Sirio GPE 5/8 antenna, new installation

[dellavalle]

HELP,... I just purchased this expensive antenna and it either appears to be faulty or I do not understand this : from right out of the box, I tested the center pin (female) to the outer threads, ground, and it shows a fault. A dead short. After I rechecked many times, this antenna from the top of the mast, 17 up to the bottom tubing, all connected shows a continious flow to the center electrode, the female pin. I decided to run the cable to it, and installed it to my base, it works, but I am way high on my SWR range, why?

 

[kb5udf]

This is common and intentional. Your antenna is DC grounded. So to a basic multimeter it appears as a short, but at radio frequencies, it is not.

 

[dellavalle]

Thank you for your input and information. Electrical wise, it seems to be wired incorrectly, but it does work. My other antennas, do no operate like this one. My base unit, a Midland 22 channel, has to be upgraded for certain. Currently transmit power goes to SWR MAX, but it does transmit. How can I lower the SWR ? Thank you again, Dellavalle.

 

[prcguy]

Measure the SWR on ch 1 and 40 to see if one end of the band is worse than the other. If the high channels are worse than the lower then shorten the antenna. If the low channels are worse lengthen the antenna. Hopefully its just a simple length adjustment.

Thank you for your input and information. Electrical wise, it seems to be wired incorrectly, but it does work. My other antennas, do no operate like this one. My base unit, a Midland 22 channel, has to be upgraded for certain. Currently transmit power goes to SWR MAX, but it does transmit. How can I lower the SWR ? Thank you again, Dellavalle.

 

[dellavalle]

Will do, and thank you again, Dellavalle

 

[jonwienke]

Most good quality base antennas show a DC short. It prevents static electricity from building up and zapping your radio.

Read the tuning instructions for the antenna to adjust SWR.

 

[cmdrwill]

As prcguy said, follow the instructions for the different frequency ranges.
Upper left chart on the instruction sheet.

 

[dellavalle]

Evening and thank you. Tomorrow, daylight, antenna down, readjust the tuning part, backup, wife on walkie talkie at the base station giving me reports of the readings, 1.0 /1.4, good to go. otherwise, back down and adjust. I did read the measurements on the instructions, but I am reading at channel 1, a SWR of 10. That is the lowest. So, thanks again, back to all tomorrow the 12th of March, 2021. Dellavalle

 

[jonwienke]

A NANO VNA is a lot more useful than a simple SWR meter.

 

[dellavalle]

Good Saturday morning from Lake Placid, New York. First, thanks for the messages and advice. My now tuned correctly Sirio 5/8 antenna is bringing in a range of 1.5 to 3.0 depending on wind. One big item I failed to inform about was that my antenna is installed indoors, at my home, a former dairy barn, top floor where it is about forty feet high from the ground, facing two large glass windows. High winds / rain, heavy snow fall, hail, will not damage this antenna. Yes, I know will being indoors is not the prefect installation, but it WORKS !! Thanks again, Dellavalle.