Had one of these antennas.
K40 makes a very good antenna but unfortunately none of their models incorporate a NOAA antenna in to the unit. Wilson's W1000 antenna's specs looks pretty good, and they claim to beat K40, but it is a bit pricy... I'll probably go with a Cobra HG-A1500 to keep it simple.
Ok, so there mightbe some differences between how they are used in the SE and SW. Out here they are nearly useless. Trucker chatter is horrendous as in filthy language and ranting at each other. Very few decent conversations.
It was no different here and I have no expectation that has changed. But the local base station users, with illegal "kickers", were worse though... :rolleyes1:
If you want weather your best bet is a smart phone.
I agree, but... The areas where I will be are not all on, or even near, the Interstates so even Verizon's cellular coverage is a bit spotty at best and even more questionable in bad weather. I already have weather forecasts and near real time (NRT) weather maps in my OEM navigation system, through XM/Sirius, but it relies on the cellular network for NRT data just like my "smart" phone, which does have the Weather Channel application
, so it is questionable. The same limitations apply to accessing or calling the
511 traffic / road conditions network. All three of those systems require the cellular network to be available. A NOAA radio, with real time (RT) weather alerts, isn't dependent on the cellular network and is just a bit more "insurance". Adding the CB radio to the mix, to do real time road checks, is just one more level of insurance. Since I can get the CB and NOAA combined for around $200 it
may be worth it.