I'd suggest something like a Antron 99 base antenna. They are fairly reasonably priced around $125 bucks. I pretty much had my A99 mounted like your TV antenna, actually it was mounted above the TV antenna at peak of my 2 story house. The A99 is real easy to tune also. In fact I never touched mine new out of the box tuning it. Pretty low swr across the channel band 1-40. Had mine up at least 20 years.
On the cheap, get yourself a mast (even cutting down a tree in the woods say 50+ feet and cutting it back to around 36 to 40 ft. Leave the top end big enough to support a piece of pipe) Stick the bottom in a hole and fasten it to the house / building. Did that back in 1982 and talked skip for 12 years using a 2-element quad and later a 5/8th wave vertical - mmagnum III. Talked to over 250 countries. My pole was a spruce tree that was as straight as an arrow. It was cut back to about 10 inches at the butt and to around 4 inches at the top. I stripped off all the bark and chipped off the knots. Put it up on two saw horses. When it was hot - soaked it with numerous coats of linseed oil. It was still solid after 12 years when it was dropped to the ground. I had 3 rope stays fastened at the top of the pole. Added a couple of pulleys and ropes for pulling up some wire antennas. It was all great fun.
That is the fun of CB radio, talking to random people and meeting even meeting some of them over the years. I have been doing it since 1977. I will listen for you out there in skipland . Cheers & 73's 612 Skip Junkie waving!
Just found your channel and this is cool! I started out talking to locals in the tractor and now ive had a base station set up for around a year and a half now, i can talk to locals across mountains here in Virginia and have talked some skip too its fun little side hobby for sure. Keep learning and they say cb stands for constantly buying and they just might be right lol
Talking to people that you don’t know is what CB radio is all about. You can retain that anonymity because they’re not coming looking for you or you might not ever talk to him again. That’s what CB radio is all about
NIce setup. I am new to CB myself. I am using a 102 inch steel whip with a mirror mount. I did not have any spare wire around for radials so I tried puting down a piece of sheet metal on the ground next to the antenna. My SWR went down from 3.5 to 1.3. Good luck. It is fun experimenting. - Dave
I built my own base antenna but I used 5 102 inch stainless steel whips each element with 2 three inch heavy duty firestik springs to make each element 9 feet long on a Imax 2000 ground plane kit bracket and a mirror mount stud for the top element center fed thru the hole of the bracket to make a multi halfwave stainless steel vertical dipole antenna it's up on a 1 inch pole 20 feet in the air. It talks great across the Western Hemisphere and also into Australia best of all it won't rust or deteriorate from the elements like those fiberglass antennas do, plus it's pretty indestructible... Yeah there are some great antennas out there also try the Inverted V antenna those are fun for sideband dx, talked all over the world with a cobra 148 and a Inverted V. its what gave me the idea for my 420 ground plane antenna. Have fun out there in DX land! 73's from The Highest Station In The Nation 4-2-0 Denver Wavin Bye Bye Bye
This was Useful, i always was confused how grounding worked but i got a good idea now. Also i heard Southern MD, I'm local enough for you. Will have to reach out when i set up a base station my self.
I have a ProComm PT-99 antenna and it works just great, i would suggest getting something like that and up on the roof or any high spot on your house, then... you could hear/talk maybe even to Europe when the conditions are good for it.. :D
Invest in an Antron 99 antenna and have it at least 25 to 30 feet in the air (higher the better )to the base of the antenna . Don't mess with the setting rings as they come pre-tuned from the factory for the 11 and 10 meter band . I have run one for close to 30 years on my 40 foot tower and only issue I had was the coax insulation cracked so I change coax and the antenna is still going strong. Also that Uniden 980 is a poor radio . For a little more money you can get a lot better unit. I recommend a Radioddity Q-40 . has everything you need plus some . 7/3s to ya !
Generally, the higher the antenna is above ground, the better it will perform. Good practice is to install your vertical antenna about 5 to 10 feet above the roof line and away from power lines and obstructions. I used to have mine on a piece of scaffold tube 20 feet long, which was fixed to the side of the house on brackets and the antenna was 10 feet long.
Yeah, once I get a 102 whip I'm going to set up the antenna on the chimney. That will put it about 5 ish feet above the roof and 35 feet off the ground, should be able to get out a little better once thats all done.
@@theamericanfarmer1440 Get 2 102" SS whips and make a dipole. Either Vertical (one going up, other going down) or run it horizontal, used with the TV rotator and you will have a rotatable dipole, great for DX and local comms! I've been using one (made from aluminum tubing) for 20 yrs now on 11 and 10 meters and it works great! You want your antenna to be at least 35 feet above the ground (1 full wavelength on 11 meters) for optimal communications and with the solar cycle in full swing, you should be able to talk into Europe and other places without any problems, even if only using around 5 watts. The coax you are using is no good for a 100 foot run, the losses are too high at 27 MHz! RG-8X is only good for runs of 50 feet or less. I suggest you foot the bill and get something like a Yaesu FT-891 and have the mars mod done (allows you to operate on 11 meters) and you will have 100 watts on SSB and 40 watts on AM plus you will have the recently approved FM mode (the FT-891 is an all mode [SSB/AM/FM/CW/Data] TX 1.8 - 54 MHz, RX 30 kHz to 56 MHz Amateur Transceiver, so you will also be able to use it as a shortwave receiver). (edited for typos)
Heck with the firestick.... get yourself a MaCo V5000 5/8 wave ground plane antenna for omni directional use and supplement with a MaCo Super 500 Laser Directional Dual Polarity, Yagi-Quad CB Base Station Antenna with DPE.
Running stock watts is rough. Lots of big stations out there. You will get her dialed, half the fun is trying new antennas, radios, amps, mics........ hope to hear you out there. 223 northern CA on the side
Could also mount it up on your gutter or a long run of flashing along the peak of the roof makes a ground plane or you could make a dipole with 2 firestiks
It took me over a year to find your channel- DUH_ LOL I don't know why. Anyway. Hope to catch you in DX on a Videogate sometime. I hit all your buttons 73
I am in the peoples democratic republic of Montgomery County MD - not far from you. It would be cool to hear you on the air someday. Usually channel 38 when I can get on... Maryland771...
Dude, saw the hat...I'm in AA county as well. Once I get my base station online, shortly, I'll CQ you. Need a couple of trees taken down then up goes the A99.
When tested the swr on channel 1 after you tested it on 38, you never recalibrated your meter. When you test your swr on any channel, you need to recalibrate your meter on that channel your checking
I setup a base about a year ago. One of the funnest adventures I’ve done. I started with leftover mobile equipment and now I have all kinds of stuff and actual base equipment. It’s a fun hobby and I’m always trying to increase my non-skip range also. What part of the country are you in? I’m all the way at the bottom of Alabama.
@@quentonsmith6085 I specifically do not run on 19 when on my base unless alerting people of a traffic accident near my house because I live near a major US highway. We used to have locals that would hang out on 17 but all the local stuff pretty much faded away. I’m on mostly when skip conditions are happening and I will run 28 mostly but I’ll sometimes go to 17 if 28 gets too crowded. If you have a radio with sideband capability, 38LSB is popular. Dothan is a pretty good ways for CB without skip conditions or a crazy amp/antenna setup . I can only go about 35-40 miles confirmed under normal conditions or I’d say join me on 17 some afternoons.
Hello, I recently rediscovered a CB radio I bought in Highschool 1991 that is in mint condition. I used it in my car and had a group of friends who then did the same. We had a great time. How can I know which converter to buy to use this as a base station at home? I'm afraid to not know exactly what I need! Thanx!
Try a dipole in the trees. For dx they’re awesome. Also the bandwidth is incredible. Mine has 1.5:1 at 26.805Mhz and 28.205Mhz, and 1:1 throughout the entire 40 channel cb portion, and that is with 2.5 Kw (that’s kilowatts.)
That TV antenna wasn't an "old analog" antenna. It would have worked just fine for digital TV. Calling them analog versus digital TV antennas is pure marketing. Anyway did the same sort of CB base install. Been a ham for 20+ years but currently the only radios I actually use are a CB in my home and another one in my car. Ham is entirely dead in my area, a major city. Over a dozen repeaters still working. Nobody talking. Totally dead. CB is thriving and very cheap to get going.
Just subbed, its been ten months, hope you have an antron or maco up, if you do I will listen for you on 38 lsb. All the best from Ian in Scotland..........
This was a year ago but maybe you've learned that you gave up too quick with that Canadian station at the end. He would have heard you if you insisted. But more importantly you've probably learned that without an amplifier you really aren't going to get out. You gotta pay to play.
ld TV antenna it isn't needed for its original use anymore really as you don't got analog TV any more tho I use my old TV antenna as my base station antenna
PLOWBOY, did you delete my post that was meant to help you? PLOWBOY is a great CB radio handle if you don't take it out of context and think of it as criticism rather than just someone trying to help. Been in this radio game many years ain't about to get out now. Also General class operator but ham is just not much fun.
Horribly wrong. Nobody uses GMRS in most cities in America. They really don't. And when they do, it's few people and no propagation for working stations across the world. it's simply not fun at all. No interchanging microphones, or using Amplitude Modulation or sideband for long distance skip, no buying cool radios and ampifiers from the 60's on through to today. There's nothing as far as a hobby is concerned when using GMRS. That's the worst thing in the world you could possibly suggest.
@@624radicalham I agree If you are talking simplex, it's meant for talking to people you already know or in a group. CB or Ham HF is king. But for repeaters, the midwest region is blessed with GMRS repeaters...parts of Indiana may have too many. Texas has a huge regional linked network also, NYC, LA, New Jersey area. It's growing between repeater owners and internet connected simplex nodes.
I'd suggest something like a Antron 99 base antenna. They are fairly reasonably priced around $125 bucks. I pretty much had my A99 mounted like your TV antenna, actually it was mounted above the TV antenna at peak of my 2 story house. The A99 is real easy to tune also. In fact I never touched mine new out of the box tuning it. Pretty low swr across the channel band 1-40. Had mine up at least 20 years.
I have and using Antron 99, good antennas
Same
My antron 99 works well.
On the cheap, get yourself a mast (even cutting down a tree in the woods say 50+ feet and cutting it back to around 36 to 40 ft. Leave the top end big enough to support a piece of pipe) Stick the bottom in a hole and fasten it to the house / building. Did that back in 1982 and talked skip for 12 years using a 2-element quad and later a 5/8th wave vertical - mmagnum III. Talked to over 250 countries. My pole was a spruce tree that was as straight as an arrow. It was cut back to about 10 inches at the butt and to around 4 inches at the top. I stripped off all the bark and chipped off the knots. Put it up on two saw horses. When it was hot - soaked it with numerous coats of linseed oil. It was still solid after 12 years when it was dropped to the ground. I had 3 rope stays fastened at the top of the pole. Added a couple of pulleys and ropes for pulling up some wire antennas. It was all great fun.
That is the fun of CB radio, talking to random people and meeting even meeting some of them over the years. I have been doing it since 1977. I will listen for you out there in skipland . Cheers & 73's 612 Skip Junkie waving!
Just found your channel and this is cool! I started out talking to locals in the tractor and now ive had a base station set up for around a year and a half now, i can talk to locals across mountains here in Virginia and have talked some skip too its fun little side hobby for sure. Keep learning and they say cb stands for constantly buying and they just might be right lol
Talking to people that you don’t know is what CB radio is all about. You can retain that anonymity because they’re not coming looking for you or you might not ever talk to him again.
That’s what CB radio is all about
You can still track CB.
NIce setup. I am new to CB myself. I am using a 102 inch steel whip with a mirror mount. I did not have any spare wire around for radials so I tried puting down a piece of sheet metal on the ground next to the antenna. My SWR went down from 3.5 to 1.3. Good luck. It is fun experimenting. - Dave
I built my own base antenna but I used 5 102 inch stainless steel whips each element with 2 three inch heavy duty firestik springs to make each element 9 feet long on a Imax 2000 ground plane kit bracket and a mirror mount stud for the top element center fed thru the hole of the bracket to make a multi halfwave stainless steel vertical dipole antenna it's up on a 1 inch pole 20 feet in the air. It talks great across the Western Hemisphere and also into Australia best of all it won't rust or deteriorate from the elements like those fiberglass antennas do, plus it's pretty indestructible... Yeah there are some great antennas out there also try the Inverted V antenna those are fun for sideband dx, talked all over the world with a cobra 148 and a Inverted V. its what gave me the idea for my 420 ground plane antenna. Have fun out there in DX land! 73's from The Highest Station In The Nation 4-2-0 Denver Wavin Bye Bye Bye
Big beautiful property...i'm sure you'll get to the point where a tower will be considered.
This was Useful, i always was confused how grounding worked but i got a good idea now. Also i heard Southern MD, I'm local enough for you. Will have to reach out when i set up a base station my self.
I have a ProComm PT-99 antenna and it works just great, i would suggest getting something like that and up on the roof or any high spot on your house, then... you could hear/talk maybe even to Europe when the conditions are good for it.. :D
Invest in an Antron 99 antenna and have it at least 25 to 30 feet in the air (higher the better )to the base of the antenna . Don't mess with the setting rings as they come pre-tuned from the factory for the 11 and 10 meter band . I have run one for close to 30 years on my 40 foot tower and only issue I had was the coax insulation cracked so I change coax and the antenna is still going strong. Also that Uniden 980 is a poor radio . For a little more money you can get a lot better unit. I recommend a Radioddity Q-40 . has everything you need plus some . 7/3s to ya !
Good deal. I just liked and subscribed! Out here in Virginia. I'm looking to put up a base station as well. Thanks for the video!
That table umbrella hole was a good idea.
Generally, the higher the antenna is above ground, the better it will perform. Good practice is to install your vertical antenna about 5 to 10 feet above the roof line and away from power lines and obstructions. I used to have mine on a piece of scaffold tube 20 feet long, which was fixed to the side of the house on brackets and the antenna was 10 feet long.
Yeah, once I get a 102 whip I'm going to set up the antenna on the chimney. That will put it about 5 ish feet above the roof and 35 feet off the ground, should be able to get out a little better once thats all done.
@@theamericanfarmer1440 Get 2 102" SS whips and make a dipole. Either Vertical (one going up, other going down) or run it horizontal, used with the TV rotator and you will have a rotatable dipole, great for DX and local comms! I've been using one (made from aluminum tubing) for 20 yrs now on 11 and 10 meters and it works great!
You want your antenna to be at least 35 feet above the ground (1 full wavelength on 11 meters) for optimal communications and with the solar cycle in full swing, you should be able to talk into Europe and other places without any problems, even if only using around 5 watts.
The coax you are using is no good for a 100 foot run, the losses are too high at 27 MHz! RG-8X is only good for runs of 50 feet or less.
I suggest you foot the bill and get something like a Yaesu FT-891 and have the mars mod done (allows you to operate on 11 meters) and you will have 100 watts on SSB and 40 watts on AM plus you will have the recently approved FM mode (the FT-891 is an all mode [SSB/AM/FM/CW/Data] TX 1.8 - 54 MHz, RX 30 kHz to 56 MHz Amateur Transceiver, so you will also be able to use it as a shortwave receiver).
(edited for typos)
@The American Farmer man just get antron 99
Heck with the firestick.... get yourself a MaCo V5000 5/8 wave ground plane antenna for omni directional use and supplement with a MaCo Super 500 Laser Directional Dual Polarity, Yagi-Quad CB Base Station Antenna with DPE.
Running stock watts is rough. Lots of big stations out there. You will get her dialed, half the fun is trying new antennas, radios, amps, mics........ hope to hear you out there. 223 northern CA on the side
Could also mount it up on your gutter or a long run of flashing along the peak of the roof makes a ground plane or you could make a dipole with 2 firestiks
It took me over a year to find your channel- DUH_ LOL I don't know why. Anyway. Hope to catch you in DX on a Videogate sometime. I hit all your buttons 73
I am in the peoples democratic republic of Montgomery County MD - not far from you. It would be cool to hear you on the air someday. Usually channel 38 when I can get on... Maryland771...
Dude, saw the hat...I'm in AA county as well. Once I get my base station online, shortly, I'll CQ you. Need a couple of trees taken down then up goes the A99.
I subscribed brother I'm getting that radio for Christmas its under the tree now
When tested the swr on channel 1 after you tested it on 38, you never recalibrated your meter. When you test your swr on any channel, you need to recalibrate your meter on that channel your checking
I setup a base about a year ago. One of the funnest adventures I’ve done. I started with leftover mobile equipment and now I have all kinds of stuff and actual base equipment. It’s a fun hobby and I’m always trying to increase my non-skip range also.
What part of the country are you in? I’m all the way at the bottom of Alabama.
What channel do people talk on around here besides 19? I’m in Dothan
@@quentonsmith6085 I specifically do not run on 19 when on my base unless alerting people of a traffic accident near my house because I live near a major US highway. We used to have locals that would hang out on 17 but all the local stuff pretty much faded away. I’m on mostly when skip conditions are happening and I will run 28 mostly but I’ll sometimes go to 17 if 28 gets too crowded. If you have a radio with sideband capability, 38LSB is popular.
Dothan is a pretty good ways for CB without skip conditions or a crazy amp/antenna setup . I can only go about 35-40 miles confirmed under normal conditions or I’d say join me on 17 some afternoons.
@@quentonsmith6085 I’m down in Mobile. What setup are you running?
Hello, I recently rediscovered a CB radio I bought in Highschool 1991 that is in mint condition. I used it in my car and had a group of friends who then did the same. We had a great time. How can I know which converter to buy to use this as a base station at home? I'm afraid to not know exactly what I need! Thanx!
Try a dipole in the trees. For dx they’re awesome. Also the bandwidth is incredible. Mine has 1.5:1 at 26.805Mhz and 28.205Mhz, and 1:1 throughout the entire 40 channel cb portion, and that is with 2.5 Kw (that’s kilowatts.)
Believe I would have utilized that TV rig and put a small beam up as there already everything needed complete with rotor
Did you try comparing the swr meter built into the radio, compared to the external swr meter you are using?
Have fun and keep experimenting
It looks like tornado weather there.
Ok so how do we mix it with ss7
That TV antenna wasn't an "old analog" antenna. It would have worked just fine for digital TV. Calling them analog versus digital TV antennas is pure marketing. Anyway did the same sort of CB base install. Been a ham for 20+ years but currently the only radios I actually use are a CB in my home and another one in my car. Ham is entirely dead in my area, a major city. Over a dozen repeaters still working. Nobody talking. Totally dead. CB is thriving and very cheap to get going.
How you getting power?
The outlet.
Do you drive an unmarked white van?
so funny. not
Freebird !
Get your ham ticket
You dont need a license for CB radio.
Just subbed, its been ten months, hope you have an antron or maco up, if you do I will listen for you on 38 lsb.
All the best from Ian in Scotland..........
This was a year ago but maybe you've learned that you gave up too quick with that Canadian station at the end. He would have heard you if you insisted. But more importantly you've probably learned that without an amplifier you really aren't going to get out. You gotta pay to play.
Calibrate that swr meter!
I. Put. The. Antenna. On. The. House. It. Will. Work
ld TV antenna it isn't needed for its original use anymore really as you don't got analog TV any more tho I use my old TV antenna as my base station antenna
102 steelie will work way better like that
That will never to going
Work high swr
lol, of coarse he cant hear you with 3.5 watt output. cute
You'll be better off if you get an amplifier
What happened to my post? Did RUclips eat it?
PLOWBOY, did you delete my post that was meant to help you? PLOWBOY is a great CB radio handle if you don't take it out of context and think of it as criticism rather than just someone trying to help. Been in this radio game many years ain't about to get out now. Also General class operator but ham is just not much fun.
Cobra is better.
Get a GMRS radio. You’ll get a lot more people and open yourself up to repeaters.
Horribly wrong. Nobody uses GMRS in most cities in America. They really don't. And when they do, it's few people and no propagation for working stations across the world. it's simply not fun at all. No interchanging microphones, or using Amplitude Modulation or sideband for long distance skip, no buying cool radios and ampifiers from the 60's on through to today. There's nothing as far as a hobby is concerned when using GMRS. That's the worst thing in the world you could possibly suggest.
@@624radicalham I agree If you are talking simplex, it's meant for talking to people you already know or in a group. CB or Ham HF is king. But for repeaters, the midwest region is blessed with GMRS repeaters...parts of Indiana may have too many. Texas has a huge regional linked network also, NYC, LA, New Jersey area. It's growing between repeater owners and internet connected simplex nodes.
I have a CB and a GMRS, GMRS sucks.