CB SWR Reading HIGH

Just updating everybody. Works awesome picked up people from a distance away and it's not even tuned yet! I'll get you guys the swr numbers tomorrow

 

It's at 1:1.3 on across almost all channels! Thanks everybody

 

Good you got it all worked out.

I put dual firesticks on mine - partly because of the difficulty tuning one with the tube rack around it, but also give a bit better reach front to back - I mainly use it on the highway anyway. Besides, I prefer symmetry anyway.

 

Yeah me too. But I got other mods to do! Haha

 

Ham radio

easiest test ever and WAY more useful range

 

Did you make that rack or you buy It. its pretty sick

 

Thanks. I made it. It's made to house the RTT.

 

Nice you gotta build thread it I wana check it out

 

That thing is awesome! I want one of those things so badly! How much did it cost you??

 

No, no build thread. A few posts here and at Expedition Portal. I haven't done a great deal to the truck yet; Installed some radios and a few small mods. A lift and new rear bumper are in the works, but for next year or maybe later.

The tent is from Cascadia Vehicle Tents. That one is the largest one, and it was around 1200 bucks delivered. He runs ads and specials from time to time and is a really nice guy - it really pays to call him up and see what he's got.

As for the rack - it only cost about 200 dollars in materials and a long weekend at my father's garage. I used 1.25" EMT instead of steel. It's not quite as strong, but is light, inexpensive, and pretty easy to work with.

 

A couple of cb questions. I am between 1.5 1.75 SWR all around should I bother trying to improve took a heck of a lot of trial and error to get there. My understanding is SWR rates output how to improve receive? I am sure I am transmitting further than i can receive. Also why is coiling the excess coax a no no and they suggest just stuffing the excess in various spots. Also read about the guy who's truck got fried by lightening. Any reason to fuse the ground strap to avoid something like this.

 

SWR has to do with your transmit. The higher the number the more percentage of power is going back into the radio and being lost. Those numbers are ok and won't do damage to your radio. What kind of antanna do you have and where is it mounted? I've never heard of grounding the negative lead before. All radio harnesses I've seen always have a fuse on the positive lead.

 

and 2+ times the cost of equipment... Not to mention, range? you mean if your line of sight to a VHF/UHF repeater? I believe the intent was to talk with fellow off roaders in a group not talk inter state nor state to state via a repeater link.

 

sorta, its the amount of reflective energy is being returned back into the radio, this is why a radio chassis ground is a good idea. Typically, a power lead ground to source and a radio chassis ground.

 

For just talking in the near area, a HAM is almost overkill. The sound quality of a 2m FM is better than a SSB CB by far. Also, the output power is far higher; CB is limited to only 4 watts.

As for range - it really depends on the band (and antenna and power and....) . 2m/70cm is more or less LOS, but with good propagation, 10/20/40/60+, etc. can go a hell of a long ways.

 

As mentioned above, SWR is related to transmitted power. It's a ratio of how well your antenna resonates at the desired frequency; if it resonates well all the power is radiated out. If it radiates poorly, power is reflected back to the radio where it has to be dissipated somehow.

If your SWR is too high, your radio will dissipate the reflected energy by letting the smoke out of the circuits.

Coiling the coax is fine - it's shielded after all. That said, inductors are made by coiling wire. In the right circumstances, your cable can act as an inductor. This can have profound effects, although they are almost always negligible. Good shield grounding and ferrite chokes can fix this most times.

Of course, the best solution is a cable of the correct length.

I wouldn't fuse the negative on a CB. Just one more thing to break and honestly, lighting will scoff at your silly fuses. If your truck gets hit, it will be a crapshoot anyway as to what is affected and what is not.

 

Exactly!

I had the same problem - initially. I used two lengths of coax braid that I connected to each bolt holding my antenna mount to the bed dead center behind the cab and connected them to the frame on each side of the truck. Naturally, while this provided the necessary RF ground connection, it didn't provide a sufficient ground plane. So - I electrically bonded the three rails of the bed together and connected the rail that runs behind the cab to the ground of my mount. Problem solved.

 

More options, just not alot of Amateur radio Tacoma owners...

 

SWR= Standing Wave Ratio, and is in NO WAY a power measurement, however the power out of the Conductor( antenna whip) will be affected.

standing wave ratio (SWR) is the ratio of the amplitude of a partial standing wave at an antinode (maximum) to the amplitude at an adjacent node (minimum), in an electrical transmission line

An SWR meter only measures the mis-match between resistance and reactance.

 

I have the Firestik 2 ( with the tuneable tip) mated up to my Galaxy 959 and with the tip all the way down and the antenna mounted at the far left corner of my bed im at 1.1 swr on all channels. I had to extend the tip ( which would read electrically long) when im running higher wattage but the highest swr i have seen with my firestik is 1.3. Mounting the antenna in the bed railing system and grounding it with a seperate wire is not ideal. Im gonna try a hood mount set up in the future.