Help with my set up

**M1009Lineman** · 11-28-2018, 11:22 PM

Hello all!
new to the site, I’m a lineman and I travel around in my travel trailer. I am wanting to set up a Home base out of my trailer. I have my CB, a skipper by Palomar amp also have a 12v 30amp power supply. I currently have RG8x coax cable and a swr meter in my shopping cart. I’m stuck on what kind of antenna to use. My trailer is aluminum siding with a rubber roof. I would like to get a something that is small and semi mobile. What are my options here? Any suggestions for my set-up? Im hoping to get into amateur radio in the future but starting small here.

**BOOTY MONSTER** · 11-29-2018, 09:49 PM

several good options , depends on how much or how little effort you want to put into setting the antenna up and if you care about your signal potentially bleeding into nearby electronics . sirio dipole or gainmaster .... a 5/8 or .64 with 1/4 or 1/8 wavelength ground elements ..... and many folks swear by the 2000/99 type antennas and some swear at them .

or just putting a mobile mount in the middle of the aluminum trailer roof (with four 9 ft wires in a x shape on the ground side if you cant connect to the aluminum of the trailer from there) . a corner or side mounted mobile mount can also work but may cause a lobe of directivity that may or may not be a issue to you . then you could just screw on any cb mobile antenna with a 3/8x24 thread . a 108 inch whip should have the most potiential but you may be perfectly happy with something shorter ... different strokes for different folks .

quality 8x coax will be more than plenty for a few hundred watts and a few dozen ft run . nothing wrong with over kill and going bigger if it'll give you a warm fuzzy feeling .

**M1009Lineman** · 11-29-2018, 10:19 PM

So as a lineman I have access to lots of wire. If I put an antenna in the center of the roof then took say copper wire from edge to edge connecting to the aluminum in the shape of an X (copper to ground of antenna) I would have a perfectly usable ground plane? Would longer than 9’ be a problem?

**222DBFL** · 11-29-2018, 10:37 PM

You want to have 1/4 wave ground planes that is why booty monster suggested that. Antennas are length specific to frequency. So at 27mhz you’ll want about 8.6-9ft ground plane wires. You could try 1/2 wave ones being about 17.3-18ft, but the 9ft ones should be plenty good enough being 1/4 wave ones.

**M1009Lineman** · 11-30-2018, 12:36 AM

If my coax runs across the roof of the trailer between the 2 legs of the “X” Will this cause any problems? Will it be ok due to it being jacketed?

**222DBFL** · 11-30-2018, 09:02 PM

Yes it will be fine. As long as you are using good coax you shouldn’t have any issues. Not sure what you plan to use or how long the run is. If you are planning on a long run I would suggest at least using lmr400 or above. Anything below 100ft., rg8x double shielded coax should be fine.

**BOOTY MONSTER** · 12-05-2018, 09:05 PM

folks mount mobile antennas on little cars and big trucks/suv's and typically taller larger vehicles get better performance than shorter/smaller ones and vehicles really only have that 9 ft length in two directions imagining the shell of the vehicle as sloped ground radials . try the x with the four 9 footers isolated and then try connecting them to the trailer , adjust vswr if necessary and compare performance . then you'll know whats best for you . most any base antenna will perform better off a 10 ft pole on the side of the trailer though

**222DBFL** · 12-06-2018, 06:03 AM

You are probably best off like Booty Monster said, getting a true base antenna. Look around for an A99 or similar. That would be your best bet. A mobile antenna is not going to have much range. Maybe 5-6 miles at the most.

**T-I-N-Y34** · 12-07-2018, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by 222DBFL

You are probably best off like Booty Monster said, getting a true base antenna. Look around for an A99 or similar. That would be your best bet. A mobile antenna is not going to have much range. Maybe 5-6 miles at the most.

Local 5-6 miles right? Because I talk to guys in mobiles all the time when skips running and they're 600-700 miles away. And I used to shoot skip in my pickup. so if set up right and having the right antenna. It'll work for skip.