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CB Band and CB Radios 
All things CB. Discuss what you do with your CB as well as review and ask questions about AM & SSB CB radios. |
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09-08-2008, 10:12 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by loosecannon  first,
make sure you are checking the SWR the proper way.
do a google search for "how to check your SWR" or something like that,
and you should find a few tutorials to make sure you are doing it right.
if you are doing it right, and still having high SWR, then check these things:
amp and radio power and ground need to be run right to the pos and neg terminals of the battery.
antenna needs to be a good one capable of handling the power, and needs to be mounted properly in the right location. (reply and give us all the details about your antenna system. include all the things you dont think you need to)
the 99v needs to have the RF power set to a 2 watt deadkey to work with that amp.
there should be a knob on the front of the radio to set this with.
with the radio's meter set to read the RF output, key the mic, and turn this knob down until the meter shows 2 watts out.
the more details you give us about your installation the more we can help you.
later,
LC | Ok, I have a wilson 4 foot fiberglass ant. mounted on the right side of the front bumper on my F250 diesel pick up,I put it there because I sometimes haul a slideon truck camper so I keep it in one place. I used the heavier gray ant. wire instead of the thinner Radio shack type, the wire runs along the frame to under the pas. seat to unit. I brought the radio to the shop to be sure it wasnt turned up and everything is ok. I have the radio power connected to the fuse box and the ground also. The Boomer 250 is directly wired to the battery, pos and neg. The amp and radio are right next to each other so when I key up I think it causing the radio to squeal and I have the mic gain turned down real low , so I havent been using amp. The swr meter is an old Radio Shack one that I only connect to the radio and it reads anywhere from 3.0 to 1.5. Im not sure how to connect it to the radio and the amp. The whole system was was oked by the shop, except the closeness of the radio and amp. Any tips are greatly appreciated Thanks Lou  |
09-08-2008, 10:18 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Traverse City, Michigan
Posts: 235
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dog Ok, I have a wilson 4 foot fiberglass ant. mounted on the right side of the front bumper on my F250 diesel pick up,I put it there because I sometimes haul a slideon truck camper so I keep it in one place. I used the heavier gray ant. wire instead of the thinner Radio shack type, the wire runs along the frame to under the pas. seat to unit. I brought the radio to the shop to be sure it wasnt turned up and everything is ok. I have the radio power connected to the fuse box and the ground also. The Boomer 250 is directly wired to the battery, pos and neg. The amp and radio are right next to each other so when I key up I think it causing the radio to squeal and I have the mic gain turned down real low , so I havent been using amp. The swr meter is an old Radio Shack one that I only connect to the radio and it reads anywhere from 3.0 to 1.5. Im not sure how to connect it to the radio and the amp. The whole system was was oked by the shop, except the closeness of the radio and amp. Any tips are greatly appreciated Thanks Lou |
Can you move the box any further away from the radio than where it is?
You want to take the amp out of the picture and tune the antenna as low as you can get it. Then put the amp in line and the meter between the amp and the antenna and recheck and re-tune with the amp off. Then turn the amp on and fine tune. |
09-08-2008, 10:22 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 12
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I would like to have the amp acceesible so I guess i could put it 12" away, is that good? |
09-08-2008, 10:56 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 506
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hi fm,
that makes sense to me.
so, its about the groundplane itself, not about getting to the negative terminal.
therefore, the distance the wire has to travel to get to the groundplane is very different than when it goes all the way to the battery.
oh, and thats a big 10-4 on the differences between RF and DC ground.
i am VERY aware of the differences, still learning what to do about them. LOL
thanks,
LC
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well yeah, but what's really going on? |
09-08-2008, 11:23 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Traverse City, Michigan
Posts: 235
| |
12" is a start.
LC,
Yep and since the body is also tied to the DC ground you kill 2 birds with one stone.
I know the feeling. I am still learning. you learn how good you setup is the first time you key and the wipers turn on. lol |
09-09-2008, 10:36 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 506
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fm,
that was funny!
Big Dog,
i have a sneaking suspicion that your SWR is high because of the location of your antenna.
it is NEVER a good idea to mount your antenna on the bumper, because any metal that is within two feet off the sides of the antenna will cause reflection and mess up the radiation pattern of the antenna.
the only part of your antenna that is getting a signal out is the part that actually sticks up above your hood.
with a 4 foot antenna, that cant be more than 2 feet, if that much.
mounting it on the roof would be best, but you can mount it in one of the rear stakeholes in the bed of the truck also.
the bottom line is to get the base of the antenna above the metal of the vehicle.
yes, you have to make it obnoxious looking for it to work well.
sorry, thats just the way it is.
also, please describe to me in great detail, how you connected your coax cable to the antenna.
was there a screw on connector on the mount?
did you have to strip one end of the coax and hard mount it to the antenna mount?
tell me exactly how you did it, and dont leave anything out.
i have a suspicion. hmmmm...
later,
LC
__________________
well yeah, but what's really going on? |
09-10-2008, 06:11 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 12
| |
Quote:
Originally Posted by loosecannon fm,
that was funny!
Big Dog,
i have a sneaking suspicion that your SWR is high because of the location of your antenna.
it is NEVER a good idea to mount your antenna on the bumper, because any metal that is within two feet off the sides of the antenna will cause reflection and mess up the radiation pattern of the antenna.
the only part of your antenna that is getting a signal out is the part that actually sticks up above your hood.
with a 4 foot antenna, that cant be more than 2 feet, if that much.
mounting it on the roof would be best, but you can mount it in one of the rear stakeholes in the bed of the truck also.
the bottom line is to get the base of the antenna above the metal of the vehicle.
yes, you have to make it obnoxious looking for it to work well.
sorry, thats just the way it is.
also, please describe to me in great detail, how you connected your coax cable to the antenna.
was there a screw on connector on the mount?
did you have to strip one end of the coax and hard mount it to the antenna mount?
tell me exactly how you did it, and dont leave anything out.
i have a suspicion. hmmmm...
later,
LC | LC, I have aborted any atempt to attach the stripped coax to the antenna, the wire was getting pinched by the hood. So I now have the ant. on the original bracket on the bumper, about 3 ft. is above truck. I hauk\l a slide on truck camper frequently so I dont have many ant. mount options due to the camper overhang. Lou |
09-10-2008, 10:02 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 506
| |
if you cant move the antenna then you are just going to have to deal with the high SWR and poor range.
personally, i would not run an amp with that setup because you are just asking for it to burn up eventually.
you will be able to use just the radio as long as you dont key up for more than a few seconds at a time.
good luck,
LC
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