Cant tune Antenna on cascadia

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by wa1bsb, Aug 3, 2014.

  1. wa1bsb

    wa1bsb Bobtail Member

    1
    0
    Aug 3, 2014
    0
    Hi Im having trouble trying to tune a K40 fiberglass 4ft whip the one with the movable tip on my truck. Ive got it mounted to a bird pech on the drivers side. Ive grounded the mount to the frame and everything Im using 18 ft of Rg58u cable which Ive tested no shorts nothing. it just wont tune for anything both 11 and 10 meters. Anyone out there with simular problems.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. volvo244t

    volvo244t Road Train Member

    1,779
    1,779
    Jun 24, 2010
    Bettendorf, IA
    0
    4 feet ain't gonna work on a Cascadia, bub. You need at least a 5 footer. I used a 5.5' Francis when I used fiberglass. It showed a 1.3 SWR and worked decently.
     
  4. Tricky Rick

    Tricky Rick Light Load Member

    177
    91
    Oct 25, 2010
    Northwest Mississippi
    0
    On my 2011 Cascadia, I had better luck with a 6.5' Francis, vice grip mounted on the airline swing bar on the back of the cab. I recently got assigned a 2015, and so far the factory antennas are working pretty good, for both the am/fm and the cb. Who would have thought it?
     
  5. volvo244t

    volvo244t Road Train Member

    1,779
    1,779
    Jun 24, 2010
    Bettendorf, IA
    0
    I've never heard of a 6.5' Francis. Never seen one for sale, nor listed on their website.

    Are you in a day cab 2015, or is it just a non-Evolution? (I was under the impression that all 2014+ Cascadias are Evolutions, but I could be wrong?) Either way, both the old and the new Cascadias have junk antenna systems. A low SWR does not automatically mean your antenna is working well. I can talk with people 15+ miles away with my current setup, but I can't hear people in Cascadias using the stock antennas more than 1/2 mile away. By 1/4 mile, most are down to around 3 S-units on my meter. It's pathetic.
     
    mike5511 and 48Packard Thank this.
  6. Tricky Rick

    Tricky Rick Light Load Member

    177
    91
    Oct 25, 2010
    Northwest Mississippi
    0
    It is a 5.5 antenna. Typo. My bad.
     
  7. stacks

    stacks Road Train Member

    1,451
    784
    Oct 27, 2011
    Emerald Isle
    0
    I'm shopping around for a 22 inch shaft if I can pick one going down the road
     
  8. Xcis

    Xcis Medium Load Member

    492
    265
    Jul 9, 2008
    Bridgeport, Pa
    0
    .
    .It can be a bad idea to ground the antenna mount directly to the frame because the wire/cable can act like a second antenna and really screw things up.
    .
    .If you have an SWR reading that is 3.0 or higher or a SWR reading that just will not lower no matter how much you try to tune the antenna, you want to do some bonding. Bonding is interconnecting the large metal components of the truck together for RF [radio frequency] purposes. Bonding has nothing to do with electrical grounding or even electricity.
    .
    .First you connect the antenna mount to the door. Then connect the door to the cab frame by connecting a ground strap from a bolt that connects the door to the hinge. Connect the other end of the ground strap to a bolt that connects the door hinge to the cab frame. Finally you connect a ground strap from the cab frame to the truck chassis.
    .
    .You want to keep all ground straps short in length.
     
  9. Deputy Chief

    Deputy Chief Light Load Member

    81
    40
    Nov 7, 2010
    Philadelphia,Pa.
    0
    Hey Wa1bsb, I had lost of trouble trying to figure out a good set up for the Cascadia. I tried everything from the aluminum cas1 bracket with a 5' fiberglass fire stick and a ground wire to the frame, a bird perch with a Wilson 2000, I changed the original antennas and cleaned the connectors on the factory brackets etc.. What I figured out was to get the best results, You have to use a stainless steel mirror bracket with the longer bolts (provided with the bracket). With the longer bolts and bracket being all steel you do not need to run a ground, along with that I use a Wilson 2000 antenna, with an extended (bottom) steel shaft witch I had made (its 21 inches long), this way the coil is above the mirror. If not you get what they call deflection, which plays hell on you s.w.r. readings. when you mount the antenna you have to lean it forward enough, so that the coil clears the "A" post of the cab and the mirror. If you choose to use a fiberglass antenna, you want the coils at the top of the antenna, to lean forward in the same fashion to clear the cab as well. I'm not sure where your located, but I run across 80 in Pa. a lot. I found a good c.b. shop off exit 70 where, I was able to get everything I needed. I am happy to tell you, I can once again shoot skip with my radio in my Freightliner Cascadia. It sure makes the long days, alot easier. I hope this helps you, if you have any questions, shot me a message.
     
  10. mike5511

    mike5511 Road Train Member

    3,106
    1,485
    May 15, 2011
    NW Arkansas
    0
    Well I've tried the Wilson with the long shaft, Monkey Made, and a few others. So far the best is still the 7ft SkipShooter....any antenna close to the 1/4 wave length will work the same I'm sure. I did make a support for the antenna that attaches to the top of the mirror. It keeps the antenna from flopping around so much and didn't change the SWR at all. With this antenna the SWR is below 1.5:1 over the 80 channels I checked. I've finally got good range on transmit and receive too. I was heard over the W. Memphis trash when I went through there Thursday and seemed to be able to talk to whoever I could hear for a change! I'm satisfied!!
     
    Neverready Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.