Wilson 1000 wont tune on roof mount...

[Recon]

@Recon - I like the fact that you have this assembly experience in the install...

The problem is in the FORD...

How be we get the two together...

And work?

I am fortunate that I don't have to rely on the CB radio in my trucks to communicate with family and friends.
Ha! ha! ha!......where were the cell phones and lap-tops in the seventies? Oh yeah I forgot, there were pay-phones at just about every corner and gas station.

 

[Recon]

alummin roof not making a groundplane for the antenna????

Yes and no. My Stryker 447 with the Laird NMO antenna on my aluminum truck are working OK, but the OP (Undertaker) is having issues with the VSWR with his installation. Go figure!

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Replace the whip with a coat hanger wire or other stiff wire. Start cutting at the top in small increments while checking swr. That way you won't have to chop up the good whips until you find the right length.

 

[2NC995]

I think Shade’s suggestion is best. The OP is going to need to narrow down if this is a grounding issue or a tuning issue, but at SWR of 2 it may just be that the 62” is still too long. Short of using an analyzer, a coat hanger and an SWR bridge is probably the easiest way.

Some one smarter than me can probably say for sure, but there’s something about the way an antenna tunes that helps indicate the adequacy of the ground plane. Can’t remember which...but tuning either unusually long or short or is supposed to indicate something.

For what my opinion may be worth (probably not much) I’ve only ever installed one Wilson roof mount, and I don’t remember it being difficult to get a good bite into the (steel) roof, though I expect anodizing may be much harder.

And on the other hand, I’ve had to trim most every Wilson I’ve touched and have never needed longer than the 62” whip.

 

[Woody-202]

Ha! ha! ha!......where were the cell phones and lap-tops in the seventies? Oh yeah I forgot, there were pay-phones at just about every corner and gas station.

Pay phones, pagers, and getting a 999 emergency service-call page that had to be answered via a pay phone in the pouring rain..thanks for reminding me of a nightmare situation I thought I forgot...

 

[2NC995]

Payphoning an uber...2019.

 

[Slowmover]

A metal-wire shirt hanger to test . That’d be me.

But who has them anymore? Like finding a payphone in the rain. Time to send some shirts to the dry cleaners.

 

[2NC995]

Major thread hijack, but referring to Woody’s post about what we now consider ancient technology...I regret that I was too late to the hobby to ever use a PHONE PATCH on CB. I’ve used it on other radio systems, but would have been cool to have that at my disposal within my own arsenal!

 

[M0GVZ]

Got a brand new roof mount for the pick up aluminum of course drilled the hole mounted the mount and used the 62 in whip and the 66 inch whip still wont tune never had this problem before.. HELP!!!

I would expect to see that with an installation with a good RF ground, even more so if you've done bonding too. The better the RF ground the shorter the antenna needs to be for a given frequency. In fact when doing bonding on an installation, without changing the length of the whip I keep checking where the resonant frequency is for the antenna and if adding another strap doesn't lower the frequency then I know not to put any more on that panel or on the vehicle. I often find the resonant frequency will drop 300-400kHz from starting with no bonding to the finished job.

So the problem you have is manufacturers like Wilson make theirs the length they do assuming that it'll be installed with a poor or non-existent ground or mag mount. The problem you have then is that when you do install them on a mount with a good RF ground is they're too long and often there's not enough adjustment in the antenna. I typically find every CB antenna out of the box I put on my car shortened to its shortest length tends to be resonant just below 26MHz and it's out with the dremel. My Sirio Performer 5000 I had to cut almost 3 inches off. I use fixed mount in the middle of the roof and I've bonded hood and trunk to the body of the car.

If you could get hold of an antenna analyser you'd probably find yourself that your antenna is resonant and will give a 1:1 SWR but it'll be below the CB frequencies, below where Ch1 is and you'll need to shorten the whip to raise the frequency.

 

[undertaker]

I have an mfj 259 I will try that thank you!!

 

[undertaker]

Screw it going to stay with my 102 on the tool box!!!

 

[Slowmover]

Another day, right?

In such a case I just note on the antennas museum display card (after a wipe and a shine), “Due to astronomical alignments, this display case will remain empty until further notice”.

I ran into a host of problems today. None of which should have occurred. (Ck guide, yup, sure enough, full moon tomorrow). So, until further notice . . . .

 

[undertaker]

Oh no full moon means I get really busy!!! Damnit boy!!!

 

[Handy Andy]

Hang in there boys!
Mercury may be in Direct
But, Uranus is in Retrograde...
Not a good time for assembly of a Hi-Po Miracle!
Umbra (Partial) Lunar Eclipse will occur Friday at 2:21 PM EST
We won't see it, but you're experiencing it...

And for those that may have missed the Last Solar Eclipse...
The Moon took an interesting Shade of hue and view,
during the partiality phase of the eclipse path in the Waters off of Quatar...
Back in 2019, December 26th...

The Devil is in the details of this orbit...​