Wilson 880-500100 W500 Series Amateur Antenna Magnet Mount Kit

I received the antenna and base with mine, so don't let these reviews scare you.I just got back into CB radio after being off for 15 years. I used to run a Wilson 1000, but wanted something a little smaller. This antenna has thin RG58 coax and does not have the removable PL259 to run the coax in small holes, nor does it have the screw on antenna base. To remove the whip you have to use a Allen Wrench. If you don't know what I'm talking about the Wilson 1000 has a screw on PL259 connector for the coax and the whip unscrews from the base and you can put a water tight connector where it screws on.The ears are pretty good with this antenna, but so far I have not been impressed with the output. It seems like people more than a few miles away can't hear me. I'm sure this has to do with the fact they are running power and I'm not, but when I had my Wilson 1000 people could hear me running barefooted 20 miles away and 30 miles with my power on. I'm about to run a 200 watt amp and I'll see how it works.The Wilson 1000 is about 10 to 15 dollars more and is only 10 inches taller. With the extra features and proven performance I would just get it instead of this one. It will also handle more wattage and has better quality coax which will reduce noise and signal loss.

Works well and was a very easy connection/install! I have it connected to the Midland 75-822 handheld CB. I'm a novice at this, but with hilly terrain and woods I can hear broken to clear trucker traffic from the highway approximately 4 miles away (truckers could be even farther with unknown positions on the highway.)

The magnet on this is huge and very powerful, at least 4" in diameter. I seriously doubt this will come off in a 300 MPH tornado! With my CB radio, I was able to get the SWR down to below 1.2:1 on all 40 channels! It comes about 2" too long, so you may have to cut it a little when tuning for the lowest SWR. I highly recommend this antenna.

USed this while driving across the country, and the other car had the Wilson 300 lil wil. Both worked great and was very clear. Very happy and easy to install, this thing will not move, and we were going 80 most of the way. The magnet is HEAVY duty.

Don't buy! The antenna came apart as soon as it was delivered.The base seemed wobbly when I stuck the antenna onto the washing machine to test the magnet. I looked under the anti-scratch sticker on the bottom and the nut was tight. Hmmm? What's wobbly then? As I was trying to peel off the sticker (with my fingers... I mean how little force is that?!) the entire magnet came out of the base. The problem was obvious. There's a big feel-good magnet on the bottom, and a big nut holding it in place, but holding it bolted to a ring of plastic! This ring of plastic, in turn, is GLUED to two plastic tabs inside the plastic base of the antenna. The glue failed. It looks to me like superglue. When this happened the center coax pin broke off the loading coil so not only is the antenna mechanically broken it is now electrically broken too. I can't fix it. Loading coil is too deep inside to reach with a soldering iron. Its glue is holding (oh yeah more plastic and more glue!).Bad design. Bad quality control. (I bet they recently switched to using different glue....) This could have happened on the freeway going 60 mph! Yeah the magnet will stay on the bumper but the rest of the antenna won't. Ridiculous.

Great price for this item, too bad they keep sending them to me without the masts and you cannot just call someone and work it out, you have to return, re-order, then do it again. Hopefully someone fixes this!

it is what it is and it works great

This antennae suited me fine as I use my radio in multiple cars. Grips well enough it doesn't slide around even at highway speeds. I would recommend this antennae to anyone wanting a good magnetic.