is it a sign of a truly awful CB antenna when...

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - is it a sign of a truly awful CB antenna when...

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:43:42 AM EDT

the SWR is 1.5 on channel 1 AND channel 40...
how do you adjust that?
it's a cheap wallyworld magnet mount I got to use with my loaner handheld

on the plus side it doesn't even move off the peg on 1 or 40 with my new 4' fire stick on my truck so it's like 1:1

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:46:51 AM EDT

[#1]

whats the SWR in the middle of the band? What wave length cut is the antenna (half, quarter, 5/8ths?).

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:49:14 AM EDT

[#2]

I'd be happy if mine was 1.5 on both ends.

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:49:22 AM EDT

[#3]

I would say you need to decompress the recompression deactivator and tweak the pot on the difragilated zorpnople. That ought to get her choochin'.

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:49:58 AM EDT

[#4]

I don't know....get another mag mount maybe?

1.5 on the ends and a 1.2 in the middle isn't so bad.

I've got 1.1 on the ends with a firestick...folks who need to can hear me.

I'm trying to tune up a fan dipole now...SWR is over 3...got some work to do.

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:54:16 AM EDT

[#5]

1985 Mississippi called. They are wanting their top technology back.

CB??? Do you even cell phone bro?

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:57:31 AM EDT

[#6]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

A guy named Papa Bear always tuned my rig

Posted: 6/22/2017 7:59:32 AM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
whats the SWR in the middle of the band? What wave length cut is the antenna (half, quarter, 5/8ths?).

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the magnet mount? no idea

my fire stik is a 5/8ths though

Posted: 6/22/2017 8:00:51 AM EDT

[#8]

Not very familiar with the CB frequencies...but with modern equipment, 1.5:1 swr has not been a big limitation to me on the HF bands. Probably not rejecting enough power at that ratio to make a big difference in real world performance. What it looks like on a sheet of calculations is often not how it works in the physical world.

Posted: 6/22/2017 9:52:52 AM EDT

[#9]

Breaker 19,,,,,,,,,,, didn't CB's go out with the 8-track

Posted: 6/22/2017 9:58:35 AM EDT

[#10]

K40 always worked well for me and not expensive.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:00:04 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
I have no idea what you're talking about.

A guy named Papa Bear always tuned my rig

View Quote

Sugar Bear is the one you should've got.

The man can work magic on a stick.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:07:12 AM EDT

[#12]

Genuinely surprised to hear people still using CBs

Just get your technician license and get a real radio

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:09:14 AM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Genuinely surprised to hear people still using CBs

Just get your technician license and get a real radio

View Quote

Or just pop this in and talk to the people who have the traffic info I need...

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:10:12 AM EDT

[#14]

How about a picture of how you are mounting the magnet mount?

BTW, as long as the SWR is under 2 across the board you are fine.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:11:15 AM EDT

[#15]

Minimum SWR is probably in the middle of the band. I wouldn't worry about it. The losses in 15' of RG-58 at 30 MHz are all but negligible.

FWIW, I've worked Europe numerous times running 5 Watts into a 21 MHz dipole with a 3:1 SWR.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:21:23 AM EDT

[#16]

Chill out, with a 1.5 SWR you're only losing 0.18 dB due to mismatch

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:22:16 AM EDT

[#17]

1.5:1 is totally fine. Cinch it down - you're done. Enjoy your radio.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:22:20 AM EDT

[#18]

Doesn't sound too bad. Sure, a good SWR is nice - but remember that a 50 ohm resistor will give you a 1:1 SWR

As long as it's under 2:1 and it is getting the job done, I'm not going to worry about it. Now if you are one of the guys running illegal amps then SWR becomes a little more important to avoid letting out the magic smoke, but a stock CB isn't going to care about being hooked up to anything better than a wet noodle.

On an amusing note, I just helped install a Yaesu folded dipole that had a great SWR on 80/40/20, kinda meh on 15, sucky on 10, but almost PERFECT on CB! Told them to install a Cobra 29 just for kicks.
Speaking of which, I still have a Cobra 29 in the basement from my trucking days. I need to setup a dipole and hook it up.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:24:40 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:

Or just pop this in and talk to the people who have the traffic info I need...

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j26/louisianarebel14/IMAG0005_zps79da6461.jpg

View Quote

We have that same radio in the FJ. Works great!

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:30:53 AM EDT

[#20]

1:5 across the spectrum isn't great, but it isn't bad either. Anything above that is an issue, but you should be ok.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:32:06 AM EDT

[#21]

As a point of reference, if you decrease your power by a factor of 4, say from 5 down to 1.5 Watts, the person on the other end ot the contact will see a drop in signal strength of only 1 S-unit.

This is assuming a properly calibrated S-meter, which on CB sets are kind of like unicorns.

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:38:12 AM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
1.5:1 is totally fine. Cinch it down - you're done. Enjoy your radio.

View Quote

This

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:55:42 AM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:
1985 Mississippi called. They are wanting their top technology back.

CB??? Do you even cell phone bro?

View Quote

No bars of any sort out here...

Posted: 6/22/2017 10:57:27 AM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
No bars of any sort out here...
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/jacksfriend/Jeep%20Trips/DSCN0173_zpsea56749a.jpg

View Quote View All Quotes

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
1985 Mississippi called. They are wanting their top technology back.

CB??? Do you even cell phone bro?

No bars of any sort out here...
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/jacksfriend/Jeep%20Trips/DSCN0173_zpsea56749a.jpg

^Yup.

That's why I have a CB... pretty much just for off-roading.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:00:59 AM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
^Yup.

That's why I have a CB... pretty much just for off-roading.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
1985 Mississippi called. They are wanting their top technology back.

CB??? Do you even cell phone bro?

No bars of any sort out here...
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/jacksfriend/Jeep%20Trips/DSCN0173_zpsea56749a.jpg

^Yup.

That's why I have a CB... pretty much just for off-roading.

What? No Satphone? Go be poor somewhere else.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:01:51 AM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
Genuinely surprised to hear people still using CBs

Just get your technician license and get a real radio

View Quote

Trouble is the people he wants to talk to may not be inclined to do the same. He never said what he used the CBs for. Might be short range with a bunch of people that won't get a tech license.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:03:54 AM EDT

[#27]

Quote History

Quoted:
What? No Satphone? Go be poor somewhere else.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
1985 Mississippi called. They are wanting their top technology back.

CB??? Do you even cell phone bro?

No bars of any sort out here...
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/jacksfriend/Jeep%20Trips/DSCN0173_zpsea56749a.jpg

^Yup.

That's why I have a CB... pretty much just for off-roading.

What? No Satphone? Go be poor somewhere else.

Nah, I usually keep my sat phone on my yacht.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:04:57 AM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:

No bars of any sort out here...
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/jacksfriend/Jeep%20Trips/DSCN0173_zpsea56749a.jpg

View Quote

Exactly.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:07:23 AM EDT

[#29]

Quote History

Quoted:
Genuinely surprised to hear people still using CBs

Just get your technician license and get a real radio

View Quote

. When you're riding with a few friends out on trails, a CB is perfect.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:14:11 AM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'd be happy if mine was 1.5 on both ends.

View Quote

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:16:10 AM EDT

[#31]

Just thinking about getting back into off-roading. Back 12 years ago (2002), everyone had a CB in the jeeps for talking to the other jeeps on the trail. Some guys had both HAM and CB. Reading back up on it now, CB is still used a hell of a lot. Not everyone wants to invest in HAM just to talk to other guys within 100 yards.

You could use cell phones, but that's gonna be one hell of a conference call if you're riding with a dozen other jeeps all day.

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:20:37 AM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:

Sugar Bear is the one you should've got.

The man can work magic on a stick.

View Quote

Phrasing?

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:22:40 AM EDT

[#33]

Quote History

Quoted:
Phrasing?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

Sugar Bear is the one you should've got.

The man can work magic on a stick.

Phrasing?

@gene5

Posted: 6/22/2017 11:26:20 AM EDT

[#34]

It's a mag mount, where did you install it?

Middle of the roof should be 1:1 with okay antenna

On the fender or hood: 1.5 might be as good as it gets due to the A-pillar. Especially with a physically shorter antenna.