The CB Radios Channel

Many RV and motorhome owners make use of CB radios for road reports, weather information and to chat with other drivers on the road.  Due to their unique construction and fiberglass siding, most RVs don’t have  sufficient ground planet from the chassis to use a standard grounded antenna.  An alternative must be utilized……

There are a few options to solve this no-ground problem.  The first, and most common, is to make use of a no-ground plane (NGP) CB antenna.  As the name implies, NGP antennas don’t need a standard metallic ground plane in order to function well.  While they aren’t nearly as effective as an equivalent grounded antenna, they are the best option when no solid ground plane is available.   No ground plane antennas and coax are built differently than standard CB equipment and generate the necessary signal counterpoise needed to operate properly.  Due to their unique construction, traditional and NGP equipment aren’t interchangeable.  If using a NGP antenna, you’ll need special NGP coax to go with it.

The other option for RV owners is to use co-phased dual antennas.  Using dual antennas is another way to get around the no-ground problem as the co-phased installation creates the necessary counterpoise required for transmission. Dual antennas also increases signal strength in a direction perpendicular to the alignment of the antennas.  In the case of a vehicle installation, this translates into a stronger signal both up and down the direction of travel.

For best performance it’s important have at least 2/3 of the antenna about the roofline of the vehicle.  RVs are large vehicles and they can significantly block RF signals if the antenna is hidden on one side of the chassis.  Also, NGP antennas need to be tuned just like grounded antennas.  Make sure you use a SWR meter to properly tune the antenna for your specific vehicle.

For more information as well as a number of realated products, please check out the selection of NGP CB Antenna kits as well as  RV CB radio and antenna kits at Right Channel Radios.

Professional truck drivers are the group that likely makes the most consistent use of CB radios.  A necessary piece of equipment for every driver, the CB acts as a source of highway communication as well as provides crucial weather and road updates.

Large trucks tend to use center and top loaded CB antennas almost exclusively.  Top loaded fiberglass antennas are the simpler and cheaper antenna.  However, they aren’t well suited for high-wattage applications.  In these instances, a center loaded antenna would be a better choice.   Performance will vary based on a number of factors, but in most instances a quality center-loaded antenna, such as the Wilson 2000 CB antenna, will outperform similar fiberglass antennas.

Nearly all truck antennas are mounted on the rear-view mirrors in a co-phased (i.e. dual antenna) installation.  It’s best if the antenna coil is above the roof of the cab, but this is not always possible.  Co-phased antennas improve the antennas performance, generally in a direction parallel to the road.  For best performance, it’s important to have the antennas separated by at least 8-9 feet, which shouldn’t be an issue for most large trucks.  The antennas should be mounted as high and as far out on the mirror arms as possible to maximize their distance from each other, as well as their vertical height.

Many trucks come with pre-wired CB cabling already installed in the vehicle.  While extremely convenient, the cable used is often of poor quality and contains little RF shielding.  If you’re experiencing significant interference or electrical noise using factory installed CB coax, you should strongly consider replacing the stock coax cable with high quality shielded CB coax for Belden, Firestik or another reputable brand.

We’ve assembled a number of CB antenna and radio kits to meet the needs of professional drivers.  All kits include quality CB components to ensure years or strong performance and care free maintenance.   If you’re in need of a new CB radio or antenna for your truck, make sure to check out our custom CB Radio Semi Truck Packages.