CB antenna tuning?

nope, it can be any length, but 3' is easier to work with than 2', and the meter I posted the link to comes with a 3' jumper...Can't order that one with anything different...

 

How would it be possible to get an accurate measurement of a 15 ohm load using 3 ft of 50 ohm cable using nothing but a simple SWR meter?

 

Sooner or later I'm gonna study this site.

 

Technically, coax doesn’t need to be any certain length, it’s just common to have a 3’ length on a jumper for a meter.

Just sayin...

 

Only true if you have a non reactive 50 ohm load or an antenna tuner on your dashboard. Any impedance other than 50 ohms won't be measured accurately with a random length of cable unless you are using an antenna analyzer, and even then, only SWR and reactance will be accurate. Impedance will still be the sum of the feedpoint and the phase shift of the cable. Once the antenna is perfectly tuned, then the random mystery cable can be connected without consequence, but that same cable cannot be used for accurate measurements.
When you assemble a new antenna for the first time, it can easily measure 300 ohms, and loads of reactance.
Reactance varies with frequency Due to capacitance and inductance . Capacitance and inductance cause phase shift which turns the random cable into an impedance transformer thus preventing an accurate measurement from being taken.

 

The better I make my system, the “more” I’m able to hear.

Rather the point of being able to use RF Gain and/or Squelch as designed.

The West Mountain Radio ClearSpeaker makes those distant ones intelligible, depending on the amount of DSP (filtering) chosen.

With all three I can sort of pick & choose to whom to listen. Or, which group (ha!).

 

That doesn’t sound right to me. Did they do anything to the radio or just the antenna? I’m sure you have the squelch and rf gain set correctly. Unless the junk you are referring to is skip, it has settled down some lately. Even so you should still be able to hear radios around you like you did before they worked on it.

 

I agree with Night Stalker10, Sounds like skip. Skip will come and go. One day you will have a hard time hearing local stations and it will be gone the next, or it will be hot for 3 days and nothing for two.

Did you notice the level of static go down, slightly, after the antenna was tuned? That might be a better indicator.

 

Sounds like you are losing ground somewhere, the stations coming in clear are probably nearby. Check that all your antenna connections and coax connections are tight, that the plastic washer is between the Antenna and the mount.