Old School V.S. New Scool Antenna Help

[MOWildman]

Back in the day a 102" whip with a heavy duty spring was the best you could do. I have a OLD Pick-Up Truck I want to add a Radio to. I see all these other new fangled coil set ups and wonder if they are for real or just looks. I wont be running anything other than a Peaked and Tuned 40 w/SSB, no extra power. For the hell of it, I just might mount it on the roof..lol. But more than likely screw a piece of steel to the top of the bed behind the window. What are your thoughts?
Thanks.

[Bombero]

Hey Scott..

I would stay with the tried and true.

The 102" with a permanent or mag mount.

['Doc]

I think that whip on the bed rail will be about as good as anything else. A tennis ball or something else to keep the thing from bumping the cab would be nice.
- 'Doc

[Northwoods35]

You can't go wrong with a 102'' steel whip. You may need a spring at the bottom for SWR adjustment. Overall I would recommend getting mini 8U coax for that whip and you should have real good RX and decent TX. I have a wilson 1000 that has a 62" steel whip and thats good enough, let alone the big 102'' whip. Good luck.

[TomCat5]

MOWildman....whip it....whip it good...do do do do do ...um um

I know...but couldn't resist.

I run a 102" SS whip & Spring and love it....

['Doc]

And just to clarify to some extent, a coil in an antenna is only good for two things, matching impedances if it's at the bottom of that antenna, or they can make an antenna 'shorter'. I'm afraid that's it. They don't increase the 'gain' of an antenna and always contribute to some lessening of efficiency. That isn't 'dissing', or 'bad mouthing' an antenna with a coil. That's just the 'nature of the beast', they can't help it.
- 'Doc

[MOWildman]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.

[420Snowman]

When in doubt, whip it out!!!! Hey Wildman, you need to holler at me sometime, I am in Wright City, just outside St Louis. I run on channels 6, 11, 14, 28 when the skip is rolling, otherwise I am on good ol 19.


Snowman

[jessejamesdallas]

If you can get away with using a 102" Whip on the roof..."Go for it!" Most can't, and that's where the Coiled antenna's come in...All the antenna's are 1/4 wave including the 102" Whip. But not all Coiled antenna's are created equal...And the base Loaded antenna's are the least efficient of the bunch. (like the Wilson magnet mounted base loaded antenna's)

The "Open Coiled" antenna's like the Predator 10K's, Monkey Mades, 55's, Mr. Coily's are all good antenna's and are probably the better choice's of coiled antenna's if the 102" whip is going to be just too tall driving around where your always whacking everything you drive under...

Coiled antenna's are a compromise to the 102" Whip, but not really enough of a compromise that anyone will ever notice...other than maybe yourself when you start comparing price tags of the Coiled antenna's, to the price of a 102" whip...

I run both. but prefer the Coiled...

['Doc]

JJD,
I think you pretty well condensed it with that post. No two different antennas will 'act' exactly alike, unless they are exactly alike and mounted in the same exact environment (that 'environment' covers a huge range of thingys).
The suitability of any particular antenna depends on how/where/why it's used. You have to 'juggle' an antenna's electrical performance with practicality, and come up with the best compromise you can. Then, no matter what that antenna is, it's the 'best' for your particular situation.
That 102" whip is usually at one end of that 'scale', a 'rubber-duck' at the other, and gobs of things in between.
Anything that conducts electricity can be -made- to work as an antenna. That says nothing about how well it will work. The only two things that are always desirable is resonance and making the thing 'match' the rest of the antenna system (feed line and transmitter) which deals with impedances. The better you can 'do' those two thingys, the better the antenna will perform to some undetermined degree.
- 'Doc

(Paint the thing pink! Makes them electrons wanna get away from it faster.)