antenna, why so long?

Tired of running into the long a$$ antennas on my Ultra. Can I cut the antenna down without effecting reception or the CB??? If so what would be a recommended length?

Thanks

Dino

chucktx,

Thanks, I'll do that.

Dino

Generally, a CB antenna needs to be a certain length. They make em in 2', 3' and 4' height, but they wind the wire around the antenna pole so that they all have the same length of wire..just extended. A taller antenna will help with both reception and broadcasting your CB, and they need to be pointed straight up..not at an angle. I know that because I mounted my antenna at an angle and most cannot understand what I say very well unless they're behind me.

Anyway..you shouldn't cut or alter your antenna.

you'll get used to...

walking around them ..it'll take a while but you will..trust me. also if you're covering the bike you can tuck the end of the antennaes into the slit in the seat where the backrest would come through.

ZZZZTTTTTTT!!!! 30++ year flash back here....

CB antennas come in many flavors and lengths. Ground plane or omnidirectional, beam etc are used for permanent mount and stick antennas for mobile use. You can use shorter antennas but performance is usually severely compromised for a multitude of reasons. Most shorter antennas require a load or impedance device to match the radio. The antenna and the radio must be matched to fairly narrow SWR Standing Wave Ratio ideally between 1 and 2 between all channels. Most antennas have ways to adjust for this.

http://support.radioshack.com/support_tutorials/communications/cfq-rdio03A.htm
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=254

A lot has changed in more than 30 years! I did a little research and posted some links.
As a side note, I had a mobile CB with an " 80 amp foot warmer" or linear tube type amp that boosted my output to over 100 amps. I could melt the loads on the short antennas. It would also light up a 4' fluorescent bulb! If I used my roof top antenna I had excellent broadcast and reception. If I used the trunk mount with the load, I lost most forward reception and transmission was garbled. The same thing applies here really. If you go to a short antenna, your body will block the antenna signal to the front. Most over the road rigs carry a pair of the longest sticks they can get away with in order to improve range.

All, thanks for the info you posted.

CD thanks for the links. I'm glad i didn't do anything hasty and posted the question here first.


Dino