cb swr raped my face

checked my swr readings today, instantly shot to 3 haha wtf. trimmed a 1/4" off my antenna and pretty much made no change whatsoever.



what changes should i make?


cb setup:
uniden 510xl
18ft cable from frys(probably the problem)
4ft Vanco knock off firestik

 

ok i have a question, how do you read the swr meter, like what would a good/excelent/bad reading be pretty much new to the consept of tuning my system all help is appreciated thank you

 

Race radio

 

The lower the reading the better.
When you are installing your CB, get an inexpensive meter at radio shack, it will come with instructions.

 

woot woot i owe you a beer.

 

ok one more what is the best antenna to buy? ive heard alot about the firestikII

 

Wierd thing happened to my SWR. I changed springs on my firestick from medium duty to heavy duty and my SWR went from 1.5 to 2+. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

once again which antennas are the best

 

this...

 

has anybody mounted there antenna up front with the hood channel mount? if so how well did it work out for you

 

looked for a wilson superflex and the closest i could get was a k40 superflex not sure if thats a wilson brand but well see how it works

 

That's where mine is....I like the location but doesn't work as well as a roof mount Wilson. Maybe it's the anti or wiring....I will try to rewire and maybe a Wilson flexaroo or cut to the chase and mount pon me roof...

 

I do not want to drill holes in my truck. I'm thinking about fabricating a mount to go on the back corner of the bed, but thought I'd ask here first: Has anybody tried a through-the-glass antenna like this?

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/power-max-through-glass-moblie-cb-antenna/13608#reviews

 

Running the antenna in the back corner of your bed will yield better SWR results. Getting it back away from the cab of the truck is very helpful. Also, make sure you don't have your extra coax coiled tightly- it needs to be wound in a very loose figure-8.

Furthermore, trimming the antenna is usually for getting a uniform SWR between channels (check SWR between ch1,ch20,ch40), not for achieving good SWR on your first test. If your SWR is too high on all channels, it's time to troubleshoot your setup.

Generally if your antenna is mounted behind the cab you should put at least 12" between the two.

 

Make sure your antenna is mounted with the nylon washer/lock washer in the propper position. I went 3+ for 2 yrs without knowing this and couldn't get beyond a mile.
An astute cb tweaker saw this, fixed it and now my swr is under .001 and tweaked and soldered it for 7 miles. nice.

 

You wouldn't be able to get 3:1 with the washers out of order. That would be an SWR of infinity because it directly shorts the antenna to ground. I'm surprised you didn't fry your radio using it like that!

 

With an 18ft cable , it may be your problem, never never loop the wire! Looping an antenna wire will do more harm than good. You can also tune the radio yourself using the meter. Lots of info on-line to do this tweak.

 

Sure did. Ran 3+ with them being out of order. 2 diff shops looked at it and had no idea why. Took it to a 3rd in ft wayne indiana and he easily recognized the problem.

Went thru 2 firestix and a wilson trying to figure it out.
Finally bought an "Astatic" with tunable washers.