The 102 Steel Whip CB Antenna. How To Install And Adjust The SWR On The Best CB Antenna Made. 

I keep a 102 whip on the toolbox of my 84 ranger. Its been there since 1988. Great antenna. C.b. still alive in Sheridan Arkansas. Keep the videos going

I like mounting the long whip antennas on the drivers side to better avoid hard strikes of overhanging tree branches on the passenger side of the vehicle.

I like the way you do things Eric, Infowars decal, Ryobi power tools, radio shack swr meter, 102" whip, and how you live. We have alot in common but unlike you many of my projects remain undone. I got your bring back cb radio mug. Cb around northwest Indiana has mostly all gone to ssb unless you want to cuss on channel 19 with the Yahoo's. Good videos keep that cb alive brother. I am trying round these parts.

👍 I messed around with a couple of antennas ,now i have a 102" whip on top of the ladder rack on my Dakota pkp.I clip a few trees but it works great.

Great video!!! As stated, most antennas ARE in an imperfect environment, but on a Pickup, the stake pockets work well with a well devised mount, if you dont want to drill cab for ball mount. . Remember, height is MIGHT. No matter what whip you run, the little loss you get from corner mounting won't make much difference compared to whacking power lines, trees, and Mickey D's drive through if mounted on top. The drivers side most times has less physical interference, as it's usually closer to the center of the road. 73

You said it, best antenna made, started out in the mid to late 60's with co-phased 102" stainless steel whips, still have those and still use them. They will not burn out like most other antennas.

Just finished installing a whip without a spring on a custom Rago mount bolted on back passenger side of the tailgate. No holes drilled with a Rago mount as it uses the trucks existing hardware. I had to try different mounting hardware of different styles before my antenna was happy with 1.1 SWR. What works best for me is a basic vertical stud mount taken from a trucker mirror antenna mount and a single stainless washer on top of the insulator. 1.1 SWR on all 40 channels. Some antenna connectors don't have the notches cut out for the teeth on the antenna cable connector so the male and female connectors don't sit right and don't get a solid ground. I had to cut my own notches out so that the connector teeth would go in and allow the connectors to mate properly. I'm sure a lot of people forget to look at this when installing new mounting hardware. I'm running a President McKinley and 18' coax. 73

I found that with my 102" whip on the back bumper similar to your mount, at highway speeds, my antenna would "vibrate" at what appeared to be a harmonic frequency for the antenna. It would form a nearly perfect figure eight in it's wobble. While this looked kind of cool, it ended up putting too much stress on the antenna and it snapped off at the base. I solved the problem with a piece of paracord attached to the body of the truck and tied around the antenna (at about the height of the top of the tail light). That snubbed the vibration and my antenna now rides nicely. I'm driving a 2019 F-150, my antenna is actually mounted to a piece of 1"x 1/8" thick stainless steel flat stock attached to the bottom of the bumper using 2 stainless 1/4 - 20 bolts and stainless & nylon lock nuts.

3/2023: Another good video. I've always preferred a 102" whip antenna. Nothing works better. Thanks

I had a 102 whip on my 85 Ford PU, mounted to the drivers side of the cab. I put a match box in line and adjusted the SWR with that. Worked Great!

Heh, the DX label on your tailgate is a pretty cool coincidence. Thanks for all the CB content👍🏻👍🏻

I've been interested in CB for a couple years now, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Bearcat 980 and a 102". Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Well, that was a flashback to 1971 for me! Thanks for sharing!

I got a quad mount i modified with a 6 inch spring and a 102" antenna plugged into my cobra 29 talking with an astatic mic. Love the infowars sticker 73s

I really enjoyed your video on the 102 inch whip antenna replacement I watched the other videos that you did on the President McKinley radio and installed one this weekend in my truck also bumper-mounted the whip antenna in much the same way that you had did yours it worked out excellent I really appreciate you taking the time to show the details of the McKinley radio as well as the antenna positioning and this latest video on the 102 inch antenna replacement also answered a lot of questions, needless to say my first Contact was Quebec Canada .I live in North Carolina about 30 miles east of Charlotte I could not believe it it was awesome all the way to Canada from NC ! Thanks again and hope to hear you on the radio sometime would be awesome to talk to you !!!

My old truck used quick connects (one side CB, other side dual band) to the top surface of the truck bed. My new truck has Ram Boxes either side, so I sketched up a crude diagram of a 2” aluminum or steel (went with aluminum) antenna frame stand that ran either side of the interior truck bed, across the back to join, then ran up towards the middle front of the bed and across again just below the height of the cab height. On both sides of the top rail of this “antenna stand” I drew 8” diameter circles for the antennas to be centered on. I took this sketch to the local welding supply shop, their welder fabricated from my sketch for a couple hundred dollars. Light enough that it can be removed if I need to haul something that the rack/stand gets in the way, coax has two connections (CB and dual band again) in the bottom inside of truck bed, so I don’t disconnect the antennas’ coax at the antenna end of the mounts, but disconnect where the coax ran a few feet from antenna to where it enters the truck bed instead, so the whole antenna rack can be removed and put back with antennas still mounted and the coax still tied down to the rack. I also still have the antennas themselves on quick connects so they come right off the stand when I drive into the garage, or something lower than 10’... they quickly come off and then back on. So welder mounted the 8” circular plates at either end of top rail, I loaded it up in truck, fit snugly, also had the welder add a lockdown ring so I could chain the antenna rack to the truck bed interior hooks for security. I took it home, drilled holes through center of 8” round plates down through 2” rack bars, and mounted my antennas through hole center of plates. Grounded the antenna rack to the truck frame via copper braid bolted to where tail gate closes into bed (on bed frame bolt each side of tailgate opening). It all works great. Couple hundred in cost to fabricate, little work to prep rack for mounting antennas which are firesticks; looks great, works great.

I use the ss whip on 10m, cut it to 99", 1.1 on 28.400. it works fine on 29.5 FM at that length. I also lost the corona ball, but replaced it with a much bigger one from RFJunk. with minimal change in SWR. I use a Yaesu FT-857D for the transceiver.

Heck I like watching just to catch the intro/exit tune. Something about that tune that is Just Right!

Antenna Analyzer is a good investment.

I've got a 102 whip but recently took it off and put a 5 ft tunable firestick with a small spring. SWR's out of the box on the firestick were 1.1 on chnl 40 and not hardly measurable on chnl 1. The 102 is the best, but drive thru's and low branches make it a challenge even though it was mounted on my toolbox.

Eric.... Greetings from the sandhills of North Carolina. Getting back into CB after 2 past forays in CB. High school in 1968(vacuum tube then) and 1977(Hy-Gain CB). I agree with you on the 102 inch whip. I installed a 102 on the right rear quarter deck of my Xterra SUV. I used a Hustler heavy duty SS ball Mount and a 6 inch SS spring. The antenna speaks for itself. I will mate it with a President McKinley radio. Also I used RG-8X coax. Keep up the great videos! 73's Mark

I bought that antenna 102 mounting it on the roof of my house as a base station antenna I live in AUSTRALIA cb radio is great hobby I use a super Bengal base mark 2 thank you your review I liked very much,,

I used to run co-phased 102’s. Quite directional but worked really well.

I never use the spring , I put the mount right through my bumper, I also mount it on the left rear so I didn't hit limbs on the back roads, I since an O-ring around the whip the height of the tailgate, I pull the o ring over and down in the bead and hook it. When parked antenna is slightly forward and at 70 MPH its only slightly towards the back.

I think the Fall Guy had 102" on his truck in the show. I think how it was on that one complimented the way the truck was built. You gotta love them old shows from the 80s. They had awesome vehicles and most of them had a CB.

Hello, Eric I really enjoy watching these tutorial videos. Stay safe my friend.

My next New Vehicle (hopefully next month) will have a good C/B Radio that is "Tuned" thanks to you!

I have mine on a fender mount. I have a 98.5 Ram 2500 4x4. I run the 102 whip and a Stryker 655HP. My SWR is 1:2.

My 102" has a flat 1 SWR on 1 through 40. Wilson techs told me when they tested their antennas in the Nevada desert they didn't beat the 102" whip.

MAHALOS! EXCELLENT VIDEO! USED A 102 FOREVER....THE 70'S CENTER ROOF MOUNT. DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO PULL IT DOWN SO YOU DONT HIT ANY THING! SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IS KEY

102 inch steel whip or plastic whip. Once you have mounted the antenna to your vehicle. Tie a string at the top of your antenna and pull back on the string. Tie your string to something while it has the antenna bending backwards. Check your swr reading. Untie the string and let the antenna stand back up straight. Check your swr reading again. They will not be the same. It is much better to set your swr on your antenna while it is bent backwards some. Going down the road conditions. Not sitting idle.

Thanks for this vid. I've noticed a lot of folks on the web saying that 11 meters use of a 102" whip doesn't need a spring, even scorning their use sometimes. My first attempt with a whip was done without the spring first, then I put the spring on and WOW! What a difference! Like a universe of difference. In receive especially. So for noobs out there like myself, GET THE SPRING with a 102" whip because you really can't use it on 11 meters without it.

Ran 102's for years. The nylon bushing on the mount has to be cleaned every couple of months depending where you live. Most SWR problems come from the mount. I mounted mine on my 5th wheel plate with a fold down bracket. Antenna bends perfectly into the back corner...

Absolutely right about a 1/4 wave whip, had a lot of headache with a 5/8 helically wound Firestik. Still fun though to mess about with cb here in the UK prę '81, little 35w burners, still got my NATO 2000 rig, with super low SSB...And very distinctive Roger Beep. Love it! Innocent days, even though it was illegal here. Met a couple of girlfriends through it too, come to think of it, lol.

I love the look of 102 on a truck..I have mine mounted on a ball and spring mounted to a plate on my tool box i have it a little leaned back

I keep getting the itch to replace the three-foot Firestik on my Jeep with a 102” - just concerned about SWR wonkiness. I ended up with the Firestik in the first place because something about my then-new radio didn’t like my existing 4’ Wilson Silverload setup that had run for quite a while at 1.1:1. With the Wilson, she showed SWRs above nine (though the antenna was in perfect shape and ran at 1.2:1 on another install later); dropping to the shorter three-foot antenna dropped my SWRs back to a peak of 1.12:1. I thought I knew a good deal about 11-meter setups, but I never could figure that one out. So, I’m naturally a bit gun-shy to change it again. Sure is tempting to try, though! 😄

Cool video. Us hams all started out on 11 meters. I wish cb was used more like it was in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I really enjoyed going to Radio Shack and building my cb base station. You really have to have a nice tall antenna on cb to be heard. I enjoy using2 meter/70 cm repeaters as well cause you can use a shorter mobile antenna and still be heard well. But I miss the 80’s and 90’s cb days. Keep making videos like this. I really enjoyed it.

I remember probably 40+ years ago my Dad had a whip on his truck and they mounted it on a ball on the passenger side on the aft side of cab down low. maybe six inches form bottom of truck. HE still would run into trees etc. :) they installed a bracket on the same side on the aft bumper so he could bend the antenna down and that would hold it down while in town etc... I originally searched for the question of how good would the antenna operate with that config. You answered the question basically it is not optimal but good.

Oh wow! A Radio Shack SWR meter. What an antique.

Put a fishing line at the top of the antenna and tie it to your truck that keeps it straight up and not blowing back

Thank you, I appreciate your time that you take for these videos!!!

The diamond in the video is @9:16 Good ol Shack LOL. Great video. Good to see CB's still getting used.

Do away with the spring and small mount, use a gp 10” riser and a larger mount stud. The riser makes adjusting swrs and tuning very easy. No snipping antenna or adding washers. I just installed mine on my freightliner. Great antenna

LONG LIVE C.B. RADIO !!!

You DID mention using dielectric grease which is your friend when assembling any mechanical or electrical component as it will prevent water - RUST/corrosion from forming on the mounting hardware and the insulated antenna feed. NO - the grease WILL NOT affect the electrical/antenna connection as there will still be a good metal-to-metal connection.... If you are dicking around with CB stuff you should also have a DVM - digital voltmeter or analogue - needle meter, which is wise to use to check that there are NO shorts between the ground and the center antenna feed wire. It is just a smart thing to do that takes only seconds which will prevent the AW-SHIT moment that WILL happen when you burn up your multi hundred dollar radio....

Thats why I like 2 meters fm cause there are tons of free repeaters in southern california that are crystal clear any you can use a 12 inch magnet mount antenna. Cb was a ton if fun in the 80’s and 90’s when more people used them. Now not many truckers even use them much with all the cellphone walkie talkie apps out there

On my Ram 1500 I run one on the center of my toolbox lid , perfect swr as expected . I have several stainless steel heavy duty springs that WILL NEVER RUST .. old school made by Motorola ,, from my previous career that you and Mower Junkie are aware of , I will be sure to get you and him one !! Just don't ever check your SWR riding down the road with the whip laid back a little or you'll get a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach , so being determined to use the spring cause the almost 4 inch spring is needed in the SWR equation .. I ran 2 tig weld beads down the side of mine top to bottom , 180 degrees apart .. problem solved ,, or you can lose the 4 inch spring and use a riser, or nothing and play with coax length for your SWR happy place .. just a bit of info I thought I'd share . And we all know by hearing 151 Mower Junkie ,, a 102 inch whip works !!!!

I use a whip adjuster to run a 102 on my particularly vehicle. With spring full length is 110"

I just got a hustler 102”. I mounted it to my toolbox. Box has 3 ground straps with one running to frame. SWR is great 1.2 match. When I’m driving I get a slight “antenna warning” on my cobra 29 LX

In the new antennas get a magnet 500 Stainless Way up will do the job

As a side note from my understanding Co-Phase mounted 8.5 to 9ft apart (like on a Semi) the radiating pattern on the properly tuned setup is perpendicular to the arrangement of the antennas not with the antennas. This is likely different when they are mounted closer together but thought I would share.

I've thought about making a sort of ground plane and mounting a 102 whip in my hitch receiver so I don't have to drill holes in the bumper and if need be I can remove it .I thought if I use a 3 or 4 inch drop hitch and flip it upsidedown it will definitely put the antenna 1/3 above the highest point of the truck. I rarely pull a trailer so I would not be compromised by mounting it there. My only concerns are being able to put the tailgate down without interference and will it actually work in that location. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated . thanks Eric I've learned a lot from your channel ,being completely new to this hobby and not having any prior knowledge after a few select videos I was able to set my radio up and get out there and talking in no time.

best antenna ever made last forever !

Go ahead farpoint Farms! You have the cactus juice Bass here in Florida!

I run one on the top of my tool box on my pickup and got a 1.1 SWR. My friends and I tested it against the Wilson 5000 and 1000 and predator and the 102 beat them all

Cut coax the same length Of your antenna until you reach your radio for Low swr 1to2 SWR

I've been using a 102" whip for years mounted on my pickup

Thank you for the video. I’m just getting into cb tech. Video was very informative.

CRC 2-26 is the ideal lubricant for these connections. Provides enhanced conductivity, reduction of corrosion and electrolysis, and lubricity to allow for easy removal. As opposed to dielectric grease...

The better antenna is a black beauty if you can find one 109 inches with a 4 inch Sprain.

Thinking of a 102 metal whip on the semi truck

Put a Magnum 1 with that you be kicking ass

i found a trick for the swr after you install the amp. first its best to use a 12foot jumper from amp to cb. ok heres what i done to get a 1.0 swr . connected my amp to radio with a 3 way splitter on the open end just plug the open three way to another amp dont turn it on... mines grounded and powered because i was installing another amp. and i had the 3 way already. i had 4. somthing on 1 and 8.5 on 40. now the swr is 1.0 and 1.1 and im able to check the swr with the cb..... try it and see its new thing i found myself..... i get props for it my call handle is gamer north east ga

You have alot of truthful information. However, I have used many antennas in many locations on many vehicles, and using a five foot firestick 2, a five foot wilson silverload, or a five foot quad wrap on a mirror mount or high mount behind the cab will smoke a 102 whip. I do believe a properly installed whip is good but not on the bumper it just has too much reflection. And you need to test your system with an analyzer. If you have an swr meter on your radio it will be just as accurate as the external meter, as a matter of fact the external meter will have an effect on the readings

For base stations all directional anesthetic Antron hike wave length at 20 to 80 feet high hi

Tennessee ham operator OLD CBer CB handle 16 Charlie whiskey one 👍🇺🇸

as always thank you and props on the infowars sticker

Love the infowars sticker!

I've always heard a 102" will out talk any other mobile antenna. Mines pared with a President Dick and a KL203p on my bench it tested out to 190-200 watts pep @ 1.5 - 2 watt dead key 20-25 swing The Dick has features you'd find on high dollar $ "Export" jobs but better cost. I can see raising it with a washer but how would you lower it?

After the cordial introduction, at approx 4:01 the left turn information commences. what about grounding/ bonding 🤔

Now ur cranking at my heart strings.

When he said 'this puppy', he made me laugh as when you get something new it's a puppy and when you replace it, it's an old dog 🤣

Does a firestick antenna, really need a spring mount or have you had good luck with out the springs?

Well done

Nice set up...... that cheap black coax is now your weakest link. Rock on bro.

MFJ has a 108" whip that eliminates the need for a spring and makes it a little more rigid., so it won't be flopping around so much. I just checked and they're not available right now but are still on the products list. So maybe they are just having trouble keeping them in stock right now due to the rona.

Do not throw that spring away, clean it in a Ultrasonic bath and hopefully it will end up like the day u bought it.... and those springs are very expensive here in Australia like alot of radio stuff.... u guys got the cream of the crop cos u have had the population to sustain it.

Hey Eric , I can’t use full 50 watt power on my ham radio with the fully grounded headache antenna mount ! Should I try grounding to the third brake light? Those mounting kits are too expensive even if they work for the problem that I’m having. I can adjust the power to 25 watts and that is fine , a little higher swr but still acceptable. You helped me with this set up initially , a grounded plate underneath the antenna didn’t make any difference ! (However I’m not sure about its metallurgical quality) of the plate thanks Shane

I have a president McKinley, a palamor 250 amp, and a 102” whip. Swr’s are way too high. It’s mounted on side of Tacoma with aluminum bracket. Do I need to change to SS bracket or put it on back bumper

Id just mount the antenna straight to the mount because a 102 whip is actually 103 inches from Corona ball to the lug that screws down and 103 is exactly the right length using ham radio antenna formula for channel 20. That is where you should tune your antenna for swr it will be pretty even on channel 1 as is channel 40. The spring actually causes more swr and makes it hard to tune. If you have a ground wire from bottom of mount to the actual center of frame under your vehicle you shouldn't need any tunning. Also use quality cable beldons rg8x or mini rg8.

You had that SWR meter since 1972 haven't you, have you ever had to put a longer bolt in that spring to try to make that SWR match

can you install a 102' into a regular old magmount? I have a Wilson W1000 magmount on my roof, but the range is terrible with the 62' whip. Wondering if I can just unscrew the little coil off the mag mount and slap a 102' in there no problem. Thank ya once again

Thanks for the video Eric very interesting. 👍👍👍👍👍

I am well grounded, but can not get my 102" below 1:5:1...and trimming q 1-2" just sounds wrong?

I saw one of those tapered springs once that looked fine on the outside, but the wire inside was corroded and broke.

Tune your antenna to channel 23

Maybe you can help I want to install my wip on my trucks roof will work good with a tram 3 magnet Mount.

Walker.2....with a 102 whip.. Good combo. ....cobra killer cb radio

Firestone makes a 7 foot whip that comes close called the KW7

Where's the tennis ball on that whip? 😀

you should get a mfj 259b, best tool you can get to test and evaluate an anenna.

Love the Infowars bumper sticker.

love the infowars sticker, plus when's the next live stream

You know, I bet your 102 antenna and spring is resonant slightly above and below the band as well. My 102 antenna and spring had a usable range of 24.4 to 28.4 MHz, with the best SWR in the center, and a 2:1 SWR at the lowest and highest frequencies.

Hey Eric do i really need a spring for my 4 ft firstik ? Would a 3 ft firstik be fine on truck for 10 meter? Thanks bud .have an awsome day 🎉🎉🎉

How Did You Get That Video Mounted So Perfect ? Looks Professional

Hello again Eric I wanted to ask what you thought about using a 102 steel whip as a base station antenna? I have one that I have been thinking about putting on the house. I would ground the antenna and I have a spring to get slightly higher and I'm looking to the mirror mounting bracket I would just screw that to my roof peek and I gotta pick up ground wire and I have a ground rod copper and I think its 8 ft. What do you think? Should I not waste my time with it? I currently have a workman B100 short antenna. Thanks for the great video eric. Always helpful

Fantastic your swr was tight across the whole spectrum , however it leaves me with a question for you . At the end of your video you talk about using small single washer's to raise or lower the depending on your swr readings on 1 and 40 , my question is and it may sound silly but are you suggesting i can use the washer to lower the antenna without trimming it somehow ? If so would you mind showing this to us because i have never attempted to lower an antenna without trimming it to my needs , unless of course it has an adjustable tip like my firestick . I'm sure i just misunderstood but it just sounded to me like you were suggesting the washer could be used to adjust it either way .

What coax u using I just got my 102 an mounting it to bumper

Hey Erik, I have a 2006 Tundra and I'm thinking of installing my 102" whip on the same bumper corner as your T-100. Do you hit a lot of tree branches & stuff when driving on the right lane? How is your radio signal for oncoming traffic? I've seen so many recommendations as to where to install it but I'm trying to decide either the drivers side or passenger side of the bumper. Please share your thoughts. Thanks!