So I looked at some inverted v dipole calculators to figure out how long the legs need to be for a cb dipole. According to all the calculators I looked at the legs should be between about 8.5 to 9 feet each. I started out with 10ft legs and by the time I got the swr down to about 2, the legs were 5.5 ft each and it still sucks. I was using a 1:1 balun with a center feed coax. What's going on?
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Help with dipole CB antenna...
- Thread starter Brasso
- Start date
prcguy
Member
I’ve made many and used some indoors taped to walls and could always achieve a good match. Final wire lengths were not far from calculated. I never used a choke balun as this was the late 70s and we didn’t know about things like that.
AB5ID
Member
Is it out in the open? What is the mast made out of? How are the ends of the dipole tied off? How high off the ground is it? Can you post a picture?
It's in the attic tied off on the rafters with zip ties. The down sides are about 10ft off the ground.
It sounds to me like the included angle is too narrow.
It's over 90 degrees.
prcguy
Member
If it’s close to wiring or metal HVAC ducting that can detune the antenna.
That could be. It's about 4ft away from the ac. However, I tuned it on the garage floor. Why did I have to cut the legs so short to get a 2 swr reading? And that was as good as it would go as it starting going back up again when I took another inch off.
Last edited:
prcguy
Member
Was it laying on the garage floor while tuning? There is rebar or wire mesh in concrete floors that would cause tuning problems.
