I had another thread, stating that my radio wasn't performing how I'd like. I have started a long process of going through my whole system, one thing at a time. I removed my mag mount 2M antenna as a start. My Wilson 1K was seeing the other one and it didn't like it much. So I removed the second antenna and re-tuned the first.
My R's still werent as good as I wanted them to be,my external meter was showing 1.5 on ch 1 and 40. So I was motivated by Bandit35's thread on his Wilson 5K rebuild. I couldn't get the casing for the loading coil off (meaning I was getting worried I was going to break it). So I removed the magnet and the base cover. I unbolted the coil mount from the magnet and wire brushed all the connection points, then re-assembled. I removed the stinger and also the mast. I cleaned all the connection points there as well, then re-assembled and tuned. My external meter was reading about 1.25/1.3 which is better.
So my big radio (Galaxy 95t2) is bolted to a plastic dash board with a jumper wire from the chassis to the cab. It was alarming to watch my radio as I drove over bumps so I got myself a heavy duty 9" bracket. It took a couple weeks to get here, but it arrived yesterday. I spent my lunch break cutting my carpet, drilling holes, and mounting my new bracket to the floor. I kept the factory bracket in place on the lower dash to connect to the top of the new 9" bracket for a little extra stability. Being bolted to the floor of the cab also gave the radio chassis a good ground (negative cable of power cord connected straight to the bat.). It caused me to have to retune my antenna again. My external meter is now showing about 1.1/1.15. Even the internal meter on the radio is now a hair under 1.4, which in the beginning the internal meter was over 1.7 and progressivly got better. Also, I drove down some pretty bumpy roads last night and that radio is now solidly in place. I'm very happy with that mount.
But I am not done yet. I decided to not rely on factory bonding so I got my first grounding strap from the parts store. Sadly I am going to have to go a little at a time. I figured about $2-$3 each, wasn't I wrong. It was almost $7 for the 8" strap. But I installed the strap from the DS center of cab to frame. Next will be the PS center to frame, and so on. I have a lot of 12 straps in my watch list on ebay. My wife says I can buy it when I get paid in a few days. I also should have a permenant roof mount for the Wilson in a couple weeks (thanks binrat) along with some other items. Hopefully when I'm done, I will get my numbers out there a little better.
My R's still werent as good as I wanted them to be,my external meter was showing 1.5 on ch 1 and 40. So I was motivated by Bandit35's thread on his Wilson 5K rebuild. I couldn't get the casing for the loading coil off (meaning I was getting worried I was going to break it). So I removed the magnet and the base cover. I unbolted the coil mount from the magnet and wire brushed all the connection points, then re-assembled. I removed the stinger and also the mast. I cleaned all the connection points there as well, then re-assembled and tuned. My external meter was reading about 1.25/1.3 which is better.
So my big radio (Galaxy 95t2) is bolted to a plastic dash board with a jumper wire from the chassis to the cab. It was alarming to watch my radio as I drove over bumps so I got myself a heavy duty 9" bracket. It took a couple weeks to get here, but it arrived yesterday. I spent my lunch break cutting my carpet, drilling holes, and mounting my new bracket to the floor. I kept the factory bracket in place on the lower dash to connect to the top of the new 9" bracket for a little extra stability. Being bolted to the floor of the cab also gave the radio chassis a good ground (negative cable of power cord connected straight to the bat.). It caused me to have to retune my antenna again. My external meter is now showing about 1.1/1.15. Even the internal meter on the radio is now a hair under 1.4, which in the beginning the internal meter was over 1.7 and progressivly got better. Also, I drove down some pretty bumpy roads last night and that radio is now solidly in place. I'm very happy with that mount.
But I am not done yet. I decided to not rely on factory bonding so I got my first grounding strap from the parts store. Sadly I am going to have to go a little at a time. I figured about $2-$3 each, wasn't I wrong. It was almost $7 for the 8" strap. But I installed the strap from the DS center of cab to frame. Next will be the PS center to frame, and so on. I have a lot of 12 straps in my watch list on ebay. My wife says I can buy it when I get paid in a few days. I also should have a permenant roof mount for the Wilson in a couple weeks (thanks binrat) along with some other items. Hopefully when I'm done, I will get my numbers out there a little better.
