SWR

[freedhardwoods]

I am a long way from being an expert, and I thought I new how to set the swr on a radio and antennae, but this setup has me stumped. I have an swr reading of 3:1 no matter what I do. I replaced the fiberglass antennae with a metal one (can't remember the name; it's what they had in the shop at work) and have 1" of adjustment, but it reads the same no matter where I set it. I checked the coax with an ohm meter. The coax was ok, but I did find that one end was off just a little bit. After replacing the end and and the coax checking out perfectly, it still reads 3:1. I even checked the jumper lead between the radio and meter, and it is fine. What am I missing?

 

[boone315]

check the antenna/mount ground then check the radio ground, sometimes you have to ground it to something other then the given ground stud, also your radio could be putting out more power then the factory truck thingys can handle. Try a custom coax, Not a radio expert either so somebody else could probably tell you more

 

[patriciajnsn]

I think here soon i'm going to be investing in a CB.There's many times I wish I had one.Like to tell the idiot truckers off who don't know how to drive and if i'm stranded and when i'm at the customer.

 

[freedhardwoods]

check the antenna/mount ground then check the radio ground, sometimes you have to ground it to something other then the given ground stud, also your radio could be putting out more power then the factory truck thingys can handle. Try a custom coax, Not a radio expert either so somebody else could probably tell you more

The whole setup is custom; nothing factory in it. I will check the grounds. It could be hidden corrosion not letting it make good contact.

I think here soon i'm going to be investing in a CB.There's many times I wish I had one.Like to tell the idiot truckers off who don't know how to drive and if i'm stranded and when i'm at the customer.

If you want a good, basic radio, get a Uniden PC68 or PC78. I like the 78 myself.

 

[boone315]

then other than maybe a bad ground, I have nothing, sorry

 

[boone315]

I think here soon i'm going to be investing in a CB.There's many times I wish I had one.Like to tell the idiot truckers off who don't know how to drive and if i'm stranded and when i'm at the customer.

Why a new Radio Patricia, Thought women were meant to be seen and not heard?
(joking)

 

[patriciajnsn]

I tell u what a remark like thatg deserves a swift kick in the ass,LOL AND THANK U FREEWOODS,ILLL CHECK THAT BRAND OUT.

Why a new Radio Patricia, Thought women were meant to be seen and not heard?
(joking)

 

[Racer X 69]

I think here soon i'm going to be investing in a CB.There's many times I wish I had one.Like to tell the idiot truckers off who don't know how to drive and if i'm stranded and when i'm at the customer.

What? How can you call yourself a truck driver if you don't have a 2 way radio? I know, I know, anymore there are way to many dumbasses that haven't got a clue and they always crank up the accent 250 notches more than they need to when they are talking on the cb, but real truck drivers know and acknowledge that a radio is a tool for communication, not something to see just how much echo and reverb you can get away with before someone comes back with "I hear ya talkin', but I can't understand a thing you said driver".

 

[boone315]

I tell u what a remark like thatg deserves a swift kick in the ass,LOL AND THANK U FREEWOODS,ILLL CHECK THAT BRAND OUT.

And my ex said I did not know how to talk to ladies, showed her

 

[diehard]

i would try the ground first like boone said. if its a mirror mount, they sometimes dont get a perfect ground. the pll connector may have a bit of corosion on it preventing a good ground. maybe the meter is off. do you have an antenna warning light on that radio?

 

[freedhardwoods]

i would try the ground first like boone said. if its a mirror mount, they sometimes dont get a perfect ground. the pll connector may have a bit of corosion on it preventing a good ground. maybe the meter is off. do you have an antenna warning light on that radio?

It is mounted on the headache rack and there is no warning light.

 

[FlatBroke]

You may want to check your SWR meter... or switch out antennas and see if it is the antenna.

 

[diehard]

could be the radio is bad too. running an swr that high can hurt one.

 

[patriciajnsn]

LMAO

And my ex said I did not know how to talk to ladies, showed her

 

[freedhardwoods]

You may want to check your SWR meter... or switch out antennas and see if it is the antenna.

I am going to take my meter and try working on it again. I was using the meter in our shop yesterday. I did switch antennaes. It made no difference.

 

[Dayripper]

did you put the little plastic washer below the antenna but above the mount? that is a common thing people forget and will mess ya up every time.

 

[freedhardwoods]

did you put the little plastic washer below the antenna but above the mount? that is a common thing people forget and will mess ya up every time.

I didn't take the mount apart, but I did look to make sure it was put together right. Our shop installed it before I started driving this truck. They custom install the cb system (as well as lights, chrome, etc.) on every truck they buy. The guys in the shop are good.

 

[freedhardwoods]

I finally was able to check the swr again. I found a web page about checking swr, and it said a reading of 3:1 on all channels means the antennae has no ground at all. That made me start wndering about how the headache rack was mounted. It turns out that it was completely isolated from the frame with rubber pads. They had ran a ground wire from the rack to th frame for the antennae and it has apparently been broken recently. I added a ground wire and the swr dropped to 1.2:1.

 

[2xR]

I just love a good success story. Nice. I'm glad you got that figured out.

So, Patty is getting a ra-did-e-oh... The highways are about to become a lot more noisey. :bullhorn:

 

[PreachaMan]

when mounting your antennas esp on a personal vehicle

always make sure where you grounded it is actually

grounded.like the newer vehicles you have to fight for

a place to ground. at times youll think youve added a

nice little ground and its not mounted to nothing but

rubber or fiberglass.

when making your grounds shorter is better.the shorter

you can get it the better. RF doesnt travel as much on

a shorter one therefore lower swr on your antenna