cb radio match

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Installed a new c. b. radio with a wilson anntena. cant get a good swr match. The ground is good. Tried using the top adjustment rod on the anntena but best i can get is 3. 0 match. Running a TEXAS RANGER c. b. with it. Using about 20 feet of coax cable to hook up from back bumper to inside of truck.
Any sugestions or ideas will help.

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big wheel,

If you have all the connections tight and clean I would suggest another feed line. Cut yourself a piece of coax 23' 10" long (assuming you are using the hard plastic dieletric) and just hook it up outside the truck. Measure your vSWR again and see what you get. Any antenna will repeat it's true SWR at 1/2 wavelength multiples. That 23'10" piece of coax is 1 wavelength. If your vSWR comes down, just replace the original 20' piece with the longer one you made for the test.

If your coax is the foam style dialectric,
the length would be 14' 3 1/2" for a 1/2 wavelength or 28' 7" for a full wavelength.

Hope this helps. If not, maybe you have too much of the antenna 'shielded' by the tailgate? 1/3 of the antenna (top-loaded I hope) should be above your bed. I'm not familiar with the antenna you are using.

Mick2500

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[This message has been edited by Mick2500 (edited 10-09-2000). ]

 

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Hey Mick,

Could you send me an e-mail? I am in the process of installing a CB myself, and could use some advice on antennas and mounting, wiring, etc. Thanks a bunch!

 

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Done!

Mick2500

 

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Mick , if you still have your e-mail fired another copy here would be appreciated. Am trying to figure what type of and brand of radio to go with. Am considerating Wilson 1000 for antenna. Thanks in advance, Rob

 

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Galaxy 88DXHL
Custom Made 4G's 400watt kicker
18ft coax
Wilson Trucker antenna mounted on Headache rack woth load above rack.
SWR 1. 0-1. 3

It'll talk 20+miles on a clear night (am)
It'll talk 35+miles on side band.

Loud a. m. modulation and it'll talk a **** of a skip. I'm usually n the bottom side of 19. aka 452 the Haymaker.

Good radio. If you want to talk a lot of sideband get a RCI2950 or 2970. Ofcourse there all export models.

 

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I had the exact same problems. I tried a 5 foot fiberglass antenna mounted just aft of the cab inside the bed of the truck on the front rail, the antenna load was well above the top of the truck but still reading 3 on the SWR bridge (one channel 20).

A truck stop CB shop fixed the problem with another 5 foot fiberglass antenna, the difference was that their antenna was made for a 'no ground' situation and has a ground wire coming out of the side of the antenna at the bottom of the fiberflass (just above the steel mounting 'screw'). They claimed that this eliminated the 'conductive' properties of the cab of the truck and allowed the antenna to be 'matched' because of the 'ground plane' created by the ground wound into the base of the antenna. Believe it or not, the SWR is now 1 to 1.

There wasn't a brand name on the antenna (bought in bulk) but, it can be identified by the ground wire (with a #8 lug) coming out of the base of the fiberglass.

Hope this helps,

Charlie


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Y2K 3500, 4WD, Auto, 3. 54, Custom Brush Guard, Mopar nerf bars & rock guard, Camper package, Towing package, all options except leather, Mopar Rock Guards, Vent Shades, Solar Shade, RoseWood Dash, Air-Lift Air Bags, Hadley 'BULLY' air horns, Rancho RS9000s, Lance 1130 Camper

 

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A friend of mine has a wilson 5000 and also had problems w/ swr. The coil is on the bottom of the antenna and has to be away from the truck. He weht with firesticks front fender mount and the extension that raises the base of the antenna and it workes fine now. I have a tweeked and peaked uniden grant lt w/front fender mount by fire stick and a K-40 3' fiberglass stick and it also works great. This also makes it possible to get in the garage without damaging anything.
Good luck. Scott

 

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Pete Peterson gave me alot of good advice in the Products forum. >Darn CB Interferance<. Fixed all my problems, good info. Check it out!!
Jason

 

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The info here on coax is correct. The difference in lengh is due to the velocity factor in the coax. It sound to me like you have the antenna too close to metal body parts which will raise the SWR. Also on the Wilson with mast, a long mast often means you have to shorten the whip (top piece) to get the correct lengh. Ideally, the whip and mast should be about the same lengh, with the coil in the center. Mounting the antenna as high as possible also works better.
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Originally posted by Mick2500:
big wheel,

If you have all the connections tight and clean I would suggest another feed line. Cut yourself a piece of coax 23' 10" long (assuming you are using the hard plastic dieletric) and just hook it up outside the truck. Measure your vSWR again and see what you get. Any antenna will repeat it's true SWR at 1/2 wavelength multiples. That 23'10" piece of coax is 1 wavelength. If your vSWR comes down, just replace the original 20' piece with the longer one you made for the test.

If your coax is the foam style dialectric,
the length would be 14' 3 1/2" for a 1/2 wavelength or 28' 7" for a full wavelength.

Hope this helps. If not, maybe you have too much of the antenna 'shielded' by the tailgate? 1/3 of the antenna (top-loaded I hope) should be above your bed. I'm not familiar with the antenna you are using.

Mick2500

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I would also like some email on the subject.

I don't want too long of a whip (I was thinking 3 feet) and I would like to locate one or two in the two front stake holders.

My current POS mag mount located on the front of the bed (because it gets knocked off the roof all the time) gets me about 500' of range.

 

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i am really considering drilling the hole on the roof (clean install). the k40 base loaded whip is only 42" long (3. 5'). i know that with the ground plane being flat and connected (metal 2 metal) it is the best scenario. if you do this with the wilson 1000 it would even be better, but longer. the k40 is designed as a quick disconnect and comes with a plastic cover to go over the "nub"... not sue if the wilson will do this or not.

 

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My father has owned a C. B. shop for over 20 years. I used to install C. B. 's & antenna's for him about 10 or so years ago. At that time, we did a comparison with a trunk mount K40, and a trunk mount 3' Firestick antenna. The firestick outperformed the K40 in transmitting and receiving. My favorite setup was an adjustable, fender mount with a quick disconnect, & 3' Firestick. The only down side to this setup was drilling a hole in a nice shiny fender. As for big wheels problem, I agree with Mick. If the connections are good, with a good clean ground, and the antenna is not shielded too much by the cab, a longer length of coax should help. Especially if the match is higher on the low channels. Also, you could try a seperate ground wire from the base of the antenna to a possitive ground (truck frame)to see if the ground was the problem. My father has just recently closed his shop due to health problems. He has sold most major items, but still has lots of miscellaneous C. B. supplies. Still has a few firestick antenna's, repair parts, radio & antenna mounts, speakers, etc. etc. If anyone is interested in anything, let me know what your looking for, and I'll see if he has it. Just be patient, I don't get to my computer every day. Hope you get that match down. . Good Luck

 

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Well, time for a question on this one: I keep hearing about "linears"... I can figure out that this is some sort of amplifier, but am told that amps for CBs are illegal. Hmmmmmm... ... seems every trucker has one, so if they are illegal, where do people get them? Are they a plug n play deal?

If someone could shoot me an email that would be great... I am CB "illiterate"... ... ... ... ...

Thanks!