the right direction.

[ronthereptile]

As I stated in an earlier post, I will be mounting it on the roof of a mid 90's Ford F150. I don't mind drilling through. There isn't much clearance between the roof metal and headliner (I'm guessing 1 inch?) I guess a puck mount would be best? I have a stock Realistic TRC-465. I may want to boost it in the future (if it is even possible, does anyone know?), or just buy a more powerful radio and give this one to the wife. I will use the sidebands. Does this affect the way I tune the antenna? And, if I can't get the Predator 10K (which is not easy to find here), would the Wilson 1000/5000 be good enough for this application? How about a 102in whip? Any ideas would be helpful, as I am green but willing to learn....
Thanks

[521 Houston]

I'd go with a puck mount, Predator 10K, and some RG-8x pigtailed to the puck if you're not going to run more than a coupla thousand watts peak. Just be sure you ask for the puck for a pigtail connection or ya might get the one with the 259, which will make it stick even farther down...

[ronthereptile]

Thanks Houston...
I will take a trip down to the shop and see what they have....

[jessejamesdallas]

One thing your probably going to have to do, if your going to be mounting on the roof, is to re-in-force the roof. Most roof's are just one thin layer of sheet-metal. Just Drilling a hole and putting a hooky-puck type mount on it, its going to have some wobble to it, unless you stabilize the roof some.

The way I did this on my Suburban, was to use a old circular-saw blade.


Since the blades are made "Not to bend", and are real thin, this makes them the ideal choice to use in re-enforcing the roof! Plus, in the event you happen to snag the antenna on something that grabs-hold of it, you wont have to worry about the mount ripping out of the roof. Depending on the saw blade you have, or use. You may need to make the center hole a little larger so the mount will fit thou the hole. Now you can take a wood bit, or one of those drill bits that make large holes,(like for door knobs and bird house holes) But be careful drilling out the hole in a saw blade!

The drill will try and catch on the blade, causing it to spin...Good way to loose fingers. So use caution...

[521 Houston]

Did someone say "re-in-force-ment"?

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[burbanator]

Make sure you don't catch that antenna on anything the truck will flip over LMAO