Quote, originally posted by JohnC »It is 3 feet.Mounted it on the passenger side of the center console, faceplate up.I am not a big CB buff, it just comes in real handy sometimes, especially where there is no cell service.i'm not a "CB expert" by any stretch, but when i was installing my antenna (it's a glass mount...i'll post a pic after lunch when i go out to my car) i was told that unless you have a 5 foot or taller antenna, you need to utilize the reflective properties of the road/car roof to maximize range.With that said, if your CB is mounted at the back(as in your picture) then it would hinder reflective radio waves coming from the front (or on coming traffic) but maximize signals coming from the back as it is fully exposed to direct and reflected waves.Depending on your philosophy (i want to hear about what's ahead of me more than behind me! ) i want to get maximum range ahead of me. On my old car, i had the window mount on my windshield at the top passanger side. This exposed the entire antenna to signals coming from ahead and used the car's roof to 'somewhat' improve reflective signals from behind.With the Vibe, i have the antenna attached to the driver's side rear small window (that looks into the rear storage area). I thought about putting it on the front again, but preferred the look of the side mount (less conspicuous). The reason for the driver's side, to maximize exposure of the antenna coming from signals in front/back on opposite side of road (or oncoming traffic!). It seems to work well as i now maximize range for signals coming from 18 wheelers going in the opposite direction...telling me about any 'bears' up ahead.I don't know if it's too late, but you may want to re-attach to the driver's side of the rear hatch to expose the antenna a little more to oncoming traffic ahead of you?Another good tip is to go to a radio shack and rent a CB Radio Tuner
http://www.radioshack.com/prod...amilyand in the parking lot, fine tune the effective length of your antenna (mine has a small hole with flat head inside that i rotate to adjust). Once you've got it set, forget it and return the tuner to RadioShack for a refund/store credit. You won't need it again unless you're doing another install!
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