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CB SWR Reading HIGH

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012.

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  1. Mar 31, 2012 at 1:07 AM
    #1
    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    So I finally had the chance to try and tune my whip with my friends meter. My whip is grounded to my frame and sits right behind my tool box, at the drivers side.

    IMG_4271_1480f6f22655943bd80b432fc2be95371a165d82.jpg

    I have a different mount now, but same concept. Ran a ground wire from there through the cuby hole onto the frame.

    Anyone have any ideas why the reading could be so high?
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  2. Mar 31, 2012 at 1:14 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    This is the fire stik 2 with a tunable tip and i have a cobra CB
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  3. Mar 31, 2012 at 1:22 AM
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    Monkeyboy

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    Monkeyboy Well-Known Member

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    High where? Channel 1 ? Channel 40 ? To calibrate your antenna, find a nice open parking lot. Test channel 1, 40 and 19.

    If your antennae is not adjustable (i.e no tunable tip) you'll have to experiment with location to find a good location.

    That being said, just off the top of my head from the picture you posted - that's a not ideal place to put an antenna. There isn't much of a counterpoise and the cab will block and reflect a good deal of the signal.

    If you don't want to put the antenna over the cab, put it over the hood. If you want to go over the bed, use a tunable, or a coil loaded antenna. They won't work quite as well, but they'll do OK.
     
    Monkeyboy, Mar 31, 2012
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  4. Mar 31, 2012 at 1:27 AM
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    Monkeyboy

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    Monkeyboy Well-Known Member

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    If it has the tunable tip (I think all FSII do) then you need to tune it. You might never get great performance out of it at that location, though.

    So start at the bottom and go by 1 turn increments and note your SWR on channels 1, 19, and 40. I bet you'll have to get pretty long to get decent SWR on all of them, but I doubt you'd get below 2 on both ends.

    As long as you're below 3 everywhere, it's OK. Lower is better, but below three wont blow up your radio.
     
    Monkeyboy, Mar 31, 2012
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  5. Mar 31, 2012 at 1:44 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    Hmmm OK So if I am getting a high swr reading I should adjust the tip upward or downward?
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  6. Mar 31, 2012 at 2:56 AM
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    Tepidy

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    Tepidy Well-Known Member

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    Firesticks are not the greatest and the tunable tip does not give you enough tunning ability. A whip style antenna which you can use a dremmel to cut down and adjust the length is best. Also it should be a a minimum of 2 feet above your cab. I find in our tacomas that the "Lil Wil" by Wilson works the best. JMO
     
    Tepidy, Mar 31, 2012
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  7. Mar 31, 2012 at 4:41 AM
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    LUSETACO

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    LUSETACO Here for the Taco Pron

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    Ditch the Firestik. I could never get mine tuned right either. Got myself a little Wil and worked with no tuning right out of the box. I just upgraded to a Wilson 1000 and needed no tuning as well. 1.2 on all channels and it smokes! BTW I have 2 little Wils if you're interested I might let go of one.
     
    LUSETACO, Mar 31, 2012
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  8. Mar 31, 2012 at 4:51 AM
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    H Bomb

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    H Bomb Well-Known Member

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    I just set up my firestik yesterday. Read way high. I unscrewed the tunable tip all the way. It read high again. I turned the tunable tip down half way and now it is reading under 3. Luckily, tuning it helped. Here is the troubleshooting flow chart I used for troubleshooting: http://www.rightchannelradios.com/high-swr-troubleshooting-flowchart
     
    H Bomb, Mar 31, 2012
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  9. Mar 31, 2012 at 5:05 AM
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    LUSETACO

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    LUSETACO Here for the Taco Pron

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    A reading of 3 is acceptable but you're losing about 25% of your output. Some newer radios will reduce power if SWR is high reducing your output even more.
     
    LUSETACO, Mar 31, 2012
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  10. Mar 31, 2012 at 8:56 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    The only reason I don't have a mag mount is because of the damage it does to the paint.. luse taco how much do you want for a whip?
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  11. Mar 31, 2012 at 9:02 AM
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    LUSETACO

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    LUSETACO Here for the Taco Pron

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    Well the little Wil is a mag mount. I'm not really worried about the paint too much because unless you're like 7 feet tall you'll never see the scratches.:p
    Just shoot me a PM if you're interested.
     
    LUSETACO, Mar 31, 2012
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  12. Mar 31, 2012 at 9:05 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    PM'ed
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  13. Mar 31, 2012 at 10:01 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    so if my SWR reading is to high, should i adjust the screw at the top to go down or up?
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  14. Mar 31, 2012 at 10:26 AM
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    LUSETACO

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    LUSETACO Here for the Taco Pron

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    LUSETACO, Mar 31, 2012
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  15. Mar 31, 2012 at 10:29 AM
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    H Bomb

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    H Bomb Well-Known Member

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    Try both up, down and in the middle. Take swr readings and see what happens. What readings are you getting now, by the way?
     
    H Bomb, Mar 31, 2012
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  16. Mar 31, 2012 at 11:03 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    i cant remember but it was in the middle of the red
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  17. Mar 31, 2012 at 11:08 AM
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    Bones2Blood002

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    Bones2Blood002 Well-Known Member

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    Double check your ground. Mine was shorted out. I got the same reading when it was shorted.
     
    Bones2Blood002, Mar 31, 2012
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  18. Mar 31, 2012 at 11:17 AM
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    CayucosTacoma

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    CayucosTacoma [OP] Just think outside the Yota

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    okay ill go look at it right now
     
    CayucosTacoma, Mar 31, 2012
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  19. Mar 31, 2012 at 11:48 AM
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    Bengland25

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    Bengland25 Never Forget! 343

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    Make sure you get a ground strap. Wire generally isn't going to give you a decent ground unless it's a large gauge. I have a firestik II. The same thing as you and I have a 1.2 SWR on all channels just about. Just check the ground and make sure when tuning your away from building, cars, trees, etc. and have all windows rolled up and no people around. All of those affect your SWR. You should be able to tune it to a decent working SWR with that set up.
     
    Bengland25, Mar 31, 2012
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  20. Mar 31, 2012 at 11:51 AM
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    H Bomb

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    H Bomb Well-Known Member

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    Record the readings you are getting at channel 1, 19 and 40. This will give more info on what the issue is.

    Like the other guy said, check ground and connections. Also, double check that you have the correct connections going into each side of the swr meter.

    I have also read that it is better to mount the antenna on the passenger side. I don't know how much/if that actually causes huge problems though.
     
    H Bomb, Mar 31, 2012
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