BigBlue, as bulabula says; become a ham and talk on a real radio. You will never regret this. Plus you will learn some electric and electronic stuff that will help you in all kinds of things other than radio.<br>C.B'ers, please don't kill me here as I do not intend to start any kind of a war, but do you know what C.B. stands for in ham language? I have heard it refered to as Chicken Banders. Think they mean that C.B.ers are too chicken to study, take the exams and become a real radio operator and talk on real radio's.<br>I would encourage anybody, C.B'ers included, to obtain your ham licence. Keep your CB radio as well, because they can be useful. Find what is known as an Elmer to help you study, get your licence and rigs. As bulabula says, it is cheap if you don't catch the bug. Something like the bombing bug.<br>I have a good Icom HF for sale for beginners and great for mobile work.

 

I don't want anything huge. I just want a nice little radio that I can talk to my friends on and not worry bout frying their stuff.

 

Bigblue, it sounds as tho you are under the impression that ham radio rigs are huge. Not so. Although the output power may be higher than CB'ers the rigs are small. Also you do not have to worry about frying any of their rigs.<br>If you don't know any hams and are interested in looking further into this then check for clubs in your area. Check with your local college and see if they have a ham club or offer courses. Anybody else want to offer suggestions as to how Bigblue can get hooked up with a ham and discover the advantages, fun etc of becoming a ham.

 

BigBlue, these neat little radios are small, and if you like you can stick the faceplate anywhere you like. Even the antennas are small and unobtrusive. <br><br>The only thing big about these things are the audio quality and range. CB's are still limited to 5W? Most 2 meter FM mobile rigs are 50W and +.<br><br>My apologies for not answering your initial question on CB antennas. The &quot;best&quot; can mean just about anything to everyone. For some, the best would be a single purpose antenna that had only one use but did it better than anything out there. You find those kinds of antennas on houses and buildings mostly - &amp; mounted pretty high too. To me, my antennas are a compromise between height, size, and the ability to use on different bands. Cost is a factor too. There are probably more radio and antenna options out there than Dodge had option sheets for the last 30 years.<br><br>If you like those dual whips, get'em and mount them behind the cab where they won't get in your way. Just make sure you secure them well, waterproof the fittings, and get the SWR as low as you can without wearing yourself out to get that 1:1 reading. I'd recommend you power the CB directly off the battery too, rather than using the cigerette lighter or any spare 12V hotwire under the dash. With only 5W, its not a biggie, but these new trucks have all kinds of noisemakers in them that every little bit helps. And try and keep the power cables, and antenna cables away from the ECM and any other higher voltage/frequency generating equipment (fuel pumps, alternators, ...) to minimize the introduction of noise into the radio. (I almost typed sparkplugs!)<br><br>Opinions are like belly-buttons: everyone's got one; you've heard some of mine. Half the fun is experimenting.<br><br>Chris

 

Thanks guys. I just may look into that. I've been wanting a new toy on my truck that I can play with. ;D