Thunderpole 5 or sirio hygain 1/2 wave

Hi im getting back into CB radio I have just picked up a TriStar 747 and need help with an antenna...
I will mostly be dxing  and am looking for an antenna now ,been looking at the thunderpole 5 or hygain 1/2 ..the 5/8 is to big or would get that...
What do the good people on here think? 
Also was having a look at the skipmaster which is 14 foot any good? 
I'm on a hill overlooking London and Surrey if that makes a difference...
Thanks in advance

Hi. Welcome back to CB. The 747 is a classic

Performance wise I really can't see that there would be any difference between the Thunderpole or the Hygain.. they're both half waves, and a half wave is a half wave whatever claimed gain manufacturers put on the ads.

The Skipmanster is a 14 foot 5/8, if I am looking at the right one. Being shorter is going to mean it has loading coil or some other loading in it and so "probably" narrowing it's bandwidth. It wouldn't be my first choice.

I'd look for the longest/tallest you can have at your QTH, and if you're willing to throw money at it look at reviews about construction and durability and ignore advertised dB figures and S point advantages.

As Neal says about the silver rod.
I had the Skipmaster you talk about and it did work ok.
The top section is like a firestick to keep the total length to 14ft.
Also it stood up to the wind and i get some good blows living overlooking the Irish sea.

Thank you both for you're input...
I think I will go for the sirio hygain than the thunderpole 5 .
Because I won't have to keep messing about with it for swr or changing the top section..if I am right about the hygain..
Thanks again

I still need help...
The gainmaster frequency is 27 to 28....
My CB has low mids and Hi's..this won't cover my bands ? I'm not sure....
The thunder pole 5 is 18 ft has a tunable tip so would I be able to get the frequencies I need with this antenna without having to keep moving the tip....
Also looking at the half wave silver rod?
Any help would be most appreciated

Most will cover about the same.
Best thing to do is tune the SWR to it's lowest around the middle of your frequency.
IE if you had 26-27 and 28 then tune it on 27 if you get what i am saying.
I used to set mine around 27.000mhz and that would still be workable on 26.000 and up to the top of 27.000mhz..
You don't need to have a 1to1 SWR on every channel and you will never get it.
Not good at explaining me so hopefully Victor or somebody will do a better job of it.

I think I understand about the frequency now..I could still use the sirio with the low bands on my rig even though the specs of the antenna says 27mhz-28...

And will it be ok to wrap the antenna in camo tape ? Will that have any negative impact to it ...
Thanks

hi, depending on which Sirio Gainmaster you have.
Sirio Gainmaster 5/8th wave model covers Frequency range 25.5 to 30 Mhz and the
Sirio Gainmaster 1/2 wave model covers Frequency range 27.2 to 30 Mhz.
hope this helps

The gainmaster 1/2 wave comes with 2 steel tips that you slide in or out to SWR.
There could be enough tip to slide to cover where you want.
I did have this one at one time and had it covering what you want.

I would get the sirio gainmaster 5/8 but it's to big.. been reading as about the thunderpole 5 and it covers 25-30 MHz but with tip tuning ..
I just don't want to keep getting the antenna down to cover the frequencies I want to use if that is the case..
I didn't think choosing an antenna would cause me such trouble ...
Will chat to thunderpole tomorrow see if I can make my mind up..

Right made my mind up going to get the sirio gainmaster half wave.
I know it's 27-28mhz ,will I be missing out on anything on the low band that my TriStar has ??
Thanks in advance.. it has been a real eye opener trying to get an antenna

i have a venom silver rod 1/2 wave with the three little ground planes at the bottom an eighteen footer and it works well enough 

You should be able to set the swr in the middle of where you want to use it.
It should come with 2 short steel top sections and i mean short you need the longer one and if it's not long enough find a bit of thick wire that is a bit longer and use that.
But from memory i think i got mine setup with the steel tip that came with it.
And before anybody says it i doo have a bad memory but some things i do remember.
Right where do i click to post this ???? lol.

This turned up this morning..I have got to run the cable should be up and running Sunday...bought a swr meter 30amp supply and 100w amp...can't wait

Hi "Deltawhiskey220" (apologies but no name in your profile or any posting),


I've removed the duplicate picture posting for you (seems to catch out many) and wish you well with your station setup.


All the best,
Victor

CT Admin

Thank you Victor...
I have put my name on my profile now .
I'm lee nice to meet you ....
Weather is bad today so won't be running the cable hopefully tomorrow will be better....

No worries Lee, good to have you aboard.

Yeah, weather's a bit too rubbish to be mucking about with antennas at the mo.
Best of luck with it all and most importantly have fun.

73's
Victor

I have only just got my antenna up today had man flu that's a killer....
Run the cable about 15 meters down the garden ..it's about 2 foot off the ground as there is nothing built up around me ...
Just soldered the plugs on and hopefully will connect everything up tonight....

Good to see you've got the antenna setup Lee.  

You'll have to let us all know how you get on with it.


73's

Right I set everything up yesterday...
Turned on the TriStar 747 on uk40 and on channel 35 heard some voices..
.made contact with someone from my area,the person he was speaking to couldn't hear me but I could hear him .
Ihad to use my amp then he could here me...
I thought I would have been able to get out to him without the amp...
So is this because my antenna is low off the ground and like a dipole being it's the gainmaster...
Would I have been better off getting the Anton 99 with the firestick tip being as it is top oriented...am I on the right lines??
Or any suggestions..

hi, you've said in past post that it's about two foot off the ground, what swr reading did you get after ?
maybe try raising antenna higher if possible.

i have fixed my ant about seven  feet off the ground thats the bottom and then it's eighteen feet above that  and im getting a reading between  1.5 and 2

I am watching this topic because i am interesting for future update regarding the sirio 1/2 wave ... you possibly did ... have you check cable/plugs if any short circuit? or any not good grounding, also inside the female uhf plugs the metal parts if they are ok (example back of the radio or the antenna) once a female pl259 broke 2 of 4 metals inside because i soldered the male with excess soldering ... thanks