Antenna Problems

[Firebird]

O.K. Here's the deal.

I ordered a new radio from Sparky's. I got it and hooked it up and when I key the mic the meter pegs out and the ANT light comes on.

I replaced the cable and still no change so I bought a Wilson 2000 ant. Now when I key the mic the same thing happens and I can hear myself through my stereo speakers. What the heck is going on????

THanks,

Dave

[BOOTYMONSTER]

did you tune the antenna using a external swr meter ? what is your swr on channels 1 , 20 and 40 ?
dont count on the acuracy of any radios built in swr meter .
could also be a ground issue . could also be the stud/mount isnt correctly installed

the antenna light blinking during modulation peaks isnt a problem , but if its red all the time it is a problem .

[Firebird]

No, I don't have access to an external SWR meter. But at this point it doesn't matter.
The internal SWR meter is not accurate enough for fine tuning, but it should get me in the ballpark. An SWR off the meter is bad with any meter.

The ANT light comes on and turns red as soon as I key the mic. It is NOT right at all.

I think that it is the stud mount. I replaced the mount when I bought the new antenna but I realized this afternoon just after I posted the original message that the center part of the stud mount is not touching the center of the antenna. I have a micrometer and I will check the depth and length of the stud later but I am positive that it is not making contact.

If it isn't, what do I do? I don't want to just crank it down untill it does make contact b/c it will crush the nylon insulator.

Thanks,

Dave

[BOOTYMONSTER]

what stud mount do you use ? the wilson gum drops are #### ! you shouldnt be able to crush the nylon insulator unless you have some serious gorilla strength ! if you can crush it i wouldnt use it or the mount . i like lug mounts myself but most folks seem fine with a so-239 connector . check out the firestick DM-4 or DM-4A or the grizzly mount . a loose stud mount wont ground securely and a poor ground can cause problems like youre having .

this is similar to the grizzly .
[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.
wilson also make one like it .

[Firebird]

The stud mount I am using is the one that came with the Wilson antenna.

Thanks for the replies.

Am heading out to mess with it now. Will let you know.

Dave

[Firebird]

Things are looking up quite a bit now.

I didn't have any continuity between the wire in the ant.(the part you trim to adjust SWR) and the cable.

I checked continuity and ground at all points on the mount and radio and got everything working properly.

I am using a 9ft. coax b/c it gave lower SWR reading across the board.

Now bear in mind that I am using the internal SWR meter which is not very accurate.
Ch.1 is a 1, Ch.19 is a 2 and CH. 40 is a 4.

With the 20ft Coax,

Ch. 1 is a 2, Ch. 19 is a 3 and Ch. 40 is a 5.

I have a shorter antenna. a 3ft. firestik but it doesn't even reach as high as the stacks on the truck.(Freightliner Classic XL).

Would the 3 ft. be better if it gives a lower SWR?

Thanks,

Dave

[BOOTYMONSTER]

you tune the vswr by tuning the antenna , not the coax . different lengts of coax wont change the true vswr at all but it can fool some meters into showing different results . just tune for the lowest swr with what ever coax or external meter you have available .
if youve got 1.1 , 1.3 and 1.5 you fine . however if you mean 2.sonbthing or more then it still needs work and i wouldnt talk on it .

you dont want contiunity between the antenna and the coax shield , if youre measureing from the center coax conductor to the antenna then that is what you want to show contiunity .

also you dont want anything between the meter and the antenna but coax , no amps or filters or FC counters or other meters . can you borrow someones meter just long enough to check against your radios built in one ?

[Firebird]

I still need to do some work on it, but it is getting better.

Thanks for all the replies.

I am averaging a 2.5 right now between all three readings. Just need to do a little more fine tuning.

Don't have access to a meter, but I might stop by a CB shop and just get them to check it.

Dave

[Peepaw]

Originally Posted by Firebird

Things are looking up quite a bit now.

I didn't have any continuity between the wire in the ant.(the part you trim to adjust SWR) and the cable.

I checked continuity and ground at all points on the mount and radio and got everything working properly.

I am using a 9ft. coax b/c it gave lower SWR reading across the board.

Now bear in mind that I am using the internal SWR meter which is not very accurate.
Ch.1 is a 1, Ch.19 is a 2 and CH. 40 is a 4.

With the 20ft Coax,

Ch. 1 is a 2, Ch. 19 is a 3 and Ch. 40 is a 5.

I have a shorter antenna. a 3ft. firestik but it doesn't even reach as high as the stacks on the truck.(Freightliner Classic XL).

Would the 3 ft. be better if it gives a lower SWR?

Thanks,

Dave

You tune that Wilson by cutting the whip a bit at the time till it's good.
Being lower on channel 1 than you are on 40 means it is long. Take the whip and trim it just a bit and try again. If this is getting you closer then trim again till it's where you want it.

YOU SHOULD REALLY GET A REAL METER FIRST.

[Brickhauler]

Peepaw is right. If the SWR is higher on 40 than 1 the antenna needs to be a little shorter. If you still have the cardboard card that the wilson antenna came shrinkwrapped to, they used to have tuning instructions right on them. Wilson 2000 is my antenna of choice, it has a small allen screw that I am sure you noticed on the top of the coil which allows you to slide the whip in and out to tune it. I am running 1 antenna with an 18' coax and wound up cutting the whip about an inch to get the SWR down under .5 all across the band. If you wind up cutting the whip, cut it a very small amount at a time and I too would try to find a better meter than the built in one.