How to tune your CB Antenna for the best SWR and Range

Erik From Farpoint Farms Shows you how to get the most out of your CB radio by adjusting your antenna for the lowest SWR readings, and making sure you have a good ground. By doing so, you will have adjusted you system for the longest range your radio can get!

[@itsponygirl]

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 🖤

[@FarpointFarms]

Wow, thank you!

[@Terrestrial..1]

Always good to see honest & easy to understand old school advice and information, even if it's 4 yrs old.

[@stevearmstrong5882]

Hands down, best and most informative cb setup video on the net. Great job!

[@sergioa.6657]

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! 👍

[@kevinmorris2959]

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!

[@STAY-GOLD-VINYL]

Of all the cb videos your video was the most detailed and understandable. I appreciate the Cb lesson. Your the man!!!

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks!

[@randssmallwood3990]

I just found your channel, and will be up all night now watching your videos lol.

[@jimthomas2585]

This is Jim your videos on cbs are great keep keep up the good work.

[@geneapeveto2559]

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.

[@mrkattm]

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.

[@precisiontileflooring4436]

Very informative. I learned a lot this evening. Thanks!

[@joeframo3347]

Hey Eric thank you for sharing have a great holiday man yeah SWR is very important to me

[@captainedc]

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 !

[@FarpointFarms]

Crazy! I loved those random long distance chats.

[@thewatcher611]

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!

[@FarpointFarms]

I'm still around. Love to play with these old radios!

[@matthewsmith4599]

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.

[@FarpointFarms]

Thank you and good luck with the CB hobby

[@hemitj]

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

[@hemitj]

@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.

[@hemitj]

@Greg Ferguson Awesome. Let me know how it goes.

[@linarn4671]

I super appreciate the education and helping guys get started

[@FarpointFarms]

Glad I could help!

[@WVBUCK1]

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!

[@FarpointFarms]

Glad to hear it!

[@GTARockman]

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.

[@alexthebest1401]

I just got a Pansonic 40 channel cb. It works fine, just trying to find someone out on the lonesome road

[@southernappalachianrecon]

You just made me decide to buy a cb radio, very informative video, thank you

[@FarpointFarms]

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.

[@simpleman4196]

Thanks for taking the time to make these great videos

[@FarpointFarms]

And thank you for watching.

[@peterandkodiak9762]

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+

[@FarpointFarms]

That is awesome!

[@HerbWalker]

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.

[@butterbean4195]

nutin like 102" inches of pure man hood! yea c`mon!! that's what i run on my truck

[@mannys9130]

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.

[@billyferguson9059]

Keep up the detailed videos. My attenna is finally under 2 swr. Thank you.

[@patrickkelley3408]

Hey, thanks for making these vids and sharing information. It's very helpful.

[@charlesmcclain4875]

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.

[@SergeantExtreme]

Ah man. No love for Firestik? They're the only American manufacturer of antennas left. 🙁

[@loachoh6a]

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.

[@BananaJSSI]

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

[@jolly7728]

Very nicely done! Made a lot of sense even for a newbie.

[@MrMotivations]

Thanks for all the great, useful info.

[@canuhonk7433]

Thanks. Learning lots from your efforts.

[@FarpointFarms]

Glad to hear it!

[@Drew-ov5pv]

You do a great job explaining!

[@alzeNL]

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 :)

[@FarpointFarms]

Glad I could help!

[@David-yh5po]

Thanks for sharing this video with us.

[@robertgraves3215]

Outstanding work. Just subbed. Currently battling with the cobra in my apt.

[@FarpointFarms]

thank you for the sub.

[@genecenora7176]

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.:)

[@johna3357]

You're like the EricTheCarGuy of CB radio's. And your name is Eric! Haha great videos man they have helped me alot!

[@th3st1g55]

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.

[@Marty48034]

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!

[@FarpointFarms]

Welcome back to the hobby!

[@wdonnelly7198]

Another great video! Thanks again!

[@seanrich1367]

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.)

[@TheParanormal70]

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..

[@peterandkodiak9762]

An excellent video well explained. Thank you Sir. A+ Greetings from Washington State. We are also freezing our B***s off here during Winter.

[@stevieoutdoorsman3273]

Great Videos man, I am a NC Native myself.

[@FarpointFarms]

Right on

[@jackyshipman9093]

OuachitaJack, keep the good videos coming.

[@oologahnorthernrailroad8873]

When you said on the trucks antennas on the toolbox or somewhere else, I put mine on the mirrors (my mirrors are West Coast).

[@preciousggg]

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???????

[@LP_APUgamer]

You explain so well i thought you were a teacher :) Keep up with the good work and hope you get a new camera in the future :D

[@FarpointFarms]

I have a new camera, sorry this video was so bad, but we KZbinr's have to start somewhere!

[@MagnumROCKSTAR1]

Great vid man. Lots of useful information. Keep the vids coming

[@waynel680]

You're a Nice Guy! Thanks!

[@lochinvar00465]

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")

[@whitetiger8652]

Enjoyed the video!

[@FarpointFarms]

Glad to hear it!

[@geraldscott9446]

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.

[@calvinlong1265]

Good info!

[@dannywilliams3516]

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.

[@FarpointFarms]

Man, I was FREEZING the day I shot this.

[@dannywilliams3516]

@@FarpointFarms I could tell Eric. It showed. LOL. Love your videos. Just waiting for the next one.

[@brianyetzke5970]

Awesome video

[@Fireinahorn]

Thanks for this!

[@MargateFL33063]

I love your CB radio videos. Can wait to see your low power FM radio station videos. Any chance of GMRS radios videos

[@vladtheimpaler5550]

Good video!

[@chandlergillum121]

Nice Video Man!!

[@chandlergillum121]

I didn't know that little fact at the end. Thanks for the help!

[@Panzerbeast]

so this is what Negan does outwith the Walking Dead.... Great videos!

[@FarpointFarms]

Love it, but wait.... Does this mean 1/2 of your stuff belongs to me??

[@rickbecker3277]

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.

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

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.

[@rickbecker3277]

@@thevacuumtubejunky9774 wow, guess I was taught wrong LoL. Oh well. Thanks!

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

@@rickbecker3277 : I'am not stating you were thought wrong, could be a simple misinterpretation.

[@RustyNail5856]

very nice video.

[@veggiepowered]

I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos

[@mrfrank4583]

as always, very informative and a pleasure to watch and learn. Regarding the chassis ground on the back of the base station.. where does one attach the ground that leaves the radio chassis?

[@James-xo4uv]

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

[@King.DAVid.III2022]

To adjust the102 is washers like tuning rings, or trim length on tip

[@davidcarter9322]

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...😕

[@donaldsmith3048]

There is a way to adjust a 102 inch whip but most can't do it! There is a fitting for the whip to adjust it, and different size springs to use with it. Most only the pro do that. To keep good condition put silicone grease on connection. I have worked for years on radios in Lighting Alley South Florida. YOU CAN NOT OVER GROUND! You are right about grounding things! The better you ground the safer you are! If you happened to be talking on the radio when lighting this Near! And you didn't ground things YOU WILL FEEL IT! most of the time you will Not get hit but anything with in a 1/4 to 1/2 mile can do damage to an ungrounded radio and could hurt you. Years working on GE and Motorola mobile and base radios. A drect hit will burn all the wires out of your coax and may leave the rubber looking OK! I saw that once. The radio was well grounded and it had very little damage.

[@victorsdunek3281]

Eric Just saw you Video on CB radios great Video man I really Enjoyed the Video Looking Forwards to other Videos more on other options on Communications things you may know and I may not know? But keep up the good work Man Love your Videos and Yes there are some really Nice People watching you Videos thank you and Aloha from Hawaii LOL

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Bought at truck stops. like piolet, loves, flying J, and Chevron stops. Meters, antennas and radios.

[@Adamdaj]

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.

[@meradu2]

Thank you trying to get one install in the truck and home

[@Wondygo]

Could you do a video on where exactly the ground connection is at on the base antenna( and zoom in for me) also on the back of your cb you just mentioned in your video please, thanks

[@scotto1568]

Your video is way better then the other ones I've seen. I was definitely worse off after seeing them until I seen yours which you explained everything very well and made it easy. So I'd like to thank you for that. But I do have one question. How do you adjust a whip antenna? Like a fire stick or something similar?

[@indridcold8433]

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.

[@FarpointFarms]

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

[@keithp115]

Back in 1976 when I worked at a CB store, we would charge $5.00 for what we called "matching" the antenna and radio.

[@FarpointFarms]

I would have paid it! That is an important part of getting the CB setup right and many people overlook it.

[@keithp115]

@@FarpointFarms Absolutely! I can still hear the cashier yelling out, “We have a CB match!”

[@davew5511]

Yepp. Thats. Really. Great. Match.

[@FarpointFarms]

1.1 is perfection!

[@jwhardig]

If u elemanate the spring from the 102 whip it will give u good SWR on 10 meter ham band. If u have a license.

[@Witness4Jesus59]

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.

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks for the tips

[@rabbibacongrease88]

Resonance is more important than SWR. That meter will put you roughly in the ballpark, but will not put you right on the money.

[@jamespfitz]

And? Thanks for pointing out a problem and offering no solution.

[@rabbibacongrease88]

@@jamespfitz the solution is to find resonance with an antenna analyzer and make it 50 ohms purely resistive. Swr means very little.

[@Witness4Jesus59]

Not true. You must have a good swr. The higher the swr you have more reflective heat going back into the radio & could burn up the finals. You don’t want your swr to run over a 1.5. No way you want it to run near a 2. I don’t care what the meter says about safety a 2 is too much heat going back into the finals. Yes newer radios have good heat sinks but those older radios had none.

[@kippnovak3740]

Hey eric...first off ur channel is great...keep it goin...i have a question about grounding ur antenna...i understand that the copper wire goes from the grounding rod 2 the antenna via clamp...but how does the copper wire attach 2 the antenna itself...any help with a reply or video would b greatly appreciated...

[@douglashughes6691]

The standing wave on a 102 inch whip is dome by the coax linkth

[@nickvlastaris8768]

you mentioned in your video about grounding the radio , what gauge wire should i use to get the best ground when grounding radio

[@JoeInCT418]

One additional recommendation when it comes to having a good ground: if you install a strap or not, use transparent silicon glue around the antenna/bumper contact area. It will keep oxygen, moisture, and dirt away from the connection. Remember that "rust" occurs, even if iron/steel are not the metals. All metals "rust", and the involvement of electricity/power will cause "power" radiated by the antenna to be reduced by the rust. Everything that can be used to prevent "oxidation" (rust) should be used. Get all metal as "bare" as possible before connection, and do everything you can to protect the "bareness."

[@lochinvar00465]

Silicon sealer has a bad attribute. While curing, it develops acetic acid which is corrosive as hell on metals. I would recommend a urethane based sealer instead. Just call it the voice of experience.....

[@johngibson3594]

Did some of the CB units come with that built into it or did you always need separate tool? Thanks for another helpful vid Eric. You answered my question in the vid. I had couple times with bad alternator whine, used filters and all too.

[@youshouldread]

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👍

[@randallharris7367]

Excellent video I have one question though will look brown work well if it has been spliced

[@FarpointFarms]

I think maybe Auto correct messed up your question. What was that again?

[@M28443]

Excellent CB antenna tuning video Eric. I really enjoy your relaxed style. I am moving toward the direction that you mentioned in this video regarding tuning the CB radio itself. I don't really know if it performs better OR if it is all SNAKE OIL . I have run "tuned CB's " and untuned and I am not sure if the difference is worth the cost! and some of these so called tech guys just turn your radio UP and shorten the lifespan! Maybe we need to do a comparison video of a tuned vs, an untuned CB ! GREAT JOB!

[@FarpointFarms]

I like that idea! I've owned 2 "tuned up" radios, and dozens of stock ones, and I've never noticed a difference, I did notice that both of the tuned radios had a shorter life span before failing, but I can't say for sure that the tune up caused it.

[@rickvia8435]

If you have a stock type-accepted radio, you have about 3.5 watts available at the antenna connector (Manufacturers keep it safely below the max. 4 watts allowed to maintain type acceptance). Peaking - or tuning - a radio's output MIGHT give another watt or so. On the receiving end, the difference is negligible. If you can increase the output to 4.5 watts, you've boosted it about 1 dB (about 1/6th S-unit). In order to take a received signal up 1 S-unit, the transmitter output would have to go to 18 watts. Best to go SSB where the Signal-to-noise ratio is better and effective range between stations is MUCH better.

[@M28443]

Very informative , never tried SSB very much in the mobile. It works great on the base .....hey Erik there is an interesting topic for a video AM vs. SSb and range comparisons.

[@FarpointFarms]

I'll have to work on one! Thanks for the Idea.

[@howardmiller4241]

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?

[@JohnnyFingers227]

Where does the grounding wire get attached on the base antenna? BTW another great video thank you.

[@johngeorge9832]

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.

[@terryschwartz6437]

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!!!

[@natepuckett4355]

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?

[@craig_sez8534]

low swr does NOT mean best signal out....Resistance and resonance is decideing that..swr is pretty much telling you how much of the radios outgoing signal is being reflected BACK into the radio..Radio is grounded through its power/ground wire..Ant ground in a car is the metal UNDER the antenna.

[@jamespfitz]

But if a large portion of the signal is being reflected that's a less than best signal, so a low SWR is necessary for the best signal, no?

[@craig_sez8534]

@@jamespfitz low swr is good yes..reflect is not..You want all the signal goin out and nothin goin back to the radio..resonance and resistence are 2 more tuneing traits along with where counterpoise is if any and stuff like bonding if not..

[@thesuccessfulbarber]

1.5 swr is only 5% loss or so

[@craig_sez8534]

@@thesuccessfulbarber I know but its still doesnt tell you whats gettin out..Thats basically just sayin radio is happy cause its able to produce full power...Assumeing conditions are good on a 4 watt radio with a good antenna set up should do an easy 10 + mi without breakin a sweat..Hell a dummy load shows perfect #'s and doesnt get out past your balls.. And a 1.5 doesnt tell you were its reflected from.. An antenna needs a good surface to reflect/bounce its signal off of such as a big metal surface like a roof or trunk..Thats your counterpoise..Without a form of counterpoise performance drops off..

[@jacksharmonoquinn572]

Downside to mounting it behind cab versus on bumper?

[@childfree83]

Ya cb was fun in the 80’s and 90’s when radio shack was booming in the radio business. Now it seems like nobody can hear my radio. That’s why I got my ham license. Fm is way clearer and repeaters can shoot your signal 100 miles in every direction and more if it’s a linked system

[@tommyrich3038]

Hey Erik, I think you mentioned you have done a ball/whip bumper antenna install video? I can't find it, can you re-post the link sir? Thank you

[@FarpointFarms]

I tried to make one last year, but the camera didn't record. I will do it again this spring, so hang in there!

[@oldgriz816]

Great video, was very well done. I have a Uniden 787 that has a swr meter. Is it accurate enough or I am better off with a stand alone swr meter?

[@FarpointFarms]

As long as the readings are not borderline too high when you are finished, you should be fine with the built in meter. Problems arise when a built in meter is reading a high SWR as they tend to be not as accurate as a larger stand alone meter. If it looks like its right at the limit of OK, better double check it with a second meter. If its 1.4 or lower its good to go!

[@leelavinder2231]

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?

[@MultiMrNoone]

Is there a magic number to how far from a building the ground rod should be? Or is it just good enough wherever? This video was great and cleared up a ton of questions I had that I didn’t even think would get answered. Keep up the great work!

[@FarpointFarms]

I think you can put those ground rods anywhere you want. If you use more than 1 rod, try and space them out as far as possible to maximize the ground. Other then that, your good to go! Glad you liked the video.

[@rheinerftvideo2647]

We have the lightning rods connected to the the gutter pipes and grounded into the soil. It´s all copper or zinc so it works anyway.

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

Ground rods are 8' standard but I've seen the up to 14' depending on your soil composition, just keep your ground as wire from equipment to earth as short as possible and at right angle to earth. I have a bored a hole in my garage foundation and put my 8' rod directly under my work/radio bench for indoor equipment and (1) 8' rod at each leg of my antenna mast foundation. There is no such thing as "TOO MUCH GROUND".