DIY CB Ground Wiring

[kor b]

Think of your ant. as having two parts. The top or hot side is above the bracket. The neg. or ground plain aka truck, car, is the other half. The ant. should be attached to the ground plain, and the coax should be attached to this point.

Your truck acts like a counter poise or a reflecter for the signal, so the closer the ant. to the ground plain, and the posistion of the ant. is very emportant.

Because todays semi trucks have a lot of fiber glass and you have to put your ant. way out on the mirror bracket, away from the optamum center of the truck, it becomes less efficiant.

[delta5]

Here is the CORRECT way to ground your antennas on these new trucks with the isolated mirror mounts and fiberglass bodies. If this isnt done correctly, (going straight to ground), the coaxial cable will radiate and not the antenna. I have personally spoken with a Wilson engineer and this is the way to do it. Dont listen to what the cb rambos or the cb hack shops tell you.

Wilson Antenna Tech support - Trucker SWR Notes

Scroll towards the bottom of the page.

Be sure to remove the paint from where the wire will touch around the bolt and bolt head. You are trying to add the sheet metal of the door as part of the ground plane for the antenna.

Also notice what they say about tilting your antennas forward. All it does is screw up your radiation angle and make you look like a retard to those that know better...

[Lyv Wire]

Originally Posted by delta5

Here is the CORRECT way to ground your antennas on these new trucks with the isolated mirror mounts and fiberglass bodies. If this isnt done correctly, (going straight to ground), the coaxial cable will radiate and not the antenna. I have personally spoken with a Wilson engineer and this is the way to do it. Dont listen to what the cb rambos or the cb hack shops tell you.

Wilson Antenna Tech support - Trucker SWR Notes

Scroll towards the bottom of the page.

Be sure to remove the paint from where the wire will touch around the bolt and bolt head. You are trying to add the sheet metal of the door as part of the ground plane for the antenna.

Also notice what they say about tilting your antennas forward. All it does is screw up your radiation angle and make you look like a retard to those that know better...

Good INFO & GOOD LINK delta5 !

A fellow can get some reliable information there

[delta5]

I called Wilson's tech support number with some questions about an antenna one day. They actually connected me to one of the engineers that designed the Wilson 1000! When he found out that I was a ham radio operator, he talked to me for almost an hour. I learned a lot about antennas that day. They are very aware of the problems with these new trucks and have designed a new whip antenna with its own built in counterpoise (ground system for the cbers). Its called the No Ground Antenna. It has its own ground built into the coax cable harness with a special swr adjusting box inline with the coaxial cable.

Wilson Antenna - No Ground Fiberglass

[Lyv Wire]

Delta 5,

I have used the Wilson No-Ground myself. ( I have never found anyone else who has !) I'm a slipseater & it is pretty nice to sit in your seat & get the SWR down to an acceptable level without hanging on a mirror in the rain or snow ! The only change I made was to mount it on a Vise grip mount . I don't think it receives maybe as good as a standard ground type antenna but, it is pretty darn good . Someone must have liked the first one I bought,... it disappeared from the dispatch office !! (Ticked me off )


I'm surprised more drivers haven't tried it yet. Good suggestion.