Ok I went through all the possiblities, looked back on older topics. So now I getting a little fed up. Ok heres the situation, I'll show you what i am running after i describe the problem.


Ok so last week me and my bud Tonkaranger04 got a swr metter to tune our antennas in. ok, so we bought a radion shack swr meter. Had the meter on 20 watts, turned it to calibration. ok, to make a long story short for those of you who know the steps to andjust the swr meter, i kept cutting pieces of my stainless steel whip unitl when you miked up i had a good swr reading. I got it around 1.5. Ben tuned his in around the same reading. Than i kept my truck still and he drove about 10 blocks away coming in clear as day.

So now when we got on the highway i couldnt hear crap. he comes in at a super low volume and scratchy and blotchy sounds. So at couriosity i hooked the swr back up to my truck and now it was in the red at 3. I DIDNT TOUCH ANYTHING!? Any clues????? I have a good ground. Below is what I running.

cb: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4642484



Antenna: http://www.das-roadpro.com/k40/k40trucker.asp



whip antenna (Im not using the black bottom part, just the whip):

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family



And my set up:

 

when you tuned it were you in an area with a lot of buildings? If you were they can give false readings.when i tune mine i always go to a place with as little surroundings as possible,(i.e. in a field) Maybe someone will chime in with some more info.

 

well it is in a houding development with a church near by?

 

Your cb is only running 2 to 4 watts. You need to tune the swr's on channel 20. The proper way is to check on 1 and then 40 but I just do it on ch20 and save some time.

 

If you have decent SWR and then all of a sudden the meter is pegged, something broke. Check your antenna mount to make sure your center conductor and ground are attached properly and not touching each other. Check the same thing on the other end of the coax, especially if you made the connector yourself.

 

when you retune it i would try to find as open of an area that you can, it should help you to get a true reading

 

The buildings and surroundings you described will not cause the problem you are seeing. Something else is wrong.

 

Yeah I dunno wtf he's talking about either. I run a juiced up cb setup in my rig and check my swr's constantly. They're the same in an industrial park, a truck stop, on a busy freeway, on a wide open expressway, in my apt complex. It's always the same.

 

when i bought my cb from the local radio shop the installer told me depending on the radio's output level the surroundings can have a negative effect on a cheaper quality cb. i don't kmow that what i was told my him. So if that's wrong sorry, i was going and doing it by his advice

 

the cb shop will only charge about $5-$10 to set your swr's.

 

His SWR is not the problem. Something is broken.

 

Well a CB shop will figure it out / fix it...... I was also told to go to an open field when i tuned mine, but he peaked and tuned it for me at the shop....

Rocky

 

Ok so i was not the only one told to do this

 

I agree with FireRanger, something else is wrong. I would start by checking the bracket, making sure its firmly bolted down and making a good ground to the body with an ohmmeter. Then check the insulator washer and make sure its not cracked or squashed allowing a short. If that all checks out ok, check the coax cable. Unplug it from the antenna and radio. Check the solder connections at the tips of the PL-259 connectors as well as the crimps. Using an ohmmeter and some electric wire as extension leads check the inner wire and outer shield continuity. Check both a second time while flexing the ends. Then check between the inner wire and outer shield for shorts while flexing the ends.

 

in checking the swr's and trouble shooting to fix the swr's the shop will find the problem. it is not that hard of a problem to fix, thus i felt no need to get into detail about it. he said he was at a loss more or less.
he goes to get it checked and in 10 minutes he has the problem fixed.
my fault for not writing a page to get a simple problem fixed for a few bucks that he could try to fix for years.

 

You have a cb, a coax, a mount, and an antenna.

If you're trying to figure out what the problem is with four basic components for a few years then you've got bigger problems than high swr's.

 

smartass truck driver
you must drive for jb hunt

 

if i drove for jb hunt then i couldn't afford a computer nor would i be online right now. i'd be on the road for the next two months.

 

this is true.

 

ok well This weekend i was busy installing and painting the skid plate and painting my bumpers. Im going to check over the coax today.

 

ok welp i got brand new coax. all connections are good. The swr meter is still off. My friend recieves me clear as day on hi end. but when he ,ic's up he is scratchy and muffled............? idk what to do. Ever since i moved the antenna to the *** end of my truck, this ****s been messed up ever since. When i use to hav it right behingd my cab it worked clear as day! I never used an swr. just hooked it up and went with it. same when i use to run dual fiberglass firesticks..........

 

I was reading that the best place to put a single antenna was smack dab in the center of the vehical (Where mine was located before)

 

"The best place to put a single antenna is smack dab in the center of the roof but very few people want it there. This is the highest place you can put it. This gets it up and out of the way of obstacles that could interfere with the radio waves coming out of the antenna. The sheetmetal (frame if there is no sheetmetal) of the vehicle is used as part of the antenna called the ground plane. Mounting the antenna in the center gives a balanced and uniform radiation pattern which will allow you to get out well in all directions."

 

Make sure the coax cable is not in coil from the CB to the Ant. that was my problem.now it works great.

 

yeah i have 18' of it, im going to just spread it through out the bed underneathe