CB specifics

Found the problem. The antenna base is shorted out it closes the loop between the whip and the ground /base thread. Anyone have similar experience? Maybe it's intentional and I just don't know how to deal with it ( by the way there are no installation instructions provided).
For now used a 3' firestik with a spring, mounted on nmo adapter. I was able to tune into the 2.0 Swr.
Edit. I still have to work on grounding my hood a little bit better

Edit: typos

 

Was the base itself shorted or the antenna? The base shouldn't have any sort of shorts but antennas may appear to have a DC short depending on the design.

 

Turns out the antenna has DC Grounding... Or whatever you'd call it. So looks like the "short" has been done on purpose! This "feature" is news to me, and at this point between work, home, kids and trip coming up this weekend, I don't have time to look into it... So for now I chose a safe way with an adapter and standard fiberglass antenna.

I would like to find out more about it, and how to tune the antenna properly, since I like the way it looks and I've read good things of it

 

The DC short is actually a shunt. It's put there intentionally to bleed static that builds up on the antenna, which is particularly useful for a mobile antenna. Some antennas also will appear to have a DC short due to the design of their matching network, but in this case I suspect it's just a simple shunt for static. Key here is to remember we're dealing with impedance on RF (since it's an AC), which may or may not have a DC resistance component.

 

Yeah, I'll try to remember that! Lol
Unfortunately I have never heard of that type of a design, nor the rf impedance... I thought resistance was It! Yeah, a bit above my league, lol

I guess I was looking for a guidance or a short answer, how to deal with that

 

Since the NMO adaptor and a FireStik seems to have a reasonable SWR, it can be assumed the mount and coax are fine. I'd still like to see if there is impedance on the coax and mount without an antenna and radio attached just to be sure.

Next I'd like to see if you can borrow an NMO antenna somewhere and see if it tunes. If it does, there's something funky with your antenna.

 

I didn't have time to check it yet, I just read up some stuff and it might be issue with me and following directions. I'm supposed to cut a trip to certain length not just try to adjust within the mount.
This is not a regular CB antenna, but then again even with regular ones sometimes the ship has to be cut down.
If I find some time this evening, I'll try to install it

 

Short version. I'm a dumbass... So, I read a few things up, including a whip lenght chart provided with the antenna, and after a few cuts, I was able to bring SWR down to below 1.5. Granted, I also installed a ground strap between the hood and the body, but cutting off 2+ inches did the trick!
Thanks for your attention and patience! Unfortunately I don't know how to measure impedance, so no info on that.

 

Very cool you figured it out.

 

Been scrolling through all the pages with no luck....has anybody found an antenna mount for the bed that will work with the OEM bed cover? I want to mount it on the rails behind the cab..so I need to find an L bracket of sorts that will bolt to the rail then go up and over the side of the bed if that makes sense. Does anybody have any recommendation or will I need to fabricate one of my own somehow?

 

You can check this thread as well Clean VHF/CB radio installs
If nothing there, fabricate it yourself. Try to use stainless steel, so you wouldn't have to paint the bracelet.... aand make sure to ground your bracket to the frame, since the rails are not grounded (as far as I know). Good luck!

 

Thanks, I'll take a look in that thread.

 

Sorry for the double post....but I"m going to wire my CB today and I'm running it directly to the battery (unless told otherwise) for no interference and to be able to use it with the vehicle off. My question is since the CB already has an inline fuse, do I need to fuse the cable again right near the battery? If so, do I remove the other inline fuse? Which size fuse would I use near the battery?

 

You'd want a fuse near the battery. You don't have to remove ones down the line but I would just so there's only one place to check if it's not working.

 

I personally didn't bother. I know best practice is to have it close to the battery, but it's a short enough run into the cab it should be fine.

 

Your truck, so it's your choice... 5 Amp fuse close to ghe battery, and leave CB's inline fuse alone, lol. That fuse close to the battery is a safety thing, in case your wire gets chafed somewhere along the way (or whatever) and creares a short. Good luck with your choice.

You're a brave man, lol.

 

I like to live dangerously

 

I got it wired straight to the battery for now but I will be getting a fuse for it just to be safe. PA speaker and CB installed, just need to get my antenna bracket finished up and she'll be good to go. Hopefully I'll finish that tomorrow. Here is my CB and speaker installed in the truck.

 

This looks good. Do you have any more pics of the radio mounting process? I plan on doing something very similar (hoping to put a different radio on the passenger's side of the console) and could use some inspiration.

 

I don't have any other pictures, but it was pretty straight forward. I drilled a hole at the bottom of my center console, so I could run the cords down there to the antenna/battery. I used the provided bracket that came with my CB and just used two screws to mount it inside my center console. The CB mounts on the bracket with some thumb screws that came with it.