CB NGP antenna question

[Ironhide Fx4]

I have a midland CB with a 2' Firestik non ground plain antenna. I used to have the antenna mounted on a Thule bar on my Leer cap, that is now long gone.

I want to mount the same antenna to my RCI bed rack. Do any of you know if that will be an issue? The rack is powder coated steel and will rest on the plastic bed rails. I will bolt the rack on the rear section with 2 bolts through the bed rail but the rest of it will use standard bed clamps.

My other thought, if grounding is an issue with the NGP antenna, could I place some rubber between the mount and the bed rack to avoid any issues?

Thanks for any help folks.

This is the antenna:
This is the mount I'm thinking of switching to:

 

[Prerunner1982]

As long as the antenna and coax are both isolated from the mount it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

A NGP (No Ground Plane) antenna mount doesn't need a ground strap or the minimum 3'x3' (or 9 sq. feet) metal surface needed to run a GP (Ground Plane) antenna. All of that is taken care by the special NGP coax cable that can only be used with an NGP antenna. The benefit of a ground plane setup is a stronger signal. The antenna mounting location can have a huge impact on the signal quality as well. Make sure you never shorten an NGP coax cable.

So no, you do not need to insulate the mount with a piece of rubber. I have an NGP Firestick mount bolted right to the spare tire carrier. It's 4' to extend over the roof rack and works ok.

 

[Steve]

The NGP Firestik that you have linked on Amazon comes with a mount with nylon insulators to keep the antenna itself insulated from the mount. If you go with the separate mount linked, it *looks* like it might also have the insulators. If not, and the hole is too small, you may need to enlarge the hole so that the nylon insulators fit.

I had mine clamped to my Yakima basket, which worked pretty well. Once I install the Prinsu rack, I'll need to come up with a mounting method for it.

[EDIT} Oh, and you will need to solder (preferred) or crimp the ring to the NGP antenna's center wire. Be sure not to let the solder of crimp contact the shield, or you'll lose the functionality of the NGP antenna. You can *not* change the length of the cable, so if you screw up the soldering or crimping, you will need to carefully undo it or get a new cable.

 

[Ironhide Fx4]

Thanks folks! appreciate all the help. I was aware of not cutting the cable and already had this mounted on a cap so the ring is already soldered on. I may purchase a 3' antenna to get it sitting a little higher of the rack. The RCI rack is a low pro design. Good to learn something new.

I'll be sure to check the nylon insulator fits properly, i didn't consider that. I intend to just swap out the mounts. I don't know much about this stuff. Have a HAM licences... never even used a HAM radio yet haha.

 

[adam1752]

i just started upgrading my CB set up and I'm looking for advice on a new antenna, i have a 3ft fire stick and I'm not quite incrusted with it so now I'm looking for a new antenna that is about the same size but has better range.