Tuning the CB

stansell

stansell

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2004
364
0
51
Norfolk, VA
I have a Cobra 75WX CB, which is working so-so. The range on the thing is not quite what I expected, especially receiving. I bought a SWR meter and the best I could get by adjusting the antennae was a 2.6:1 ratio-->not very good. My antennae is a Firestik II longer version (i think it is 4 foot tall). Anyone else running this CB combo who has checked their SWR. If so, is it a lot better?

Also, a different CB thread mentioned the length of the cable run. WIll the length of the cable make a difference in the SWR? I ran mine through the rear door, and consequently put a fair amount of bend in it. Is the cabling susceptible to damage if bent?

I am a newbie to CB's, so any input to correctly tuning it is appreciated, thanks.
 
spydrjon

spydrjon

Well-known member
Nov 9, 2004
1,223
0
Dacula, GA
www.oysterroast.com
stansell said:
I have a Cobra 75WX CB, which is working so-so. The range on the thing is not quite what I expected, especially receiving. I bought a SWR meter and the best I could get by adjusting the antennae was a 2.6:1 ratio-->not very good. My antennae is a Firestik II longer version (i think it is 4 foot tall). Anyone else running this CB combo who has checked their SWR. If so, is it a lot better?

Also, a different CB thread mentioned the length of the cable run. WIll the length of the cable make a difference in the SWR? I ran mine through the rear door, and consequently put a fair amount of bend in it. Is the cabling susceptible to damage if bent?

I am a newbie to CB's, so any input to correctly tuning it is appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...

Try not to pinch the cable. Pull back the seals to expose the seam of the rear door and the body, dremel out part of the seam that to cable will sit in w/o bending, put the seal back on over it.

Yes the length of the cable has a lot to do with it. 18' with a 36" whip is what I run and I have 1.1-1 on the swr.
Are you tuning it on chanel 20?
 
mikemeyer0

mikemeyer0

Well-known member
Apr 13, 2005
1,141
0
42
Las Vegas, NV
i am running a 3-1/2' antenna with 16' of coax. I am running a cobra 25NW tweeked up quite a bit, and my SWR is about 1.1-1.2:1. Bending, pinching, or coiling up the coax will cause problems for your SWR. The length of your coax should be around 16'-18'.
 
Joey

Joey

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2004
976
0
Liberty Township, Ohio
Keep in mind how you run the cable will make a difference as well. If you have it looped up or crossed over itself this is not good. If you have the antenna mounted to the spare tire this will cause a bad SWR (don't care what anyone says otherwise, you must have a good groundplane to get a good SWR setting).
 
S

syoung

Guest
When you have a load of extra cable, what's the best way to deal with it if you can't roll it up?
 
sean

sean

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2004
2,114
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I have the cobrsa 75 and 4 foot firestick. i bought the swr meter from radio shack(about 20 bucks). i could only get so close 3:1 before i had to trim down the cable, since the adjustment on the firestick could only lower it so far.
 
J

Jamooche

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
528
0
Boston
www.jamilabbasy.com
I just tuned my antenna, 3' firestik with coil spring between mount and antenna. The best I could get was 1.6:1 at channel 40 and 1 and 20. The adjustment is tightened all the way down.

I guess that is pretty good, but lower would be better. What are the advantages of getting it even lower?

Jamil
 
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