couple noob questions

If your SWR reading is below 1.1 on channel one and you are using the SWR that is internal on the cb radio, I would recheck the SWR with an external SWR meter. The fact that you got an SWR reading under 1.1 makes me believe that reading is incorrect.
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An SWR reading of 2.5 is not great but is not going to cause any damage. You have the following options -- shorten the antenna, have a cb shop adjust the antenna for you or just leave it as it is. Personally, I would leave it as is and not worry about it. If this is a company truck that you have reason to believe that you will not be in it for too long, the SWR of 2.5 on the high end of the cb channels is not worth your time or money to change or even worry about.

 

Good advice, and if it is a late model Freightliner, you may not be able to tune it any better than that anyway.

 

Ok ok ok, so there an obvious bunch of conflict. Heres what ive found out. The cobra 19 Ultra III does not usually put out the coveted 4 watts, more or less about 2-3, which throws off things quite a bit. This radio is ment for the stupidist of setups, & is as many call them, a disposable radio. The Cobra 19 Ultra III, for some reason will NOT work well with a 102" whip, rather its mere wattage seems to convert into complete reverb before it leaves the whip. Throwing it onto a co-phased (twin antenna) setup will most likely only complicate the problem. Moving onto the Cobra 29LTD, this is a great basic radio for truckers, its has the neccassary tools for a life time of use. The SWR issue your having is fairly simple, despite what people say, the SWR meter on the radio is fairly accurate, only of by a litteral hair or two. Freightliner, like other trucking company's focus on the truck, & nothing more. TO help bring your SWR down, the antennas do have to be tuned....this can be done by cutting or using the tuning screw on the top under the cap. But lets face it, NO ONES LIKE CUTTING ANTENNAS, so heres what you should do first, when using co phased antennas, you cant set them on the sides at any length. There is a perfet area they should sit withing.....6 feet apart is a good start. If there to close or to far apart the wave lengths may not match up, causing an improper reading...& like i said, Freightliners dont care, much less check for these issues. Although 2.5 is considered an issue for many people, its in my opinion an ok thing for truckers. If your keying down for 5 minutes at a time, this may cause a problem, but long story is short....if it aint broke dont fix it. If they can here you, your radio doesnt smoke, & you can hear them, your ok.

Now....for my opinion on the aftermarket antennas, indeed aftermarket antennas will be a good investment, it will be more work then thought. Tuning dual antennas is much harder then tuning a single one. The SWR on 1 may be higher then the other, but you cant hook 1 up, tune ti, then do the same with the other, then expect them to work right after there both hooked together. Running dual antennas will 1/2 your power to both, but will raise your Db level by 2, increasing modulation & clarity. But the single antenna will get you alot farther, but distance clarity will suffer. Dual antennas are best for the one reason though, they make sure your signal gets in front of you & behind you no matter what direction your going. This helps with bear warnings & those long straight trips on the inerstates. As brands go.....thats all on how your budget is...vs. your performance wishing abilites.

 

"The Cobra 19 Ultra III, for some reason will NOT work well with a 102" whip, rather its mere wattage seems to convert into complete reverb before it leaves the whip. Throwing it onto a co-phased (twin antenna) setup will most likely only complicate the problem."

Did CJ change his name?

 

I went with the 2000. It defiantly seems better. I was pretty sure the Freightliner whips were not adjustable.

 

Not sure why i didnt think of saying this, but if the SWR meter says the antenna is to short, throw an extension on it. It cant hurt, It may even look good with a spring.