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Best Mobile Antenna in the 70's-80's

70cst

Well-Known Member
Dec 4, 2009
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I just un-boxed an NOS Avanti Hippo that I bought a while back which made me think... I realize the 102" Whip is the best when it comes to mobile applications but...sitting that aside what other antennas of the 70-80's were considered good mobile antennas.
 

That was the premise in post #1...

"I realize the 102" Whip is the best when it comes to mobile applications but...sitting that aside what other antennas of the 70-80's were considered good mobile antennas."
 
the best we had here if you ignore the avanti hippo 96" was imo the 6ft moonraker,


like Bob says, the best i remember here in the 70/80's outwith the 1/4 wave whip was the avanti av-261m moonraker. easily destroyed a k40, only other antenna of that period i found to challenge it was the 7ft firestick.

a uk company called wallen antenna brought out the modulator in the early 80's, it performed very well for the money too, infact a few years back one gave my sirio hp4000 a run for its money in the 30-40 mile range, outwith that the hp4000 beat it, but that was from a very high location, its been cloned many times since, which i think says it all, not much point cloning something that's shit to start with. they are roughly the same price as a 1/4 wave whip and also 3/8 threaded, but with a long thin coil and 5ft whip they aren't as much of an eyesore, are compatible with all 3/8 ,mounts, a good compromise at a decent price.
 
I didnt know much about radios and antennas back then being a young kid when I was on the radio but we had a uglystick on the pinto. Were they very good?
 
The only antenna I used mobile back then was a 102" fiberglass whip. Haven't seen one in a long time. You could get them at Rat Shack in white or black fiberglass. Not nearly as much flex in the wind and they would take a beating!
 
Mobile antenna in the 70's

I can remember (vaguely) in about '72--'73 some people in the area (Ohio) had a mobile setup called a "ladder" or "stepladder" setup used on their cars. It consisted of an approx. 1" by 8" long square alum. bar stock with a drilled hole in the center bottom of one side to receive the coax, and on the top side at both ends, drilled to hold two 102" steel whips. There were plastic spacers going up the whips about a foot apart all the way to the top to keep them separated (hence the name). They were bumper mounted and had a line attached to one of the spacers going to the front lip of the trunk lid to hold them erect while driving. I don't know how well they tuned, but they claimed the receive and transmit was exceptional with them. I don't know if anyone else has ever heard of this, but they seemed to be pretty popular there at that time.

"Remember, if a hammer won't fix it, then it must be an electrical problem"
 
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i used an antenna in the early 80's up till 88

was a D-2500

looked a lot like current I 10K mobile antennas
It sure worked well with my AR-3500
 
i use to run the Frances 8' grey fiberglass whip or the HY-gain 10 pounder both on a ball mount mounted on the trunk lid of a Pontiac Bonniville bonded the snot out if with bonding straps every where. that was the set up with a lot of guys around the watergate in the 70's& 80's the big body cars like the Buicks Pontiacs and Cadilacs & Oldsmobiles yup the years before the Suburbans became vouge in th CB world.
 

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