This Is How To GET SUPER LOW SWR ON YOUR CB RADIO!!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ส.ค. 2019
- This Is How To GET SUPER LOW SWR ON YOUR CB RADIO!!
In this video I use a brand new Workman SWR meter to test the Cobra 29LX CB radio's internal swr meter. I'm using a Wilson Little Wil CB antenna and am parked on the roof top of a parking garage with no obstructions around. The Cobra 29LX CB radio is telling me the SWR reading is very very low. So, I thought I'd get a second opinion with this new SWR meter.
Workman SWR meter SWR2T: amzn.to/2ZBPphH
Wilson Little Wil CB Antenna: amzn.to/2LbzcvD
Cobra 29LX: amzn.to/2NKFHqP
If SWR is high on Ch. 1 and low on Ch. 40, add length to your antenna.
If SWR is low on Ch. 1 and high on Ch. 40, shorten your antenna.
www.1roadgarage.com
**This channel is for entertainment purposes only! Do not do what I do. Do not take my advice. I am not a professional. The methods I use may be completely wrong and/or dangerous. Please seek professional help with anything and everything and do your own due diligence (research). Working on cars is extremely dangerous. I am not responsible for any loss of life or limb or property. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. THIS CHANNEL IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!**
FTC Disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate. As such, I earn a percentage of sales made through Amazon Affiliate links found in the description of my videos and on my website and other places. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
THIS MAN DESERVES AN AWARD! This must be the only video intro ive seen in the last decade that doesnt contain ongoing rambling or senseless talking followed by the "lets get right into it". Thank you for actually "getting right into it" and continuing that theme through the ENTIRE video; which actually is an exact representation of content reflecting what the title states it is.
WELL DONE SIR!
Kudos on your kind comment and I concur completely some people and I mean alot when I say some like to Ramble on and on and on as if we want to listen to them and perhaps thinking highly of themselves in which case most times I click away to find another more informative you tuber who gets right to the Point of my search . This is on of the Best in that regard. Laterz Leland Handyman
Amen
@@jacobsonleland I just bailed on a rambler and came here for concise info.
My dad was a trucker for more than 30 years and I remember him spending days adjusting and tuning his radios. He ran a 10 meter radio and had 2 separate sets of antennas on his truck for 10 meter and for 11 meter and had a switch to go between the two. I never knew what he was doing until I saw this video. Now it all makes sense. This brought back good memories of my dad. Thanks for posting.
Good thing when he connected to Transport, he didn't get sent to another dimension when he keyed the Mic. Good Video though, very well explained. Thank you.
wow great job. We didn't have to listen to 5 mins of what you have done in the past and all about your new radio and other stuff. I love this short clear and to the point. Good job.
Great info for the amateur CB guy. There are still a lot of us out here, Jimmy. Great job! I’ll see you in the next one.
very good vid i never knew how to use that meter properly,thanks for the vid was very informative
I like the part you added at the end about doors closed and stuff. Also add "with engine running".
Mate is one of the best move on you tube .use same CB radio .all the best
Cool, I switched to a .5" shorted whip and got a high of 2 and a low of 1 -thanks!
"transport" had to laugh
Yeah, I stopped watching
I heard that, and scrolled down immediately. Ha ha!
yup had too.
Tranceiver, ya big dummy!
I almost quit watching too... Except I realized that whether he knows the the correct terms or not, the meter will work properly, as long as he's using it properly and tuning properly, whech basically he did. I wanted to see if there was a lot of difference between the internal and an external meter
Good info, good demonstration. The built in meters are good to get a general sense of how your antenna is performing, but having a specialized meter is good because you have better sensitivity and resolution.
Take a look at when he did at the beginning of the video - using the radio's meter didn't tell you anything other than you weren't having a ton of reflective power coming back at you. Using the external meter, you actually have a number to compare when adjusting the antenna.
Good job @1ROAD! Keep the content coming!
Thank you very much! I just use the workmen SWR meter today installing my president and e2fzc and the readings across the border down near one but channel one is reading a little bit lower than 1.5 which I hear is really good!
Thanks for showing us your how to , very precise good info . greetings from Wales UK . Roger |
Hey Jimmy it was a really good platform did really good I like that meter
Excellent video and very well explained thank you 😊
Being a First Responder I usually use VHF or 700 mhz digital and have no experience with CB but your videos are very informative and interesting. I would personally hard mount the antenna and honesty check out other antennas that are available. Keep it up.
For 700Mhz the ideal quarter wave antenna is 4 inches. For 27.185Mhz the ideal quarter wave antenna is 103 inches. However, the employment of a 103 inch antenna for mobile purposes may be a bit ungainly. This is why many CB antennas are coil wrapped. I have a quarter wave cb antenna on my old Jeep. It performs brilliantly but I do hit lower branches, the occasional bird, and offroad obstacles. There is a 158Mhz unlicensed radio service with five channels that would only need a 18. 5 inch antenna for a quarterwave antenna. There is a GMRS service on 462 Mhz that only requires a 6 inch antenna for quarter wave. The GMRS requires you to buy a $35 license, no test. The formula is:
234÷ frequency in megacycles or megahertz = quarter wave antenna length in feet.
Multiply by 12 to get inches.
Remember to have a good ground plane with at least the same quarter wavelength radius radials or piece of metal to finish your ground plane antenna. Amateur radio operators may be very helpful with your cb station also. I used to know quite a number of them.
HIs Wilson is a fine radiator. There are some better choices, and many more poorer ones. :)
I use both en external SWR meter an antenna analyzer, the antenna analyzer tests the SWR without the radio, resistance in the coax, etc
Nice job Jimmy LOL
HAD TO REVISIT THIS?
Cool just keep doing what works for you
Thanks 1ROAD!!
I'm into CB right now. Just having fun that's all🤷♂️
@@1RoadGarage yeah I have my CB gear but I'm in a car and with the way ppl are today I will just keep it locked up thanks again and
SEE YOU in the next one!!
@@1RoadGarage Dude side band will give you more channel like 160 it ha hole bother thing keep haven funny
Great video! I was able to tune my Lil Will in no time. I wound up cutting just a bit less than a 1/4" off. The final SWR was CH1 & CH40 just under 1.5 and CH20 just over 1. Thanks again.
You can move your mag mount antenna around a bit on your roof and see if it helps as well
This has worked for me!
Channel 19 is the center frequency of the CB band 27.405 is 40 and 26.965 is channel 1. There are radio control channels that are between some of the channels 1 and 22. I had a car alarm that broadcast on ch24.
So very, very good explication.
That was a good one Jimmy!! lol..
Hey 1ROAD just finished setting my swr's on my president McKinley president radio my antenna was actually up way to high I was getting high readings on 40 and very low readings on 1 and twenty after I was done im getting around 1.2 on 1 and 20 and 1.7or 6 on 40 I figure thats good enough if I have to ill change it on the fly during our trip to Ontario next week.....your instructions on setting swr's were clear and concise and you dumbed it down so anyone could understand it KUDOS to you sir.....keep up the good work....Dave Taylor HAM KI5FYU GMRS WRDU-841 SOA OK MOBILE 227
great job dude
Great Video, My Call Sign is Canadan Kid, Had it more 40 years now, I've gotten really great results just useing a 108" or so S/S whip antenna with the S/S spring base coil .....I have a old Sears Road Talker 40 Channel upper and lower side bank Radio .....👍
I use to have a mobile sears road talker and that thing would really get out there ! I been on the air since 1977. right now I am running a tram magnet mount and a 40 channel uniden !
@@baldy194859 That's great , How you getting out with that ? Also the road talker even worked on a motorcycle even without a good ground ... KAPN4831 OUT 🇺🇸
Side bank lol
@@Fox250R Side bank 🖕 LOL
@@Fox250R I saw that also. A Canook thing I presume.
Thanks Jimmy. I'm not sure how but I have SWR less than 1 across all channels. I'm using a Cobra29 LTD with 2 Wilson 2000 trucker antennas. I suppose that's a good thing.
Did U CK them individually? What type of feedline?
I tune my antenna using a MFJ 269C analyzer which is a $370 meter and that will tell me a lot more about my antenna tuning including my impedance, reactance and if I have any open or shorts in the coaxial cable. There’s a lot more to a radio they just reading VSWR especially if it does not have a proper 50 ohm match.
The 269 is not a "meter". Technically it is a transmitter. Credits tho, the rest of Ur comment is true.
Thank you very informative.
Great job, thanks!
That's a big 10 4. My Bird wattmeters work just fine,Thanks.
You need to do your matching and calibration on channel 20 (Or channel 12 on a 23 channel). Tuning at the middle of your channels pretty much will set for all.
Great video I'm using a magmount antenna at home as I can't put one outside as I'm on the first floor but my swr is well in the red do I need a ground plane will that help
At some point my original Superstar 360fm will go back in my car but first I have to replace my original modulator antenna and dinnerplate mount and decide if I’m sticking with the cobra power,it or getting another Astatic Teardrop.
Exactly the video I needed. Thx for that :)
One more thing sometimes you might need to buy a longer antenna and you can work yourself down it depends on the person’s top of the SUV truck or whatever
Moving the location of the antenna can have an affect on the SWR and possibly give some gain in a certain direction.
Throw a 102" SS whip on that puppy while making sure your vehicle is well bonded and that will give you the best performance achievable, that's assuming you're using a high grade coax.
Never skimp on mounts, antennas or coax, it's the heart of your entire system.
102in is not "highest achievable" however it is good depending on what type local / DX (skip) of communication U R seeking. Hard 2 beat 4 durability. U R correct on the rest.
@@BatGSyou're semi correct, it's only half of the antenna system. In my case, I have a 102" length of ½" ground braid attached to the mount 180° opposite of the driven element in effect giving me a half wave dipole on my tractor.
Going down the road my average range is 10-15 miles on 27.185. When conditions are right, my average range can extend across the pond. My favorite contact was with a strong in the UK, (Wales to be specific) on 27.385lsb. BTW, my swr is 1.1:1 as measured on a Bird 43 and resonance is near channel 28 according to the Smith chart on a Mini VNA.
I'm sure if I spent more on a Predator or a Stryker antenna I could do better, [sarc] but it would look much more coolerer...
Great tutorial, thanks
I'm settng up a home base station with the Cobra 29 LTD Classic. A wilson trucker 5000, with the wilson gum drop stud, with mount hardware. Using a Pyramid-DC regulator power supply 13.8 v. 5 amps. Will this method with the workman swr meter also work for a home base?
hey brother quick question why did you get rid of your first cb radio, the cobra, drom walmart.
Nice video, takes me back to the days, wishing my Cobra 148 GTL was still working.
Feeling lazy I took my 148 into the shop to get a new bulb fitted in the meter.
The shop 'accidentally' sold my rig.
Never used the shop again.
When I bought my vehicle new in late 1996, it was pretty much the peak of CB radio popularity. I cut a rectangular hole on my dashboard and also installed a microphone jack next to the rectangular mounting hole. I then permanently installed a Cobra 148 GTL in my vehicle. Today, the band is dead. But the old radio is still in the same vehicle, using the same antenna, and same coaxial cable, after all these decades. Everything still works. But the band is so very dead these days. I listen regularly and every once in awhile, I do get a conversation. But it is nothing like the Solar high days around 1996 to 2000. On channel 35 upper side band, I spoke to the Canary Islands, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the such. Today, I am lucky to get around the city. It is not the radio's fault. We are in a deep solar minimum with three solar minimums converging. The radio still looks great installed in my vehicle. I just wish there were more people on.
@@indridcold8433 I just had my president Lincoln 2+ modded today and the amount of radios he was backed up on waiting to be tuned was staggering! And people say cb radios are dead ? I don’t think so what so ever.
@@Fox250R It could be a regional thing that your area is still very busy with CB. Or, it could be a regional thing that my area is CB dead. I am hoping it is that my region is dead. I would rather my region be dead and CB still be extreme popular everywhere else, than your region be unusually busy and the rest of the world be dead. Here is news from MIC, OFCOM, and FCC: FM will be legal very soon on CB. I do not know why it was not legal to begin but FM will be finally allowed on the CEPT frequencies from 26.965Mhz to 27.405Mhz. This is to allow for very clear communications on short range and not have to combat skip communications. FM is much clearer than AM but the range will be less. This is perfect for car to car, house to car local communications. AM and SSB will still be around for long range and skip. FM can also skip, but is less likely to do so. FM is already approved and is waiting a final law signing. A consideration for allowing more power is also being made. That will likely not be passed. But you know how power limitations are acknowledged on CB. For the record do not exceed 4 watts AM and FM and 12 watts SSB or you will die. Do not transmit from 27.410 to 27.995 or you will die also. But especially do not transmit more than 4 watts AM and FM and 12watts SSB on 27.410 to 27.995 or you will die and so will your dog. You have been warned.
@@indridcold8433 Oh so running 1k off my Lincoln 2 might be a bad idea huh? Oh and that’s on 28.605 :)
I'm new to CB and I'm trying to learn all I can
Listen to what he said don't ever set your swr midrange your likely to burn up your radio after a period of time be careful who you listen too out here
Never listen to someone saying that lower side band will travel further than upper side band. That is a ridiculous fallacy. Upper side band and lower side band will travel the exact same distance out of the same station running the same power. If you want to use upper side band, go ahead and use it. It is actually much quite up there because so many use lower side band. I believe the proliferation of the usage of lower side band over upper side band may be sourced with the few that believe lower wide band travels further and others just found more operators on the lower side.
You have to learn how to say, SHUT UP STUPID
@@indridcold8433 , here in the US it has to do with tradition. SSB CBers settled on channel 16 because it's between a radio control channel and channel 17. Lower sideband puts you closer to the R/C channel and the inherent selectivity of the crystal filter gives high attenuation of channel 17.
When the FCC expanded CB to 40 channels, the sideband operators staked out the top 5 channels and established channel 38 as a call channel. They still use LSB while hams use USB above 30 meters.
You are correct in stating that there is no operational advantage in using one sideband over another.
Your SWR will also be the same regardless of whether you use AM, FM, SSB, DSB, or CW.
@@spaceflight1019 The only two CW QSOs I have ever had were on 27.405 megacycles. I can not believe how much of the code I remembered from my childhood, though my brain hurt a bit. The person transmitting was very proficient, likely an amateur radio operator. But he would slow down to let me read his code. It was a mess but so much fun. I was not aware amateur radio operators came to Citizen's Band. But the person I tapped to was surely an amateur radio operator. I guess why not? His radio could get on the band so why bit use the bands he can. I think he had a great time as well. He made an invitation to go to 10 meters. But being unlicensed, I did not dare and I recommended he not go either. But he said he had no worries. I told him I was just a radio hobbiest. I never had so much fun stumbling across one key and tripping over my own fingers. Maybe it is time to monitor channel 40 CW again.
@1road, have you checked out LestersCustomTrkShp?
A lot of guys say an external SWR meter is better than the built in one, is this true? Thanks. I have that same antenna on the roof of my truck, works great for what it is.
Good-looking finding places with no obstruction where I live
You just need a place with no obstructions with a 34. 5 foot radius, the full wave of the 27.185 Mhz signal. A nice empty parking lot is enough.
So when is a SWR meter needed? Only the first time to set up the antenna, or is it used periodically?
I heard grounding the mount of the cb antenna helps lower the swr, so grounding the mount is a must regardless of antenna length?
1st time yes. U can leave it online if U want. Mount should B DC grounded locally...not by a wire!. Antenna length has no relevance 2 DC grounding mount. However the reverse has everything 2 do with VSWR, performance and reliability of the transmitter.
Transport, must feed the flux capacitor.
If you are using a little will you need a 9ft jumper and a barrel connecter and you can get them flat swr
Excellent video Brother, Thank you.
Great 🇺🇸 stuff 🇺🇸 👍
Your good now.
I have really high SWRs both on channel 40 and 1. I do have a small antenna however it's a magnetic mount type. However it is pretty small. I have a Road King RKCB and the antenna is not much longer than three ft long. That is the whole thing between the base and the top of the antenna. I'm guessing it's too short.
That Wilson has a surprisingly narrow bandwith..
Also, if you can't get the swr's down, try relocating the antenna! That location maybe a bad spot on your vehicle! I found on my ranger that putting it on the roof(short or long antennas) was a bad spot but hanging off my rear(or front) bumper(4 foot) actually gave a 1.1 for channel 1, 1 for channel 19 & 1.2 for channel 40(off the left side of the rear bumper gave these results which where only a little better then the other side of the rear & either side of the front) My setting might be a lucky setup but the fact that where the antenna is placed will have an impact of what numbers you'll get for where I helped with a buddy's setup, we found where theirs was, it was better when we moved it from the middle front of their roof(suv) to the middle rear but with another suv, it was better in the right side in the front(2/3 over from the left) vs. the middle front! So hope this helps!
Edit spelling & grammar
Greetings: There is so much wrong with this I do not know where 2 begin. The roof was best antenna RX/TX location. U changed the mount and feedline (yes?) 2 move on (not "off") the bumper. That changes from capacitive counterpoise (magnet mount) 2 a DC ground / RF ground (counterpoise) which is proper. However the bumper is bad on elevation, DC ground and interference with a short 'stick'. Fortunately the 'stick' is probably top loaded. Better field strength and RX aside the aforementioned bumper mounting issues. Feedline type and length can change things.
Do not use 1, 19 and 40 2 test. Use adjacent if not busy. These R common conversation channels. The results R negligible.
Need any suggestions as I cannot get the SWR down from 3. I have a Firestick antenna & is installed on the tire rack (center of Jeep). I have shortened and lengthened as no changes whatsoever. Puzzled
That is a good measure for any CB that has a built In swr have 2 readings
Your swr was pretty good considering that you have a magnetic mount they are a pain at times due to grounding. I thought the readings were odd I set mine today on my truck and I had 0 at channel 1 and barely off 0. On nineteen and 1.3 on 40, I made sure I have good grounding at the antenna as well as the radio housing that is a big factor in reducing the reflection of the swr the I adjust my antenna. Great job with your videos.
lol magnetic are the easiest to get right. The magnet portion is the ground...😂😂
@@rockhaller3899 The magnet is not a "ground". There is no "ground" on magnet mounts. It's only function is mounting. The VSWR is attempted low by capacitance in the load design and 18ft feedline fooling the meter. Most mobile antennae (commonly ¼, ⅝ and ⅞ wave) require good RF (not DC) "ground" as counterpoise which a magnet mount has not. Hence their reduced performance and setting problems. The added capacitance can fool a meter and/or transmitter by the added inductance.
Do not use 1,19 or 40 2 test. They R commonly used as talking. Using the adjacent will yield same results without interrupting.
@@BatGS boy i hope your joking... the magnet to the surface acts as capacitance for the antenna.
@@rockhaller3899 Nope. No joke face 😉 no joke.
Come in come on!!!👍
Great video, have you tried ssb ? you get a lot more people to talk to.
Just get your ham radio license and you can do all sorts of things. Now you don't have to learn morse code.
@@d.hansel854 you should still learn Norse code to be a real ham.
I have a cobra 29 ltd nw with a 3’ firestik and a 8.5’ hustler whip on my Nissan Frontier and my swr is perfect, make sure to properly ground your antenna tho
I have a SWR from Radio Shack...need to find it again. Thanks!🤩
Rest in peace Radio Shack.
Are you an expert on Dez zongs ?
See what frequency its on ?
QUESTION WHY DID YOU CHECK CHANNEL 20 AFTER YOU CHECK 1&40
I would trust the radio more than that cheap workman meter.
SWR is an indication of impedance matching. The impedance as seen by the radio can easily be different than that seen by the external meter which is at a different place in the feedline
Joining late but I got a uniden bearcat 880 with a Wilson little wil
Great job of Both setting and walking people through the process and Staying on point which is a rare thing on You Tube .
Is this the only expressway in America where the mile markers don't match the exit numbers
Hey jimmy just letting you know the link you provided for the SWR meter no longer is available. The link still shows the meter however it can’t be ordered anymore. I figured you should know since you do make money off of those links, you may want to freshen that up. Great videos as always, bud!
U want 1 I can line U up. The thing is not new Tech. It is a Junk name on a copied device selling under different names nearly 40yrs.
You should never switch the fwd an set button while the radio is keyed up
Antenna placement makes a difference on swr. Yours is a mag mount try moving it around on the roof, I'm sure you can get a flat swr reading you just need to work at it.
U said "flat". Yep magnet mounts R good at "flat"...2 "flat".
I'd always understood those cage/roof racks to be a bad place to mount your antenna. how good is that set up for getting out?
Yep. Bad idea. Good cold steel. Preferably no weight reduction.
SWR basically means "Something Went Wrong". Achieving resonance is the true goal of antenna tuning. And it involves so much more than than a flat SWR.
exactly. if my antenna showed a 1.0 swr i would be worried.
@@swingdaddy2126 Standing Wave Ratio
True, you can get a perfect 1.0 out of a dummy load.
Love the vido
Sweet got my swr extremely low 1.0-1.1 on channel 1 and 1.2-1.3 on channel 40 and 19 is about 1.1 might get perfectionism and cut more when I get my new radio idk its perfect now
Don't touch it, leave it how it is. It's like trying to clean a window a fraction of a percent better by throwing a brick at it.
You need to have your meter on a level surface also to get a correct reading
What if your antenna is all the way up and still in the red?
Did he ever get it set?
I’m running 2 3 ft fire sticks. Should I swap or what?
My question is this. When you tuned your CB antenna you are standing still in a parking lot in the field there's no movement of the antenna. But as soon as you get on the interstate and you're doing 65 80 mph the antenna starts to fold back due to the wind of the moving vehicle so that screws with your SWR right? Especially on a magnetic antenna their thin they flex easy soon as that wind hits it it bows down disrupting the SWR
Yes. Generally not a significant amount tho.
Calibrate on channel 20. Flip switch to SWR or and check SWR’s on channel 1 then 40.
Can this Workman meter also be used to calibrate a mobile GMRS antenna?? Thanks, love the channel.
No. I believe it takes a different meter
CB is HF (27 MHz) and GMRS is UHF (around the 460 MHz area) so you will need a meter made for UHF frequencies. Also, this Workman meter is junk, buy a quality meter from an amateur radio dealer.
A cross needle meter is best as there is no need to calibrate it. Where the 2 needles cross is your SWR and it also shows you your forward and reflected power at the same time. Make sure to read the instructions that come with any meter before using it.
This i kind of funny haha when i tune in peeps swr i just raise it up or cut off what ever amount is respectable to the meter setting
Me gustaría escucharlo en español,gracias.
Nice information!! I Go a better Step further by using a mfj-971 to have a Really Stronger CONTROL to keep my SWR, Low under 1.2 or Less!!!
Do you mean you use an antenna tuning unit at the radio end to get the SWR below 1.2:1. I would suggest that this isn't only pointless, but counter productive. The tuner is not going to correct the SWR at the the antenna, and the losses associated with the tuner would be far greater that a slightly high SWR reading at the radio end. People need to stop obsessing about SWR at HF, it can result in a huge waste of money.
@@arconeagain You need to Listen, And learn from Ham radio Operators, Because they have the Experience on real SWR understanding!! Most of these other meters are Junk and a waste of money and time!! "Ham meters" are the way to Go!! They are Made Specific way of CONTROLLING the swr!! So you don't Damage the radio!!
@@fernandoscrenci4874 Ha, ha, ha! That is so funny. Just because they are a ham doesn't mean a thing. Often it means they know little or are perpetuating nonsense because the learned the wrong thing from the beginning. I do not need to be a ham to understand what standing waves are. Ever heard of electrical and electronic engineers for starters?
I can tell you right now that most hams do not fully understand what standing waves are (I know you don't). SWR meters do not 'control' SWR, nor does a tuning unit necessarily. Yes you can use an ATU to protect your radio or amplifier from damage if you have a high SWR, however you are not truly addressing the issue, the ATU would be best at the antenna end. And if you are using the ATU to get an SWR of say 1.5:1 down to 1.2:1 or lower, this would be a waste of time. Like I said, the losses in the unit would likely be greater that if you just left it how it was. And it is worth pointing out that if you have say an SWR of 1.5:1 at the radio, the SWR at the antenna is going to be higher. The longer the coax and the greater the losses of the coax (and the the higher the operating frequency), the higher the SWR at the antenna. It could be throught the roof and you wouldn't even know.That is why you should always address the impedance mismatch at the antenna by making the calculation based on the feed line or by measuring at the antenna.
'You' need to listen and learn. You need to stop listening to some hams and check that the information you are receiving is correct. You could do this by actually reading books on the theory like I have. Get yourself an education like I have before throwing around claims about someone you do not know. Everything I have said just now is correct, check.
Oh and by the way, I use a Heathkit meter and a VNA for my analysing and basic measurents.
Ok but what should it read when you switch to S/RF
why does ronco come to mind when i hear this guy talk....
Just out of curiosity: how would one go about measuring swr with a handheld cab radio?
That would be difficult considering the handheld and it's antenna are factory tuned and not much way to put a meter in line. You could, however, run an external antenna which would be measurable. Key is, with a handheld, always extend the antenna fully. Not doing so can damage the transmitter. It was tuned to work fully extended. See?
@1ROAD I have the same radio, but when I connect a linear of any type... I get ANTENNA WARNING on the LCD.... is there something I am missing??
The amplifier is not matched to the radio, that's why you're seeing that warning. The radio's protection circuit will cut output power but you won't get the most from your amp.
You will only achieve a low SWR across the entire band if you use an antenna closer to a true 1/4 wave. (102") The shorter the antenna using inductance, the narrower the bandwidth.
Partially true. CB rigs are designed around a nominal 50 ohm impedance. A 1/4 wave provides a nominal 70 ohm impedance, which gives you close to a 1.5:1 SWR. 4 percent reflected power is acceptable. A 2:1 match is still only 11 percent reflected power. Tube finals can handle this at legal power levels. But...
There's still no substitute for adjusting the antenna length to reduce reflected power. If you have a Penetrator, you can adjust it easily. Fiberglass antennas, not so much. I have been using a roof rescue Antenna Specialist Super Magnum, an end-fed half-wave set to the factory length. This causes the SWR to be below 1.5 from 27.5 to 26.2. For CB use this is fine because the extra length provides more capture area. For 10 meter amateur use it forces me to use a tuner as the SWR exceeds 2 by the time I get to 28.5.
It's all about compromise.
One more thing...measure the SWR at the base of the antenna for best results.
I get good results with base loaded antennas about 3-4 feet long.
1.5 is just to high for me. 1.1 or below is what I go for. Nice video bro!
1.1 is good but you can talk on 2.0 and it won't hurt your radio !
@@baldy194859 absolutely true
We always went for 1to 1.
.
Low to 1. Higher percentage of transmit outage. 1.2 is still great, 98% of your transmit being broadcasted.
That's the best you can get with the lil willy. He needs a longer antenna to get down to 1.1 or at least 1.5 across all the channels
Great video, thank you for showing how to do this.
Awesome
I have the 3 ft fire stick antenna with the firing cable cannot get standing wave out of the red any suggestions
Get a better antenna.
What about your upper and lower channels??
Antennas are always a compromise if you use them on more than one frequency. CB has 40 frequencies so you just aim for under 2 on all the channels. If you are using only one frequency, then you can keep tuning for the perfect 1.0. Also, the longer antennas will have more range because they have less loading coil. If you use and antenna with no wound coil at all, it will be 103 inches. There is such an antenna but it is rather ungainly. I have one on my aging Jeep. It performs way better than any coil loaded antenna but it hits a lot of low branches, occasional birds, offroad debris, and low gas station awnings.
Lots more to radio than swr .rejection and reflection are just as important grounding also too
I got a 102" whip with PERFECT swr
I run 102 whips, they're awesome
Can you maybe help me out here my man? I'm using a Midland CB radio with that same antenna and my SWR reading is all the way up in the red when I try to calibrate it. No matter how high or low my antenna is the reading is still incredibly High. I've used two different SWR meters and both are telling me the same thing now. And also what defines a high building or what is the ideal area to calibrate in in the first place?
Sky Quest Music Official I would double check all connections and the cable. There’s got to be something you’re missing.
Something broken in antenna coil
I liked your comment at the end as to where you and how you should test SWR. If you are in Southern California there is no open fields or space left to test SWR without a building, power line, cell tower within pissing distance. I drive 2 hours to the desert for open ground. From your video it looks like you are on the top deck of a parking structure; not a bad idea. I plan to try a cemetery; should have no complaints from the neighbors and much closer.
You left it at 2? Why?
On the radio, you didn't calibrate to the line, that's not a zone. Works just like the workman meter. I would suggest unkeying mic, then switching between forward and reflect.
Not to say the readings weren't accurate, but the workman is a meter, not a switching device.