How to best improve antenna setup

IDK how good the truck stop meters are but they're usually overpriced; I myself prefer the good stuff. As for tuning a radio antenna, yes you set it to get as close to 1.1:1 SWR as you can possibly get, though 1.5:1 is good too as it's only a 4% loss.

 

If i have a 1.1 on the swr and the radio still only gets out 1 or two miles where do i look to fix the problem?You have to forgive me for my lack of knowledge im new to a good radio,and have to catch up.I have a galaxy DX99V and would like to get the potential out of it that it has.So all info is helpful to me.I have rad that this radio is one of the top ever made i just want the best results i can get.

 

JJD ur the best.

 

What kind of antenna are you using ?

 

I also have a Galaxy 99V, and "In it's Day", your right...It WAS one of the best made...But there are so many now on the market, that are much better than the 99 ever was, and cost half as much as the 99's...

Best thing you can do, to improve how well your radio gets out, and receives has little to do with "What" radio you have, but more to do with your Antenna and where and how you have it mounted...Period.

Best CB Antenna's will be no less than 5' tall...Shorter you go, the less they will perform...End of story.

Second..."Higher the better"...Always, the best place for your antenna is going to be on the roof. Now I know when your talking about Big Rig's, this probably is not possible...And most will mirror-mount the antenna's which in most cases is your only choice...I know several guys who have mounted there antenna's on the back of the Cab, in the center on a bar that runs back there and the antenna will stick up to the top of the wind deflector on top of the Cab...IMO, this would be allot better than having the antenna's mirror mounted because since the Cabs are fiberglass, there's not much metal around the antenna to cause a bunch of reflect...You jsut have to be sure the bar is well grounded to the frame...I don't think the exhaust stacks would cause much of a problem with reflect, but I would try and get the antenna as far from the stack as possible.

"Bull Horn" mounting on the mirrors is also a "No-No" if your trying to improve your signal...Because it's going to cause your radiation pattern of your signal to go off into outer-space, and not down the road.

"Coax" Don't skimp on the coax...RG 58 is Basic 50 ohm CB coax, and has been around almost forever, and is what is usually comes stock in trucks...Unless they are wired with a Co-Phase harness for dual antenna's...Which would be RG -59 which is a 75 ohm coax and works fine in a co-phase (2 antenna set-up) but you don't want to use 75 ohm coax for a one antenna set-up.

There's much better coax you can use like RG mini-8, RG 213, LMR 240, and others...IMO in most cases, RG- mini-8 works allot better than RG 58, and is not any more expensive than the 58 stuff...(least not all that much more) It can handle 4w's or 1000w's just fine. And most Truck Stops sell it.

You don't have to spend a fortune on High Dollar Antenna's to get better reception...But you do need to get the tallest antenna you can, and have it mounted as high as you can...2' and 3' antenna's just wont give you very good performance no mater where there mounted. 4' to 5' will out perform those short ones every time... Just the way it is... 102" whips would be ideal, but I'm fairly certain those wont fly on the mirrors or roof of a Big Rig!

 

Would mounting a 102" whip on the frame rail behind the cab work?

 

It would be above 13'6" high when placed there. Also you wouldn't have a proper ground plane.

 

I doubt the ground plane would even come into the equation on a Big Rig if placed there, since the Cab is mostly fiberglass anyway...I would be more concerned about the height...I'm sure you would end up over 13'6...

Guess you could always try and bend the top couple of feet of the Whip over like a "L"!
Hay! I've seen this done! Looks goofy as hell too!

 

Just to be clear,I want to mount the antenna to the main frame of the truck that the axles are mounted to.If the antenna is 8 feet 6 inches long,that should leave 5 foot to play with.I haven't measured,but I don't think the top of the frame is more than 5 feet high.

I'm an LTL P&D driver and I need a setup that will hold up to the occasional tree branch.

On another note,I have a Texas Ranger 396-FC radio that needs a new TX/RX/CAL meter,any idea how much to fix?

Thanks for your time.

 

I think by mounting the antenna that low, your going to have allot of problems with reflect. Your going to have the antenna basically "sandwiched" between the cab and trailer. Even tho the cab maybe mostly fiberglass, you still have allot of electrical things going on that is going to kill your signal. If you could get a 102" whip mounted at least half way up the hight of the cab, You would be better off IMO.

I have no idea what it would cost to have that meter replaced, but I wouldn't think it would be much more than $20...The meters are only 5 to 6 dollars...And there could be nothing wrong with the meter you have...Could be just a loose connection. Not all that un-command.