Guess I can't get grounded...

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by DC CAB, Mar 8, 2014.

  1. DC CAB

    DC CAB Medium Load Member

    Hooked up my Browning antennae to a stainless mount on the arm of my mirror bracket with the coax running inside to the radio. Ran a 4AWG wire from one of the four nut/bolt on the mount to a screw that holds the mirror bracket on the door. No good reading. Run another 4AWG from the inside of the door to the hinge on the body. Came down to a 2.0. Ran yet another 4AWG under the hood from the other side of that hinge to the frame/chassis of the truck and still holding at 2.0. It's ok, but I know I really should get down another .5 on that SWR.

    Any ideas on how I can get that ground down? I'm in a 2008 Columbia.
     
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  3. poppapump1332

    poppapump1332 Road Train Member

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    Is 2.0 on all the channels say 1 and 40? Also look at the mirror bracket where it attaches to the door is there a thin piece of rubber between bracket and door cause my mack I had to loosing the bracket and scrap that rubber junk off to get a good ground.
     
  4. MsJamie

    MsJamie Road Train Member

    RF does strange things. One of which is that it doesn't really like round wire. It absolutely loves braided wire, which is what you should be using to bond (not ground!) the various bits of metal together. Each piece of braid should be only a few inches long; just long enough to get across whatever is keeping the bits apart.

    RF flows on the surface of the conductor, and all the metal under the few molecules at the surface is doing absolutely nothing.

    And one final nit: Bugs have antennae; radios have antennas. :)
     
    mike5511 Thanks this.
  5. DC CAB

    DC CAB Medium Load Member

    I will check that out, dude, thanks.

    I will also look into the braided wire as opposed to round.

    And you're right I used the wrong word with "antennae." I only have one antenna.

    Thanks for the advice and I will look into both.
     
  6. DC CAB

    DC CAB Medium Load Member

    Last edited: Mar 9, 2014
  7. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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  8. jessejamesdallas

    jessejamesdallas Road Train Member

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    As for the ground braid...You can use old coax for the ground braid...Just strip off the outer jacket, and pull out the center conductor wire, and all you have left is the ground braid which you can flatten out and use as ground strap...works just fine.
     
  9. kc0iv

    kc0iv Light Load Member

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    And a whole lot cheaper.
     
  10. BigBearNY

    BigBearNY Light Load Member

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    If all else fails you... you could look for a marine mount. Most are designed to mount to a flat fiberglass surface, but I have, in the past, seen mounts that go on the bow rails... might go on your mirror. These antennas are designed to operat without a ground plane as most boats are made from wood or fiberglass. Might be worth a shot.

    An alternative would be the workman Saturn B-100. Made for fiberglass motorhomes or mounting on a balcony of a building where a ground plane would be impractical if not impossible.

    Of course these solutions would be valid only if your deduction that you aren't properly grounded is correct.
     
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