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| Reviews Summary for Radio Shack whip antenna 102 inchs long |
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Reviews: 19
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $16
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Description: Antenna that is 102" long and is used mainly by CB Radio Operators. Also a good choice for 10 Meters. This antenna is available at some Radio Shack stores and at Radio shops.
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Radio Shack whip antenna 102 inchs long.
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W9GIL
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 23, 2012 18:13
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It is OK for 10 meters
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I got the whip for some experimenting. I read a lot of good and bad things about it and also how easy you can convert it to some other bands. I gave it a try on 10 meters where it should tune with no problems. I ran SWR at 28400 and it was dead flat! WOW. I should mention that I was using magnet mount. So I decided to try it with a friend of mine who lives 15 miles away. Two whips, two cars, two Kenwood radios with 100 Watts. We got each other with 1S and really hard to copy. We decided to compare it to Wilson 1000 antenna whicj we both owned. This time it was S3 and clear copy.
My conclusion. If you need an antenna for 10 meter band only...think twice :-)
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W5LZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 4, 2010 06:30
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Good for what it is.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've used a 102" whip antenna as part of another antenna for a lot of years. They work just fine as a component part, or a stand-alone antenna if it's as long as you need for some particular frequency. I've bent a few, but can't remember ever seeing one broken completely.
How does it work with a tuner on bands where it's too 'short'? If it isn't 'too short', it'll probably work okay. Until you get to somewhere near 20 meters or so, and then it's more a liability than an asset. A tuner will do nice things for impedance matching, but nothing for resonance (the 'other half' of tuning any antenna). No matter what tuner you use, 40 and 80 meters will be terrible unless you've got a loading coil in there somewhere. It still won't be an ~efficient~ antenna on 40 or 80 meters, but it'll 'work'.
Something to remember is that the 'antenna' starts where the feed line ends. Count the height of the mount in the length of the radiating part of that antenna. That 102 inches isn't -all- of the actual length of the 'antenna'.
:)
Paul
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W9VER
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 4, 2010 05:47
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Just some information
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Time owned: months
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I would like to throw out some thoughts.
I have several of these and it is indeed a great antenna, but it is the "lightweight" version of the 102 incher. DX Engineering offers a 102" that is more rigid and uses a larger diameter taper.
Having said that, you can't beat the R.S. 102, I mean how can you mess up a 102" whip design?
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AD7JR
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 15, 2010 09:37
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solid antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This indestructable piece of stainless is good for 10 meters, 11 meters and 12 meters just as it is sold. You can add a spring if you want for little better swr on 11-12 meters, take spring off for 10 meters. If you've got the room, it's the only antenna to have for 10 meters. The only reason I'd think of any other antenna for 10 would be lack of space.
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W2YM
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 25, 2010 22:01
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102 Inch, AT-200Pro, HF mobile
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Time owned: months
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What if I use the 102inch whip with a LDG AT-200Pro tuner and a good HF mobile rig. Wonder how that would work for 80-10.. Just wondering what everyone thinks.. Thanks
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K5UJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 19, 2009 11:50
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Great but metric
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I'm giving this whip antenna a 5 because it really is a well made stainless steel whip at a very reasonable price and nothing else needs to be said IF you live outside the U.S. For Americans, I bought mine at the local Radio Shack, planning on using it with a large 3 or 4 magnet mount to make a 1/4 w. ground plane vertical for ten meters. Everything was excellent except that the mounting threads for the whip were metric and I could find no mounting hardware here that was anything other than English measurements. I considered some sort of adapter method but there was nothing available that would both work and give the antenna a strong attachment to the mount. I wound up returning the antenna to Radio Shack and they gave me a full refund.
If you buy one make sure it will mate with your antenna mount!
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KE5JPS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 18, 2009 19:52
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Solid! What else can you say?
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I used this antenna with my President Grant CB before I got my ham ticket. I didn't know at the time why it did so well with "skip". It is a 1/4 wave antenna and has a more upward radiation than other antennas. I have wanted to cut it down to use on 10m. I think that this antenna would be awesome. How can you go wrong with this antenna? No maintenance what so ever. Make sure to mount with a lock washer. May not be good for those with a garage, but the flexibility allows for bending it over to a tie down without removing it. That's what I did mounted to the bed up by the cab.
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KI4SDY
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 28, 2007 01:08
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Best Mobile Antenn Radio Shack Ever Made!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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There is nothing better than this inexpensive solid and strong 102" whip for 11 or 10 meters. I have used them for over 35 years. Low SWR and maximum radiated power, what more could you ask? I have talked all across the U.S. with this antenna mounted on the bumper. The mounting bolt is brass, however, so keep it screwed in snug by checking it every month or so, otherwise it will wear the threads and render the antenna useless.
Use it with a spring for 11 meters and without for 10 meters and 11 meters (still works fine). I have never had to trim one.
Bend it over and tie it down with an insulator for short range use or to garage. Perfect!
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DBHOST
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 30, 2007 20:40
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I keep getting these...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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For starters, I am not an amateur operator as of yet. But I have been into CB for decades. I have tons of experience with this antenna, and feel qualified to give a review on it.
My first Radio Shack 102" Stainless Steel whip antenna was purchased in 1989, and installed on a 1965 Volkswagen Baja Bug via a Radio Shack ball mount, run to a Cobra 29 (LTD I think) 40 channel CB Radio. This rig without any tweaking aside from the addition of a Cobra branded power mic, would talk with the best of the AM CB guys running my area. And on more than one occasion I was accused of running illegal power because of the antenna.
The second one was installed on the hatch of my 1976 Toyota Celica via a hatch mount at the top of the hatch. This antenna routed to a Radio Shack TRC 465 with, at the time, a stock mic. Again, was often accused of running illegal power (dead stock, no linear, 4w am, 12w ssb).
Since that point, the radio has stayed the same, just the cars, and antennas have changed. 1984 Jeep CJ-7, 2000 Ford Ranger, and now 2004 Ford F150. The F150 install hasn't been completed as I do not want to drill, and am having trouble finding an acceptable mount.
In each of the installs, the antenna, with no trimming with a good coax, gave SWR of 1.1 on the low side, to 1.25 on the high (the Jeep). In all circumstances, the antenna provided a VERY strong signal, and was the source of a lot of quations by curious onlookers, and fellow CB hobbyists. Especially the fiberglass stick crowd.
Simply put, the 102 is an enormous stick, that will whack just about anything overhead (STRONGLY reccomend using a spring!), it's heavy, and ends up making your vehicle look like a Radio Controlled toy. It also, in stock legal form on 11m pushes performance limits good and hard. I found that after about 6 years of pounding on branches and such, that the tip tends to make a quation mark, and the antenna either needs to get replaced, or straightened out. Radio Shack does seem to be phasing out CB and amateur stuff, so I am planning on buying about 4 or so more of these before they are no longer avaiable...
Amateur operators I have known have taken my old, bent ones off my hands, and straigthened them up, and used them on 10-12m. And I have seen these set up trimmed up, as a part of a dipole rig...
Long story short, great antenna, for the bands around 11m, this is a hard antenna to beat!
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WI7B
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 18, 2007 13:43
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Durable
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This CB antenna replaced my MFJ Telescoping 12 foot whip when it came crasing off its 24-3/8" stud and over my balcony.
The Radio Shack whip is made strong for mobile use, but works great on my Texas Bugcatcher loading coil and tunes 6-160m.
I'd rather have 12 feet of this puppy, but 8.5 feet is better than another MFJ catastrophe.
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