CB Radio Antennas - Which Type Is Right For Your Two Way Radio?

CB Radio antennas are made in all kinds of shapes and sizes, ranging from pathetically inefficient "rubber ducky" antennas to full size quarter-wave, half-wave or even larger antennas. And for base station installations, where you have a bit of room, you can even erect directional beam antennas such as yagi or quad antennas, which focus all their transmitted energy (and listening sensitivity) in one chosen direction.

Now I need to clarify one thing here. CB (the Citizens Band Radio Service) was originally set up for Amateur Radio use in the US by the FCC on the 11-meter, 27 MHz band -- which is at the top end of the shortwave frequencies. Those CB transceivers originally had 23 channels and used simple AM modulation. Then came Single Sideband CB radios, and then 40 channel CB rigs.

The CB radio craze of the 1970s died down as people got tired of all the foul-mouthed idiots on the air. Today CB is mostly used by interstate truck drivers, RVers and other travellers on Americas highways and tollways. And the FCC has come up with other radio services such as FRS and GMRS radios which have proved to be especially popular because of their small convenient sizes. The new sets use the UHF bands, which can have much smaller aerials than the old 27 MHz two way radios.

The most popular 27 MHz CB radio base station antennas have been the quarter-wave, half-wave or 5/8ths wave ground plane antennas. There was also an excellent 1/2 wave design called a Ringo, which had a ring-link matching section at its base. Hence the name it got.

Licensed Amateur Radio Operators (Hams) who are allowed to transmit on around ten shortwave bands, would sometimes buy 27 MHz CB antennas and trim them so they worked on the 10 meter Ham band, up on 28-29 MHz. It is a great band for making long distance 2-way radio contacts (working DX), but only when propagation conditions are good.

There were also old multi-band valve 2-way ham radio sets that included 27 MHz frequencies, 27.000 to 27.500 MHz, which was once called the Amateur 11 meter band... before CB was invented.

At the time I write this, May 2009, propagation conditions are really terrible. DX contacts are hard to get, but they will get good again in maybe three or four years. The abysmal atmospheric propagation conditions will be with us for a while. It's still possible to make skip contacts, but you will need to call a lot before anyone answers. Or you will need to listen around really diligently and answer some weak stations. It will be hard work.

We're waiting patiently for propagation conditions to improve.

CB radio antennas for the UHF radio bands are smaller, which allows manufacturers to make gain antennas very easily for base station or mobile (in the car) use. But if you are using a handheld radio, a so-called walkie talkie, you are pretty much stuck with the rubber duck antenna that came with it. And that isn't likely to have any gain at all, when compared to a "standard" quarter-wave whip.