Need Some Advice on an NOS Midland 102M Radio Setup

Hey, guys. It's been a while since I've been on. I need some information on a CB setup, and I know where to come for answers. A friend of mine just got an NOS Midland 102M radio with a Cobra whip antenna with a magnetic base. Its range is short, and we want to increase it to a few miles if we can. We can't hear anyone beyond about 100 yards if the antenna is on top of a vehicle. If it's in the cabin of the car, we can't hear anything. The cable going to the radio from the antenna is maybe 10 feet long. The radio is new, made in 1981, and it has no problems. It works fine. How can we get the range up on this unit? The antenna is a thin whip with a spring on the bottom at the base. It looks like a fire stick could screw into the base to replace the whip, but we haven't tried it. Could we wrap a cable around the whip and make it better that way? I know we can do a lot better than 100 yards.

Ideas?

Later we want to get an amp for it so my friend can get it out there maybe 8 miles or even farther. But right now we want it to reach out a few miles just as it is.

 

Thanks for all those replies, guys. The antenna we got with the set up is an older cobra, probably something from the 80s, that's about 3' tall. The coil is in the base. I unscrewed the whip from the base to find the whip is female and the base male, with a threaded stud about half an inch long and 1/8" in diameter if it's that much. A firestick won't screw into the base in a simple swap. It looks like we need a new(er) antenna to make this reach out about 8 miles. That's a good range. And the radio is great. It came with the original box with original twist ties around the electrical and the plastic wrapping around the mic, although the thing is 31 years old. The seller soldered up an adapter for plugging into a cigarette lighter.

 

If anyone likes classic radios and runs I-5 in southwest Washington and the Portland area, I know a guy not too far north of Jubitz in Washington who has a mobile home full of old vintage CBs, amps, Hams, walkie talkies, and receivers, most in great shape and for fair prices. His place is like a museum of classic radio equipment. Send me a PM and I'll give you the details of how to get in touch with him and where he's at exactly. He sold me the NOS Midland, the used antenna, a good used speaker, and a cigarette lighter adapter (which he soldered on for me) for 40 bucks. That's a fair price, plus I got a tour of his overflowing rooms of radios.

I'll get a better antenna off Craigslist soon for 10 bucks or so and be good.

 

I'll be looking for that Wilson 1000 for sure. I've been reading up on SWR, antenna matching, tuning, coaxial cables, grounding, ground planes, and SWR meters. From what I've read so far, standing wave energy can flow back into the radio, cause heat build-up, and burn out the unit. These CB radios are a lot more interesting now.