Fiberglass Topper w/Stryker SR-A-10 antenna

Finally after weeks of aggravation, trial and error, countless hours of research on the internet, blood, sweat and "fears" of frying my radio, I have everything properly mounted and bonded for unexpectedly low SWR results. 1.0:1 on channel 1 and 1.1-2:1 on channel 40. Here's a few pics for your entertainment and scrutiny

 

Well, I really couldn't get myself to drill into the cab of my truck so I choose to do it the hard way(in terms of grounding). I tried to just run a ground strap from the mount to the bed rail, but the SWR just wasn't low enough to suit me. I also bonded the bed to the cab and both of them to the frame. So, yes, I used roof flashing on the inside of the topper all riveted together and foil taped the seams as an attempt to creat a better ground plane. Seems to have worked to my surprise! I'm sure just the foil tape would have worked, or metal screen for that matter but I tend to over due things a little.

 

What that is supposed to say is my reading for channel 40 is in between 1.1 and 1.2 Sorry

 

They are. The black battery cable was removed.

In antenna theory, a ground plane is a conducting surface large in comparison to the wavelength, such as the Earth, which is connected to the transmitter's ground wire and serves as a reflecting surface for radio waves.

The ground plane that is in the topper wasn't quite working out on it's own until a grounding strap was added back on between the mount and bed rail. If I need to remove all of the sheet metal and do something different in order to get the desired wave please share. I'm still learning and want the best transmit/receive that I can get. And yes, I need to have the antenna system checked out properly, but the lack of radio techs around here is pathetic.