Back in my early days of CB use, I always ran with dual whips on the back of my jeep. I never understood the concept of wavelength and modulation and SWR. I simply hooked up the whips...connected them to the Jeep and turned the radio on!
Now that I understand having to tune in SWR, and how radio waves work (well in basics), Im wondering if there is a proper way to run dual antennas on a vehicle without causing problems and actually benefiting my RX and TX. Yesterday I purchased a mag mount for a 3ft Firestik I had laying around and hooked it up. I also had a K30 antenna which is what I have been using in the Radio for quite some time. Ive talked all over the country with the K30 and was interested how much better reception I would get with the Firestik. But first I wanted to play around. I bought a coupler that hooks both antennas into one and then into the radio. I put the K30 towards the front of the roof and the Firestick towards the back. I drive a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer so there is a bit of room up there. I checked the SWRs and they were just a hair above 1:1 so i felt comfortable and began trying. I was successfully able to make a contact with a station out of germany as well as many US contacts. Having never made a trip across the pond in my mobile I instantly wanted to believe it was because I was running dual antennas and I had hit the holy grail setup.
So whats the truth and facts about running dual antennas. Am I actually gaining anything from this setup? Am I loosing anything from it? As long as SWRs are watched and kept low is this a viable setup?
And next. If this works.....is it possible to run dual antennas to the home base. I have an Imax 2000 70' to the tip currently and also have a homemade dipole in the rafters of my shack. Both are perfectly tuned at 1:1. Would i see any gain in hooking both of them up at the same time?
http://prntscr.com/4h143c
Now that I understand having to tune in SWR, and how radio waves work (well in basics), Im wondering if there is a proper way to run dual antennas on a vehicle without causing problems and actually benefiting my RX and TX. Yesterday I purchased a mag mount for a 3ft Firestik I had laying around and hooked it up. I also had a K30 antenna which is what I have been using in the Radio for quite some time. Ive talked all over the country with the K30 and was interested how much better reception I would get with the Firestik. But first I wanted to play around. I bought a coupler that hooks both antennas into one and then into the radio. I put the K30 towards the front of the roof and the Firestick towards the back. I drive a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer so there is a bit of room up there. I checked the SWRs and they were just a hair above 1:1 so i felt comfortable and began trying. I was successfully able to make a contact with a station out of germany as well as many US contacts. Having never made a trip across the pond in my mobile I instantly wanted to believe it was because I was running dual antennas and I had hit the holy grail setup.
So whats the truth and facts about running dual antennas. Am I actually gaining anything from this setup? Am I loosing anything from it? As long as SWRs are watched and kept low is this a viable setup?
And next. If this works.....is it possible to run dual antennas to the home base. I have an Imax 2000 70' to the tip currently and also have a homemade dipole in the rafters of my shack. Both are perfectly tuned at 1:1. Would i see any gain in hooking both of them up at the same time?
http://prntscr.com/4h143c
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Ive already got the sickness when it comes to "more power" and bigger and better Antennas. Im afraid if I get any crazier, my shack may become my bedroom because the wife is getting a bit irritated lol!
...runna pile-up on 6m SSB