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SWR issue Please Help

H

hank_612

W9WDX Amateur Radio Club Member
Dec 3, 2011
80
4
18
Stl Mo
I am using a cheap roadpro SWR/Watt meter and having issues. When the meter is in the FWD position and the radio keyed the meter pegs. I calibrate to the cal point on the meter and flip the switch to ref and the meter stays in the same spot. I have tried adjusting to 5 and flipping the switch and the same shit happens......no change.


Galaxy 99v hooked to a brand new wilson 1000 mag mount and a new cheap swr meter and new jumper.


I tested the coax it is fine. To the mag mount no shorts. WTF
 

All it takes is a little common sense to diagnose this.
1) The coax could be pinched and shorted.
2) The coax has shorted in the base of the antenna.
3) The meter sucks
4) Maybe you have the antenna sitting on a fiberglass roof.
5) Maybe you have the Wilson sitting on a plastic tool box.

It is difficult is to foul up tuning a magnet mount Wilson.
 
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Try it with the mic gain on the radio all the way down, and lower the variable power alittle and see what happens. What does the SWR meter in the radio say? (after you take the roadpro out of line)
 
psycho said:
All it takes is a little common sense to diagnose this.
1) The coax could be pinched and shorted.
2) The coax has shorted in the base of the antenna.
3) The meter sucks
4) Maybe you have the antenna sitting on a fiberglass roof.
5) Maybe you have the Wilson sitting on a plastic tool box.

It is difficult is to foul up tuning a magnet mount Wilson.
Click to expand...

1. No
2.dont think so
3.could be
4-5. roof of 2007 f150

The pwr side of the meter works. FWIW
 
9C1Driver said:
Try it with the mic gain on the radio all the way down, and lower the variable power alittle and see what happens. What does the SWR meter in the radio say? (after you take the roadpro out of line)
Click to expand...

No swr meter on radio.

Same results with mike gain down and rf out backed off 10%
 
last time this happened to me , the airel had a fault , had shorted out , try a multimeter see if you get a reading down to earth.
 
I checked from the center of the jumper to the center of the rf out of the meter it is good. Same with the connectors and no cross.

What do you mean use a multimeter?
 
inner part of the plug to outer side of the plug check if there's continuity (it should not have)
expect a reading , but not continuity.
 
hagueok said:
inner part of the plug to outer side of the plug check if there's continuity (it should not have) expect a reading , but not continuity.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what hagueok is trying to say here, but check this video out, it may give you a clue as to how the Wilson 1000 should check using a continuity tester whether good or not. A good Wilson will show continuity full scale on your V/OHM meter.

Marconi discusses a possible problem with a Wilson 1000 - YouTube
 
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Marconi said:
I'm not sure what hagueok is trying to say here, but check this video out, it may give you a clue as to how the Wilson 1000 should check using a continuity tester whether good or not. A good Wilson will show continuity full scale on your V/OHM meter.

Marconi discusses a possible problem with a Wilson 1000 - YouTube
Click to expand...
try testing with a different antenna , if its the same reading try the process of elimination .remember google is your friend as google will explain what is a "multi meter"
by eliminating the ant. then coax , then jumper , get a different meter keep notes of readings
 
swr

had the same problem more or less with a wilson on my 06 dakota it acted like the antenna wasn't getting a ground to the cab ran a ground and the problem went away no more magnet mounts for me went to a whip
 
My Wilson 1000 poor SWR experience

Greetings and hope I can help!

I bought a 2nd (or 3rd) hand Wilson 1000, worked great for the 1st 6 months after buying it off of flea-bay, but then the SWR kept climbing. I tried to tune it and ended up cutting off almost an inch off the whip with no significat improvement, so I got tired of :bdh: so I stuck it in a closet and it wasn't very happy at all. So, fast forward 6 more months when I was able to pick my CB shop tech's brain. He suggested checking the thin foil that's stuck onto the magnet surface that makes contact with the roof of the mobile it's mounted to and where it connects to the shield of the coax on top of the magnet. Lo-and-behold, it's barely has less than 1/8th " of solid connection from the top of the magnet to the base, the rest of the foil has ripped and is covered with rust. So, had a spare (used) K40 magent that we used for the 1000. Drilled out the rivet that held the shield (-) wire from the coax to the PL259 mount where the coil/whip mount screws into, installed a new ring-crimp terminal, and got a perfect match. If I have the time in the next few days, I'll photograph my K40 magnet Wilson 1000 mod. Hope this gives some ideas and hope you get it fixed. Great antenna BTW :D
 
Blackpaw said:
Greetings and hope I can help!

I bought a 2nd (or 3rd) hand Wilson 1000, worked great for the 1st 6 months after buying it off of flea-bay, but then the SWR kept climbing. I tried to tune it and ended up cutting off almost an inch off the whip with no significat improvement, so I got tired of :bdh: so I stuck it in a closet and it wasn't very happy at all. So, fast forward 6 more months when I was able to pick my CB shop tech's brain. He suggested checking the thin foil that's stuck onto the magnet surface that makes contact with the roof of the mobile it's mounted to and where it connects to the shield of the coax on top of the magnet. Lo-and-behold, it's barely has less than 1/8th " of solid connection from the top of the magnet to the base, the rest of the foil has ripped and is covered with rust. So, had a spare (used) K40 magent that we used for the 1000. Drilled out the rivet that held the shield (-) wire from the coax to the PL259 mount where the coil/whip mount screws into, installed a new ring-crimp terminal, and got a perfect match. If I have the time in the next few days, I'll photograph my K40 magnet Wilson 1000 mod. Hope this gives some ideas and hope you get it fixed. Great antenna BTW :D
Click to expand...

I did see the foil on some of these magnets get funky looking, but I never consider this. It sounds like a very good possibility.

Thanks Blackpaw,
 
psycho said:
From everything that I read there are no capacitors of any kind in the Wilson 1000 or 5000 base or coil assemblies.
Click to expand...

Psycho, I believe you might be right. I checked the patent and I don't see a capacitor either. I do see a direct tap to what looks like the second coil from the bottom, with the shield attached to the very bottom of the coil, thus we see continuity between the shield and the center.

Blackpaw also shows us a possible explanation for how this mag mount can loose the ground.

Now I have no idea what this coil comes from. I will take my video down. Thanks for you guys questioning this, otherwise I would have never known the truth. Maybe I should start listening and stop talking.
 
Last edited:

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