CB Install Help (Poor Reception?)

Slaughterrt

Slaughterrt

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2020
Messages
37
Location
Forked River, NJ
Hey guys,
I need a little technical help with my CB install. For reference, the unit is a Uniden 510XL, the antenna is a 4’ Firestik, with spring and AUX connector adapter, and is mounted on my front bumper. I scraped off the paint on the bottom of my bumper to make a ground connection for the bottom of the antenna. I did not grind it with a grinder, but I did file it down. Checked the continuity with a meter, and it seemed good. Per the diagrams, the connector half below the bumper has continuity but the half above the bumper does not. The AUX cable is run through the firewall via an existing penetration (not sure what is currently running through) and inside the Jeep to the CB. The excess cable is folded (not coiled) to one of the supports under the hood. The CB power is wired directly to the battery. I also bought a SWR meter and tuned the antenna to 1:4 at Channel 1 and 40.

So my issue seems to be when I am driving (or at least seems to significantly worse when driving). I can’t seem to pick up anything but static when I am driving. The 4 led lights on the CB unit seem to be maxed out at all times (all 4 are constantly lit) and all I get is static. I can turn the squelch all the way clockwise, and the static is there for about 75% of the turn. All four led lights are continuously on no matter what I do. I can’t seem to pick up anything other than the static. (Ironically I drove my other vehicle with a CB and untuned antenna and get a decent amount of chatter.

Any thoughts?
 
For reference.

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You NEED to test CB with a friend and not just driving around listening to truckers 100 miles away. If you bought it for trail communication there is no purpose in tuning it beyond that, find somebody to help and do it with them.
 
pagrey said:
You NEED to test CB with a friend and not just driving around listening to truckers 100 miles away. If you bought it for trail communication there is no purpose in tuning it beyond that, find somebody to help and do it with them.
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Maybe I misunderstood, but from what I read, I was under the impression that tuning the antenna with the SWR tuner supposed to be better than just testing with another CB radio. I don’t do a ton of off-roading yet, but I do a bit of commuting on the highways and wouldn’t mind having it for on and off-road communications. I get what you are saying about tuning the CB “good enough” if it’s just for trail rides. But if I’m gonna use the CB, I would prefer to have it at its optimum transmission/reception (within reason of course).
And I guess what I’m saying is that it’s as much for trail communication as hobby radio nerdy stuff.
 
A lot of your antenna is up close to your metal body parts which is absorbing a lot of your signal (grounding it out) for both receive and transmit and may be affecting your SWR on transmit. This is why you need to mount the base up higher to get above as much metal as you can. Many people use a tail light bracket mount, which I have for my 2M ham radio antenna and it works very well. Additionally you have your coax under your hood close to your spark plug wires and alternator which radiate interference and some of that will penetrate your coax to give you static noises that overpower any weak signal you are trying to receive. Again a good reason to move your antenna to the back of your jeep to get it as far away from that as you can. Good luck to you.
 
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801 Driver said:
A lot of your antenna is up close to your metal body parts which is absorbing a lot of your signal (grounding it out) for both receive and transmit and may be affecting your SWR on transmit. This is why you need to mount the base up higher to get above as much metal as you can. Many people use a tail light bracket mount, which I have for my 2M ham radio antenna and it works very well. Additionally you have your coax under your hood close to your spark plug wires and alternator which radiate interference and some of that will penetrate your coax to give you static noises that overpower any weak signal you are trying to receive. Again a good reason to move your antenna to the back of your jeep to get it as far away from that as you can. Good luck to you.
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I like the look of the antenna on the front bumper, but after reading your reply, it seems like keeping it there will kill its usability. Definitely going to check out the rear mounting brackets - to raise the base and to get the coax out from under the hood.
 
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I would loose the spring also it is just going to make the antenna swing all over the place especially when on the trails. Otherwise you need to tie it somehow to keep it in place. I would go with the tail light mount it seams to work for me

PS you also don't need a 4' antenna, mine is a 3' for refrence and I know some run a 2'

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The extra cable has some signal loss, it's not a big deal. The cable is shielded so it doesn't matter how you wrap it. The engine compartment gets absurdly hot so don't expect that cable to last more than a few minutes if it isn't rated way over 100C or 250F. I keep my cable on the other side down low and away from the catalytic converters. It would be garbage after one run in my engine compartment sitting on that support where you have it tied. I haven't checked my cable but if yours says 100C it's way over every time you drive around the block. It's possible you just cooked your cable.
 
Do tune it with an inexpensive SWR meter, those saying you don't need to are doing you a disservice. SWR meters are easily found for <$20 at places like Amazon.

The biggest benefit of using an SWR meter is as a sanity check. It will immediately tell you if things are at least close and working, or if something is so wrong, like with the antenna installation, that the SWR meter needle is pegged at the wrong end of scale and the CB is not able to receive or transmit well until it's fixed.

The excess coax is not a big deal, it won't cause any SWR issues. It's extra length, on your scale, will cause only an insignificant loss of signal. Cut some off if you want but don't feel compelled to do so.

The SWR meter will also tell you how much power the CB radio is transmitting with, and how much is being reflected back by an antenna problem.

I never, ever, approach someone's new CB installation they're having trouble without my SWR meter. It's too inexpensive not to have, and extremely valuable in knowing just how well everything is working, or not working.

Without an SWR meter you're just guessing.
 
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pagrey said:
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/q1106037.pdf
This is the nerdy explanation for what I'm saying.
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AARL is a solid resource for related info. My buddy is a ham operator and he turned me on to the site. Great stuff there and I had actually started looking into getting licensed pre-pandemic. Sorta took a back burner since.

Plumber1 said:
I would loose the spring also it is just going to make the antenna swing all over the place especially when on the trails. Otherwise you need to tie it somehow to keep it in place. I would go with the tail light mount it seams to work for me

PS you also don't need a 4' antenna, mine is a 3' for refrence and I know some run a 2'

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First off, that is a damn fine looking rig you have there. As far as my antenna, I took the advice of several guys here and ended up relocating it to the rear of my Jeep. I intended to remove the spring but apparently the stud coming from the bottom of the antenna wasn’t long enough to make it though my mounting bracket…so the spring will stay for now. It’s actually not as flexy in the back as it was in the front.

Jerry Bransford said:
Do tune it with an inexpensive SWR meter, those saying you don't need to are doing you a disservice. SWR meters are easily found for <$20 at places like Amazon.

The biggest benefit of using an SWR meter is as a sanity check. It will immediately tell you if things are at least close and working, or if something is so wrong, like with the antenna installation, that the SWR meter needle is pegged at the wrong end of scale and the CB is not able to receive or transmit well until it's fixed.

The excess coax is not a big deal, it won't cause any SWR issues. It's extra length, on your scale, will cause only an insignificant loss of signal. Cut some off if you want but don't feel compelled to do so.

The SWR meter will also tell you how much power the CB radio is transmitting with, and how much is being reflected back by an antenna problem.

I never, ever, approach someone's new CB installation they're having trouble without my SWR meter. It's too inexpensive not to have, and extremely valuable in knowing just how well everything is working, or not working.

Without an SWR meter you're just guessing.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jerry. Yes, this is what I kept seeing as I did my prior CB research. Like you said, the SWR meter is too cheap not to have, and it’s certainly worth the $20 to be able to tune your antenna and potentially narrow down any possible issues regarding the install. Definitely helped me a bit.

—————

Thanks everyone for your quick and helpful replies. Long story short, I ended up relocating the CB antenna to the rear of the Jeep, right above the driver side tail light. Used an aluminum bracket and bolted it to the tub (cleaned the paint on it all to keep a good ground). Reinstalled the antenna back there and hooked it all up. Tuned it to about 1:5 (could probably get it down a little bit more, but I think I’ll have to remove the spring first to lower it a little). But from the second I turned on the radio after relocating the antenna to the back, it was a night and day difference. I immediately noticed a difference in the reception clarity and could actually understand conversations. Still have to fine-tune a few things, but definitely a huge improvement.

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Nicely done, I'd only change two minor things if that was my setup. First I'd replace that 4' (5'?) antenna with something more manageable like a 2' (like I run) or certainly no taller than a 3'. Then I'd get rid of that spring which will allow the antenna to sway around wildly and bang onto the soft top like crazy when you're offroad.

Even a 2' antenna gets out very well and it doesn't get in the way of garage doors, low parking garage obstructions, etc.

This is my TJ with its 2' Firestick antenna. Its length works very well, I have no trouble communicating up to several miles with it. Its American flag is zip-tied to the top of my antenna. No clearance issues since getting rid of my 3'
and 4' antennas, it performs very well.

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Jerry Bransford said:
Nicely done, I'd only change two minor things if that was my setup. First I'd replace that 4' (5'?) antenna with something more manageable like a 2' (like I run) or certainly no taller than a 3'. Then I'd get rid of that spring which will allow the antenna to sway around wildly and bang onto the soft top like crazy when you're offroad.

Even a 2' antenna gets out very well and it doesn't get in the way of garage doors, low parking garage obstructions, etc.

This is my TJ with its 2' Firestick antenna. Its length works very well, I have no trouble communicating up to several miles with it. Its American flag is zip-tied to the top of my antenna. No clearance issues since getting rid of my 3'
and 4' antennas, it performs very well.

View attachment 273628
Click to expand...
Yea, agreed. I have a 5' firestick and it sways all over the place, even on street curbs. I have a 2' ProComm for trails. Only takes a moment to swap them.
 
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