29 ltd swr peggin out in wrong direction?????

[duckco]

Hey guys thanks again for the useful info on my last thread. Now i have another problem again im new to this so finding out things as i go, Ive been trying to tune my antenna in and im not getting the results i should be getting i have a brand new cobra 29 ltd classic good ground and power i used a wilson coax line with no sharp bends are cuts in it i mounted the antenna mount to the driver side of my tool box so if your looking from the back of my truck it is mounted on the back left hand side of the box no spring even though i had one at first then a 4' fiberglass firestick antenna runs the show. the problem im having is i tried tuning in my radio starting off on 20 set my button to cal held mic button got adjusted to the little call marker kept my finger pushed on the mic button switched to swr and it just pegs out the wrong direction so instead of going to the left in the swr area it pegs out to the right past the call marker it did the same on 40 and 1 i dont wanna burn up a brand new radio can anyone help like i said all this equipment is brand new out the box any help would be great. thanks

[Numb]

all that means is you have high swr readings. lower is better. hopefully the pros in here can help. I use a Wilson 2000 antenna. yours needs adjusting, instructions should have come with the antenna.

[WA4GCH]

Hey guys thanks again for the useful info on my last thread. Now i have another problem again im new to this so finding out things as i go, Ive been trying to tune my antenna in and im not getting the results i should be getting i have a brand new cobra 29 ltd classic good ground and power i used a wilson coax line with no sharp bends are cuts in it i mounted the antenna mount to the driver side of my tool box so if your looking from the back of my truck it is mounted on the back left hand side of the box no spring even though i had one at first then a 4' fiberglass firestick antenna runs the show. the problem im having is i tried tuning in my radio starting off on 20 set my button to cal held mic button got adjusted to the little call marker kept my finger pushed on the mic button switched to swr and it just pegs out the wrong direction so instead of going to the left in the swr area it pegs out to the right past the call marker it did the same on 40 and 1 i dont wanna burn up a brand new radio can anyone help like i said all this equipment is brand new out the box any help would be great. thanks

If you set "CAL" full scale and go to swr it should go down ....

[duckco]

Thats the problem its not it just pegs out past the call mark. Now like i said im new to this i just bought a 4' firestick and not sure if i need to ground it are if its one of those thats already ground not really sure how to no this i just looked on firestick web sight and they spit out some numbers to id it but there are none on the antenna to tell just has name and were there from

[duckco]

I just bought the antenna and a mount bolted it to my tool box screwed the antenna in and that was it

[handlebar]

Good thing you found it in time. What with all the screwball ideas that sometimes get bandied about here, I was about to suggest you just talk into the back of the mic and see if that helped. Or try talking by breathing *in*.
<sigh> Sometimes I crack myself up.
Not often, mind you. Just sometimes, when I'm already tired, and realize I'd spend the past week answering the same questions (mostly about higher SWR when amps are running than without) more than 4 times in a week.
It was nice to see a different & simple one that was easy for others to diagnose and for the OP to fix.
Life is good!
Happy weekend, all.
Handlebar

[duckco]

I no im a little green at this guys and i appreciate your time in this matter just dont wanna burn up my radio so im guessing i have to ground off the antenna ? the antenna mount is bolted to the tool box which is bolted to the bed of my truck but ther is a plastic washer that sep the antenna from the mount could this be the problem?

[handlebar]

The part of the mount that the braid from the coax goes to should be grounded to the mount, which should be grounded to the tool box. The nylon shoulder washer is what is supposed to keep the antenna "stood off" from the part of the mount that's grounded. The only part of the mount that should connect to the antenna whip is that part that comes from the center connector of the coax. If you don't have enough posts yet to post pics, feel free to send them to me directly and I'll take a look at whatcha' got.
Handlebar

[Jersey John]

I no im a little green at this guys and i appreciate your time in this matter just dont wanna burn up my radio so im guessing i have to ground off the antenna ? the antenna mount is bolted to the tool box which is bolted to the bed of my truck but ther is a plastic washer that sep the antenna from the mount could this be the problem?

NO you need that nylon spacer in there. Take the ant out of the mount, Pull the mount apart and make sure the side of the nylon with the collar on the inner hole is in the hole on the mount. The center stud of the mount is the HOT (+) side of the ant and sometimes the nylon is upside down and it allows it to tuch the grounded bracket.

Is the tool box you have it mounted to metal?????? Don't laugh I've seen people try to mount antennas on plastic ones and wonder why it won't work. If it is metal be sure the box is grounded to the truck body, no rubber washers or spacers only metal on metal contact.

[duckco]

Roger that handlebar will do thanks guys