Wilson880-200152B 5000 Series Mobile CB Antenna with 62-in Whip

I am getting back into CB use after about 30 years of no use. I now have to travel cross country several time a month in my car, not a big rig, and I wanted a nice set up for use when on the road. Since I haven’t had a CB in a vehicle for over 3 decades I began to do what I usually do which is research online and ask around.Asking around proved difficult as no one I know has CBs anymore. I found plenty online, however too much, as trying to decipher what was still relevant and what was not became quite the task. Many of my searches for reviews or to follow topics posted on forums were bring back result dates from early 2000 to 2010 etc. I began to look for recent posts and did read the older ones for overall knowledge.When I began to narrow the field to this antenna, the Stryker SRA10M, Tram 3500 and of course the Wilson 1000 and even the little Will. I knew I was on the right track when I got to this point. Much of what you read is so filled with opinion and not fact that it makes it hard to decide what to believe. This review is indeed my opinion of this antenna.I took the time to call the manufactures: Wilson, Stryker and Tram. I got no answer at Stryker or Tram, however, I did get through to several people at Wilson. This first was in customer service so she asked if I could hold to speak with technical assistance. Nice enough so sure. Was not long before I had all my questions answered.Since there are many opinions as to whether or not the Wilson 1000 or the Wilson 5000 use different mounts, different coax and even different magnets (if one choses the magnet mount) I asked about these things. The tech at Wilson said that between the Wilson 1000 and the Wilson 5000 the only difference is in the design of the coil on each model and of course the plastic housing that covers the coil itself. He did say that the magnet, the 17 feet of coax and the design of the mount itself were identical between the two models. When he learned I would be using a stock CB with some minor tweaks he even suggested I save some money and go with the 1000.SO after some additional research and taking into account what I had learned on the phone calls I decided on the 5000. Did I need the 5000 over the 1000? No, I did not. But I am the kind of consumer that if I can get something that I can grow into from the start then why not get it up front and not have to upgrade down the road. I realized that by going with the 5000 I was opening myself up to possible SWR issues.Results: Using Amazon Prime it arrived in two days as promised. They used an outer box to hold the whip and it came with the diffuser tip on it. Unfortunately the bottom on the antenna had worked its way out of the box and the last few inches had a small bend. I was able to straighten in a vise with a cloth wrapped around the whip and slight pressure.The box that had the antenna base and the coil, coax and extras was sealed from the factory. Opening it I found the weather cap, allen wrench, instructions and the connector for the CB end of the coax. FYI: Do not assemble this end until you have run your coax unless you want to unassembled it again to run it through an opening etc. Everything looked and seemed brand new as expected. I followed the instructions and assembled the antenna on my work bench.After a quick test fit on the car to determine the length of coax was sufficient I mounted it up and routed the coax through the trunk (mounted it on the rear deck lid) and then ran coax through opening in trunk under the rear bench seat and across the floor to the front center hump. Left the extra coax in the trunk.Checked the SWR readings at the house and then the next morning made a 14 hour plus road trip across several states. The antenna never moved a bit. I got great reception and have confirmed getting out up to at least 7 miles in semi urban areas and upwards of 10 miles receive.Love the convenience of the magnetic mount. Love the antenna. Overkill for my setup, however, gives me room to grow if I decide to expand my system. I would definitely recommend this rig. Excellent service and excellent craftsmanship. Good luck!

I really like this antenna and have had it for 1 year now. I'm both a CB and a Ham radio operator. This antenna is extremely sturdy, and even with the 62" whip I have never had a problem with wind even at 80mph for extended periods. I like the mag mount with removable PL-259 connected antenna because it means I can swap to other antennas tuned to different amateur bands with the same mount (i can leave my coax semi-permanently installed).Tuning: I needed to tune this antenna, it was significantly longer than optimal for CB frequency. I believe I may have cut off about 10cm from it eventually. Be sure to google how to tune a CB antenna to do this. I was able to get my SWR to 1:1 (it's so close the radio is rounding down). Use the proper hacksaw blade, the steel is very sturdy. Before tuning the SWR was quite a bit higher.5000 v.s 1000 etc. It doesn't matter for CB use whether you get the 5000 or the 1000, you are NOT going to put that much power into a CB antenna, and it will not make the signal go farther or improve your reception (that has much more with your ground plane and atmospheric conditions. I mounted it right in the center of the roof of my sedan to get the best ground plane. The reason I went with the 5000 was because I wanted chunky and hope that translates to longer life/reliability given the sturdier loading coil. Plus I am tuning another whip for the 10m band with the same load and plan to put more power into it, so I wanted to make sure there was plenty of headroom for that.Whip quality: The 62" whip is extremely high quality steel. I hit trees occasionally on my street at about 20-30mph and I have never had a problem with that. The fact that it is very long coupled with ability to mount it with a good ground plane right on top of your car means your transmit and reception are just about as good as it can get. Note that the disadvantage is of course that my car's clearance is a tad over 10 feet with the antenna, which mean I have to watch clearances, take it off for parking garages and my own garage. The other disadvantage is that people these days ask you "What's with the giant antenna on top of your car?" :)Overall this is an extremely good product.

Did not come with wip

Nice power handling and low noise however the RG 8x coax does not handle the power that the antenna will. The coax does not have a sufficient shield since the swr changes when the coax is moved. Have installed the roof mount version and RG 214 and was able to tune to a perfect match on a van. that antenna has been going strong for about 10 years. I also had a Wilson 1000 that was a magnet mount which i changed the coax to RG 223 to solve the shielding problem. I will probably change the coax on the Wilson 5000 magnet mount to RG 223 Also.

Matched within 3 adjustments room for Low 10 Mtrs without cutting. Works great on 12 Mtr Band. The Magnet mount is Awesome Trial s at 180 KMH show no motion on car body. Will Break free with tilt Easy and safe . Best to remove Load and whip to store . I live in High Auto Break in Zone its an Obvious attraction but stores inside vehicle overnight. I am a Licensed Amateur. And work 10 12 only1.5 :1 28:-29.2 24.1 1.7 and is resonant on both. Whip could have been higher Gauge and Less tapered to prevent the extreme bend at speeds of 50 to 100 Kmh. it tends to look more like an INVERTED L than a Vertical.Peter

If you are in the market for an antenna (especially a magnetic mount), Wilson makes one of the best around. The 5000 can handle any amp a reasonable person would consider owning. It's easily adjustable to achieve low SWRs, and receives/transmits much better than most of its competitors. The magnet is super strong,so unless you're driving an Indy car it will stay put. Remember, without a good antenna your it doesn't matter what kind of radio you have; don't cut corners to save a few bucks. Works great for both CB & 10 meter radios!