What is everyone's opion on the best antenna to run on a 18 wheeler? 1 antenna or two? and which one?
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Best Antenna For a 18 Wheeler
- Thread starter 225inthegreatlakes
- Start date
I run a Wilson 2K 10"/49"...pretty good reliability, and to top it off it stands exacly 13'6" off the ground to tip of stinger. Next antenna will be a 10k from Kale...not too sure about the coils, it will depend on overall height
Good Luck
Dan
Good Luck
Dan
I think it depends on what kind of tractor you've got. I personally don't think a coil loaded antenna where the coil gets placed close to a lot of sheet metal is a good idea. If that is your situation, I think you'd be better off with something that is top loaded, i.e the coil toward the top. Wilson Silverloads might very well perform better in that situation than other coil antennas.
If you've got a fiberglass cab, then you don't really have to worry as much about getting the coil above the cab, although it might still be a good idea to think about getting it up high above (or as close to the top) of the trailer. Remember, with an antenna with a coil, the current is greatest between the feedpoint and the top of the coil.
I'm also not a huge fan of the double coil antennas. The modeling tests that I've seen of them show the current increase through the top coil, which is strange. That seems to indicate to me that the coil is acting as a current transformer. If you want to run something like a Predator, then putting a capacity hat about one foot above the coil would probably achieve better results and still help keep the height down.
If you've got a fiberglass cab, then you don't really have to worry as much about getting the coil above the cab, although it might still be a good idea to think about getting it up high above (or as close to the top) of the trailer. Remember, with an antenna with a coil, the current is greatest between the feedpoint and the top of the coil.
I'm also not a huge fan of the double coil antennas. The modeling tests that I've seen of them show the current increase through the top coil, which is strange. That seems to indicate to me that the coil is acting as a current transformer. If you want to run something like a Predator, then putting a capacity hat about one foot above the coil would probably achieve better results and still help keep the height down.
225inthegreatlakes, 
takes me an hour just to spell that
Oh yeah,I run the Wilson 2000's and unless you're running heavy "POWA".the price difference between the 2 (5000--vs---2000) would about pay for an upgraded heavier antenna mount...Help to keep everything in place and help with rx/tx.
Just my "truck driving" 2 cents....
Snoope back quiet
p.s. I have to totally agree with MOLE here on the "Bigger " antennas......My poor 10K is back on the shelf...my Headboard on the "Dump Bucket" makes life stink......unless I can talk Momma into letting me buy one more ..run dual 10ks ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
takes me an hour just to spell that Oh yeah,I run the Wilson 2000's and unless you're running heavy "POWA".the price difference between the 2 (5000--vs---2000) would about pay for an upgraded heavier antenna mount...Help to keep everything in place and help with rx/tx.
Just my "truck driving" 2 cents....
Snoope back quiet
p.s. I have to totally agree with MOLE here on the "Bigger " antennas......My poor 10K is back on the shelf...my Headboard on the "Dump Bucket" makes life stink......unless I can talk Momma into letting me buy one more
..run dual 10ks ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhI started with a wilson 5K and went to a dual coil 10K. In my situation the 10K flat out smokes the Wilson. SWR is FLAT on all 40 I havent ever really checked it out to see how broadbanded it is but I have talked all over and never seen the SWR warning light on my 95T
Just remember that a better SWR doesn't necessarily mean a better antenna. The wilson 5k has a higher Q than the wilson 2K, so it should perform better. That said, you might not actually be able to tell the difference. As far as the 10k goes, I don't know if the single coil has a better or worse Q than the Wilson 5k.
225inthegreatlakes said:
Tell us exactly what kind of truck you run, with make, model, and year. Also tell us what kinds of trailers you pull, box, flatbed, or tank.
Moleculo said:
Unless I'm severaly mistaken, the larger coil area gives the lower Q. The higher the Q is the more selective the bandwidth.
A single Wilson 2000 Trucker.
Tests with the P-10K shows the single coil works better than a double coil.
If it was my truck, it would be a SINGLE Wilson 2000. Keep the coil above the cab!
Tests with the P-10K shows the single coil works better than a double coil.
If it was my truck, it would be a SINGLE Wilson 2000. Keep the coil above the cab!
the quick and fast rule: top-loaded fiberglas or long shaft coil loaded antennas work well on tractors pulling boxes and trailers. short shaft bottom loaded antennas work best on tractors pulling low-boy drop decks, flatbeds and tankers. it's not necessary for the bottom of the loading coil to clear the cab but more importantly the bottom of the loading coil MUST be high enough to clear radiation from the base of the loading coil arriving to the rear of the trailer at angles of 15 - 25 degrees above 0 degrees horizontal. if you're a wilson fan then look into the 18" and 22" shaft models for better signal performance to the rear of tractor rigs pulling boxes and trailers.
a properly installed dual antenna system outperforms a single antenna of the same type to the front and rear of the vehicle. a single antenna should be located on the passenger side of the cab for best performance up and down the road in the US., driver side of the cab in countries where traffic travels in the opposite lanes. any ground plane dependent antenna radiates the strongest signals in the directions in which the longest path of body or frame metal exists.
a properly installed dual antenna system outperforms a single antenna of the same type to the front and rear of the vehicle. a single antenna should be located on the passenger side of the cab for best performance up and down the road in the US., driver side of the cab in countries where traffic travels in the opposite lanes. any ground plane dependent antenna radiates the strongest signals in the directions in which the longest path of body or frame metal exists.
Generally a larger coil has a higher Q. Higher Q also has a more nearrow bandwidth. But just because one antenna's coil is larger than another's, it doesn't automatically have a higher Q. Coil design has to be taken into consideration. A quick way to approximate Q is to take the design frequency and divide it by the antennas bandwidth (if you know it). Anyway, here's a pretty good reference on that topic:
http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/qsl-antennas-basics.htm
I still don't think thats right, at least in relation to antenna coil size. A monkey made or a 10K has a MUCH wider bandwidth than a Wilson 2000, or even a 5000. If the Q was higher on the monkey made or 10k, the bandwidth would be lower.
Maybe we should start a thread on this topic in the Tech Bench section, and see what input we get.
Maybe we should start a thread on this topic in the Tech Bench section, and see what input we get.
Ham And Eggs said:
The 10K is a much stronger antenna than the Wilson. I have went through about 4 wilsons on my truck and Im still on the same 10K for over a year now. I noticed considerably better RX and TX when I switched to the 10K. Same mount, coax and radio....Just swapped antennas, tuned it, and the difference was noticeable.