Well folks, just when I was about to give up on CB I was able to make it work for me! I had picked up two Midland 75-822 handhelds thinking I would use them for car to car talks on a road trip about a month ago. Gave one to my buddy as a gift and we set off. Apparently those things, using only the attached antenna only work for about 20 feet! I then tested them from my house to the truck and could only get about 50 feet away when they would no longer pick one another up. However, the GMRS talkies I have work much better! I was perplexed. Although, I was able to maintain faith! I heard some loud talkers every now and then and they were coming from near and far! I assumed that was "Skip". 
So, not to be thwarted in my quest for CB usage I ordered a Wilson 1000 mag mounted antenna. Mounted that bad boy and measured the SWR. The SWR was terrible! Above 3 and would not come down. Trimmed it down and still, terrible. Even, no go for 10 meters! What? Not happy, I assumed this was the end.
Well, a few days ago I bid on an old Cobra 25GTL from Ebay and won it on the cheap. That sparked my interest and caused me to order a replacement whip for the Wilson. Today, I slapped that wilson on the truck and hooked up the Cobra and much to my surprise I was picking up signals from all over the country! Tennessee, Iowa etc. It was not crystal clear but some were pretty darn good. I Tested the SWR and found it to be 1.1 on 1 and 1.2 on 40! So, I tested it with one of the little Midland handhelds. I drove a mile away and had my kid talk on the midland. Worked like a charm! **Jump_im** Very cool! Listened to some of the talk for a while. Was great fun. The kid enjoyed it too! Thanks to this forum I was able to hang on long enough!
Maybe soon I will be attempting some DX myself!
So, not to be thwarted in my quest for CB usage I ordered a Wilson 1000 mag mounted antenna. Mounted that bad boy and measured the SWR. The SWR was terrible! Above 3 and would not come down. Trimmed it down and still, terrible. Even, no go for 10 meters! What? Not happy, I assumed this was the end. Well, a few days ago I bid on an old Cobra 25GTL from Ebay and won it on the cheap. That sparked my interest and caused me to order a replacement whip for the Wilson. Today, I slapped that wilson on the truck and hooked up the Cobra and much to my surprise I was picking up signals from all over the country!
Tennessee, Iowa etc. It was not crystal clear but some were pretty darn good. I Tested the SWR and found it to be 1.1 on 1 and 1.2 on 40! So, I tested it with one of the little Midland handhelds. I drove a mile away and had my kid talk on the midland. Worked like a charm! **Jump_im** Very cool! Listened to some of the talk for a while. Was great fun. The kid enjoyed it too! Thanks to this forum I was able to hang on long enough! Maybe soon I will be attempting some DX myself!