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Help with cb swr

Robb said:
Try locating the antenna on the top/center of the roof.
Then re-test your SWR. I went to your first post and saw where you mounted it. Not the spot i would have chosen to say the least. It is not about how it looks; it is about what needs to be done to let the RF radiate the way it needs to. Also, to be efficient and keep the SWR's low . . .
Click to expand...

how can i do that with a magnet mount? my roof is rounded enough that it won't sit flat and where am i going to put the cable? it would have to run out side the car. its not long enough to run down the back of the car and into the trunk. I'm trying to think about what to do.

Is there a better way we can do this :(. I'm trying man. i did make a lot of progress tho.
 
2004crownvic said:
how can i do that with a magnet mount? my roof is rounded enough that it won't sit flat and where am i going to put the cable? it would have to run out side the car. its not long enough to run down the back of the car and into the trunk. I'm trying to think about what to do.

Is there a better way we can do this :(. I'm trying man. i did make a lot of progress tho.
Click to expand...

Lotsa guys run their mag mounts on the roof. I do too. The magnet will hold it no problem. You have it mounted on a cruiser next to the rear window. That might work on a cop car that uses the ~440MhZ range radio and antenna; but not the 27Mhz/CB range that needs a large piece of metal beneath it to work as it should.
 
ok, if I'm able to get it on the roof, what do i do with my cable? its not long enough unless its going through the window lol. any suggestions there? I'm open to them :).
 
Ok I tried it up there, it got a lil better. Around 2 swr on channels 1 and 40 channel 20 was 1.5- 17.

Any other little tricks?
 
thats priobaly about as good as they tune. make sure its in the center of roof
then i run cable down by the rear window into trunk then routed under seats
to the front. another tip make sure all your doors, trunk lids,hood are all shut
when doing this.but 2.0 swr or less you should be fine to transmit with.
bobs on I80 is a good place to go im only 70 miles west of there.
theres another shop in carslie ,pa called DTB radio hes on here sometime ,you might wanna
look that one up ,probaly closer to ya.try transmitting see how far ya get
 
hotrod said:
thats priobaly about as good as they tune. make sure its in the center of roof
then i run cable down by the rear window into trunk then routed under seats
to the front. another tip make sure all your doors, trunk lids,hood are all shut
when doing this.but 2.0 swr or less you should be fine to transmit with.
bobs on I80 is a good place to go im only 70 miles west of there.
theres another shop in carslie ,pa called DTB radio hes on here sometime ,you might wanna
look that one up ,probaly closer to ya.try transmitting see how far ya get
Click to expand...

ok well i did another thing and i ran ground wires from my trunk to a battery ground in the back. i put it back on the trunk lid. it still reads the same.

So im assuming i made the grounds much better to have it trunk mounted for now? it reads still 2 on 1,40 and and a tick lower on 20. 1.3-1.5.

i should be good to go at least for now. i just need a bigger antenna like a wil 5000 or something? I'm going to get a mount to where i can unscrew it like this picture robb posted. i think ill go that route. I can put it back on the roof but I'm getting same SWR now as i did on the roof.


But i do have a question, no that I'm getting good swr in my channel range. if i key up channels 23-35 the ant light is coming on even with swr under 2? whats up with that?

i'll look up bobs radio. I'm right near pocono raceway.
 
2004crownvic said:
ok well i did another thing and i ran ground wires from my trunk to a battery ground in the back. i put it back on the trunk lid. it still reads the same.
Click to expand...


It will still work better on top of the car than the trunk. You need all of the help you can get - that is what you said - right?
Unless you WANT to make it look like a undercover police cruiser . . . lol . . . 'busted' . . .


ANTENNA INSTALLATION TIPS, PRECAUTIONS AND ANTENNA LOCATIONS:

"...The best place to put a single antenna is smack dab in the center of the roof but very few people want it there. This is the highest place you can put it. This gets it up and out of the way of obstacles that could interfere with the radio waves coming out of the antenna. The sheetmetal (frame if there is no sheetmetal) of the vehicle is used as part of the antenna called the ground plane. Mounting the antenna in the center gives a balanced and uniform radiation pattern which will allow you to get out well in all directions..."
Click to expand...


The numbers posted in the diagram below are relative antenna losses measured in db's for 145mhz; but it is still relevant for 27mhz/CB too.
Every little bit helps - eh?

MobileAntennaMountingLocations.gif
 
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Robb said:
It will still work better on top of the car than the trunk. You need all of the help you can get - that is what you said - right?
Unless you WANT to make it look like a undercover police cruiser . . . lol . . . 'busted' . . .





The numbers posted in the diagram below are relative antenna losses measured in db's for 145mhz; but it is still relevant for 27mhz/CB too.
Every little bit helps - eh?

MobileAntennaMountingLocations.gif
Click to expand...

not really, it already looks it heavily lol. but ok I'm checking the diagram you have there. I really appreciate the help I'm receiving. Im leaning toward getting mount that you have to drill in, but i have to see.

would a wilson 1000 be a nice upgrade? or just going to a 5000? I'm going to upgrade the lil will soon.
 
The performance between the 1000 and the 5000 is virtually the same. The big difference is the amount of power each will handle.

The 1000 handles 3000 watts and the 5000, 5000 watts.

For your purposes, I'd recommend the 1000. Less money and performance is top notch.

If you are going to do it, I would do it NOW. Wilson is now out of business and the prices will be raising soon.

John
 

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