2025 Mack anthem, I’ve always ran my own coax and mounts, decided I’m not going through that again with this truck, has a decent stock set up on it. I’d like to put my brownings on here but they’re throwing an antenna light on my 29, I can palm the coil and the light goes out, can you guys point me in the direction of grounding the stock set up to work with those antennas? Nothing super tech, I’ll continue to use the stock stuff, as it works fine, I would just like to put my brownings out there for aesthetics.![]()
Grounding question
Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by Trashtrucker1707, Sep 20, 2025.
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Are you checking your antenna system with an external SWR meter? Your basically dealing with poor RF ground which is a common problem with these new trucks.
Usually bonding helps.
Bonding -
No, just giving the basic info, stock antennas don’t kick on the antenna light, put 2 Francis 4 footers out there, no antenna light either, but minimal swing when keyed up, and brownings are throwing the antenna light on, swinging the needle hard though. I really don’t want to get technical with this, just looking to see if there is a way to use my brownings on this stock set up. This is my normal set up which works great but I really don’t want to go back to this with as little use that I get out of my radio, I use it in the quarry’s and at a hand full of customers, not looking to talk for miles.
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Okay, since the Browning antennas are changing the way your antenna system has been working, I would recommend using an external SWR meter to verify the readings of your original antennas, vs the Browning antennas. It may give you a clue as to what's going on. Otherwise it's just a guessing game.
Also, not all antennas are the same, usually they need trimming or lengthening to adjust the SWR in the antenna system. This is what appears to be going on to me. The Browning antennas may need to be adjusted to work properly, unless you already tried this.
Edit: After re-reading your post, the fact that your meter needle is swinging hard is probably due to reflected RF power from the Browning antennas. Which tells me the antennas need to be adjusted.Last edited: Sep 21, 2025
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Ok, I have a couple different lengths I’ll try in there, thanks for the tips. Like I said the stock set up works fine for my uses but the brownings are a nicer looking set, can’t seem to find the energy with this truck to run my own stuff, I’m a perfectionist and it’s quite the chore
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You're welcome. The good news is you are dealing with a working antenna system, so it's just a matter of adjusting the new antennas. You're right about it being a chore, but that's half the fun, ha.
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Don't think it will ever work the way you want it to unless you run a dedicated coax to the antenna.
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