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There is no such thing as a wrong length. There is only one correct length, the length needed to get from radio to antenna by the route you want. If altering the length of the coax, coiling it up, putting in a RF choke or touching it alters the SWR then this is proof that the antenna system is...

They're quite old now. Look at ones on the used market.

For calibrating and tuning radios you need at a minimum: DUMMY LOAD Frequency counter, and not just one of those CB goes to 6 digits. Power meter, and in order to measure SSB properly one that has a proper peak hold function that requires power to work and not just put the backlight on. FM and...

Don't waste your money. Tried one many years ago, made zero difference other than to the money in my wallet.

Yes there is an advantage. There is such a thing as being too high and it's all to do with the angle of arrival of incoming signals. Below is a chart of gain at various angles of arrival for signals for dipoles at various heights but the same applies to a horizontal yagi. As you can see at two...

No, it's an end fed antenna. There is no such thing as an end-fed dipole.

If you're using a steel whip why do you need a spring? I don't use one.

If you're using a steel whip why do you need a spring? I don't use one.

Basically what you have to remember is that if altering the coax length or touching it alters the SWR it means your coax is forming part of the antenna. That's often because there is an insufficient RF ground/counterpoise at the antenna end of the coax so the antenna system is using anything it...

Plenty of radios in the UK including brands like President. Thing is though that most CBs, especially the export radios, are made outside of the USA. Many are made in China so they were subject to 125% import duty more than doubling the price of the radio. Vietnam, Taiwan all subject to high...

Antennas with matching sections aside X will not be at 0 where the SWR is at 1:1. Where X=0 is where your antenna is actually resonant. Where the SWR is 1:1 is where the impedance is 50 Ohms. Unless you're using an antenna designed so the feedpoint impedance at resonance is 50 Ohms they'll never...

Absolutely could be FM deviation, it has a massive effect on received audio of FM transmissions. Take a ham HT that runs on narrow (2.5kHz) or wide (5kHz) FM deviation. If you are receiving a narrow transmission on a FM radio set to receive wide deviation it will sound very quiet. If you're...

What difference does that make? Apple products were all made in China. Didn't mean they were inferior to ones made in the USA and people still queued up to spend $1000s on the latest iThing on launch day.

A narrower bandwidth on a short antenna, anything below 1/4 wavelength, indicates a high Q which means more efficiency. The last thing you want on a short antenna is a wide bandwidth unless the radiating element is a large diameter. It basically means that the thing is acting like a dummy load...

It's marketing bullshit just like the claim that a 2 metre long antenna is a 5/8 or 7/8 wave on 11m. They know nobody is going to test it at that.

No such thing as a 5/8 wave mobile CB antenna. The longest you'll get is a 1/4 wave. Anything else shorter than that claiming to to be more than a 1/4 wave is marketing bollocks. The coil doesn't add length, it merely provides a 50 ohm match.

There is simply no need for 1000W or even anything approaching. It's a load of crap using it with any monopole CB antenna. Yeah sure you'll be heard far and wide but you're still only going to be receiving a short distance so you'll never hear most of those who reply to you. Put the effort...

Difference between 1000W and 3000W is barely more than a S point.

You can do it without that as long as you've a power meter. Get a tone generator app on your phone, set it to chuck out a 1kHz tone at your normal voice speaking level. Wind down the mic gain, put the phone generating the tone the normal distance from your mouth the mic is, key up the radio...

Fixed body mount in the roof is the best option. If it's already got a fixed mount and you've the issues you're experiencing then it may be that there's some corrosion under the mount or the mount itself has issues so it would be best to replace it. It'll be much better than going to magmounts.