You also should have your car doors closed whilst checking the swr because that also affects the swr readings and it would have been nice to see a radio signal meter on the receiving end, instead of a photo of a radio
get 1 inch steel flat braided wire ground to body and frame with it from the coax mount.. rf travel's on flat surfaces. two type of ground you need to be aware of is dc ground and rf ground.
I run the predator 10k with a breedlove mount. Pretty much the same as a k40. I will say for my setup it's the best I've ever had. Swr is 1.12 on 1&40. Great antennas. Nice job on the video. I see alot of people nocking the test comparisons. I'd like to see those people step up and do their version of how it should be done.
I totally understand it can be done. I would like to see videos from those who like to criticize the way this guys did it. I believe alot of these comments come from people "who saw it on a video" or " I had a buddy".. In this video he did a test his way. He didnt state it was the end all be all of antennas proven through scientific processes.
Thanks! I'm just a guy who can barely figure out how to merge video clips, lol. It's a real world test, not something on the bench with a dummy load they you'll never be able to duplicate.
@@luke8210 Yep, just a regular guy doing some testing that anyone can do. This is what's working best for this particular vehicle. Guys in Carson City said I was hitting them with 5 s units which I've never been able to do before, even with more power. That's a 40 plus mile trip over several mountain ranges. Many people also don't realize that our soil and air are much different up here and it takes a lot more to get out here. Just ask 815 the channel 6 skip shooter original from San Diego. Once he moved up here all of his antennas had to be re-tuned and he's having other issues that he never had in San Diego.
Just got that same Tram mag mount, shorted out from factory, pulled the plastic and smash washer setup off and used a firestik type. I see you added some ground straps to it. Working on a fix for that too.
Props to you man for grounding that mag-mount for so well but it is a shame that you didn't use your signal strength meters in the video for a more objective test!
Location, location, location. The auto body is a part of the antenna system. A very important part when comparing antennas. So the mount location has to be the same. If not all tests are flawed. Additionally all quality antennas will be very close in performance. The only way to discern the difference is to pay very close attention to a distant receivers S-meter, and use a constant transmitted power level. Such as a carrier.
exactly right. 1. higher the antenna the further along it will go . This is why 102" whips and 7ft tall fire sticks kick ass. Height is almost everything. 2. Never inject audio into an antenna performance check. The difference in distance would be from the audio amp driving the finals harder. Key it and shut up. There's your difference in antenna performance. The audio and rf output is not a product of the antenna but the finals and audio out. It's very difficult to test antennas with different mounts, the base loaded k40 is definitely proprietary, then there's the 3/8" mount for fire sticks and others, then the standard so239 for most others. Most important though for all to be equal is placement (location) on the vehicle and power output. all must be equal.
I just recently bought myself the k40 and the performance is unbelievable I get one-to-one SWR readings on my meter and I talked skip like nothing the only problem with that antenna is that it will make an obnoxious howling noise when you are driving other than that the performance is number 1
What's the phase angle of the test cables? In order for it to be an accurate comparison, the phase shift must be identical between all of the antennas. The angle of radiation will be different between all of them.
Yeah for a testing method it's pretty poor. Would have been better removing the Sirio, bolting in a 3/8 body mount in it's place and using the same length of coax as on the Sirio. It would then be a much more truer comparison.
I have trouble understanding which antenna is better now, I guess the Winson the best?. What is your conclusion? And could you repeat the Test in FM? Just for fun of it ??
You can't conclude anything off this test. In a mobile install the RF grounding is arguably more important than the antenna because with a piss poor RF ground all antennas will perform very poorly - mine has an almost perfect ground for 11m on my install as I've spent hours doing bonding and I can get 30 miles on just 4W with no problems whereas I've seen installs using the same antennas on mirror mounts where they've been lucky to get 5 miles with 50W. On the Sirio he's got a very good ground and on the magmount, more questionable even with those bits of wire which are in fact doing very little.
@@conorturton It all sounds good when you read it online, in the real world it's totally different. Believe me, been there and done that. Even with the Sirio having a proper ground, it can't compare to the big coil antennas, it basically sucks compared to them as the bottom load style antennas can't compare.Also, it's a mag mount, it doesn't even need a physical ground, I simply ran two wires to give it a physical ground, although not needed as it's grounded through capacitance.
I have the same antenna analyzer .. or close to it , practically brand new . I need to send it back for calibration . On 5 other meters I have a 1.1 to 1.3 from channel 1 through 40 .. on the MFJ it says 1.6 or worse . I'm not impressed with my first MFJ product
I picked up mine used. It can definitely be a bit glitchy at times and doesn't read the same as a rig expert when compared side by side, but it's what I have to use. It's a tool that helps to get you in the ball park, then I'll use my SWR meter to fine tune. I'd lean towards MFJ not having the most accurate meters from what I've seen.
@@vegasfordguy Yeah same here man , lesson learned , I figured for 365 dollars I was getting NASA spec lol I was wrong , so wrong . The more I read about them the less I'm impressed . I'd put my 20 year old Radio Shack meter against their best as far as SWR accuracy
They all sound similar. The "big Goofy antenna" actually sounded the worse. The K-40 IMHO sounded just a bit better than the rest. That echo box? Return it!
If you check it on the Rig expert antenna analyzer it makes very little difference. It's not enough to worry about. The only time I sit in the vehicle and check with all doors closed is when I'm first setting up an antenna and even then it makes very little difference.
@@Fox250R From my experience it's extremely minimal if at all. I use a Rig expert antenna analyzer so I can see all parameters and it's not enough to make a difference. Some people are really stuck on the keeping your doors shut thing. As soon as you move your vehicle or start driving the SWR is going to change anyways.
@@Fox250R Check out the video I just uploaded, it shows SWR on my antenna analyzer with door open and shut! If someone wants to argue over that miniscule number there's a problem, lol.
Just came across your video I started watching it... you said the best you could get was a 1.5... you better ground the antenna system better... you will see a 1.1 with better ground
@@vegasfordguy RF grounding has to do with the metal body ground plane of the vehicle... the more metal body surface you have for rf.. the better your SWR will be.... RF grounding not to be confused with DC grounding two different things I've been doing this a long time so yeah I kind of know different shootout Suburbans
RF flows over the surface of a conductor not through it. You would be better off using flattened RG213 braid than that thin wire which does nothing. To get the efficiency of that RG213 braid you'd have to use 0000 AWG wire, aka battery jump leads. You also need to have the magmount as close to the Sirio mount as possible because where your Sirio is mounted it's directional so putting the magmount in the centre of the roof would give advantage to the magmounted antennas to directions to the rear of the vehicle and advantages to the Sirio to directions in front of the vehicle. Put them as close together as you can and it's more an apples to apples comparison.
That's a horrible connection point design at the base of the mag mount, mine broke when I tightened it. 👎👎 - Get a puck and solid mount to the roof, or if you don't want a hole in your roof then install the puck in the mag mount. Good idea to ground it.
![[4K] Watch SpaceX Catch A Starship Rocket From Space!!! #IFT5](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pIKI7y3DTXk/mqdefault.jpg)
I wish you showed recieving signal strength so I could get a visual of the difference between all the antennas
You also should have your car doors closed whilst checking the swr because that also affects the swr readings and it would have been nice to see a radio signal meter on the receiving end, instead of a photo of a radio
get 1 inch steel flat braided wire ground to body and frame with it from the coax mount.. rf travel's on flat surfaces. two type of ground you need to be aware of is dc ground and rf ground.
I run the predator 10k with a breedlove mount. Pretty much the same as a k40. I will say for my setup it's the best I've ever had. Swr is 1.12 on 1&40. Great antennas. Nice job on the video. I see alot of people nocking the test comparisons. I'd like to see those people step up and do their version of how it should be done.
Do a Google search for
"74 mile Freightliner Cascadia"
That's how it's done barefoot mobile to mobile.
I totally understand it can be done. I would like to see videos from those who like to criticize the way this guys did it.
I believe alot of these comments come from people "who saw it on a video" or " I had a buddy"..
In this video he did a test his way. He didnt state it was the end all be all of antennas proven through scientific processes.
Thanks! I'm just a guy who can barely figure out how to merge video clips, lol. It's a real world test, not something on the bench with a dummy load they you'll never be able to duplicate.
@@luke8210 Yep, just a regular guy doing some testing that anyone can do. This is what's working best for this particular vehicle. Guys in Carson City said I was hitting them with 5 s units which I've never been able to do before, even with more power. That's a 40 plus mile trip over several mountain ranges. Many people also don't realize that our soil and air are much different up here and it takes a lot more to get out here. Just ask 815 the channel 6 skip shooter original from San Diego. Once he moved up here all of his antennas had to be re-tuned and he's having other issues that he never had in San Diego.
Just got that same Tram mag mount, shorted out from factory, pulled the plastic and smash washer setup off and used a firestik type. I see you added some ground straps to it. Working on a fix for that too.
I have a grounded coax and bonded puck mount so I often wonder if this changes which antenna works best
Props to you man for grounding that mag-mount for so well but it is a shame that you didn't use your signal strength meters in the video for a more objective test!
Location, location, location. The auto body is a part of the antenna system. A very important part when comparing antennas. So the mount location has to be the same. If not all tests are flawed. Additionally all quality antennas will be very close in performance. The only way to discern the difference is to pay very close attention to a distant receivers S-meter, and use a constant transmitted power level. Such as a carrier.
exactly right. 1. higher the antenna the further along it will go . This is why 102" whips and 7ft tall fire sticks kick ass. Height is almost everything. 2. Never inject audio into an antenna performance check. The difference in distance would be from the audio amp driving the finals harder. Key it and shut up. There's your difference in antenna performance. The audio and rf output is not a product of the antenna but the finals and audio out. It's very difficult to test antennas with different mounts, the base loaded k40 is definitely proprietary, then there's the 3/8" mount for fire sticks and others, then the standard so239 for most others. Most important though for all to be equal is placement (location) on the vehicle and power output. all must be equal.
I just recently bought myself the k40 and the performance is unbelievable I get one-to-one SWR readings on my meter and I talked skip like nothing the only problem with that antenna is that it will make an obnoxious howling noise when you are driving other than that the performance is number 1
What's the phase angle of the test cables? In order for it to be an accurate comparison, the phase shift must be identical between all of the antennas. The angle of radiation will be different between all of them.
Yeah for a testing method it's pretty poor. Would have been better removing the Sirio, bolting in a 3/8 body mount in it's place and using the same length of coax as on the Sirio. It would then be a much more truer comparison.
Same exact set up on all 3 antennas except for the Sirio which is through roof mounted.
@@vegasfordguy Same cable on all 3?
@@rabbibacongrease88 Yes, same exact triple magnetic mount with same exact coax. Nothing changed except for the antenna.
@@conorturton Well, you know how it is, everyone is an expert. Can't make everyone happy.
I have trouble understanding which antenna is better now, I guess the Winson the best?. What is your conclusion? And could you repeat the Test in FM? Just for fun of it ??
You can't conclude anything off this test. In a mobile install the RF grounding is arguably more important than the antenna because with a piss poor RF ground all antennas will perform very poorly - mine has an almost perfect ground for 11m on my install as I've spent hours doing bonding and I can get 30 miles on just 4W with no problems whereas I've seen installs using the same antennas on mirror mounts where they've been lucky to get 5 miles with 50W. On the Sirio he's got a very good ground and on the magmount, more questionable even with those bits of wire which are in fact doing very little.
@@conorturton I see, can you make a short video how you did it?
We don't use FM on CB radio here. AM for CB and on SSB.
@@conorturton It all sounds good when you read it online, in the real world it's totally different. Believe me, been there and done that. Even with the Sirio having a proper ground, it can't compare to the big coil antennas, it basically sucks compared to them as the bottom load style antennas can't compare.Also, it's a mag mount, it doesn't even need a physical ground, I simply ran two wires to give it a physical ground, although not needed as it's grounded through capacitance.
@@vegasfordguy I know, but for the fun of it. Also a compair beteen AM and FM would be cool to watch/know.
Predator 10K Double Coil are bad ass
Sounds like the coil. K40..has the most clearness sound...
I have the same antenna analyzer .. or close to it , practically brand new . I need to send it back for calibration . On 5 other meters I have a 1.1 to 1.3 from channel 1 through 40 .. on the MFJ it says 1.6 or worse . I'm not impressed with my first MFJ product
I picked up mine used. It can definitely be a bit glitchy at times and doesn't read the same as a rig expert when compared side by side, but it's what I have to use. It's a tool that helps to get you in the ball park, then I'll use my SWR meter to fine tune. I'd lean towards MFJ not having the most accurate meters from what I've seen.
@@vegasfordguy
Yeah same here man , lesson learned , I figured for 365 dollars I was getting NASA spec lol
I was wrong , so wrong . The more I read about them the less I'm impressed . I'd put my 20 year old Radio Shack meter against their best as far as SWR accuracy
Thank you
They all sound similar. The "big Goofy antenna" actually sounded the worse. The K-40 IMHO sounded just a bit better than the rest. That echo box? Return it!
LOL, That big Striker antenna crushed the others.
You need to have your doors closed when you check your SWR'S
If you check it on the Rig expert antenna analyzer it makes very little difference. It's not enough to worry about. The only time I sit in the vehicle and check with all doors closed is when I'm first setting up an antenna and even then it makes very little difference.
@@vegasfordguy I’ve checked my swr on my 955 with my doors open and closed made ZERO difference with my Silverado
@@Fox250R From my experience it's extremely minimal if at all. I use a Rig expert antenna analyzer so I can see all parameters and it's not enough to make a difference. Some people are really stuck on the keeping your doors shut thing. As soon as you move your vehicle or start driving the SWR is going to change anyways.
@@vegasfordguy thank you 🙏
@@Fox250R Check out the video I just uploaded, it shows SWR on my antenna analyzer with door open and shut! If someone wants to argue over that miniscule number there's a problem, lol.
Just came across your video I started watching it... you said the best you could get was a 1.5... you better ground the antenna system better... you will see a 1.1 with better ground
It doesn't always have to do with grounding.
@@vegasfordguy RF grounding has to do with the metal body ground plane of the vehicle... the more metal body surface you have for rf.. the better your SWR will be.... RF grounding not to be confused with DC grounding two different things I've been doing this a long time so yeah I kind of know different shootout Suburbans
@@smallblocksadventures6008 Okay, understand what you're saying now. Thanks for your suggestion!
“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
RF flows over the surface of a conductor not through it. You would be better off using flattened RG213 braid than that thin wire which does nothing. To get the efficiency of that RG213 braid you'd have to use 0000 AWG wire, aka battery jump leads.
You also need to have the magmount as close to the Sirio mount as possible because where your Sirio is mounted it's directional so putting the magmount in the centre of the roof would give advantage to the magmounted antennas to directions to the rear of the vehicle and advantages to the Sirio to directions in front of the vehicle. Put them as close together as you can and it's more an apples to apples comparison.
Lot to be learned here
I've tried it in various spots before making this video. It makes no difference.
Omg all you hadnto do was key lock your base and take a pic of your meter each antenna swap. You cant just tell by the sound
@@shotgun1666 Sure you can. If you talk on the radio often it's very easy. Quit your sniveling!
That's a horrible connection point design at the base of the mag mount, mine broke when I tightened it. 👎👎
- Get a puck and solid mount to the roof, or if you don't want a hole in your roof then install the puck in the mag mount. Good idea to ground it.
It's been there for years in both the summer heat and snow in the winter. Still holding up fine.
@@vegasfordguy I wonder if they got cheap and began using chinkaneeze junk and maybe that's what I ended up with? It sure was weak garbage.
Something isbad with video?
no idea which antenna is best, useless video!!!
Wilson was the loudest and cleanest, k40 popping . Rest dirty sound. You over drove all antennas with the modulation.