Re: Another CB victory

[Jim Griffin <JGriff@pobox.com>]

At 10:51 PM 03/01/97 -0500, you wrote:
>My .02 on CBs...
>I use the Uniden Pro 510xl, avail at Walmart for about $40,
>and add a K40 antenna (about $40 as well).  The K40 is a big
>antenna but gives you great range, and the whip comes off with
>a twist of the wrist for going into parking garages or hanging out
>in trailer parks (about the only place the antenna would get 
>stolen...)
>
>I'd be very surprised if you folks with the stealth antennas/
>cell-look alikes are getting any sort of range.
>I have a Radio Shack cell look a like and it is crap.
>For sale, BTW :)

I agree with you on the K40. I have one as well, and agree that it is great
for long-distance. I was using it for quite a while, but it got to be a
nuisance (i.e. parking garages, having to take it on and off, worrying when
I opened the trunk, not being able to cleanly pull into my garage etc..). It
is also not very stealth, that's for sure. It sticks 4 feet off my trunk....

I too felt that I didn't care about all that, since I was more concerned
about performance than aesthetics. But the more I kept using it, the more I
began to hate it. My search continued for something a bit shorter and more
suitable.

I ended up settling on a 36 inch trunk-mount cellular look alike that gives
pretty decent performance. Not as good as the K40, but not as bad as the
Radio Shack one you have (which I also tried... it was only about 19 inches,
and never extended above the roof line, off the trunk lid.... I only got
about 2 miles range out of it).

So, I have "settled" and compromised with this 36 incher (Bob D... there's
one for ya'!!), but I am a lot happier. I get decent range (at least 5 miles
or more, and even further if others are running linear amplifiers) that has
seemed to satisfy me (for now). I can pull into my garage, parking garages,
and open my trunk without a problem. I don't worry about it being stolen,
either, even in a trailer park!! :-)

FWIW, I do notice that this antenna is a lot quieter (than the k40) when I
have the squelch all the way down... not sure why though... perhaps 'cuz it
is not picking up so many long-distance signals (which may come across as
noise/static in the K40??)

It is nice to have it stealth-like. On that same trip that I avoided the
"smokey", I had a couple of run-ins with truckers. The one who was climbing
up my tail in a traffic slow-down was surprised, I believe, when I
responded, after he was complaining about my tapping my brake pedal...
(oh... it's a long story....). He was a real jerk.. who didn't expect a
response... 

The other one, I don't think, ever realized that I had responded back to him....

I just wonder what people think when they see TWO cell-phone antennae on the
back of my car.... do they really think I have two phones? ;-)

FWIW, I got this 36 inch cell-look alike from Antenna World, on the 'net. I
have a link to their page off the web-page I have for pictures of my car....

BTW, for all you wanna-be CBers, with regards to the glass-mount cell-look
alikes, (despite Igor's success with his in his 200q), I (and other CB pros)
do not recommend them. I've BTDT, and was very dissatisfied... YMMV....

If anyone has any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Take care.

                             Jim Griffin
                      JGriff@pobox.com
  http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/4475
                        Maryland, USA
   "Perception is often stronger than reality!"
                               '92 100S
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