On Wed, 03 May 2006 14:52:20 -0400, josh.lists@omg-stfu.com ("Josh
Battles") wrote:
>On Tue, May 2, 2006 4:57 pm, Bill S. wrote:
>>
>> You have chosen wisely. The radio with the stage one hi-perf package
>> will do a good job for you. The Firestik antennas are an excellent
>> choice also, I have just installed on thru the roof of my DAK.
>> Obviously the longer taller the Firestik the better and I would
>> recommend a Firestik 2 (FSII) as they are tunable. See here:
>> http://www.claysradioshop.com/citizensband_firestick%20antennas%20FS.htm
>
>That looks pretty good. What's the deal with length? Longer = better?
Longer is better for a couple reasons; higher off the ground gets the
signal out and above more obstacles and the taller/longer Firestiks
allow for a flatter VSWR curve. That is, the antenna will be closer to
being in perfect tune over a wider range of channels.
> I live in a pretty urban area, do I need to take that into consideration?
Overhead clearance is a concern, it gets pretty annoying to have the
antenna hit on everything you drive under. I went with a 4 footer on
my DAK and it's a decent compromise. 30 years ago when I was much more
serious about radio I had a 7 foot Firestik mounted to the center of
the roof of my '69 Nova, back then I didn't care what it hit, it was
the best antenna for the purpose (still is).
>Paint damage is pretty trivial. The car is 19 years old, I'm not worried if
>I get a circular scratch zone on the roof.
Magnet mounts do work well, just get the strongest one you can find,
the best are a set of three magnets on one mount, they really hold
well and make a very good coupling between the car's sheet metal and
the "ground" side of the antenna system. This one should be able to
hold a 4 foot Firestik :
http://www.copper.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?catalogSTORE:CKIE:prodV10-06044+
Firestik also sells a mag mount that they say will hold up to a 3 foot
FSII and it's a single mag mount.
>That looks like a nice mic. Astatic is the brandname? What are the
>advantages of using a power mic over a standard mic?
USUALLY, a good quality power mic is of higher quality that the
el-cheapo stock mic that comes with most radios, the power mic should
sound better than the stock mic. A power mic, used properly, may also
ensure that your out going audio is as loud as it can be and clear.
Misuse of a power mic, cranking the level too high, will cause
distortion and make you less understandable. So proper use of the
power mic is key, use a level high enough to ensure close to 100%
modulation but now so high that is over modulates and causes
distortion.
If you want to do some (more) worth while research on CBs and
attending devices you can't do any better than the forums at
www.copper.com
In their forums jump into the product reviews and see what users have
to say about what's on the market. It's a decent outfit to buy from,
but you may find better prices other places on the net if you search
hard enough. Also, the Firestik home page a some great information
about all kinds of CB stuff.
______________________________________________
1994 Dak, V6, AT, AC, all stock for now
______________________________________________
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