Does coax brand make a difference

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by AZS, May 21, 2011.

  1. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    I started doing an install on my company truck with my current downtime, I got a wilson 2000 and just bought any 'ol coax I could find, which in this case was 9 ft off brand. Would getting, say, a belden have made a difference?

    My SWR is really high (no shock there) and I don't have a meter yet so trying to go through the issues one by one, most likely it's grounding but would switching to a higher quality cable help? 18' perhaps? I'm assuming the answer is yes but wanted to know for sure before dropping $30.
     
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  3. AXE

    AXE Road Train Member

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    If 9 foot will reach it, no need for the 18'. I went to radio shack and just got their 9' foot rg8 with the connectors on. SWR's are great..Cobra 29 LTD running to a K40.
     
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  4. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    That's good to hear, yeah it reaches great and also going to a cobra 29 LTD. I'll focus on the grounding then perhaps, really need to get a meter.
     
  5. AXE

    AXE Road Train Member

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    What truck are you installing this in? Might be a grounding problem with the antenna mount as well. mines in an 05 Freightliner.
     
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  6. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    Yeah might be that, I again, just bought a basic four bolt mount that was made for freightliners, this truck is a '10 columbia.
     
  7. AXE

    AXE Road Train Member

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    Sounds like the same mount I bought. Sure someone else will come along and offer up some more info as well!
     
  8. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    Yeah its ok, appreciate the help. Could be a couple factors but grounding certainly seems like the biggest culprit.
     
  9. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    So I went and bought the belden cable, results are the ant light no longer comes on when I key the mic and the built in swr meter now shows at about 2 on 1, 21 and 40 which it was well over 3 before.

    Still want to get a proper meter and check it but this seems like a good improvement.
     
  10. AZS

    AZS Honk if anything falls off

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    Final update on this, bought a swr meter and it tested at 1.5. Good enough for me.
     
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