CB Problems...

[ccbruin]

Read through this link if you can.. http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f20/s...-high-1164250/ (http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f20/swr-readings-high-1164250/)

I need to get this fixed!!!
Thanks!

[Mporter]

2nd post already suggest the Firestik website, which i will second.

I would definitely try to sand the paint down a little so you get a proper ground. Maybe have to move it up higher (what I had to do).

It shouldn't be reading 2.5 on every channel though, since it's supposed to have a "valley" where on the furthest channels (1 & 40) it should read higher than the SWR on the middle channel (19). Other than that I cannot help much more....maybe try calling the manuf. for your antenna/cb.

[Viper]

Sounds definitely sounds like grounding issue. Thats going to be a hard antenna to tune, might what to look at a firestick or something like it. I've had different antennas and found that if you can get a little distance between your antenna and the body this will help with the swr's. Something to also think about, when your wheeling the antenna like you have is going to be hitting your hardtop with every little bump, this drove me nuts. So I had to find an antenna that was flexible enough not to break but not so flexible that it kept slapping the jeep. Find a good tunable antenna, get a good solid ground and a location thats not going to beat your jeep around.

[Mporter]

Something to also think about, when your wheeling the antenna like you have is going to be hitting your hardtop with every little bump, this drove me nuts. So I had to find an antenna that was flexible enough not to break but not so flexible that it kept slapping the jeep.

For something like that I think Wilson makes a SilverLode (?) antenna which is rigid but also can bend up to like 30 or 40 degrees so it's still flexible when it hits things.

[Chris]

Crappy reception sucks and I finally went to whip type antennas for the smacking around issue. The Firestick type always ended up being a nuisance because of branches etc. It also sounds to me like a ground issue that I dealt with in the past. My solution was simply to go with one of these, you use it only when needed, bends like crazy and is positioned wherever it works best.

http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd495/cxstafford/pics/ccf3fb3e.png

[Viper]

I had a Wilson 1000 it worked ok. When your wheeling you usually don't need to get out to far, so it was fine. Your still getting your ground thru a magnet not the best ground. Good Luck

[Mporter]

Crappy reception sucks and I finally went to whip type antennas for the smacking around issue. The Firestick type always ended up being a nuisance because of branches etc.

That is one thing I don't like about mine. Since my mount is like 4-5" from the roof and it's a 4 foot antenna.....I hate when I go on dense wooded trails (Caribou Creek for instance) and I just hear it flopping around back there.....I'll just wait for it to break and then probably go to a roof mount with a little wire whip

[Chris]

Matt, I used a whip with a NMO on my Cruiser it was perfect. I'm just not ready to cut a hole in the roof of The Princess yet. :lmao:

[ccbruin]

I am going to try to screw the antenna mount to the body itself, instead of to the bracket that it is currently on. I think i am also going to return the antenna and get a 4' Fierstick..

[tbalcome]

It could be the aluminum L bracket! Some those came with a ground strap on the bottom were you would want it to ground, that you could take back to the steel! Also crappy coax can cause high swr as well as long runs!

[ccbruin]

Viper, where is yours mounted?

[Robert B]

my dad is running a mag one just like that but cant get it to tune worth anything channel 1 is like 1.1 and channel 40 is 3.5 at best

[ccbruin]

Ok. So i went and bought a 4' Firestick. and drilled the mount into the body. Still very high SWR!!!! it's starting to piss me off!

HELP!!!!:bang:

[Chris]

The coax isn't wrapped/coiled is it?

[ccbruin]

The coax isn't wrapped/coiled is it?

No it is not. I straightened it out as much as possible...

[Chris]

That seems to eliminate everything except a bad connection at either end. A break in the coax itself is unlikely.

Of course there's always a possibility of a bad SWR meter. :erm:

[Viper]

I have a short piece of steel mounted to the left rear on my bumper. It sticks past the rear a couple of inches and to the driver side just enough to see the whole antenna in my side mirror. This also allows the antenna to transmitted forward better. The antenna is just a little higher then the top off the jeep. I didn't want to get to high and brake it off in the tree's. I had real good luck for using such a short antenna. Seems like mine is as strong as anybody I run with and better then most.

[sunk]

Wow, how frustrating. Your antenna needs a good ground, those firestick antennas come with several plastic washers, it could be that you have it put together wrong, or that it has a bad ground, or a bad connector on the coax....give me a call we can get it figured out no prob.

[ccbruin]

Wow, how frustrating. Your antenna needs a good ground, those firestick antennas come with several plastic washers, it could be that you have it put together wrong, or that it has a bad ground, or a bad connector on the coax....give me a call we can get it figured out no prob.

I dont think mine came with any plastic washers....

[Mporter]

Wow, how frustrating. Your antenna needs a good ground, those firestick antennas come with several plastic washers, it could be that you have it put together wrong, or that it has a bad ground, or a bad connector on the coax....give me a call we can get it figured out no prob.


I dont think mine came with any plastic washers....

I think they only come with those washers if you have their brand of mount/coax

[Viper]

Must have watched Blazing Saddle, right Sheriff

[ccbruin]

IT WORKS!!! finally!

[Chris]

WooHoo! Please tell us what the problem ended up being!

[ccbruin]

I went to Summit Radio and the guy, who was very nice, took a look. Took off a stud washer from the antenna mount that he said shouldn't be there (took a $1 bet because i said the directions said to put it there, which I am right :) ) Well took the star washer out, still high SWR, so tried some new coax which looks top of the line and BAM! Got home, did a little tuning and got the SWR's down under 1.5:1. Had an interesting convo with a trucker about rap music haha... so happy it works now! thanks for all your help guys

[Mporter]

Nice.

Yeah truckers can either be funny as hell, or kinda creepy.
When Randy helped me tune mine, he overheard some chat on C470 about them liking little boys....
Then one day going to lunch at school my friend had a nice conversation with a trucker about buying meth behind a kmart.

[ccbruin]

haha sounds like some quality chatter. Am i right in that you go to CU?

[scout man]

yea, truckers conversations can be interesting. Even when I am driving a truck I often find myself turning it off just because I cant stand listening to another word of a sensless arguement between two guys who are both clearly wrong and uneducated. Provides something to focus on when trucking overnight though. amazing how balsy people are when they know no one can track them down.

[Mporter]

haha sounds like some quality chatter. Am i right in that you go to CU?

Yessir!

[ccbruin]

What do you study? My bro is up there and i might be going there next year

[Mporter]

Chemistry right now, but im switching to EBIO (Ecology and Environmental Bio)