CB specifics

Swr reads at 1.7 on channel 1 then almost 5 on channel 40

 

Your antenna is too long, also you may not be grounded very well since both of them are pretty high

 

I am running a 4ft Firestik here is how it is sent up

 

Betcha that 'fire ring' has corrosion on it! Also, why is there a (ground?) wire on the bottom of it??? I prefer to use one of these...And this stuff...

 

The band not wide enough to make much difference in SWR if it reasonable on one frequency it should be on the entire band. I question the readings of a $5 SWR meter.

 

Looks like your grounded on the wrong side there. Put the ground strap above the firering between it and the mount.

EDIT, you also shouldnt need a grounding strap as the firering grounds through the mount thats on there. Try removing the ground strap all together.

 

I'll bet there's corrosion on the ground wire portion of the fire ring judging by the corrosion on the mount/fitting itself. I like grounding the shield directly to the mount, in the correct location of course.

 

Yeah, I have to take my firering off usually every 6 months to clean it up.

 

The 3/8 24 bolt is the RF side there should be two insulators one each side (top and bottom) the small terminal is the ground I have no idea what the other thing you have in there is supposed to do. Take it out a see what happens. The coax braided ground is just that, any convenient ground point is fine. Even a 4' wound antenna is a compromise a 110" is more like a quarter wave on 11 meters.
'

 

From bottom up

bolt
Ground
Fire ring
Bracket
Insulator
Washer
Lock washer
Quick connect

new to all this cb stuff, it was a used set up I got off a local guy here in Denver

 

bolt
Fire ring
Ground - the mount should be ground, so the strap not really needed.
Bracket
Insulator
Washer
Lock washer
Quick connect

 

OK I get fire ring now it's nothing more than a right angle connector. It appears to be insulated so bolt through the fire ring, plastic flanged washer on top flange down, mount hardware 3/8 24 barrel nut and antenna on top of that. You need a return path to the radio that is the shield (coax braid) it needs a good ground it is not a ground plane it is a return. I'll guess your mount is drilled for that purpose (small bolt and nut). The fire ring looks to have a SMA connector so you need an adapter from SMA to

$43 PL259 USA Made PL-259 Improved Double Shielded RG-58u for FireStik Antenna K-8A 18-Foot Single CB/Ham Coax Cable

PL259 they used the SMA to make it easier to run the cable. If the coax end is not terminated then you will need a PL 259 that's a whole other topic. Because the CB band is pretty narrow if you get an SWR reading it should be pretty close top to bottom of the band.The windings inside of a short antenna make up for the shortness of the antenna by adding length, a quarter wave on 27 megs is in the 108" range

 

So I removed the extra ground wire and cleaned up everything and I am getting 1.2 low end and 3 on the high end

 

The firestik should be tunable, remove the rubber cap from the top of it, you can shorten or lengthen the tip.
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm
check here for instructions to tune it.

 

What are you using for a meter? That's should not be a wide band antenna unless it is designed for the 10 meter band also. If the SWR is low at the bottom and gets worse at a higher freq. it's too long but cutting it will generally affect the lower SWR also. It's all most like you have a 10 meter fire stick.

 

Better than nothing. I would get on the air with a friend and try both channels bottom to top and see how it plays out. Know any hams in your area maybe one of them has a really nice meter, case in point my AT500 Bird meter was $1400 new I take care of 5 of our clubs repeaters I need something really accurate. I would try this also, first check your #1 ch then go to the higher one recalibrate your little meter and try again. It really seems unlikely that the antenna is at fault they are mono band and designed for use in that frequency range so in theory the center freq should be the best reading.

 

All right CB pros. I’ve finally decided on putting the antenna by the ditch lights for my purposes. The ditch light bracket is powder coated so I’m assuming I’ll need to put a ground strap on the bottom in between the stainless washer and the nut. Any advise is much appreciated!

 

I thought this as well, but it turned out not to be true. When I added a ground strap the SWR meter got much better readings. That said, It's still not in the range I'm looking for. I'm using the CBI hood mount bracket.

Did ya'll grind down any spot on your frame to add the ground strap?

 

In order for there to be a good ground, you need to have a nice bare metal spot where the ground attaches to the antenna and the frame. This is why I'm going to be just adding a ground strap to the antenna from under my hood.