How can I get better reception on my CB radio?

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by expedite_it, Oct 25, 2020.

  1. Meteorgray

    Meteorgray Heavy Load Member

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    QUOTE: "So many are stuck on a low swr as being the cats meow."


    That's because:

    1. The manufacturers recommend that owners adjust to low SWR in order to protect their radios and achieve good performance.

    2. A $25 SWR meter, a screwdriver, a pair of cutting plyers and a few minutes of following simple instructions will allow an owner to achieve good SWR or discover something is wrong with their rig or ground plane.

    3. If someone wants to achieve perfect resonance, it will take an instrument that costs 10 times more than an SWR meter to look for it.

    4. Adjusting to a good SWR will get you close enough to resonance that it doesn't matter to anyone but a perfectionist.

    5. The horrible platform that all vehicles represent for HF radio performance makes it unimportant to pursue the last Nano of extra performance that perfect resonance can achieve.

    So yeah, I'm stuck on a low SWR for my vehicle's CB as being the cat's meow. :)
     
    Timin770 Thanks this.
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  3. craig_sez

    craig_sez Road Train Member

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    Nano bit of performance...No not really cause i have seen low swr but loose 10+ db on recieve...A small investment to keep a fairly expensive toy to where it should be,if someone wants to rely on a $25 half assed low quality meter well then dont expect to get all what you pay for on a radio set up..
    $230 for a nice analyzer that does so much more than just swr is a good investment as the owner grows from a old 40 ch thats refurbished or hacked up and a cheap assed ant can save you $ as the hobby grows....
    Do you buy a performance car/bike ect and put cheap chinese tires on and expect to keep up with your buddys??

    To each is own but i want the most i can get out of my gear so if i can advance it with a investment of a lil more $ why not....
    Its partly why i have a tuner for my pick up and a tuner for my sport bike..

    Want so so results and leave potientially more on the table then buy a barjan swr meter and be happy..

    Ex.....when two guys runnin down the road and only one hears a radio further than the other whats the 1st thing most will say and do......Pos radio....Then they go and have it hacked up by "Mr Golden Screwdriver with swing kits and modulators and power mics ect and that all $ wasted....

     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2020
  4. Timin770

    Timin770 Road Train Member

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    Well said
     
  5. Night Stalker10

    Night Stalker10 Road Train Member

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    In reference to #4 in your post. I feel it's better to buy a decent swr meter that can show your antennas reflected power too. My experience has shown that if you adjust your antenna to the lowest reflected power, it will be closer to resonance, than just adjusting for low swr. Of course it's almost impossible to get a CB mobile antenna to a be resonant anyway, especially mounted on a truck with no metal directly under the antenna. I agree with your statement that no one will notice.
     
  6. craig_sez

    craig_sez Road Train Member

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    received_728910847536139.jpeg received_728910847536139.jpeg
    It can be done..If a fella like me who knows sweet frig all compared to most can get this close,then its very possible..
     
  7. '88K100

    '88K100 Road Train Member

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    My Cascadia I tested and no longer 1.5 SWR. It’s all over the map, issue is with connector on coax to radio. Replaced that. Now it’s at 3.5 constant, so swapped antennae’s,,still at 3.5 so I have to assume it’s the connections at the side mounted antennae’s. One mount has numerous cracks. I’ll likely just run a new single coax and one Firestick. Going to set my K40 on cab Sunday night. I see there is a piece of steel on roof fairing it can set on and antennae will reach 1 foot or so over fairing
     
  8. '88K100

    '88K100 Road Train Member

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    7CF15A0C-F96B-4B8F-8876-D97D244AAA7B.jpeg So. Peaked at connections and factory mounts and it’s corroded.
    Made this SS bracket this am. I’ll mount and run a single coax. Not worth time or money to run duals
    Made paper template, not quite perfect. Once I remove plastic gasket from truck I’ll make better template
     
  9. craig_sez

    craig_sez Road Train Member

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    Those ant studs are junk to..
     
  10. '88K100

    '88K100 Road Train Member

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    ED2EE6B1-7315-4FC6-B336-5E4D9095BBE9.jpeg My match perfect with my junk stud and a cobbled together coax
    Can’t beat that with a big stick :D
     
    Timin770 Thanks this.
  11. Chattduck

    Chattduck Light Load Member

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    Over the years, I have always just used a plane old astatic swr meter to set swr. Recently, I became interested in building antennas and such for cb and ham. Bought a nanovna. Eye opening.
    My setup in the big truck always gave a very good swr, even though I knew I needed better grounding. Static would change when I opened the driver's door, as well as some common mode creeping up the coax.
    So, hooked up the nanovna to the coax, and got a pretty little v with it's lowest point around channel 6. Swr 1.1, and channel 40 was around swr 1.7. You would think that all I had to do was shorten the antenna a bit to shift the resonance to channel 19 and I'm good to go.
    I just had to see what the swr of just the antenna looked like. Turns out that I now know the effects of junky lossy cheap pinched in door jam coax. My antenna swr is around 1.6 at its point of resonance, and ch 40 was way off.
    So, I got busy with some serious grounding for starters. Got the swr on ch 19 down to 1.18, and ch 1 an 40 around 1.35, without coax.
    Hook up my junky coax and things read much better, but that's just fake news. IMHO, you should take the coax out of the equation, set the antenna, then see what things look like with the coax.

    Currently have some lmr240uf on order, and a few more things to improve grounding.
     
    craig_sez Thanks this.
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