How can I get better reception on my CB radio?

Saw this vid before but forgotten about it till now..tks..

 

I agree that the path of least resistance can give issues, but assuming good rf ground, less than optimum coax will cause a lower swr reading at the radio.

Example 1
New good quality belden rg8x attenuation 2.0 db/100ft, or 0.36 db/18ft. Swr 1.5 at antenna, radio puts out 10 watts.
Now with the coax installed, radio sends 10 watts down the coax, 9.2 watts hit the antenna, 0.368 watts are reflected, 0.339 watts are returned to the swr meter at the radio.
Example 2
Now take same antenna and radio and stick in that truckstop coax that you have been mashing in the door jam for 5 years. Easily double the loss of new Belden, so 0.72 dbi/18ft. That's being very generous.
Radio sends 10 watts down the wire, 8.4 watts hit the antenna, 0.336 reflected back, 0.282 watts make it back to the swr meter.
The coax that I just removed from my truck was easily 3 times worse than this example.
As you know, the lossy coax will probably have an impedance mismatch as well, making things worse and much more complicated. But in the end, poor coax will show a lower swr at the transceiver.
Just follow the science man, follow the science, lol. Funny, someone reading this 5 years from now may realize that we are in the middle of a controversial election and have no idea who our president will be come January 20.

 

I think you miss the point.

I am not going to explain antenna theory in a mobile application but will say that what you are trying to achieve is a balanced system by using an unbalanced feed-line and a ground system that creates balanced feed-line and radiator system that can adjust to the varying relationship of the vehicle to the earth ground.

Going forward, there is an issue with most trucks, and many other vehicles, it lacks the RF GROUND to make a balanced system. This is where the coax starts to act as a radiator of the other half of the balanced system.

So as I posted before, people put too much emphasis in Standing Wave Ratio, and up to the say late 1950's, it wasn't used to indicate feed-line/radiator efficiency or anything because it wasn't an accurate means to show anything other than a assumption of efficiency while RF voltage and current was and still is a good judge of efficiency.

SWR is really meaningless when it drops below 2.5:1 in CB systems.

 

There you have it. And, well never mind.

 

Never mind what?

go read w2du articles, he puts a good light on all of it.

 

Ridge....Not that im anywhere near your level of understanding but i have been sayin for ages that swr aint the end all be all that everyone thinks..

 

A blood pressure cuff is not the end all be all either but it's a fine tool to have on your nightstand

 

My SWR was at 3.5, reception was short distance. I removed Freightliner factory dual side mount. Made a SS mount ,,,used heavier coax and now SWR at 1.5, transmits and receives much better. I know squat about this stuff but usually surmise issue to be a poor ground due to corrosion.

 

I know, some don’t understand what it actually means and how it works, and I am not saying to those who have a good match that it doesn’t matter but rather that this is one step towards a better antenna system.

just for sh**** and giggles, here is something people should be looking at, RF current to the antenna.

why?

because for decades it was and still is a very useful measurement.

 

Yes grounds are important but there is a difference between an rf ground which is used to complete an antenna circuit and a Dc ground. People need to understand the relationship of each to build the system.

as I was reading the other day on another forum, there was a question of what a dipole system really is and how it works. If you understand how it does work in a mobile application, then you have a clear idea how an rf ground works.