CB tuning

obullfish

obullfish

Carolina Trail Blazers
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Location
Candler N.C.
anyone around WNC that tunes CB's? I know nothing about Getting some range out of the one in my TJ. It will only push about 100'.
 
What setup do you have? How and where is your antenna mounted?

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Best thing I ever did on cb,s is goi g to the newer digital ones, such as th uniden 880 and others.
All of your tuning is done on the radio itself and is very simple. I have evn set them up to work with not ao great antenas in less than ideal places. You can esentially retard the radio to a bad antenna.
When we as a club are wheeling it seems to reach much further than most.
 
Jason W. said:
Best thing I ever did on cb,s is goi g to the newer digital ones, such as th uniden 880 and others.
All of your tuning is done on the radio itself and is very simple. I have evn set them up to work with not ao great antenas in less than ideal places. You can esentially retard the radio to a bad antenna.
When we as a club are wheeling it seems to reach much further than most.
Click to expand...

How did my 5 dollar Goodwill radio do last time we were out? :D

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This is what I'm working with.
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Been many years, but...IIRC...Start with, make sure your coax is a length of multiples of 1 meter, (1 meter, 2 meter, 3 meter...etc), and as short as possible. Then you need a SW meter. It plugs in line of the coax. There should be a small screw on the back of the CB unit. I believe you turn that screw until minimum Standing Wave is achieved.

Been since the 70s since I messed with CBs! (yes, Im old enuff that I had a CB license...KPD-2777 was my number!):)
 
I have been doing research on cb radios lately, planning on putting one in the jeep soon. My understanding is you tune the length of the antenna to reduce the swr. Most of them have a screw that you adjust, but some have to be cut to shorten the length. Also my understanding is a very good ground is essential for the antenna. The swr meters can be had for around $20 on ebay.
 
You got a good antenna, & it tunable at the top, under the cap. But I get better results from the next taller size. You always will, with More antenna, but then it hits more stuff. I think Loves truck stop near the state line has a CB shop.
 
^ what they said about tuning. Also the ground you are using may or may not be a good ground, depending on the pain covering the metal under your tire hinge. And yes, you can get better results from a longer antenna, but for trail purposes, the one you have should work fine. If you have excessive coax, it should not cross it's self, as in, having the extra tied together with a tie wrap. But the best thing I ever did was do away with the CB and go to the small handheld radio's. More channels, clearer audio, and better range in the woods. Also works great when in a convoy going off to far away wheeling places
 
I totally missed the nylon washer. That means it's a NGP antenna, which iirc has a special type of coax that works with it. Maybe possible the coax in the jeep is not the correct type for this antenna?
 
junkxj said:
I totally missed the nylon washer. That means it's a NGP antenna, which iirc has a special type of coax that works with it. Maybe possible the coax in the jeep is not the correct type for this antenna?
Click to expand...

It's all part of a kit that Firestik sells. Take a look at the link. The coax comes with the loop end on it that attaches to the antenna.
 
Jason W. said:
Best thing I ever did on cb,s is goi g to the newer digital ones, such as th uniden 880 and others.
All of your tuning is done on the radio itself and is very simple.
Click to expand...

CB is analog. Yours just has an SWR meter and adjustment built into the radio. You can find 29-channel radios that had the same thing. :beer:
 
Just for fun, get a ring terminal (or just a loop of wire ) and put it between the top of the firewire and the tire carrier.
Then attach the wire to a clean spot on the frame. Your mounting location is attemping to get a good ground through the paint on the tire carrier, the mounting bolts for the carrier, the hinges, and the body mounts.
At the very least, make sure there is no paint between the firewire terminal and the tire carrier.

The firewire gimmick basically makes the cb antenna an end-fed antenna. It does use the coax as the ground ( the NGP idea).
Normally, I would say you need just enough coax to get from the radio to the antenna, but in this case you need at least 16 ft. The multiple theory is actually irrelevant in 75% of all antenna installations. ( but it is true to some extent- but much more precise than meters)
The antenna does need to be tuned to the radio to get the standing wave ratio as low as possible. 1.1 is best. Anything under 2.0 is ok.

Matt

btw-if you ever get out of the mtns to Winston Salem, come by my house .... I'll put my antenna analyzer on it.
 
from all the different threads i've read in jeep forums seems the biggest issue folks have is the ground. i scraped the metal bare on both sides where antenna mounts, both sides of the mount bracket holes and the face of the surface where the bracket mounts to the jeep. seems to work out okay for me. Note when tuning. get into an open space. and, it did make a difference whether or not you have the little orange tip on the antenna. take it off, adjust, put back on, read swr meter.
 
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