Military antennae

nightdrv · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:00 am

I'm going to put my flame suit on just in case....

What would one need to replicate the big-a$$ antennas that the military H1's use, that always get bent over the top and tied down? Ball mount is my only thought so far. I would like to stay magnet-mount though.

Any help is appreciated as always. If it's not doable, then I don't have a problem sticking with the usual magnetic-mount antennas. I just like the look, and the ability to tie a long antenna down when not needed, or going under garages, trees, etc.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:26 am

It depends on what wave band the antenna is for. That is what determines the size of it. A CB antenna operates on the 11 meter band. A full wave 11 meter antenna is really big, 11 meters, or 433.07"!! If you want a smaller sized antenna that would work you would have to go to a 1/4 wave. That would be the 108" antenna that you see tied down. You don't want that so you can go: 1/8 wave, 1/16 wave, 1/32 wave etc. You get the picture I think. The smaller the antenna the less antenna you have to gather and send signals. A real mess so far isn't it. Time for another cup of coffee! Actually the manufacturers solved the problem for you buy putting built in coils. Take a 108" antenna and start coiling up the wire until it is short enough to be practicable. In other words go out and buy a short magnetic antenna. It won't work as well as a 108" whip but what the heck you can live with it.

Terry

corwyyn · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:58 am

If you want something like that the only real option is to put a ball mount on your Jeep and grab a 102" whip from the local CB shop (or Radio Shack if they have any in stock). Then try to figure out a way to tie down the tip so it doesn't flop all over the place or whack someone when they are trying to spot you on the trail, and when that tip gets to whipping around you do NOT want to be anywhere near it :shock:

I had one on mine for a couple of months but it was just too problematic, so now I use a shorter antenna designed for the amateur HF bands - the antenna itself is about 36" long but with an automatic tuner I can work all bands from 80-10 meters including the 11 meter CB band. It's definitely not the cheapest solution but it works for what I want to do.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:02 am

If you get the 102" whip you will need the spring on the bottom or it won't work right. It will be too short.

Terry

JeepBumm68 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:12 am

The whips that we use on are H1's are not meant for CB's. You could use them for HAM/Amauter radios. But at the same time in order to mount one of them your going to have to make a plate to mount the four hole whip. Then you will need to make sure that the mounting plate and whip are both ground an bare metal to receive clear signal. We do have a rubber gasket that goes between the two to help with rust and water so. They would look cool, but i would see no use for it on a Liberty cause of how you would have to mount it. Trucker Diesel Power ANT work awesome and can push out around 1k watt of power, as well as firesticks. I would go down to a truckstop and get the whips there. Also make sure that atleast 1/3rd of the whip is above the Vehicle.

Neatus · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:31 am

get a long firestick with a ball mount and a spring then paint it green and put a green antenna ball on it. Then add a tie down somewhere up front. Then it will look like the antenna on my HMMWV that used to swing around every where and bang on low hanging underpasses(that means pay attention when you don't have it tied down).

nightdrv · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:53 pm

Hey, thanks guys. Nice to see some good help can still be had.

BTW: I want to say: This is Northern Va, there aren't really any CB shops. Most are just cell users. So, all my gear has to come from RadioShack (there is only 1 left that has about 10 cb items), or eBay. Unless anyone else on here knows of a big cb store near me that I don't know about??? That'd be sooo great.

Now I just gotta find a 100"+ antenna with a BNC plug. And a ball mount. Oh, the unit is a Uniden BearTracker 800 BCT7, if that helps anyone.

- Thanks again.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:09 am

Just saw this before I hit the sack:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26otn%3D4

What do you guys think???

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:22 am

looks fairly beefy, http://www.hiqantennas.com/ has some similar gear which is actually where the US Mil gets some of their newer High Freq antennas

if you're lookin for the 102 whip style still, ive seen the hmmwv antenna mounts on ebay a few times

the guy that owns/operates hiq is pretty awesome in my book, ive gone to him for advice via email and hes always ontop of the game, been usin one of his WQD disconnects on my 4 foot whip for most of the year with great results

i'll be interested to see what you come up with

i've dabbled with the idea of a hmmwv style whip off the left tail light guard on my tr rear bumper for awhile myself but i'd have to test fit my 102 to see if it would clear the body throughout the arc

even in my area which has alot of interstate truck traffic (lots of CB shops) most of them don't carry a ton of stuff in stock like 102's and what not, simply because most trucks run 5 foot fiberglass whips on removeable mounts due to (i guess) most of them not owning the trucks

so ive resorted to getting most of my stuff from the net, or asking them to order it for me which ended up costing me more than if i had just ordered it online myself

jinstall · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:14 am

There are several CB shops in northeren VA. If you get on the radio you will hear them. I bought a tuner from RS and keep it in the Jeep. I have tuned several antennas now and it is very easy, I use a Wilson Lil Will and it works great. I can hear "Cool Breeze" every morning from Manassas to Belvoir.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:44 pm

Just put in the order for that ebay one after talking to the store owner about what equipment I have, and how much it can bend, etc. Will post pics when it arrives and is mounted.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:56 pm

Update: got the one I listed up there ^

Mounted and working really well. I don't know the range, but it's surprising so far. Heard a PD in Manassas. That's like 25 min drive from here.

Yes, I wish they had a 100" version. After seeing the install, it's not quite like I hoped for. But it will do.
Can't take pics until after it's painted. Can't paint it till the only store that carries the right paint gets it back in stock.

SavageUrge · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:54 pm

Buy a magnet mount Wilson 1000 - problem solved! :BANANA:

riptricket · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:19 pm

pics

nightdrv · **Posted:** Tue Jan 05, 2010 2:04 am

- will do tomorrow. Sorry Rip, forgot about my own thread! :ALONE:

nightdrv · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:44 am

As promised. My apologies for the blurryness. It's 20 degrees, and very windy outside.

No, it is not painted yet. (too cold to paint anything)

I promise I will get a better picture tomorrow in the sunshine (if it even gets sunny) with closer shots.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:06 pm

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 7:26 pm

Okay I'm going to throw in my two cents here;

#1 You can easily find CB gear at your local truck stop since they are the few people still using CB radios.

#2 Do you really need a full length 102" fiberglass antenna on your Jeep? I think they're intended for use on wide open areas like beaches & deserts not in deep woods. You'll lose any benefit of a full length 102" fiberglass antenna when you bend it down and tie it to a fender.

#3 "JeepBumm68" is correct, the military doesn't use CB radios and their antennas are likely for desert use.

I've given a lot of though as to where to put a CB antenna on my Libby and decided on a K40 magnet mount on the center of the roof. Magnet mount antennas need to be place in the center of a large piece of metal to work their best. If I should hit an overhead tree branch it will simply fall down and not snap off (it seldom does). I've found that my setup has enough range to reach all the Jeeps on my trail runs. If you need better range then you should carry a cellular phone too.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:05 am

the xmit with it folded down, would be enough to pop the local mile assuming the swr doesn't peg due to reflection

folded down the right branch would pull it back up, if held down securely enough it would snap the end of the whip

* that isn't a 102, it looks like a 5 foot steelie, also they don't make 102's in fiberglass

word of caution when your whip is up

i run a 4 ft wilson flex on a crossbar on the forward center of my roof sitting still it's somewhere between 9 1/2 to 10 feet from the pavement at the tip, i've heard it rattle against the roof at duncan doughnuts which has a 10ft roof but the pavements got a bit of a hump

so far i havent shattered it, it's pretty tough, but it does flick the phone cable in the drive way at my moms which is 9 1/2ish feet off the ground or so, but as you know they tend to droop

fiberglass whips are more (if only slightly) resilient to contact with voltage lines (phone lines carry low dc voltage too)

steelies have no protection from such things, be very careful

i did smack a powerline with a 102 ran off the rear bumper in my cheyenne which had about 12 inches lift and it fused every contact in the radio

it's been awhile since the mil used AM , but not that long, i bet if ya looked hard enough you could find one of the vinyl sack covered 102's

hf antennas like what's in use now are a whole new sack of potatoes

i quit runnin mag mounts when i drug one across the roof and even with the felt it peeled the clearcoat right off and streaked to the metal and most of the mag mounts are strong enough to allow the whip, steel or fiberglass to snap if you're going any faster than 35 mph but whips are getting better, i've had my 4'er bend over hard and touch my roof and it hasn't broken yet, any other fiberglass or steelie that i've ever had would have broken (because they did lol)

not downin what ya doin, just don't want ya to have one of those "DANG" I didn't think about that moments

my only other comment,

I think it looks good

nightdrv · **Posted:** Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:30 pm

Ok, so the last few posts seems like I'm gettin slammed for something I wasn't looking for. I didn't want a million mile range antenna, and I already knew I would lose reception strength with bending it over. I did however do my homework on what I would want out of it. So, this setup works. And actually works a little bit better than I expected. The one laying down does better than the one standing up! (two different units). And yes, that part of the roof (where they both are) is flat. Within a degree, at least.

Anyways, you guys can at least see yet another antenna setup. More options, the better. Oh! And the magnet holding the lay down one, is way too strong to be dragged. Not that it couldn't be, but with the antenna tied down like it is, I'd have to be stupid to go under a tree and not look above my roof first. And I am not that stupid. But no, I am not insinuating anything. Thanks for your feedback and help, guys.

- D.

Military antennae

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