swr problem general lee cb shop cant get it after 3 hours

try running a good ground wire from the frame of the truck up to the mounting bracket. that 387 is 90% fiberglass, and not good for swr's on cb's. you definitely have to play with them to get the swr's right.

 

Mount a 102in to a Fiberglass Tractor? And ground the Body? Mount the antenna on the Roof. How do you do that with fiberglass? There are no Steel cabs. And that Screwdriver on the Caddy will still work the World. Think about it!

 

If the truck is yours and you have some extra cash to spend. run down to the local auto parts store and pick up as much bulk ground strapping material that you can get. It comes in different widths. The wider the better. Run down to the hardware store and pickup a can of quick set epoxy.

Go home and remove the door panels, roof liner and anything else so that you can get to the outer panels of the truck. Weave the strapping material with about a 1 foot spacing between weaves and tape it into place. Then use the epoxy to bond it to the panel. Doo this to the roof, hood, door panels top of the sleeper and anything else you can get to. Now link all the strapping together using any metal you can find in the chassis etc or run some strapping from each section. Make sure everything is linked together including the frame. Now run a strap from the antenna mount to the nearest section of new strapping. You have now created or replaced the lost ground plane due to the fiberglass or plastic body.

There is a thread here about a homemade setup to might also help you. You would basically be running two antennas. One as your regular antenna and another one going downward off the mount as a sort of dipole or "ground plane?" One is hooked to the coax and the other is just mounted to the metal bracket and going downward.

Another option that I have heard of is a ground plane kit. It is supposed to help when you have little to no "plane" due to lack of metal body panels.

One thing to note. Even though alot of body panels are not metal, I have found that they still have some metal frame work or reinforcment ont he inside of the panels and cab. Linking all this frame work or reinforcement together via ground strapping material might just help. Just make sure that your antenna mount or bracket is also tied together with any metal you may find within the frame structure of the cab and body panels.

No need for a 102whip which you would also need a 6 inch spring for because a 102 is not the correct length. You would need a 108 if you don't use a spring.

 

Channel Jumper, you've really lost me-how is mounting an antenna to a trailer hitch, which is pretty well grounded to the rest of the steel in the vehicle, a worse idea than mounting one to a plastic bumper, which you have promoted repeatedly?

You've also got some serious nerve comparing yourself to MLK Jr. Either that, or you are seriously out of touch with reality.

 

I see truckers with screwdriver antennas all the time! Talking to Barcelona, Spain on 20 Meters or Melborne, Australia blows away a CB anyday!!!!!!!! If ham radio is the "kindergarten", then CB is the
CHILDRENS' BAND (or 'chicken band') LMAO!


GF

 

Be nice GF you never know when a trucker might find you along side the road ......

I have had many a good QSO with a trucker on the road and talked RADIO .....

 

I sure don't know what you making a $200 mount has to do with me working the World on my Tarheel on one vehicle. Or my High Sierra on the other. Maybe you can't but many of us do. So again I say you don't know what you think you do! And as for CB and people hearing me and I them. I do hear and I'm heard average 10+ miles depends on location. And I don't run AMPS. And who would pay you $200 to mount some home made bumper mount on a Company truck? Most Drivers would get fired for such. I sure wouldn't.