Just installed a bearcat 980 ssb with a firestik ngp antenna to my rig. I’m getting zero reading on my SWR and my CAL meter isn’t moving off of zero. Ran to I-90 in Albany and was unable to pick up chatter at all. I’ve gone through and gotten good diag readings from the unit and have gone through the antenna tuning several times from all the way down to all the way up checking every 1/8th inch for a reading. Any ideas what could be the dilemma here? I’d appreciate any help you guys and gals could offer. Antenna is a 4’
RikyTheKid I have owned 2 BC980SSB radios, both swr meters were inaccurate. Unplug your antenna, turn down your talkback and mic gain and key your radio, if your swr is 12:1 the meter is accurate, if it is 10:1 then your actual swr will be about .25 higher than what you're reading. So if your swr is reading 1.25:1 then you're actually a 1.5:1. If your swr meter reads 8:1 with the antenna unplugged then your true swr will be .50 higher, eg. if you have an swr of 1.25:1 your true swr will be 1.75:1. Its always best with these radios to use an external swr meter, or even better use an antenna analyzer. Any local tech will have an analyzer and should be willing to tune your antenna.
The president Mckinley has an audible SWR meter. It beeps and the frequency of the beep and pitch determine the SWR. So you can tune it without actually looking at it. The problem is I found out its not that accurate, although when it says you're at the lowest reading, whatever that is, you probably are but your actual reading is different than the display. So it will start out like beep..................beep..................beep..........then you tune and it will go to beep..............beep..........beep......beep.beep.beep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Then you're there. All without being able to see the radio. Cool stuff. Oh and with that uniden pro510xl when I would do radio checks I would always get "loud and clear". This from a radio not much larger than cell phone. 20 years later I had one driver say "whoever you had tune that thing did a good job it sounds like a cell phone" and I said nobody has ever tuned this old radio LOL
OK..As asked..What kinda truck,useing factory coax?? Where is ant mounted....My 1st though is that you have a ngp antenna mounted with a ground plane of sorts....2nd thought was is there an ant hooked up to the radios or did you use a 2nd coax..Almost sounds like it not connected..BUT no idea unless we have mega details of you set up..
