Firestik spring mount necessary??

[mrhumble1]

Greetings all,

I just installed an antenna mount (FM\CB) and am curious as to whether or not I need to use a spring under the quick-disconnect for my Firestik antennas.

I have a 2' that I use for everyday driving (overkill for FM, sure, but that's the shortest Firestik I could find). I bought a 4' to use when on the trail. I will swap them out with the quick-disconnect ends, so that's the easy part. I am a little worried about vibration causing the antennas to come loose, so that's why I thought to use the spring. However, the spring could easily cause MORE vibration if it starts bouncing around too much.

Also, I guess I could put some blue Loctite on the connectors but I am not sure if that's the best idea either. Fortunately, there's this forum full of smart people that can help me figure this out.

What do you all think???

Current setup (2' antenna):

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[TroyBoy]

Well after busting off my antenna when I forgot about it and drove into my garage, I bought a new one with a spring. Seems okay but I haven’t tried the spring off-road yet. My antenna is mounted in the back.

 

[LanceM]

Where did you get that mount?

 

[mrhumble1]

Where did you get that mount?

It's the Rugged Ridge AM/FM/CB antenna kit that's supposed to be for the JK, but it can be installed in the JL. To answer your question, it's available at several online retailers but I got mine at Northridge4x4.

Here's a thread with some info and where I posted my (moderately painful) install info and pics:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/rugged-ridge-cb-am-fm-kit.9364/#post-679146


Here's a YouTube vid of someone installing the kit in a JK:

 

[Tech Tim]

Yes, run a spring with a Firestick, one for the reason @TroyBoy mentioned, if you hit something, the antenna can bend out of the way.

Second, a spring will help cut vibration of the antenna down to a minimum. Vibration due to driving off road (gravel roads) over a long period of time can cause the fiberglass to splinter and delaminate and eventually the antenna comes apart. Been there, done that many years ago, have run a spring ever since.

For a 4' antenna you'll want the HD spring Firestik offers.

 

[mrhumble1]

Thanks for the info, peeps!!

I have a 2' and a 4' that I will swap out and I decided to only use the spring on the 4'. I drove around with it mounted up last weekend and it seems pretty solid.

Now all I have to do is figure out why my SWR is all messed up. I will head to the CB shop this week to get some professional help.

 

[prerunner1982]

Thanks for the info, peeps!!

I have a 2' and a 4' that I will swap out and I decided to only use the spring on the 4'. I drove around with it mounted up last weekend and it seems pretty solid.

Now all I have to do is figure out why my SWR is all messed up. I will head to the CB shop this week to get some professional help.

Does the mount have a good ground to the body?
Did you put the nylon washer on top of the mount?

 

[Tech Tim]

EDIT: btw, if you're swapping antennas won't you have to adjust for SWR each time?

Get the adjustable Firestick II, adjust each one to the best SWR for the set-up and then you can swap them back and forth. If the SWR goes out a little, it's a simple retune.

 

[mrhumble1]

Get the adjustable Firestick II, adjust each one to the best SWR for the set-up and then you can swap them back and forth. If the SWR goes out a little, it's a simple retune.

Yeah I don't plan on using the radio with the 2' antenna. That's just for FM reception while daily driving. I'll use the 4' when on the trails so that's the only one I'll have to tune.

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