I'm new to the CB Radio

[Down_South]

I got a tri-mag mount with three 5" magnets. Will I need one of those springs for the 102" whip. It scares me going down the road with the 102". I keep fearing that it will fall or break off, even though I've driven 80MPH with it and had no trouble. I've been using a modified Cobra antenna and it works ok. I found a few truck stops that sell some nice CB stuff and they have a wilson 1000. My SWR meter indicates that the SWR is high with the smaller Cobra, but I checked it out from 100 feet away and it works really good. I'm thinking that the SWR meter is a POS Radio Shack product, but who knows? If I can send a signal at least 100 feet or better I should be OK.

[Jinx40]

I use a SWR meter from Radio Shack works great. Try not to use one of those coil springs at the base of your 102, it will through your SWR way off. The tri-mag will hold it just fine on it's own.
SWR is more important then you might think. The idea is to get it as low as possible. The lower your reading the less power loss you will experience and the better your radio will receive. The ultimate is to get 1.1 on both CH1 and 40.

[Big_M]

The 102 whip needs to have a pot belly type spring to have perfect a SWR reading. With out the spring the antenna will be to short. With the spring it becomes 108in long with is the perfect length for CB radio. Then you should see a 1:5 or better SWR reading. Also always check your SWR with the doors closed.