SO I have two identical trucks with identical radio setups, mounts, coax and mounting studs. The only difference is a 4ft Firestik II on one. Its SWR is 1.5. The other truck has a Hustler HQ27 and I can not get SWR out of the red. Like its 80% needle swing in the red. (ch 1 20 40 doesnt care) Yes all is good with the setup except the antenna. I have swapped my Firesik and I can get the same 1.5 on truck 2. I have, in 1/16 inch increments rechecked the entire length of the HQ's adjustment range and it will not change. The best I can do is (using the power scale on the meter) raising or lowering the tip I can get a needle movement of 8.0 to 8.1 high or low ch1 vs 40. Like it notices I do change the length and 8.0 vs 8.1 swaps channels as I raise it. I haven't cut the bottom to lower nor added a spring to lengthen. But since I can swap antennas and its all good (as best a fender mount can be) am I wrong to think it has to be the antenna? I get 1.1 ohms tip to thread and Im certainly not the first person to put a HQ27 on a Dodge, where do I go from here? (besides ordering a Firestik LOL)
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Another high SWR thread.
- Thread starter mrfoto
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mmckenna
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Center coil might be damaged. If it took a hit, I'd suspect that.
Considering it's a <$30 antenna, I'd dump it and get something new. No point in chasing this unless you really want to repair it for the sake of repairing it.
Considering it's a <$30 antenna, I'd dump it and get something new. No point in chasing this unless you really want to repair it for the sake of repairing it.
prcguy
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Without touching the setup its hard to diagnose but since you say both mounts work ok with a Firestick then that should rule out the mount, coax and connector. Were the mounts made by Firestick and labeled "no ground plane" or something similar? I believe the coax assemblies on those float the coax shield at the antenna and that particular Firestick might be compensated to work under those conditions. Although I could be wrong on that.
I think an antenna anylyzer would be best to reveal what is going on and it can tell you if the Hustler is working but resonating way out of band like 25Mhz where your SWR meter will not show unless you were to actually transmit way out of band. It could also be the Hustler is actually broken with a wire loose inside the loading coil.
I think an antenna anylyzer would be best to reveal what is going on and it can tell you if the Hustler is working but resonating way out of band like 25Mhz where your SWR meter will not show unless you were to actually transmit way out of band. It could also be the Hustler is actually broken with a wire loose inside the loading coil.
I didn't see, nor was it bought, as a NGP setup. Im thinking mmckenna nailed it just replace it. But just so know if things were normal, what would the scenario look like if you had to shorten or lengthen and antenna beyond its normal adjustments? Would you see ridiculous SWR swings from channel 1 to 40? Like can you have a 1-1.5 on channel 1 and 80% swing in the red on 40? Or the other way around?
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prcguy
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If you were to shorten or lengthen an antenna like this so it resonated way outside the CB band like 25 or 30MHz, your SWR meter may not show much difference between ch 1 and 40, but the antenna may still be tunable into the CB band. An antenna analyzer, especially a graphical one that spans several MHz will reveal this. It can also show your antenna is broken.
Are you using a quick disconnect or spring (between mount & antenna)?
jonwienke
More Info Coming Soon!
Try getting one of these. Inexpensive, but surprisingly capable for the price.
Amazon.com: KKmoon Vector Network Analyzer, Portable Handheld Vector Network Analyzer 50KHz-900MHz Digital Display Touching Screen Shortwave MF HF VHF UHF Antenna Analyzer Standing Wave: Electronics
Amazon.com: KKmoon Vector Network Analyzer, Portable Handheld Vector Network Analyzer 50KHz-900MHz Digital Display Touching Screen Shortwave MF HF VHF UHF Antenna Analyzer Standing Wave: Electronics
www.amazon.com
No not on this Hustler. I have a spring with the Firestik on truck 1. And I did bring it with to test on truck 2 when I got a suitable SWR.
IDK if HQ needs one but Ill go try it and see.
Well that was a bust. It went to 90% scale instead of 80% same deal as the 80 above I can move it around but no where near what it needs to be.
Ravenkeeper
Member
Having some "recent" experience with this, I would suggest that you verify the grounding of your antenna & mount, and the position of the isolation washer. Caused the SWR on my '15 Silverado to be "through the roof," 1:4+. After I got my mount proper grounded and all of my washers in the correct positions, my SWR was down to 1:1.8.
Trebleplink
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I was so impressed with this unit, I bought a second one. For general communications stuff, it works fine - limited to about 23 dB or so return loss, and It requires some technical knowledge and perseverance to use - but, amazing for the money. It's not just a scalar network analyzer, but a pretty accurate vector analyzer.
tvengr
Well Known Member
Take an ohmmeter and make sure you have a good connection from the antenna base to the car body. Also, check for a good connection from the outside of the antenna coax plug to the car body (without being plugged into radio).
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