I have two antennas on my car. A Firestik 3' (the "scanner" version) on a
5" mag dead center on my roof, and a 14" steel whip about 12" forward of the
Firestik. The Firestik has nice thick RG58 and a solid base. The 14" I got
on Ebay for $8 shipped and has coax so thin I can wrap it around a pencil
(unshielded).

I listen to about 60 stations within a hundred mile radius, depending on
local conditions. Of these 60, my 14" bring in most of them clearly enough
to hear. My Firestik brings in 9. NINE. And all of those stations are
within 7 miles of me.

My Firestik is picking up 15% of the stations my cheap Ebay antenna picks
up. Any comments or suggestions? I am about to buy a second cheapie and
scrap the Firestik outright.

Thanks.