I need some help where to put the CB and the antenna on my new 2003 4x4. I don't want a magnetic base ,lost my paint on my old f--d. I can't put the antenna on the rails becuse I have a canopy. I thinking on the tow hooks?<br>thanks

 

Wherever you mount any vertical antenna just remember that the vertical part you see is only half the antenna. The other half is the ground plane which is connected to the shield of the coax cable. Unless you have a good reflector your antenna will lose efficeincy and you may even have a hard time getting a low SWR. You will have a hard time getting a better ground plane then the center of the roof.<br>Personally I don't have any problem drilling a hole in the roof and mounting the antenna. At the moment I am using a magmount because I only have a max of two inches between the roof and one underground garage I go into.<br>Never had a problem with losing paint with a magmount. Just keep it clean underneath and make sure that the bottom of the magmount is not bare metal.<br>Suspect that your tow hooks would make a lousy ground plane, but that is only my opinion.

 

Yep, the whole ground plane SWR issue is a real pain. Test mounted mine in several places, best SWR ended up being about 60% of the way back on the bed on a long bed. Couldn't mount it there because of the fifth wheel I tow. Can't mount mine on the roof because of clearance issues. Wish I could as the radio really performed when I stuck it up there. Ended up mounting it on the top of my tool box. Still have to be careful with the 5th and the SWR isn't great but it works pretty well.<br><br>mark

 

Check out the FireStik website. They have a nice mount that bolts in under the hood. Unfortunately I don't know if they have one for the new body style yet.<br><br>Tony

 

Saw one yesterday that was new to me. It was mounted on the roof and had a swivel on it. You could loosen it, lay it down flat to the roof (stuck out over the bed), then put it up when you need to use it. The guy said he had good signal with it and was running 1.1 on SWR, so it flattened out pretty good. Don't know what kind it was, but pretty neat.

 

Have used the folding ham version of those with bigger antennas than the CB'ers use. They work great and I never had any problems with it. Except that it cannot be lowered after an ice storm.<br>Clifford, another thing to remember that many guys overlook is that some places you mount the antenna may cause a shielding effect. In other words, the antenna may be shielded form receiving or transmitting in certain directions and not be omni-directional. So while your tow hook may be a great mechanical place to put your antenna, it is probably a lousy reflector (ground wave) and could become non omni-directional. Hope this makes sense to you.