CB Radio Magazine did a real life test on several different antenna's and the difference between all of them was so small it was almost unreadable. Wilson antenna's have decided to go with quality which results in performance instead of the lowest price sure you could use even better materials and probably get a little bit better antenna but the price of the antenna would really be out of range. Since Sirio has not done this either and both are close in price so If you think that Sirio has made a antenna that blows the doors off the Wilson antenna then that is exactly what Sirio is looking for in a new customer. This does not mean that Sirio antenna's are not good and maybe equal for sure but claims that they blow the doors off the Wilson would not be real. In 2014 CB antenna technology has to be at this point in the game redundant but sales on anything will always be creative and even that is redundant.
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Wilson antenna advice
- Thread starter Nick23
- Start date
Forget about the Wilson and the Sirio. Get a Predator 10k.
http://predator10kdiscountantennas.com/products.html
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http://predator10kdiscountantennas.com/products.html
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Recently I did the test between my sirio p 5k and both the Wilson 1k and 5k. Wilsons are both pre barjan. All antennas were tuned with my mfj analyzer. All tested permanently mounted on my truck from my driveway to a local on AM about 35 miles away. Guy is running a 5 el maco vertical at 60ft...not that that matters. He noticed absolutely NO difference between the wilsons and about 1/2 s unit increase on the sirio. He claimed I was "a little louder on the sirio". I will assume that was from the 1/2 s unit...unless the sirio packs more of that famous jogunn audio gain Lol!
Yeah all this antenna stuff doesn't add up in real life. I was talking 35+ miles mobile to base with my Wilson silver load fgt 4 footer. Halfway through the conversation I changed to my Predator 10-K they couldn't tell a difference... Either he doesn't have an accurate meter or there is a tiny difference.
Quality doesn't have as much to do with performance as a lot of people think. Length is the overall decider when it comes to performance. Nothing will have more of an effect on a single element antenna than length, period. After that we have the antennas efficiency, and the large coil antennas have a definite advantage with this one, not that any mobile antenna of any frequency can truly be called efficient...
All quality does is determine how long an antenna is likely to last before you have an issue, nothing more. If you have a quality antenna that performs like crap you will likely have a quality antenna that performs like crap for a long time.
Real world tests are great to figure out how antennas perform with whatever conditions exist at a location at the time of the test. However, to assume all of those conditions are the same everywhere all of the time is just not reality. Those conditions will change even at the same locations over time. Personally I like to hear from as many tests as possible to get a range of possibilities, unfortunately often the best I can do is heresay... One test is just not enough to determine anything over the range of possibilities that exists for the real world. I'm sorry but that is just the way it is.
The DB
I am assuming that everyone on this forum knows that a 102" whip is what other antenna's are using as the best in performance and that this whip is also made of the right alloy's etc etc. In todays world a 102" whip is just to big so we are looking for in a condensed version of a antenna that gets us near that performance. I am using a Wilson antenna as a antenna that has proven it self as a good antenna. Now if we decide to buy a $19.95 antenna from Wal Mart and it doesn't work so well we usually don't get mad at the results because we know that we bought a budget antenna and this is what we get for that price. Now recalculating some other options such as quality, longevity, parts, customer service etc. could be an other way to try and sell your product when performance has been met by other manufacturers or glow in the dark Snake eyes lol. As we know that competition brings on better quality and performance and Wilson antenna's had and still are in this same competition as other antenna's are trying to beat or meet what Wilson has accomplished and don't forget about patents "road blocks" that Wilson has applied to the competition. I very recently almost bought an other brand antenna because Wilson does not offer a Trucker series antenna with a shaft length over 10" with out really searching and searching the internet and got lucky that ebay put one up for sale to me this is a big mistake because it forces you to look at other manufacturers to me this is strike one as I went way out of my way to buy their product. I can't see how Wilson antenna's will be beaten down bad as a few people have claimed when the science of CB antenna technology has been fully explored and documented and Wilson has explored and contributed in this science that has set the standard as well.
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Yes, we agree that the 102" whip is the standard by which all other mobile antennas are compared, and with good reason.
The type of metal (alloy as you put it) of the antenna itself really doesn't matter so much, the stainless steel whip is near as makes no difference to the more common copper and silver antennas when it comes to conductance.
Is it? I think it works great on the roof of my Ford Explorer...
At one point in time I would have agreed whole heartedly, then the various forums I frequent all started to have reports of newer Wilson antennas that failed after or within a year. There is more than one thread with pictures on this forum of people taking apart the coils and showing the water damage inside. Apparently Wilson was sold to a chinese company at about the time all of said reports were coming out. I vaguely remember hearing about them being bought by yet another comapany, but I don't know the details on that one. As I've not heard much about them lately I'm assuming the issues they had were largely resolved...
Radio Shack used to sell an antenna for about $25 that performed just as well as the Wilson 1000/5000's. I have a 20 year old version of this antenna sitting in my basement, it tunes up and works great... To bad I don't have a use for it at the moment, will make a great back up antenna should the need arise...
Competition can increase quality, but, as we have seen all so well in recent decades, it can also bring down prices because of things are being so cheaply made that quality suffers.
Also, specifically, what patents are you referring to? As old as that antenna line is are you sure they are still good? Patents do expire you know...
First off, what is wrong with looking at and having experience with other antennas from other manufacturers? Does that not give you a more well rounded basis to make decisions from? Honestly you sound like a Wilson fanboy to me and have made up your mind and intend to stick with it no matter the facts.
Lets look at the science that you mentioned. The two most important aspects when it comes to a mobile antennas gain are length and height. That is fact. ANY antenna that is longer than the Wilson antenna and is mounted at the same place will outperform it. It may or may not be enough of a difference for you to see, but it exists. The same laws of physics apply to every antenna system out there, weather it is Wilson or not. Longer antennas mean more gain and a lower angle of radiation. Larger diameter coils means less in losses. You cannot get around these scientific facts.
In addition to the science lets look at the reputation of one of the competitors, Sirio, the company that made the antenna whos claims are the origin of your argument. Is it a reputable company? Do they have antennas of note? Have they spent serious money in the development of antennas in recent decades? The answer to all of these is yes. Can Wilson make the same claims? I think no as the Wilson line has been largely unchanged for decades.
To not purchase an antenna simply because it wasn't made by the one company you like, that is your choice and I will not try and stop you from making that decision. To make claims about an antenna that you have never used, have no personal experience with, and apparently no intentions of getting any personal experience with says a lot. In your own words:
The DB
Nice editing on my post DB and I won't criticize every sentence you have written but I will say that you are wrong that I go by name and only purchase what I need based on that. My base station antenna is a Sirio Star Duster. I own Cobra radio's 29's 148GTL etc and also Galaxy, Fuzz Buster Z80 and a President HR2510 and own many different mic's and won't buy any more Wilson mic's because I have had bad luck with them and the one I like the most is a Extreme 2018 and I have three different makes of power supplies and the best one is the cheapest. This may upset some Harley people but when I bought a new Motorcycle I bought a Yamaha "Star" Raider after owning every make and riding for 37 years a 1900cc or 113ci v twin chopper styled that has dyno'd in at 105 horse power with only up grade is the exhaust. I have a Honda ATV 680cc 4X4 Rincon with a American made snow plow "Moose" and a Polaris ATV 4X4..I own a Toyota Tacoma TRD truck and a 4X4 Dodge truck. I don't have any reason other than what is the best or the best I can afford because nobody "or Wilson" has ever paid my rent or put food on my table.
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Sure.
I have more around here somewhere but I can't seem to find them... If I come across them I'll post them up for you...
The DB
Sure.
I have more around here somewhere but I can't seem to find them... If I come across them I'll post them up for you...
The DB
Dude...that's just kool. More pics please. I wanna see the whole show.
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Sure.
I have more around here somewhere but I can't seem to find them... If I come across them I'll post them up for you...
The DB
I'm pretty sure we are only seeing half of that antenna. Show us a picture of the Explorer and the whole antenna or do you have to do a panoramic view.
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...runna pile-up on 6m SSB