Southern California Club Xterra

Southern California Club Xterra => SCCX General Discussion => Topic started by: HEVAK on July 05, 2013, 07:05:25 AM

Title: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: HEVAK on July 05, 2013, 07:05:25 AM

This link is very helpful, and something we should do before using our CB.

http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: Olaf on July 05, 2013, 09:57:02 AM

Have you noticed an improvement?
I tuned my CB a long time ago and didn't notice much improvement.  Bottom line, it's still less than adequate.

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: Adio. on July 05, 2013, 10:01:08 AM

Did you properly tune your antenna?

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: Olaf on July 05, 2013, 10:33:08 AM

I tuned it to best that it could be tuned with my SWR meter which included shortening my antenna.

Quote from: Adio. on July 05, 2013, 10:01:08 AM

Did you properly tune your antenna?

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: HEVAK on July 05, 2013, 12:58:34 PM

Quote from: AreaBFE on July 05, 2013, 09:57:02 AM

Have you noticed an improvement?
I tuned my CB a long time ago and didn't notice much improvement.  Bottom line, it's still less than adequate.

I tuned my CB with your SWR meter Olaf, so I hope I get a better result. I haven't tested it on the trail yet, but I did tune my CB down a low SWR reading.

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: LupinOne on July 05, 2013, 10:38:24 PM

I'm a bit curious. When you say you are looking for a bit more improvement from your CB, what exactly are you looking for?  Power wise, you either have 4 watts or 12 watts max, depending on if you are in AM or SSB mode of operation. Given the frequency range (11 meters for you new hams), propagation is being affected by the sun's 11 year sun spot cycle.  At full legal-power, CB's have a maximum range of up to 4 miles. However, due to interference and/or obstacles, it is not possible to determine exact range for a certain area; range will vary regardless of the type, model or manufacturer of radio used.

Sideband, also known as single sideband (SSB), is a more effective use of the existing channels on a CB radio. By operating on a narrower band, the effective range is increased but the signal does not sound as clear as an AM signal. When using sideband, you should use the clairifier in order to clear up the sound of the transmission.

Getting the SWR as close as possible will get you the best performance of your antenna, not to mention make your radio last longer as you won't be making the finals sad.

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: Ghost65 on July 06, 2013, 08:06:53 AM

Quote from: HEVAK on July 05, 2013, 07:05:25 AM

This link is very helpful, and something we should do before using our CB.

http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm

I found a link that might help with tuning your CB here:

How To:  Set Your SWR and Forget It (http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/)




Sent from Planet Claire using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: SteeevO on July 07, 2013, 11:45:04 AM

Just a quick side note, having an untuned antenna / high swr is bad for the radio and can cause nasty interference issues with your stereo and other nearby electronics. So tuning your antenna is a bit more important than just getting better performance.

I've seen antenna questions pop up on various off road boards Soo many times over the years.. maybe I should do an in depth writeup explaining what swr is exactly and what all this  jibberish means.

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

Title: Re: How to set SWR on a CB
Post by: Lava on January 17, 2014, 10:15:29 PM

Quote from: GhostX on July 06, 2013, 08:06:53 AM

I found a link that might help with tuning your CB here:

How To:  Set Your SWR and Forget It (http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/)




Sent from Planet Claire using Tapatalk

Hahaha. I Just got that link reference.  Lol