What is the best 10M + 2M/440 + CB antenna arrangement for...

I own a 4-door, soft-top Jeep Wrangler and would like to fix, mount 3 antenna - one CB, one dual band (2M/440), and one for HF (including 10M). All three will be used while underway - mostly the dual band and the HF. The CB is more for group trail riding.

Ideally I would like to spread a mounting bar across the back above the spare tire - so that the base was just below the height of the soft-top. My thoughts are to put the dual band in the center to give more room between the HF and the CB. I'm trying to optimize the patterns and not have the HF and CB patterns work off each other becoming a rough directional pattern - my understanding is that CB is 11M

If there is a solid ground to the frame, what is the optimal mounting height for the best patterns? would flush to the top of the rood be sufficient?
If I mount the HF up front (further from the CB) it would be closer to 9 foot apart and that is what I understand to be the optimal dual-antenna setup for CB.

Given I can not change the geometry of the Jeep and my intended usage, what is the optimal placement horizontally and vertically for these three antenna?

 

I have had good luck with this company and as you can see they have numerous types of amateur antennas to choose from. Personally I have the Diamond SG7500 and SG7700 installed on my car/truck which can fold over but you may be looking for a rugged one while you are out on the trail like a ham stick.

http://www.universal-radio.com/CAtalog/hamantm.html

I would personally mount all these vertical.

 

By the way what kind of rig are you running?

 

yes, vertically is the direction of choice.

The only thing I have currently is a couple HTs. I am looking for a decent dual band, a decent (compact CB), and a decent HF. My goal is to add them as I get them and hopefully only mount them once - the correct and optimal way.

How do I know the optimal mounting height? does it need to stay near the top of the body of the Jeep or if grounded correctly, can it be near the top of the soft-top?


Since the 10M and CB (11M) are so close in Freq, is it better to mount them closer together rather than out near that 9 foot balance?

 

For HF and CB, I'd just go with a single 2.5m or so whip and use an SG237 tuner. You can put a good coax switch between the HF and CB rigs and the SG237, and just switch to whichever rig you want to use. Ne need to muck about with anything, and no interaction between ants. On my Grand Cherokee I just use one long whip and the SG237 and it does a very good job.

 

2m/440 antennas are pretty easy to find. I have a diamond MR77 mag mounted on my car. For my HF/6m antenna I'm running a Comet UHV-4 on the hatch of my subaru. The only reason I run separate antennas is my FT-857D has separate connectors for each and I don't have a duplexer. I've talked from Portland to Washington DC area on 10m with that set up, and I hit the local stuff pretty well too. I like having 6m capability too because my area does have 6m repeaters and I often monitor those.

 

I won't say this is the best, but here's what I did:
Twin Arizona Rocky Road spare tire mounts. Link:
http://www.arizonarockyroad.com/
One side has the 48" FireStik CB antenna and the other side has the Diamond no-ground dual-band.
I don't trust no-ground anythings, so I buffed all contacts bright and anointed them heavily with silver Never-Seez (you can use any of the conducting greases sold by ham radio suppliers), I also ran tinned braid from each mount in through the tail gate and to the tub, under the carpet and screwed to the floor -- again, all metal to metal surfaces buffed bright and heavily greased with the conductive grease -- both to conduct, and to prevent corrosion. I also used brass bolts and washers wherever possible.
I have yet to consider the HF mount so cannot advise there.
Jeep tail gates are notoriously poor ground points; it's almost mandatory to run a braid from the antenna base to the tub or the frame, some souls will even go to the trouble and expense to run flat braid clear to the negative terminal of the battery.
I've never done it and am satisfied with my performance grounding to the tub.
If you're Jeeping on a trail, the 48" FireStik may be too tall, depending on how brushy your trails are, how many low branches you must duck under. A wire VHF/UHF antenna can bend safely, to a degree; the more rigid fiberglass FireStik is not so forgiving. Some will install a spring at the antenna base to prevent breakage.
I love my Wrangler! There's nothing like a Jeep!

 

it seems like good antenna, I wonder if 10 Meter ( 28 MHz ) section can tune down to 27 MHz ( CB band ) ?

 

The bar above the spare will be difficult to ground and that high up will be hitting trees

My Jeep sees few trails so I went with ball mounts on either side. One get a Hustler collinear, which works OK on 440, the other side gets a 102” SS whip. Straight for CB, an auto tuner in front get me on 10 through 20. I know a lot of clubs won’t let you use those whips on the trail, so this may not work for you.

The roll cage and no metal roof makes these setup a challenge. Spacing of the antennas does not matter except don’t put them within inches of each other.

Read through the treads here to get and idea of mountings. http://www.wranglerforum.com/f40/ They mostly talk about CB installs, but there is some VHF stuff as well.