I know this video is old, but I’ve been watching all your antenna/cb/pirate radio stuff and you are just a gem. So kind, thorough, great attitude, just extremely helpful all around. Thank you so much 🖤
I don’t know how I came across this video yours out of all the “how to tune” a cb videos I’ve watched. Your magnet mount truck with those little Allen’s and explaining the grounding solved all of my issues I was having thank you so much!
Ohms/ resistance is the Omega symbol. The arrow with a line by it is actually the diode test. The number you see is the voltage it takes to open the diode. When testing a real diode, this will only work one direction, hence the symbol. Great video on cb, I hope you're still in it, you've inspired me to get back into cb. I want to teach the kids about radioing, and cb is where I started, so, thanks!
I've been thinking about buying a cb radio and watching your videos is actually very encouraging. Now I just need to look for a good deal and go from there. thanks for taking the time and sharing your knowledge, greatly appreciated! 👍
I really appreciate your videos. It has been 25 years since I have run a CB, but looking at your videos decided to get back in the game. Ended up with the bearcat 980 SSB and The Antron 99. Went with the Wilson 1000 magnet on my pick up.Thank you again.
Good stuff. I've been going down the HAM road, but just dug my CB out of a drawer for the car. I even had a K30 in there. Who knew it was a decent antenna??? For my HAM work, I have a Rig Expert 230--an antenna analyzer. I needed to move the dip to the right on the graph significantly. I had to take almost 3/4" off. Now I'm in the sweet spot of the CB range. Thanks for the help!
Eric, great video. One of my longest CB conversations was from here at the NJ shore to an oil rig off Louisiana and to Kentucky both from using a short RadioShack mag mount antenna on my water heater and stock radio the same week !
I absolutely love running the 102" SS whips! I run a 21' coax and get almost a perfect match. Mounted on top of the bed rails just behind the cab of my pickup. Thank you for your videos
@Greg Ferguson it will work great! Best CB antenna I've used. The height helps reach out farther than a cheap fiberglass whip. I've been able to reach farther than anyone else to get ahold of another group when we were out wheeling in the forests. Running that antenna and a Uniden Grant radio with a 21' coax.
It has been a long time since I had a CB. Got it on order Uniden Bearcat 980 and it will be a base for now. Thanks for the great video. I hope to see more.
Ran a 102 since the 70s. Put washers under it to raise it for your SWR's. If lightening is coming, unplug the equipment from the wall, disconnect the coax and put the end, INTO a Jar(Fruit Jar) , till the storm is over.
The lightning bolt traveled through thousands of feet of air to get to your antenna because it's literally billions of volts potential. Do you REALLY THINK that a fruit jar will mean anything to that lightning bolt once it reaches the tip of your coax inside the house/car? That lightning will jump clear across the room if there's something over there providing a low resistance path to ground. 🤷🏼♂️ Same with cars and lightning bolts; people often say that the car keeps you safe because the tires are insulators. That lightning could not possibly care less about 1" of rubber and polymer. 😸 Have you seen what a tree looks like when it gets hit by lightning? The wood (insulator, though not as good of an insulator when it's wet live wood) literally explodes due to the flash steam and wood gas production blowing it apart from inside out and then the stump and shrapnel proceed to burn from that point onward. TL;DR If your antenna gets hit by a good lightning bolt, there is nothing you can do.
I'm running a Cobra hand held CB in my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the included Firestick stub antenna. I took your advice and moved the magnetic mount to the center of the roof and it improved reception exponentially!
Use a 102 in whip for best range, or a wilson 5000 magnet mount. They work great. Ground the panels on the car and it will help range. Use impedance matching and choke coils to improve matching. Cars all have issues with common mode current coming back in the cable. You want it really right, then match it for impedance.
All great advice, good job, to add to what you shared, be sure to avoid ground loops by tying all your grounds together they can be very dangerous. I found out about ground loops the hard way on my first job by laying my arm across a tele co frame ground and the buildings cabinet ground which shot a 180 volts ac across my arm, I was very lucky.
I found that mobile CB antennas work best in the middle of any vehicle ( except motorbikes 😀). The settings ( readings from the swr) tends to be quite low & the transmitting & receiving is as good as anyone can get. Anywhere else on the vehicle & I personally found i had nothing but, trouble from it & I ended up advising others to do the same thing with their mobile antenna. Many already had done it but, there was quite a few that had problems with finding a suitable place for it. & I will always highly recommend the middle of the roof of the vehicle. YES! it can be very awkward if it is a high sided van or soft top ( convertible). But, were possible top middle is definitely the very best place for it. The reason for this is the signal will radiate equally out. If it is fitted anywhere else on the vehicle the signal will be oval or uneven in some way. This is one of the consiquences of putting the antenna elsewhere on the vehicle. But, that is upto that person's own personal choice of location of their mobile antenna. & also a very uneven swr reading.
Thanks Erik for a great video !! Great job on the grounding wire. It can’t be over emphasized. My guess is that 50% or more people don’t have a ground wire and stakes in the ground. It’s a major issue and everyone should have proper ground set up. Thanks again for excellent presentations. Good luck and I’ll keep watching you!! God bless.
Yet again, an awesome video, rife with excellent information. You have inspired me to set up a CB base station. I've recently found my fathers' vintage Pace P5453 SWR meter made in Harbor City, Calif., USA. Thank you. A+
I’m just getting into CB and you have been the most informative person I’ve ran across. I can’t find any shoes that sell ANYTHING to do with CB or HAM. I sure can’t find a SWR meter on eBay for $10-$15.....Let’s talk about PA speaker under hood of my truck. I was able to buy a 15 watt, 105db speaker. It’s mounted and factory 35mm cable ran to cab where sits my Uniden pc78LTW ready to go but I don’t have a mobile antenna!!! So I haven’t turn it on yet to try speaker because I believe you said it can harm my cb I just stole for $40 on offer up. I’ve got brand new Silverado, suggestions???????
Take a look on Ebay, you can find some great deals on used SSB radios there. Welcome to the hobby! Don't get discouraged if the first time you turn on your radio all you hear is static. Sometimes places can be dead for a while, but keep that radio on and keep flipping through the dial and I'm sure you'll find a crew that chats in your area.
My swr is through the roof I’ve tried a lot of different antennas and different cords. My power plug plugs into the cigarette lighter. Will that affect it. Ya know not having it wired up to the battery?
If it's better at the low end but not good enough, it's a bit too long and trimming can help. If it's better at the high end it needs to be longer. One antenna I used to have was useless with a range of a few hundred feet! A base load with short whip.I replaced it with a 9'' helical whip which was awesome. Years later, I opened up the base, reversed to coil wires, and it worked flawlessly. (a factory "oops")
Back in the day, late 80s to mid 90s, i was taught the CB range of channels 1-40 was basically the three meter band, roughly 9 feet for the full frequency of transmission signal. So having an opened Cobra 148 (shhh) i used the base station coax, RG8? as opposed to standard RG58 sold with mag mounts? Anyway, thicker cable. Got in 9ft length so used 18ft. Standard trunk lid mount (what brand was that?) and a nine foot steel whip with cheap coil spring from radio shack. Always ran between .5 to 1.2 SWRs, running about 5 watts. Able to talk skip from Long Island to South Carolina and Maine. Local, receive 30 miles, trans 45. Talked from my job in Hicksville NY, many heard me, but only pulled in from a friend's base in Selden. Those were the days!! Any rig can do good if you match the frequency- 3 meters or 9 feet. Get your coax in 9,18, 27 etc increments. Good antenna and talk yer skip. I tell ya, now I want to dig out my president Jackson and scan the channels. Keep the shiney side up and the greasy side down.
27mc is 11m not 3m. Your misunderstanding the difference between the frequency bandwidth 11m = 27mc with coax wavelengths in equal feet/length to the frequency. Yes, I do understand what your saying, having an odd length of coax will have an effect on the tuning, coax in itself is an "Un-ballanced" feed line, electrically, the ground does nothing but ground, while the conductor does all the signal transfer (work) from transceiver to antenna, therefore equal lengths to the frequency in Mhz/Mc is quite desired.
Hi, great video, I want to install my old 70's Sears Road Talker CB radio permanently on my 2011 P7B Crown Victoria trunk lid , I'm looking at a Stryker SR-A10, 10-meter center loaded antenna , I think thay are about 62" and I don't want to roof mount it, Thanks
Does SWR change enough to be noticeable/adjustable by moving a magnet mount around on the roof of the vehicle? Say, on an SUV near the sunroof or putting it near the back of the vehicle and rear hatch. 04 Dodge Durango. Trying to adjust an antenna connected to a mid 90's Cobra HH40.
Ok I want to make sure I’m correct , I have a 4 door cab pick up. I was going to set the Stryker towards the back of the cab right in front of the 3 break light, I was thinking I should have it centered as close as I can on the vehicle. I was told I should center it on the cab roof not center of the entire truck , what are your thoughts?
I need help. Been 40 years since I last used a cb. I bought a new Cobra 29LX & a K30 mag mount antenna. I am putting it on a 2018 GMC truck. I have moved the antenna around the roof, can only tune the radio on the lower chanels, & get an antenna warning on the radio. The SWR's Re between 1 ,& 1.5. Just keep getting antenna warning.
Ran cb’s and scanners through late 80-mid 90. My Interest has been respawned lol. I have ‘06 F150 with flush fiberglass camper cover. Which would you suggest : 6-7 foot SkipShooter on back bumper or 3-4’ mag mount center cab. Running a BC880. Thanks
Imo i think the k40 steel whip mobile antenna works very well. Swr is excellent and reception is great As well as transmitting. Also the k40 both dual steel whip and fiberglass twin antennas too..
got a tram bigcat on a trimag, top center of car, 10ft lmr400 straight down thru a hole in roof going to the radio. showing 2 for swr, low as she'll go. 3inches of snow on roof and the swr was flat. how can i manipulate/duplicate this without snow? i was told to swr check only with all doors closed on a vehicle. not sure if you ever heard that, and i never noticed differences
@FarpointFarms drilled another hole in the roof for a very short ground from the trimag to the body. noticeable difference. 25yr old car. grounding will likely be my most common issue, here in the rust belt. thanks for your time. take care out there. spend most of my time on 37lower waiting for the conditions to come back from the southeast. been getting Florida and got 483sc after dark tonight with 12w
Great Information/vid. I didn't hear you mention about location with mobile unit when you set SWR. I understand you have to be in a clear area to set it (like away from trees / buildings ect.)
Eric I bought RG8x Jumper cable for CB & Ham 35ft RF adapter PL259 from amazon. Is this cable a good cable? I also bought a Cobra 300 Watt Magnet Mount Antenna from amazon to. I have BNC to coax adapter's thx
many thanks for this video, i'm waiting on my cb/antenna and swr meter to arrive and found your video really good as a study ahead of actually trying. subscribed :)
I have a cobra 29lx with swr reading built in. I just got it hooked up in a camper. Reading roughly 1.2 on 1 and 20. Roughly 2.3 on 40. I ran the neutral outside and grounded it to the chassis. I have a rubber roof so the antenna is mounted to a toe bar and grounded to the main power ground. Haven't tried adjusting the antenna yet. Do I still need to ground the radio chassis? And are there any other suggestions if antenna adjustments do not work?
@@FarpointFarms yeah cause I adjusted antenna up and my channel 20 swr went up. I do however have a two band set up for my antenna. A five inch extension and the 10in that I have on their now. Might try putting the 5inch on and see what happens. Thanks man. Pretty new to this stuff and I've been watching your channel for a while trying to learn this stuff. I've only had this radio and could never get it calibrated right before with the other antenna I had. The cal would never go all the way up. So I stopped fooling with it for a while. It was fun to listen in though.
Yes the 5in extension did the trick I am less than 1.5 across the board. I will still take your recommendation and ground the radio chassis. But it is getting dark here and I have an escape dog to track down. So it will have to wait till tomorrow.
Still use my Uniden PC122xl. Great little radio on SSB. Was paired with a Falcon 2400 diapole antenna and sounded great for a homebase setup....then I moved and lost the antenna...😕
Got a question ❓ I've got a Cobra 29 digital with a swing kit, and a D-104 power mike! I had this in a jeep, with along with a102 ( 9ft)whip, it's loud! Also, I had a hooker 100 l could flip on!? Any suggestions how I can put the system in my apartment?? Start with the radio!! Indoor antenna? Q-ball, Spokane Washington
I have an NMO base drilled through the roof of my Volvo wagon. I scuff sanded the bottom side of the roof, most to bare metal but there may be a little primer left, but left the paint alone on the outside. After fiddling with the antenna length, I have pretty much a flat 1 on Ch1, a 2 on channel 19 and right around 3 on channel 40. I would like to get 40 lower, but I’m concerned about going too low, is that possible? Like if I keep lowering the antenna till Ch 40 gets to 1.5, will it make 1 go below 1:1? Is that possible? I don’t want to make the antenna too short. Thanks.
How accurate are the built-in SWR meters? I have heard they are fairly inaccurate (Current radio is a Cobra 29 WX ST NW) and the readings for SWR on the stand alone gauge versus built-in are quite different. Thanks
I know this video is 4 years old, but I have a question. Are we grounding to the vehicle's frame, battery, or the radio's chassis? All of the above? (The frame doesn't always ground well to the battery/electrical system.)
I bought a 12v adapter, you hook the red and black cables to the red and black slots and it works. easier than having a bunch of wires going all over haha
@@ef5supercell Greetings, thank you for your reply. However, specifically for a vehicle, are we looking to ground to the frame? the battery? both? Is it an electrical ground, or something to do with the ground plane effect? Thanks again for the response. R, Steve
@@steveinla8963 really anything metal will do, I use to ground it to a screw in my fuse box, and then metal frame near my floor, make sure it's a solid ground that won't come undone or become prone to rust, if you drill a hole in any part of your vehicle, the hole can rust quicker and easier. as I said, a 12v adapter will work fine for hooking up the CB and using it with an antenna.
Hey Eric, i could use your advice if you’re willing to give it. I just bought a hustler HQ27 55” antenna for my fender mount on my pickup. My adjustment is set as short as the factory tip goes. I’m in the middle of a big cow field in the middle of nowhere. My reading on my new SWR meter is 1.6 on channel one and 2.5 on channel forty. I was thinking of cutting the antenna but I’m not sure if that is what I should do. Any advice?
I own a cobra 29 LTD and a terminator Antenna with magent base and after adjustments all my SWR on channel 1,40 and 20 is 1.5.. on the trunk of car... is that a normal balance antenna what of I want to bring those numbers a little down, it's that possible??.. thanks for your videos..
Great videos, I just found you and I watched 2 videos and you make them very easy to understand ,I also hope to see some of your auto Mach videos , so from Pittsburgh take care.:)
Chrysler use to put extra ground straps on the hood of there vehicles to help reduce the back ground noise ,would doing something like this on the trunk help for a magnet mount antenna
I bought a crappy wal mart $30 Cobra radio and their crappy $15 15" antenna, bought a good meter at a truck stop; I can't get it to match on Channel 1 and 40 on the lower end at the 1.5, after adjusting the antenna I've only been able to match 1 and 40 at 2.5 to 2.8 and when I transmit on 19 it's right at 3. Would a better end antenna help?
YES! The radio is fine, but those walmart 16 inch antenna's are not going to cut it. If you want small, go with the tram 300 or Lil'willson. They are not to big and work great. If you want REALLY small look at the President New york antenna. It's range is limited but it is tiny!
Ok thanks I'll try that when I can. This is just a cheap set up for my car, the expensive radio is going in my big rig. I wanted to be at least familiar with it before I spent the cash though, thanks again have a wonderful day!
Hey, I am trying to find info not on dual antennas but if I have 2 cb antennas on 1 rooftop but 50 ft apart from each, will that cause any problems? Thanks
I am getting ready to install and tune a cb. I could only get a 9foot cable to connect the tuner. Will that change my info. Also I got a magnetic antenna. That doesn't need a ground if is attached dry to the roof. Thanks for the videos👍
I have a question I installed my Cobra 29 above the rear view mirror in my Jeep Wrangler JK. I went direct to the battery for power and ground for the cb, i have a rear bumper antenna mount that I added a ground strap to the frame to the antenna mount. Ive tuned the SWR on channel 1 and 40 and its pretty low around 1.5 The cb picks up incoming transmissions no problem. It's the second I key the mic while the engine is running my gauges in my jeep go nuts, the wiper goes off and my dash lights up like a Christmas tree. I cant figure out why this is happening. Have you come across this problem? Any help would be great.
I have a question Hope you have an answer I have a uniden bearcat 880 hooked up in my garage to a Browning flat coil 1500 watt miramont antenna wip. I run my antenna diagnostic on my radio at channel 40 it says pass once I get the channel 16 or lower it fails SWR on channel 1 is about 1.7 SWR on 40 is about 1. I have also stuck ground plain wires on the antenna that is on my roof the browning coil antenna. I just don't know why antenna diagnostics on lower channels gives me a fail upper channels pass can you help me with this.
I tend to use a lot of mag mount antennas. But whatever type of antenna you are using, unless you have a specific reason for doing so, you want the SWR to be exactly the same on CH1 and CH40. You should then get your lowest reading on channel 20, which is next to 19, which is what people use on the road. Your SWR will change as you change channels. The reason for that is that an antenna can only be perfectly resonate on one frequency. The further away from that frequency you get, the higher your SWRs will be, and the less efficient your antenna will be. The old 23 channel radios were easier to get a low SWR on across all the channels, because you had fewer frequencies to cover. IMO, anything over 1.5:1 is unacceptable. No, that is not high enough to damage your radio, but you are losing most of your output signal. At 1.5:1 you are transmitting under 3 watts instead of close to 4. That's a huge loss. IF you operate mostly on SSB, on the higher frequencies channel 35 -40, then you may want to tune your antenna to work better on those higher frequencies. But remember if you do, you will have an unacceptably high SWR on the low frequencies like channel 1. With CB, (and ham) everything is a compromise.
I'm wanting to hook my bass Antenna to my TV antenna tower is there a such a thing as my TV antenna being too close to my CB base antenna and if so how far do I have to separate the two "Thanks bud" Rodney
Does your radio have a meter that shows "HIGH SWR"? If it does, you can use it to slowly shorten/lengthen your antenna in 2-5mm increments to get the needle as far from the "HIGH SWR" area as possible. Of course this is a very crude method, and running a XCVR with dangerously high SWR (usually 3.0+) is ALWAYS hazardous. I once blew a pair of $100/ea.6LQ6 finals by keying down my 320W Swan 500C XCVR for just a few seconds. i would strongly advise you to buy an SWR meter. I have several of them in my ham shack. The last one I bought for my 5W CBs was only $39.95 at a TA truck stop. Don't forget to buy a 3ft.coax jumper to connect your radio to your meter. Hope this helps, 73, ES HPE 2 BCNU, W8IMP, J.D., Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
Knowing how I was 20 years ago. I should have learned more about radio communication before I pressed that PTT. I don't remember how many CB Radios I had, but now that I think about it, my antenna was a joke, I'm surprise that was able to talk on the radio.
I need help. I have a 102 inch antenna on my truck with a uniden 76xl cb. Problem is it's near perfect mounted at near top of my back rack but is to tall. I lowered it a foot & isnt that great of swr although it's still under 2. Any suggestions I dont want to have to have antenna 14ft high to work perfect if I can help it.
I'm getting a pl259 connecter for my handheld Cobra 38wxst Handheld. What antenna can I run off my apartment balcony or up in a tree? Can you tune a handheld antenna
I have my ground wire connected to my 8 foot copper mast which is then connected to my copper plumbing. Is that ok, or should I run the ground cable up to the A-99 itself? My SWR is 1.1 on channel 1 and 1.4 on Chanel 40.
Good morning sir I purchased a realistic TRC427 on ebay it was the winning bid. I paid $15 shipping and handling hooked this little radio to my intro 99 within 3 minutes was talking to gentlemen 33 miles away Barefoot I was thinking of purchasing a 980 because I've been wanting 1 with SSB and I'm in the mountains of west Virginia Southern west Virginia what are your thoughts on this radio thank you sir
Eric, question: 1990 Ford F-150, can I remove the ash tray, cut the wires to the lighter, then use that power for my Uniden 500 ? Will be going with the 102” whip, mounted on the rear metal bumper.
Farpoint Farms thanks Eric. Your videos are a tremendous help to all of us, after 40 years, getting back into CB. Guess we had enough of High Tech Gadgets, that do nothing more than take away our freedom.
Question ? Please help lol. I just bought a 102 inch hustler whip for my ford ranger . Now everyone says it should be 108 for cb ? I don’t see a 6 inch spring online anywhere . What did you use ? And I also mounted it to my diamond plate toolbox and can’t get it to ground . Can I use the same mirror mount and attach it to rear bumper or is there another way to mount it . Thanks for any help.
The 102 whip does need the spring on the bottom to get the right SWR reading. Check Ebay for new old stock ones from Radio Shack. The truck box needs to have a good ground, but usually the bolts that hold it to the bed are enough. if not, run a wire from the antenna mount to the frame and see if that helps.
I believe the maximum wattage limit should be raised to 25 watts to 50 watts. An old amateur radio operator showed me the difference long ago. He tuned a 10 meter frequency and transmitted out on 15 watts he had a bit of trouble getting a contact but did get one the other operator was very accommodating and stood by for the experiment. The other operator said the signal was clear but low. The operator on my side then switched to 40 watts and asked for a clarity report again and the other operator said the difference was incredibly good. Then the operator on my side went to 5 watts and the other operator said the signal was almost lost in the background noise. He asked the other operator to go to channel 40 of the CB band and switched to LSB. The test was then from 12 watts to 1 watt. The difference was evident again. The 1 watt was not even heard on the other end.
I think that they could raise it, the laws were set in a time where there was tons of traffic on the radio, it would help today to get a longer range to be heard
hi there.. WHAT IS NEEDED TO INCREASE THE POWER FROM A CB-29. STYLE TO FROM 10 MILES TO LONG RANGE.. I THINK YOU TALK ABOUT THIS.. AS IN UP THE WATTS.. . HELP ME HERE.. I LOVE YOUR CB SET UP . IN YORU HOUSE LIKE IT MUCH BETTER
Get your ham ticket. We can run 1500 watts on 10 mtr. (next door) SSB which will take you thousands of miles. 73 HPE 2 BCNU, W8IMP JD Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
Ha I should have known better. I just finished mounting a 107 in whip on this house with a steel roof. Swr’s are off the chart. About 5 or so. I should have just bought another Antron like I put on my sugar shack. Any suggestions before I take it down and order a Antron? You’d think in my old age I would have known to do that -- ha!!!
I know this video is old, but I’ve been watching all your antenna/cb/pirate radio stuff and you are just a gem. So kind, thorough, great attitude, just extremely helpful all around. Thank you so much 🖤
Wow, thank you!
Always good to see honest & easy to understand old school advice and information, even if it's 4 yrs old.
I don’t know how I came across this video yours out of all the “how to tune” a cb videos I’ve watched. Your magnet mount truck with those little Allen’s and explaining the grounding solved all of my issues I was having thank you so much!
Ohms/ resistance is the Omega symbol. The arrow with a line by it is actually the diode test. The number you see is the voltage it takes to open the diode. When testing a real diode, this will only work one direction, hence the symbol. Great video on cb, I hope you're still in it, you've inspired me to get back into cb. I want to teach the kids about radioing, and cb is where I started, so, thanks!
I'm still around. Love to play with these old radios!
Of all the cb videos your video was the most detailed and understandable. I appreciate the Cb lesson. Your the man!!!
Thanks!
I've been thinking about buying a cb radio and watching your videos is actually very encouraging. Now I just need to look for a good deal and go from there. thanks for taking the time and sharing your knowledge, greatly appreciated! 👍
I really appreciate your videos. It has been 25 years since I have run a CB, but looking at your videos decided to get back in the game. Ended up with the bearcat 980 SSB and The Antron 99. Went with the Wilson 1000 magnet on my pick up.Thank you again.
Ah man. No love for Firestik? They're the only American manufacturer of antennas left. 🙁
Good stuff. I've been going down the HAM road, but just dug my CB out of a drawer for the car. I even had a K30 in there. Who knew it was a decent antenna??? For my HAM work, I have a Rig Expert 230--an antenna analyzer. I needed to move the dip to the right on the graph significantly. I had to take almost 3/4" off. Now I'm in the sweet spot of the CB range. Thanks for the help!
Welcome back to the hobby!
You're like the EricTheCarGuy of CB radio's. And your name is Eric! Haha great videos man they have helped me alot!
Eric, great video. One of my longest CB conversations was from here at the NJ shore to an oil rig off Louisiana and to Kentucky both from using a short RadioShack mag mount antenna on my water heater and stock radio the same week !
Crazy! I loved those random long distance chats.
I absolutely love running the 102" SS whips! I run a 21' coax and get almost a perfect match. Mounted on top of the bed rails just behind the cab of my pickup.
Thank you for your videos
@Greg Ferguson it will work great! Best CB antenna I've used. The height helps reach out farther than a cheap fiberglass whip.
I've been able to reach farther than anyone else to get ahold of another group when we were out wheeling in the forests. Running that antenna and a Uniden Grant radio with a 21' coax.
@Greg Ferguson Awesome. Let me know how it goes.
Outstanding work. Just subbed. Currently battling with the cobra in my apt.
thank you for the sub.
Hands down, best and most informative cb setup video on the net. Great job!
Don't think so
I super appreciate the education and helping guys get started
Glad I could help!
Thank you for all the information! I'm thinking about getting started with a cb so I really appreciate all you have shared with us.
Thank you and good luck with the CB hobby
It has been a long time since I had a CB. Got it on order Uniden Bearcat 980 and it will be a base for now. Thanks for the great video. I hope to see more.
Ran a 102 since the 70s. Put washers under it to raise it for your SWR's.
If lightening is coming, unplug the equipment from the wall, disconnect the coax and put the end, INTO a Jar(Fruit Jar) , till the storm is over.
nutin like 102" inches of pure man hood! yea c`mon!! that's what i run on my truck
The lightning bolt traveled through thousands of feet of air to get to your antenna because it's literally billions of volts potential. Do you REALLY THINK that a fruit jar will mean anything to that lightning bolt once it reaches the tip of your coax inside the house/car? That lightning will jump clear across the room if there's something over there providing a low resistance path to ground. 🤷🏼♂️ Same with cars and lightning bolts; people often say that the car keeps you safe because the tires are insulators. That lightning could not possibly care less about 1" of rubber and polymer. 😸 Have you seen what a tree looks like when it gets hit by lightning? The wood (insulator, though not as good of an insulator when it's wet live wood) literally explodes due to the flash steam and wood gas production blowing it apart from inside out and then the stump and shrapnel proceed to burn from that point onward.
TL;DR If your antenna gets hit by a good lightning bolt, there is nothing you can do.
Hey Eric thank you for sharing have a great holiday man yeah SWR is very important to me
I'm running a Cobra hand held CB in my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the included Firestick stub antenna. I took your advice and moved the magnetic mount to the center of the roof and it improved reception exponentially!
Glad to hear it!
Use a 102 in whip for best range, or a wilson 5000 magnet mount. They work great. Ground the panels on the car and it will help range. Use impedance matching and choke coils to improve matching. Cars all have issues with common mode current coming back in the cable. You want it really right, then match it for impedance.
I just got a Pansonic 40 channel cb. It works fine, just trying to find someone out on the lonesome road
I just found your channel, and will be up all night now watching your videos lol.
All great advice, good job, to add to what you shared, be sure to avoid ground loops by tying all your grounds together they can be very dangerous. I found out about ground loops the hard way on my first job by laying my arm across a tele co frame ground and the buildings cabinet ground which shot a 180 volts ac across my arm, I was very lucky.
Thanks. Learning lots from your efforts.
Glad to hear it!
I found that mobile CB antennas work best in the middle of any vehicle ( except motorbikes 😀). The settings ( readings from the swr) tends to be quite low & the transmitting & receiving is as good as anyone can get. Anywhere else on the vehicle & I personally found i had nothing but, trouble from it & I ended up advising others to do the same thing with their mobile antenna. Many already had done it but, there was quite a few that had problems with finding a suitable place for it. & I will always highly recommend the middle of the roof of the vehicle. YES! it can be very awkward if it is a high sided van or soft top ( convertible). But, were possible top middle is definitely the very best place for it. The reason for this is the signal will radiate equally out. If it is fitted anywhere else on the vehicle the signal will be oval or uneven in some way. This is one of the consiquences of putting the antenna elsewhere on the vehicle. But, that is upto that person's own personal choice of location of their mobile antenna. & also a very uneven swr reading.
Thanks Erik for a great video !! Great job on the grounding wire. It can’t be over emphasized. My guess is that 50% or more people don’t have a ground wire and stakes in the ground. It’s a major issue and everyone should have proper ground set up. Thanks again for excellent presentations. Good luck and I’ll keep watching you!! God bless.
Yet again, an awesome video, rife with excellent information. You have inspired me to set up a CB base station. I've recently found my fathers' vintage Pace P5453 SWR meter made in Harbor City, Calif., USA. Thank you. A+
That is awesome!
Great vid. I just bought a Tram 300 mag mount for my vehicle. Decades ago I ran an Ugly stick and also a skip shooter
I’m just getting into CB and you have been the most informative person I’ve ran across. I can’t find any shoes that sell ANYTHING to do with CB or HAM. I sure can’t find a SWR meter on eBay for $10-$15.....Let’s talk about PA speaker under hood of my truck. I was able to buy a 15 watt, 105db speaker. It’s mounted and factory 35mm cable ran to cab where sits my Uniden pc78LTW ready to go but I don’t have a mobile antenna!!! So I haven’t turn it on yet to try speaker because I believe you said it can harm my cb I just stole for $40 on offer up. I’ve got brand new Silverado, suggestions???????
This is Jim your videos on cbs are great keep keep up the good work.
You just made me decide to buy a cb radio, very informative video, thank you
Take a look on Ebay, you can find some great deals on used SSB radios there.
Welcome to the hobby! Don't get discouraged if the first time you turn on your radio all you hear is static. Sometimes places can be dead for a while, but keep that radio on and keep flipping through the dial and I'm sure you'll find a crew that chats in your area.
Hey, thanks for making these vids and sharing information. It's very helpful.
My swr is through the roof I’ve tried a lot of different antennas and different cords. My power plug plugs into the cigarette lighter. Will that affect it. Ya know not having it wired up to the battery?
To adjust the102 is washers like tuning rings, or trim length on tip
If it's better at the low end but not good enough, it's a bit too long and trimming can help. If it's better at the high end it needs to be longer. One antenna I used to have was useless with a range of a few hundred feet! A base load with short whip.I replaced it with a 9'' helical whip which was awesome. Years later, I opened up the base, reversed to coil wires, and it worked flawlessly. (a factory "oops")
Great video Eric on the proper way to set up and ground an antenna. Now get back in the house and get next to the fire and get warm. LOL.
Man, I was FREEZING the day I shot this.
@@FarpointFarms I could tell Eric. It showed. LOL. Love your videos. Just waiting for the next one.
Back in the day, late 80s to mid 90s, i was taught the CB range of channels 1-40 was basically the three meter band, roughly 9 feet for the full frequency of transmission signal.
So having an opened Cobra 148 (shhh) i used the base station coax, RG8? as opposed to standard RG58 sold with mag mounts? Anyway, thicker cable. Got in 9ft length so used 18ft. Standard trunk lid mount (what brand was that?) and a nine foot steel whip with cheap coil spring from radio shack.
Always ran between .5 to 1.2 SWRs, running about 5 watts. Able to talk skip from Long Island to South Carolina and Maine.
Local, receive 30 miles, trans 45. Talked from my job in Hicksville NY, many heard me, but only pulled in from a friend's base in Selden.
Those were the days!!
Any rig can do good if you match the frequency- 3 meters or 9 feet. Get your coax in 9,18, 27 etc increments. Good antenna and talk yer skip.
I tell ya, now I want to dig out my president Jackson and scan the channels.
Keep the shiney side up and the greasy side down.
27mc is 11m not 3m. Your misunderstanding the difference between the frequency bandwidth 11m = 27mc with coax wavelengths in equal feet/length to the frequency. Yes, I do understand what your saying, having an odd length of coax will have an effect on the tuning, coax in itself is an "Un-ballanced" feed line, electrically, the ground does nothing but ground, while the conductor does all the signal transfer (work) from transceiver to antenna, therefore equal lengths to the frequency in Mhz/Mc is quite desired.
@@thevacuumtubejunky9774 wow, guess I was taught wrong LoL. Oh well. Thanks!
@@rickbecker3277 : I'am not stating you were thought wrong, could be a simple misinterpretation.
Hi, great video, I want to install my old 70's Sears Road Talker CB radio permanently on my 2011 P7B Crown Victoria trunk lid , I'm looking at a Stryker SR-A10, 10-meter center loaded antenna , I think thay are about 62" and I don't want to roof mount it, Thanks
Sounds like a perfect setup. Trunk mounts are a great spot to put a mag mount antenna.
Does SWR change enough to be noticeable/adjustable by moving a magnet mount around on the roof of the vehicle? Say, on an SUV near the sunroof or putting it near the back of the vehicle and rear hatch. 04 Dodge Durango. Trying to adjust an antenna connected to a mid 90's Cobra HH40.
It really can! The body of the car is part of the antenna in a sense. Moving it does change the readings.
@@FarpointFarms Thank you!
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos
I was always taught that about 1.3 was best because you want a little bit of resistance it actually makes the amp push a bit more. ?
No. 1.1 is going to let every watt free to head down range.
Ok I want to make sure I’m correct , I have a 4 door cab pick up. I was going to set the Stryker towards the back of the cab right in front of the 3 break light, I was thinking I should have it centered as close as I can on the vehicle. I was told I should center it on the cab roof not center of the entire truck , what are your thoughts?
I need help. Been 40 years since I last used a cb. I bought a new Cobra 29LX & a K30 mag mount antenna. I am putting it on a 2018 GMC truck. I have moved the antenna around the roof, can only tune the radio on the lower chanels, & get an antenna warning on the radio. The SWR's Re between 1 ,& 1.5. Just keep getting antenna warning.
Ran cb’s and scanners through late 80-mid 90. My Interest has been respawned lol. I have ‘06 F150 with flush fiberglass camper cover. Which would you suggest : 6-7 foot SkipShooter on back bumper or 3-4’ mag mount center cab. Running a BC880. Thanks
Center mounted mag mount will get out great!
Imo i think the k40 steel whip mobile antenna works very well.
Swr is excellent and reception is great
As well as transmitting.
Also the k40 both dual steel whip and fiberglass twin antennas too..
Keep up the detailed videos. My attenna is finally under 2 swr. Thank you.
Great vid man. Lots of useful information. Keep the vids coming
Did you connect your copper wire directly to the Antron or did you connect it up to the pole that the Antron is attached to?
I attach it to the C clamps where the Antron meets the pole.
got a tram bigcat on a trimag, top center of car, 10ft lmr400 straight down thru a hole in roof going to the radio. showing 2 for swr, low as she'll go. 3inches of snow on roof and the swr was flat. how can i manipulate/duplicate this without snow? i was told to swr check only with all doors closed on a vehicle. not sure if you ever heard that, and i never noticed differences
Yes, keep all doors closed during tests. I'd double check the grounding of the antenna. 2 is too high for such a nice setup.
@FarpointFarms drilled another hole in the roof for a very short ground from the trimag to the body. noticeable difference. 25yr old car. grounding will likely be my most common issue, here in the rust belt. thanks for your time. take care out there. spend most of my time on 37lower waiting for the conditions to come back from the southeast. been getting Florida and got 483sc after dark tonight with 12w
What CB Antenna would you suggest for around $50 ? I have a Cobra 29 ltd
Tram 3000. Cheap and good.
@@FarpointFarms I will check them out thank you
Great Videos man, I am a NC Native myself.
Right on
Great Information/vid. I didn't hear you mention about location with mobile unit when you set SWR. I understand you have to be in a clear area to set it (like away from trees / buildings ect.)
An excellent video well explained. Thank you Sir. A+ Greetings from Washington State. We are also freezing our B***s off here during Winter.
Eric I bought RG8x Jumper cable for CB & Ham 35ft RF adapter PL259 from amazon. Is this cable a good cable? I also bought a Cobra 300 Watt Magnet Mount Antenna from amazon to. I have BNC to coax adapter's thx
That should be fine. Enjoy!
@@FarpointFarms Ya sweet Thanks
many thanks for this video, i'm waiting on my cb/antenna and swr meter to arrive and found your video really good as a study ahead of actually trying. subscribed :)
Glad I could help!
I have a cobra 29lx with swr reading built in. I just got it hooked up in a camper. Reading roughly 1.2 on 1 and 20. Roughly 2.3 on 40. I ran the neutral outside and grounded it to the chassis. I have a rubber roof so the antenna is mounted to a toe bar and grounded to the main power ground. Haven't tried adjusting the antenna yet. Do I still need to ground the radio chassis? And are there any other suggestions if antenna adjustments do not work?
It wouldn't hurt to ground the radio chassis, but I'd also try moving the location of the antenna to see if the SWR changes.
@@FarpointFarms yeah cause I adjusted antenna up and my channel 20 swr went up. I do however have a two band set up for my antenna. A five inch extension and the 10in that I have on their now. Might try putting the 5inch on and see what happens. Thanks man. Pretty new to this stuff and I've been watching your channel for a while trying to learn this stuff. I've only had this radio and could never get it calibrated right before with the other antenna I had. The cal would never go all the way up. So I stopped fooling with it for a while. It was fun to listen in though.
Yes the 5in extension did the trick I am less than 1.5 across the board. I will still take your recommendation and ground the radio chassis. But it is getting dark here and I have an escape dog to track down. So it will have to wait till tomorrow.
Still use my Uniden PC122xl. Great little radio on SSB. Was paired with a Falcon 2400 diapole antenna and sounded great for a homebase setup....then I moved and lost the antenna...😕
Got a question ❓ I've got a Cobra 29 digital with a swing kit, and a D-104 power mike! I had this in a jeep, with along with a102 ( 9ft)whip, it's loud! Also, I had a hooker 100 l could flip on!? Any suggestions how I can put the system in my apartment?? Start with the radio!! Indoor antenna? Q-ball, Spokane Washington
That radio will work anywhere so you are good to go there. The tram B100 is really your only option for indoor antenna without a ground.
@@FarpointFarms thanks
Can I find one on eBay?
I have an NMO base drilled through the roof of my Volvo wagon. I scuff sanded the bottom side of the roof, most to bare metal but there may be a little primer left, but left the paint alone on the outside. After fiddling with the antenna length, I have pretty much a flat 1 on Ch1, a 2 on channel 19 and right around 3 on channel 40. I would like to get 40 lower, but I’m concerned about going too low, is that possible? Like if I keep lowering the antenna till Ch 40 gets to 1.5, will it make 1 go below 1:1? Is that possible? I don’t want to make the antenna too short. Thanks.
Minor adjustments. It takes a while to really dial one in.
I don't understand moving the antenna up and down a half inch when you can drive up a mountain 8000 feet?
How accurate are the built-in SWR meters? I have heard they are fairly inaccurate (Current radio is a Cobra 29 WX ST NW) and the readings for SWR on the stand alone gauge versus built-in are quite different. Thanks
They are better than nothing, but I'd stick with a used Radio Shack unit if possible.
I know this video is 4 years old, but I have a question. Are we grounding to the vehicle's frame, battery, or the radio's chassis? All of the above? (The frame doesn't always ground well to the battery/electrical system.)
I bought a 12v adapter, you hook the red and black cables to the red and black slots and it works. easier than having a bunch of wires going all over haha
@@ef5supercell Greetings, thank you for your reply. However, specifically for a vehicle, are we looking to ground to the frame? the battery? both? Is it an electrical ground, or something to do with the ground plane effect?
Thanks again for the response. R, Steve
@@steveinla8963 really anything metal will do, I use to ground it to a screw in my fuse box, and then metal frame near my floor, make sure it's a solid ground that won't come undone or become prone to rust, if you drill a hole in any part of your vehicle, the hole can rust quicker and easier. as I said, a 12v adapter will work fine for hooking up the CB and using it with an antenna.
@@ef5supercell OK. I got it this time. Thank you, sensei.
R, Steve
Hey Eric, i could use your advice if you’re willing to give it. I just bought a hustler HQ27 55” antenna for my fender mount on my pickup. My adjustment is set as short as the factory tip goes. I’m in the middle of a big cow field in the middle of nowhere. My reading on my new SWR meter is 1.6 on channel one and 2.5 on channel forty. I was thinking of cutting the antenna but I’m not sure if that is what I should do. Any advice?
Yup, You'll need to trim just a tiny bit off the base and try again until those numbers line up.
I own a cobra 29 LTD and a terminator Antenna with magent base and after adjustments all my SWR on channel 1,40 and 20 is 1.5.. on the trunk of car... is that a normal balance antenna what of I want to bring those numbers a little down, it's that possible??.. thanks for your videos..
Since it is flat across the channels, That is about the best you will get with the antenna in that location.
Great videos, I just found you and I watched 2 videos and you make them very easy to understand ,I also hope to see some of your auto Mach videos , so from Pittsburgh take care.:)
Chrysler use to put extra ground straps on the hood of there vehicles to help reduce the back ground noise ,would doing something like this on the trunk help for a magnet mount antenna
I bought a crappy wal mart $30 Cobra radio and their crappy $15 15" antenna, bought a good meter at a truck stop; I can't get it to match on Channel 1 and 40 on the lower end at the 1.5, after adjusting the antenna I've only been able to match 1 and 40 at 2.5 to 2.8 and when I transmit on 19 it's right at 3. Would a better end antenna help?
YES! The radio is fine, but those walmart 16 inch antenna's are not going to cut it. If you want small, go with the tram 300 or Lil'willson. They are not to big and work great. If you want REALLY small look at the President New york antenna. It's range is limited but it is tiny!
Ok thanks I'll try that when I can. This is just a cheap set up for my car, the expensive radio is going in my big rig. I wanted to be at least familiar with it before I spent the cash though, thanks again have a wonderful day!
Downside to mounting it behind cab versus on bumper?
Hey, I am trying to find info not on dual antennas but if I have 2 cb antennas on 1 rooftop but 50 ft apart from each, will that cause any problems? Thanks
Nope! I have a few Antenna's up on my roof and they are closer than that.
Hey thanks for the response. I watch you all the time for entertainment but also alot for info.
I am getting ready to install and tune a cb. I could only get a 9foot cable to connect the tuner. Will that change my info. Also I got a magnetic antenna. That doesn't need a ground if is attached dry to the roof. Thanks for the videos👍
Thanks for taking the time to make these great videos
And thank you for watching.
I have a question I installed my Cobra 29 above the rear view mirror in my Jeep Wrangler JK. I went direct to the battery for power and ground for the cb, i have a rear bumper antenna mount that I added a ground strap to the frame to the antenna mount. Ive tuned the SWR on channel 1 and 40 and its pretty low around 1.5 The cb picks up incoming transmissions no problem. It's the second I key the mic while the engine is running my gauges in my jeep go nuts, the wiper goes off and my dash lights up like a Christmas tree. I cant figure out why this is happening. Have you come across this problem? Any help would be great.
I have a question Hope you have an answer I have a uniden bearcat 880 hooked up in my garage to a Browning flat coil 1500 watt miramont antenna wip. I run my antenna diagnostic on my radio at channel 40 it says pass once I get the channel 16 or lower it fails SWR on channel 1 is about 1.7 SWR on 40 is about 1. I have also stuck ground plain wires on the antenna that is on my roof the browning coil antenna. I just don't know why antenna diagnostics on lower channels gives me a fail upper channels pass can you help me with this.
I tend to use a lot of mag mount antennas. But whatever type of antenna you are using, unless you have a specific reason for doing so, you want the SWR to be exactly the same on CH1 and CH40. You should then get your lowest reading on channel 20, which is next to 19, which is what people use on the road. Your SWR will change as you change channels. The reason for that is that an antenna can only be perfectly resonate on one frequency. The further away from that frequency you get, the higher your SWRs will be, and the less efficient your antenna will be. The old 23 channel radios were easier to get a low SWR on across all the channels, because you had fewer frequencies to cover. IMO, anything over 1.5:1 is unacceptable. No, that is not high enough to damage your radio, but you are losing most of your output signal. At 1.5:1 you are transmitting under 3 watts instead of close to 4. That's a huge loss. IF you operate mostly on SSB, on the higher frequencies channel 35 -40, then you may want to tune your antenna to work better on those higher frequencies. But remember if you do, you will have an unacceptably high SWR on the low frequencies like channel 1. With CB, (and ham) everything is a compromise.
What if your REF after it set barely moves the needle to one
That is GREAT!
I'm wanting to hook my bass Antenna to my TV antenna tower is there a such a thing as my TV antenna being too close to my CB base antenna and if so how far do I have to separate the two
"Thanks bud"
Rodney
Will the 2 Antenna's Be ok on the same tower ?
What are my options for the ground on the lug for the back of the mobile cb radio that I’m using for my base station?
How do you dial your cb radio without a tuner or anything like this? As in if you just set your cb radio up with the antenna, radio, and power supply.
Your taking the chance that everything is OK. Without the meter, its a gamble.
Does your radio have a meter that shows "HIGH SWR"?
If it does, you can use it to slowly shorten/lengthen your antenna in 2-5mm increments to get the needle as far from the "HIGH SWR" area as possible. Of course this is a very crude method, and running a XCVR with dangerously high SWR (usually 3.0+) is ALWAYS hazardous. I once blew a pair of $100/ea.6LQ6 finals by keying down my 320W Swan 500C XCVR for just a few seconds.
i would strongly advise you to buy an SWR meter. I have several of them in my ham shack. The last one I bought for my 5W CBs was only $39.95 at a TA truck stop. Don't forget to buy a 3ft.coax jumper to connect your radio to your meter.
Hope this helps,
73, ES HPE 2 BCNU, W8IMP, J.D., Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
Knowing how I was 20 years ago. I should have learned more about radio communication before I pressed that PTT. I don't remember how many CB Radios I had, but now that I think about it, my antenna was a joke, I'm surprise that was able to talk on the radio.
I love your CB radio videos. Can wait to see your low power FM radio station videos. Any chance of GMRS radios videos
I realize that this is an "older video", but would you recommend a Portable "Emergency" SWR to keep in the trunk during Roadtrips?
if you have to room. it could not hurt.
I need help. I have a 102 inch antenna on my truck with a uniden 76xl cb. Problem is it's near perfect mounted at near top of my back rack but is to tall. I lowered it a foot & isnt that great of swr although it's still under 2. Any suggestions I dont want to have to have antenna 14ft high to work perfect if I can help it.
VERY GOOD TEACHER!!!
Glad you think so!
I'm getting a pl259 connecter for my handheld Cobra 38wxst Handheld. What antenna can I run off my apartment balcony or up in a tree?
Can you tune a handheld antenna
If you run a 102” whip you can set your swr by trimming the coax cable. Cut your coax in 108” increments of length and your swr should be good.
Thanks for the tips
How did you connect your ground wire to your roof antenna?
you don't connect the ground to the antenna. You connect the ground to the chassis and that make the roof the ground
I have my ground wire connected to my 8 foot copper mast which is then connected to my copper plumbing. Is that ok, or should I run the ground cable up to the A-99 itself? My SWR is 1.1 on channel 1 and 1.4 on Chanel 40.
Will this work for Cobra 19 Ultra lll?
Yes it sure will!
You do a great job explaining!
Good morning sir I purchased a realistic TRC427 on ebay it was the winning bid. I paid $15 shipping and handling hooked this little radio to my intro 99 within 3 minutes was talking to gentlemen 33 miles away Barefoot I was thinking of purchasing a 980 because I've been wanting 1 with SSB and I'm in the mountains of west Virginia Southern west Virginia what are your thoughts on this radio thank you sir
SSB opens up a huge new world of contacts for sure and the 980 is a great radio!
The standing wave on a 102 inch whip is dome by the coax linkth
Eric, question: 1990 Ford F-150, can I remove the ash tray, cut the wires to the lighter, then use that power for my Uniden 500 ? Will be going with the 102” whip, mounted on the rear metal bumper.
Yes! that's exactly what I did with my truck.
Farpoint Farms thanks Eric. Your videos are a tremendous help to all of us, after 40 years, getting back into CB. Guess we had enough of High Tech Gadgets, that do nothing more than take away our freedom.
where is best place to mount a magnet mount antenna.
Very nicely done! Made a lot of sense even for a newbie.
Question ? Please help lol. I just bought a 102 inch hustler whip for my ford ranger . Now everyone says it should be 108 for cb ? I don’t see a 6 inch spring online anywhere . What did you use ? And I also mounted it to my diamond plate toolbox and can’t get it to ground . Can I use the same mirror mount and attach it to rear bumper or is there another way to mount it . Thanks for any help.
The 102 whip does need the spring on the bottom to get the right SWR reading. Check Ebay for new old stock ones from Radio Shack. The truck box needs to have a good ground, but usually the bolts that hold it to the bed are enough. if not, run a wire from the antenna mount to the frame and see if that helps.
Farpoint Farms so is it a 6 inch spring cause I can’t find anything but 4 inch . Does the antenna have to be 108 ?
I believe the maximum wattage limit should be raised to 25 watts to 50 watts. An old amateur radio operator showed me the difference long ago. He tuned a 10 meter frequency and transmitted out on 15 watts he had a bit of trouble getting a contact but did get one the other operator was very accommodating and stood by for the experiment. The other operator said the signal was clear but low. The operator on my side then switched to 40 watts and asked for a clarity report again and the other operator said the difference was incredibly good. Then the operator on my side went to 5 watts and the other operator said the signal was almost lost in the background noise. He asked the other operator to go to channel 40 of the CB band and switched to LSB. The test was then from 12 watts to 1 watt. The difference was evident again. The 1 watt was not even heard on the other end.
I think that they could raise it, the laws were set in a time where there was tons of traffic on the radio, it would help today to get a longer range to be heard
Will a tuned antenna work on all other cb radios without having to retune?
you mentioned in your video about grounding the radio , what gauge wire should i use to get the best ground when grounding radio
@farpoint farms how do you tune a antron a99 antenna
hi there.. WHAT IS NEEDED TO INCREASE THE POWER FROM A CB-29. STYLE TO FROM 10 MILES TO LONG RANGE.. I THINK YOU TALK ABOUT THIS.. AS IN UP THE WATTS.. . HELP ME HERE.. I LOVE YOUR CB SET UP . IN YORU HOUSE LIKE IT MUCH BETTER
Get your ham ticket. We can run 1500 watts on 10 mtr. (next door) SSB which will take you thousands of miles.
73 HPE 2 BCNU, W8IMP JD Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
How do you tune a duel antenna
Tune each one in their location separately and then swap out the cable for the co-phased cable.
Ha I should have known better. I just finished mounting a 107 in whip on this house with a steel roof. Swr’s are off the chart. About 5 or so. I should have just bought another Antron like I put on my sugar shack.
Any suggestions before I take it down and order a Antron?
You’d think in my old age I would have known to do that -- ha!!!