something different?...

**cwol97401** · 05-08-2020, 02:16 AM

I am a traffic flagger, I've used a handheld cb off and on for years in my job. Recently I went to work for a new company that does a lot more paving and highway work. I've gotten by with the rubber duck antenna on my Midland ht until now. Now I'm looking at other options to get better range on my handheld. I use a 6' staff with a 24" wide aluminum stop sign on top for traffic control. I would like to find a way to mount either a dipole or a ngp setup on top of my stop paddle. Has anyone ever done this before?
I'm not terribly worried about the aluminum paddle absorbing RF from one side (though I'd prefer not) does anyone have any suggestions?
How about using a larger BNC aerial mounted to the top of my sign with a short coax extension? Or maybe even a wearable antenna that wears like suspenders or a vest?
Fwiw, I do have a uniden bearcat mobile with a wireless mic that I can use outside of my rig but the mic battery dies after about two hours of use and I can't change channels to talk to different crews using the uniden.

**JesseJamesDallas** · 05-08-2020, 05:24 PM

Yeah I think they still sell the "antenna cap"....

**cwol97401** · 05-09-2020, 11:58 AM

Great! I'll order one on them on Amazon for you.

In the mean time, how about some actually beneficial replies?

**JesseJamesDallas** · 05-09-2020, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by cwol97401

Great! I'll order one on them on Amazon for you.

In the mean time, how about some actually beneficial replies?

What you need is a GMRS radio...requires licensing but you would be able to use repeaters and get longer distances...

other than that, your on your own figuring out how to make a cb walkie-talkie get more distance, and even if you do, there's still the power issue to deal with...maybe rig up something using a solar panel and rechargeable batteries in a backpack if you have a strong back-bone...

**cwol97401** · 05-10-2020, 02:34 PM

I already have and utilize the "blister pack" radios (22ch frs/gmrs). They work great between me and my ground crew. However dump truck drivers and equipment operators use CB 99% of the time. Therein stands my dilemma, and as you're probably well aware, hand held radios of any service (cb, frs, gmrs, murs, business bands, even ham bands) are extremely restricted when they are used inside of a metal vehicle. CB is the industry standard for road construction where gmrs is the industry standard for temporary traffic control.

Maybe I was mistaken in thinking I would actually find people who knew something about antennas, this being a cb antenna forum and all. Thanks for your input.

**whiteastro** · 05-10-2020, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by cwol97401

I already have and utilize the "blister pack" radios (22ch frs/gmrs). They work great between me and my ground crew. However dump truck drivers and equipment operators use CB 99% of the time. Therein stands my dilemma, and as you're probably well aware, hand held radios of any service (cb, frs, gmrs, murs, business bands, even ham bands) are extremely restricted when they are used inside of a metal vehicle. CB is the industry standard for road construction where gmrs is the industry standard for temporary traffic control.

Maybe I was mistaken in thinking I would actually find people who knew something about antennas, this being a cb antenna forum and all. Thanks for your input.

There is plenty of hand held CBs that have External antenna ports on them so if your in a vehicle you can hook it to a external antenna and cigarette lighter plugs. That is the way my GE 40 channel hand held is. GE makes a emergency CB in a kit that has a mag mount antenna right in the kit, Check eBay!