Does having 2 antennas drastically improve the signal you can get on a CB radio?

Question

I have a new Cobra CB radio, and currently only have 1 antenna. I have a Ford Escape with the 1 antenna on a bumper mount. As is, it only reaches a few inches above the roof. It is on the side of the
truck so it isn't obscured by the back or anything, but I am wondering if I should get a second antenna for either the roof or put it on a bumper mount on the opposite side. Would having a second antenna really improve the signal distance I can get? I feel like mine might not be that great with just one antenna because the mount is relatively low.

Answer 1

As far as two antennas go, the answer is yes and no as far as range. You can make a poor-man's bi-directional beam with correct spacing, but a beam like that on a vehicle isn't practical with the amount of spacing you need.



A 1/4-wave antenna on a back bumper is affecting the ground plane by pushing all of it off to one side of the antenna, when it wants to "see" a nice even spread in all directions underneath it. It's even bending the ground plane upward alongside the antenna which is attenuating the signal (which is why Moley could do some rough direction-finding that way).



Put a single, stout, preferably helically wound, antenna on the roof for best results. A moving vehicle with a 9' whip means a bent antenna. And you're going to clonk the overpasses if you're not careful. If you are going to use an antenna with a coil, get one with a large, air-wound coil as far up the antenna as possible for better current distribution.

Answer 2

I am by no means a cb expert but I did some messing around a few years back. I was told that dual whips don't really do anything to improve signal as you are just spliting the signal between the 2, they just look cool. The best antenna to have is a fiberglass 102" whip mounted on the back bumper in the center. When I had mine I had it on the back of the car and I could even tell the direction of the incoming signal using my rf gain. Just my experience. good luck.

Answer 3

running dual antennas will not help you. i installed dual antennas on my 87 bronco II (basically the same size as a ford escape) and since the distance between the antennas was not far enough they actually interfered with each other giving me a poor signal. the ideal length to run dual antennas is 8 feet apart. also the reason you are getting poor signal is because your antenna is being obscured by your vehicle. you need at least 3/4 of the antenna over the top of the vehicle and ideally an 8 foot antenna. also tuning your antenna helps alot too.

Answer 4

A regular CB is better than a hand held as their antenna systems are more efficient, the radio has more transmit power, can be tuned for maximum power (peaked up). They are not as popular as thirty or forty years ago, but are still in wide use, especially with truckers. If you have a family of young children, you might want to avoid the use of channel 19 because of the filthy language used by the over the road truckers.