FireStik IBA 5 Indoor Base Antenna Review

The packaging was opened in the box but everything was there. Suspenders were out of the package but everything fitted together.

Does what it says on the tin but you need to add a baseplate if you are using 102- to 108- Inch cables connect the screws and use them it will work, but there are better ways to assemble I Starduster, that's what it basically becomes

Item delivered via UPS, box torn through no fault of seller and returned. The package was opened in the shipping carton. Screws and hexagon nuts are missing. The object requires additional ground planes for correct operation. The freestanding one in my attic had an SWR of 2.8:1. Take it outside, put it on the ground, and the SWR dropped to 1.1:1, so keep that in mind. It will make an excellent antenna for a mobile base station. While it doesn't require grounding, I believe grounding will be of…

Warning first. Unlike many Firestick antennas, this one REQUIRES a ground plane. The four attached legs don't work very well as a base plate. You need an SWR meter. I love the tunable tip of this antenna, I find it works great for achieving low SWR. As with any antenna, location is everything. Height matters. It works, some days I'm able to pick up a multi-state pass, but I'm having trouble traveling further than 2 miles at my current location. It's very sensitive to interference, as others…

You really need one of these amazingly affordable new spectrum analyzers to see and appreciate the performance. With an SWR of 1.1, the antenna delivers an SWR < 1.5 at a frequency greater than MHz. Set up is easy with screws on top. I want the shrink wrap to hold the RG58 with a large bend radius. I'm pretty sure some of them were under 1 inch to avoid damage. But it worked well, so I guess that's all that matters. For coaxial cables, the "minimum bend radius" is important. And the ground…

Well I'm not going to lie and say it's terrible. It's not great either. I had to get this due to limitations and ease of portability. I actually managed to set this up nicely with a wave ratio of about 1.3:1 on CB. By adding a spring at the base of the antenna I was able to reduce this from 0.1 to 1.4:1. I can get multiple weather channels, actually about 4 channels, which isn't bad at all considering I couldn't get this with anything other than 102 inches on a cell phone in my area. He also…

This is a good quality CB antenna if you need to install it indoors. The ability to adjust the length of the antenna is a great feature for keeping the SWR at an acceptable level. Since I placed it in the attic at a height of 3 stories I had to put it on some metal to provide a better base. I easily found what I needed at my local hardware store for less than $10. In terms of performance, I have clear reception with very little interference and can transmit over 3 miles. This antenna easily…

It works, but it's not a plug and play solution. You MUST tune the antenna EVERY time you tune it and/or use the tuner, preferably as soon as possible first, THEN line up and tune the tuner. NO cuts like before. You turn a screw in or out of the tip of the whip to change its electrical length and therefore resonance. This can be done manually but first you MUST have an SWR meter on your radio and possibly a tuner to get it in tune. INSIDE It is VERY sensitive to objects around it, including…

This is an attempt to develop a portable or semi-permanent seasonal antenna system for a CB and possibly a 10m ham, using off-the-shelf parts for a RV without an aluminum roof (as a ground plane on older RVs) and without having to erect poles, use tools, drill holes, or use some sort of permanent attachment, which should be better than 3 foot ungrounded solutions. I love this facility. It is portable and works fine after destructive tests. It turned out that the coaxial connector was not making