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I need some antenna clarification here

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SnowWalker

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I am still trying to set up my CB antenna so it is at least 90 - 95% efficient for my 20' vertical 5/8 wave antenna and mobile/base radio. The antenna is mounted on the roof of our house; I think I fully understand the proper way of grounding the antenna; however, there are about two dozen theories of tuning for a realistic SWR reading.

Can someone give this short piece about SWR a read and tell me if this author is close to being right?

Simple SWRTheory pg1

The best to all,

SnowWalker (Les)
 

Chronic

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With a Swr of anything 1.9-1 is going to be fine .
If you take a anteanna with a 1.1-1 match and a
antenna with a 1.9 - match you can not really tell any difference without very expensive equipment .
you could easily be looseing more by having cheap quality coax as having a higher swr .
 

gewecke

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As Chronic said. Swr is something most people tend to stress over. Anything less than 2;1 is acceptable, and yes the difference is very negligible. :). 73, n9zas
 

mass-man

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Which means have you checked the SWR of your system, and found it to be way too high? Check first, you might be on to successful contacts now!!!
 

SnowWalker

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Which means have you checked the SWR of your system, and found it to be way too high? Check first, you might be on to successful contacts now!!!

I haven't hooked my radio as of yet. It's that the scenarios for a low SWR seem to be varied. Apparently the math used in the article I posted the link to is the correct math to follow. I just didn't realized that the numbers referred to a ground based antenna.

I am getting there step by step.
 

kf4eyr

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you are making it too hard on your self,,,,, keep it simple,,,, do you have a swr meter? if you do ,, use the instructions with it take a reading on channel one then take a reading on channel 40,, if it is 1.5 to 1 and below perfect,, up to a 2 to 1 is iffy but the loss at the end listening to ya will barely notice,,, if above a 2 to 1 need to check if it was assembled right, is the coax good,, are you using a good meter,,,,
 

jwt873

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It sounds like you're using a commercial antenna. (Which one)?

It should have come with instructions for installing and tuning it. If you don't have them, you can probably find them on the web somewhere. Or, perhaps someone here has the same antenna and can help.

As kf4eyr points out, all you should really need is an SWR meter. The company that designed the antenna most likely took all that 'complicated SWR stuff' into account.
 

JayMojave

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Hello SnowWalker: Its difficult to give advice not seeing the antenna installation and such.

But the SWR Meter made by RS should be ok, they made a bunch of different models. Usually you transmit and adjust the SWR control to read a full scale reading on the meter, then switch from FWD to REV and then read the SWR.

The 20 foot antenna as previously mentioned should be pretty close to a low SWR as the manufacture didn't want any body calling them up to complain and such. CBTricks.com has some CB Antenna Manuals.

The coax connectors and coax, what type coax? One way of checking out coax is measuring the radios output power with a watt meter and a dummy load. Measure the power at the radio, then again at the end of the coax, shouldn't be any more than 20% loss at the end of the coax, as compared to the radios output power. Maybe a little advanced for beginners but still a good call when ever you need to check the coax. Coax manufactures post info on coax loss per 100 foot lengths. at 20% loss equals approx. 1 dB loss in the coax.

Good luck, let us know how you make out there.

Jay in the Mojave
 

SnowWalker

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Thank-you to all you radio tech. gurus I am slowly getting down to the straight and narrow of setting up this thing. My antenna is a 20' (aprox. -+ a few inches). It is mounted on/in the old plumbing vent pipe on the roof (low pitch roof with asphalt shingles). I live in Rossland BC, which is at an altitude of 1400 meters ( approx 4500 ft.). We live on the south/east side of a mountain. The north and west side is a bit obscured by heavy timber growth and/or solid rock. To the east - south we are pretty much looking out over the top of most mountain tops as far as the eye can see.

My radio is a new Galaxy DX 959 SSB. It has a built in SWR, watt meter & Mod meter.
 

K7MEM

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Can someone give this short piece about SWR a read and tell me if this author is close to being right?

Simple SWRTheory pg1

To answer the original question, yes, the author is correct.

Of interest is the part where he states that a 1:1 SWR is not always what you are looking for. Using 50 Ohm cable with a vertical monopole, the SWR should be around 1.4:1. While this is correct, that is considering that the vertical element be resonant and that there be sufficient radials.

However, if you are using a commercial antenna, the manufacturer may have some matching arrangement that makes the antenna a better match for 50 Ohm cable. In that case, a 1:1 SWR might be what you are looking for. This matching arrange may also keep the SWR low across a wide band of frequencies. This will affect the overall efficiency of the antenna, but you won't have any control over it.

Martin - K7MEM
 

gewecke

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you are making it too hard on your self,,,,, keep it simple,,,, do you have a swr meter? if you do ,, use the instructions with it take a reading on channel one then take a reading on channel 40,, if it is 1.5 to 1 and below perfect,, up to a 2 to 1 is iffy but the loss at the end listening to ya will barely notice,,, if above a 2 to 1 need to check if it was assembled right, is the coax good,, are you using a good meter,,,,
I don't think I've ever had a vswr below 1;5;1 but it doesn't bother me. In fact I don't even own a vswr bridge right now, since I sold my Daiwa 501 to a new ham. Most radios transmit just fine up to 2;1 with no ill effects. The whole swr conundrum tends to make some people a bit OCD lol. :). 73, n9zas
 

SnowWalker

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This pic may not come through but at least I tried.. This is the adjusting configuration of my vertical CB antenna

76.photobucket.com/user/lesand1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20160904_164224_zpszucsh3bl.jpg.html?o=0
 

cmdrwill

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That is a 'Ringo' type antenna. The ring at the base is an impedance transformer and a devil to tune. So the position of the 'tap' on the ring IS critical.
 

SnowWalker

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That is a 'Ringo' type antenna. The ring at the base is an impedance transformer and a devil to tune. So the position of the 'tap' on the ring IS critical.


I have all the patience in tne world. If it takes me two hours to get the SWR down to 1.4, hey, I will reward myself with a nice cold beer.

Thank-you for the info.

Les
 

gewecke

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I have all the patience in tne world. If it takes me two hours to get the SWR down to 1.4, hey, I will reward myself with a nice cold beer.

Thank-you for the info.

Les
Les the difference between 1;4;1 and 2;1 is so Minute no one listening to you would ever know. Neither would your radio. Don't stress over it. :). 73, n9zas
 

JayMojave

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YO SW: Your photo shows a Ringo Ranger type (look a like) antenna. See

Cush Craft CR-1 "Ringo"

The problem your running into is the 959 radio internal SWR function may not be accurate as said in some other postings and U-Tube videos. Not a bad idea to use a external SWR meter as at least a back up to see it the readings between the two are close. One does not need to chase ones tail especially going the wrong way.

The next thing to consider is the matching adjustment ring is a clever manufacturing way to say money at the expense of the customer antenna user guy. It adjusts both the input and output tuning at the same time, not the best design out there. Also you may find out that the mast length or metal guy wires may also change the SWR. A properly designed antenna matching circuit will allow separate input and output tuning functions, allowing a easy and quick obtainable low SWR.

The photo is a small one I could not get larger, and have a better look at. But most antenna photos aren't all that good anyway. It would be interesting to see the assembly and tuning instructions posted.

You might make contacts with the locals for a signal strength test, if the SWR thing drives you to drinking. Good luck, again let us know how you make out.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert
 
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