How To Tell If Cb Antenna Is Bad

At that place's zero more frustrating than being out on the trail and realizing that your CB is not performing very well. People in other nearby vehicles can barely make out what you are saying and incoming reception is hard to brand out. At one time or another, we've all been there.

And so what's incorrect with your CB? Is it the mic? Is the antenna out of aligning or is the CB just a cheap piece of junk. Well we can't help you with a poor purchase simply we tin highlight some points that you tin can cheque to go the near out of your CB. 95% of all troubled CB come up down to a few bones issues that tin can easily be corrected and in render give you much improve manual and reception and quite possibly relieve your CB from self destruction! Plus, with a properly installed CB and properly installed and adjusted CB antenna, even the cheapest CB's will perform well enough for shut range vehicle to vehicle communications.

Below are some basic CB installation, setup and tuning tips. In this commodity we're non getting into theory and radio wave technical explanations, nosotros'll save that for some manufactures. We will just go along information technology plain and elementary and to the point.

What'south in this commodity:

CB Radio Installation
CB Antenna Mounts
CB Antennas
CB Antenna & Radio Tuning

CB Installation

CB Mounting Bracket — CB Mounting Subclass

Mounting the Set up – CB'due south vary in size and shape equally exercise the vehicles they are installed in. Where you install the CB itself is only important in regards to its ease of access and the orientation of the speaker so you tin hear information technology. Most CB's have the speaker located on the underside then for that reason, an overhead installation will generally give you the best sound quality as well as admission and visibility to the controls. Simply overhead may non be an pick and determining a mounting location is not always easy. If you are mounting nether the nuance or on either side of the center console, just make certain you have enough leg clearance. At that place are many companies making CB mounting mounting brackets, some of which are vehicle specific for some trick installation locations.

Mic Brackets – Most sets come with a mic mounting bracket that frequently tin can be attached to the side of the CB itself. If that's not convenient, consider attaching the mic mount nearby the fix in a easy to reach location. Last thing to consider when choosing the mounting location is how y'all will run the CB's coax cable out to the antenna. Consider your cable routing when choosing your set mounting location.

Cobra Highgear Noise-Canceling External Speaker — External Speaker

Remote Speaker – If mounting the set in your preferred location orients the speaker then you can't hear it and then well, consider an external remote speaker box. Nigh CB's have a speaker jack in the rear of the fix. You lot can buy a pocket-sized CB radio remote speaker that use a male person mono audio plug. Sometimes even a small speaker mounted in a convenient location volition practice. Personally I take a CJ-7 with a large Cobra 148 GTL CB mounted above in the roll muzzle. Simply my speaker is mounted in the nuance using the old single speaker location in the CJ nuance panel. The audio quality of this setup is slap-up. Nice and loud with a amend than average speaker behind the dash.

Power requirements – Most CB'southward come with an inline fuse rated at three amps. Employ the recommended fuse rating for your set up. Practice not use a fuse over the recommended rating. Yous are not doing your CB radio whatever favors by increasing the size of the fuse, your only request for damage. Some CB's even come up with a 12v power supply plug (we used to – still practise – call those cigarette lighter plugs). Your CB will run only fine off of the ability from the 12v power supply plug only if you are mounting the CB permanently, yous might want to consider wiring the CB into the accessory wiring harness. Not something we will go into here only we volition say, continue the inline fuse in place and Practise NOT hook upwards the polarity backwards! Hooking upwardly the power backwards will probably burn out the protection diodes immediately. Red is positive 12 volts and black is basis.

CB Antenna Mounts

In that location are a myriad of CB antenna mounting options on the marketplace. If you are reading this article, in that location'south a adept chance you are going to go offroad with your vehicle. With Offroad in mind, there are proficient choices and bad choices in antennas and mounting options. Lets showtime with the antenna mounts.

Near antenna mounts autumn into two categories, Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts and bolt-on Bracket Antenna Mounts.

Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts

A magnetic mountain uses a large flat magnetic base to secure the antenna to a steel panel on the vehicle.

Pros – Popular, many options. versatile. Removable, non-permanent. Movable around on vehicle for better SWR adjustment, ameliorate reception, and avoidance of tree branches.

Cons – Easily knocked off (and nether the cycle) by low hanging tree branches. Clay can get lodged under the magnet and scratch the pigment. Most magnetic mounts are base loaded, meaning well-nigh of the coiled antenna wire is depression at the bottom, which in most cases means reception and output is less than what it could exist. Only sticks to ferrous metallic (steel hoods, not fiberglass Jeep tops). Sometimes hard to basis.

What to avoid – Avoid narrow magnetic bases. Narrow means easily toppled over. Wide and flat is better. Avoid stiff antennas with a magnetic base. Stiff will non flex hands on contact and will become knocked over. You volition find very short stubby CB antennas no taller than a foot with a magnetic mount. Though they seem ideal for offroad employ, avoid them. They are hard to suit the SWR and get terrible range.

Magnetic Antenna Mounting Tips

The wider the magnet, the better it will adhere to the vehicle.
Using a base of operations-loaded, very flexible whip antenna will stay on the vehicle better when you're offroad.
Route the antenna wire backward towards a rear window or door and then it doesn't get hooked by a tree branch.
To preserve your paint, periodically pull the antenna magnet upwardly and clear away dirt and water.
Avoid using a potent, fiberglass antenna with a magnetic mount.
Offroad mounting tips: Move the magnetic mount to the hood or into the bed of a truck to preclude it from getting knocked off. Be sure to check the SWR in these mounting locations.
For best performance, use an eighteen foot coaxial cable betwixt the radio and the antenna. Most magnetic antenna mounts come up with a coaxial cable pre-fastened.
For unmarried antenna installations, apply fifty ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-phase installations, use 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must be SWR tuned to the vehicle and the last antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, shut the doors on the vehicle to go the most accurate adjustment.

Bolt-on Antenna Mounting Brackets

Bolt on brackets include a wide variety of bolt-on antenna mounts that come in all kinds of custom designs for various locations on the vehicle. Some are even designed for specific vehicles. Hood mounts, corner mounts, vehicle specific location mounts, fifty-fifty rollbar and roof rack mounts.

Pros –Permanent, stock-still location. Worry gratis, volition non get knocked over or off the vehicle. Good grounding.

Cons – Permanently mounted, may require drilling. Challenge to find a location. Hit or miss basis plane.

What to avert – Avoid mounting the antenna likewise low and too close to the vehicle. Ideally, proceed 2/3 of the antenna above the roof acme.

Commodities-on Antenna Mounting Bracket Tips

Try to keep at least two/3 of the antenna above the roof of the vehicle for all-time performance.
Mounting a flexible antenna too close to the body tin can crusade information technology to make contact with the body and can crusade SWR and/or performance issues.
For single antenna installations, use 50 ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-phase installations, use 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must be SWR tuned to the vehicle and the final antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, close the doors on the vehicle to become the most authentic aligning.

CB Antennas

The most mutual, versatile CB antennas come up as steel whips and fiberglass tube antennas of various heights. Virtually common antennas use the quarter wave length (about 9 feet) with almost of the antenna wound upwards equally a ringlet. This coil can exist located within the base ( Base-Loaded), partially up the antenna ( Center-Loaded ), most the top ( Top-Loaded ), or wound upwardly nigh of the length of the antenna ( Continuous Loading ). There are quite a few more than antenna types, lengths and configurations but for the mast part, iv×4'south volition utilise one of these types. Steel Whip antennas are nice considering they flex well and most steel whip antennas will have a base-loaded coil keeping the bulk of the antenna abroad from branches. Fiberglass antennas will flex somewhat but coupled with a bound mount, will resist damage. Some fiberglass antennas accept the benefit of being center-loaded and peak-loaded putting virtually of the antenna equally high equally possible for better output and reception. Though not unbreakable, fiberglass is strong and calorie-free-weight. Center-loading or tiptop-loading a steel antenna adds additional weight or bulk to the center or top of the antenna, which is not ideal for off-road utilise.

CB Antenna Tips

Ideally a 4×four should use a very flexible antenna or at to the lowest degree a spring mounted antenna to avoid antenna impairment.
The taller the antenna is on the vehicle, the further the signal output will reach.
Antenna types: Base-Loaded, Heart-Loaded, Acme-Loaded and Continuous Loading.
Most all-in-one CB antennas come with a length of coax cable. Virtually will accept about 18 anxiety of cablevision. There is proficient arguments to the xviii foot length.
When dealing with excess antenna coal cablevision length, practise not whorl the wire tightly tucked abroad. This tin can cause poor SWR readings. Instead loosely lay the excess coax wide and spread out if possible.
Buy an SWR meter and larn how to apply it. Afterwards installing your CB and antenna, utilize the SWR meter to adjust your antenna and melody information technology to the CB and the vehicle. While a properly tuned antenna will result in strong radio operation, failing to properly tune your antenna can result in poor performance and can even impairment your radio from excessive radio frequency heat that is reflected dorsum into the radio instead of transmitted out.
Comparing a taller antenna to a shorter antenna: iv watt input into a 4 human foot antenna yields the same broadcast power equally 2 watts into a 102-inch whip antenna. For more than comparisons, read this.

CB Antenna Coil Location

All CB antennas shorter than a 102-inch whip accept a ringlet. The wire in the scroll is the balance of quarter wave (102 inches) minus the height of the antenna itself wrapped up in a tight or spread out coil. The location of the coil affects output because the college the curl is on the antenna, the higher the bulk of the antenna is in relation to the basis and the vehicle. College is better. Antennas can be base-loaded, center-loaded, top-loaded or continuous-loaded. How do you identify what blazon of antenna is what?

Base-Loaded – Base loaded antennas have the majority of the antenna at the bottom of the antenna inside a sealed plastic base, usually fastened to the magnet or secured to the roof of the vehicle. Well-nigh magnetic mountain antennas are base loaded due the weight and bulk of the curlicue. Base of operations loaded antennas can have a loftier wattage output rating though this is not a consideration for average CB users since all CB'southward are sold with a 4-watt output limit.

Heart-Loaded – Center loaded antennas usually have the coil further upward the antenna just non e'er in the center. Eye loaded antennas will generally have a thicker steel shaft up to the whorl for back up. center loaded antennas are usually used on semi trucks.

Height-Loaded – Top loaded antennas are very common and inexpensive yet are also the most efficient. Most accept a lower wattage rating merely again, this is not a concern for boilerplate CB users since all off the shelf CB's will have a 4-watt limit. Summit loaded CBs are usually fiberglass structure with a thin wire wrapped around the fiberglass pole and covered in a protective layer of vinyl plastic. The thin wire is wrapped tighter towards the top placing most of the wire near the top. Benefits of a top-loaded fiberglass antenna is that option to mountain the antenna lower on the vehicle yet placing most of the antenna higher, hopefully above the roofline of the vehicle.

Continuous-Loaded – Continuous loaded antennas are very similar to summit-loaded antennas in their construction with the exception of the wire distribution over the shaft. With continuously loaded antennas, the wire is not concentrated towards the tiptop or bottom, simply rather distributed evenly over the unabridged length of the shaft. At that place is very niggling benefit to continuous loading vs summit loading.

Running the wire from the Antenna to the CB

When installing a CB, you lot have a long coaxial cable that runs from the CB to the antenna. Typically this is about eighteen pes of cable, which co-ordinate to some theory, is the optimal length of cable to utilise regardless of how close the antenna is to the CB. So if you accept 18 human foot, you probably have some or a lot of extra cable to deal with. Don't wrap it upwardly wire-tied in a tight gyre. This will crusade performance issues. Instead spread out the wire loosely in wide lengths. Route the cablevision out of the way as good as possible. If the antenna is in the rear of the vehicle, that tin be a challenge. Nether carpet, along the door jam, under the seats, along the roll cage are all common ways to route it.

Antenna SWR Adjustment – CB Radios are Non Plug and Play

The concluding matter yous'll need to do afterward installing the CB, coaxial cable and the antenna is tune the antenna to the CB and the vehicle. With this y'all'll demand an SWR meter to mensurate SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) and arrange the antenna summit to tune for the best SWR reading that you can become.

DO Non Key upwards the mic (push to transmit) without an antenna attached to the CB! This can result in a damaged CB.

If you don't accept ane, it'south a adept investment to buy an SWR meter. They are not expensive and it's worth the money to be able to conform yours and your buddy's CB antenna. You'll have better transmission and information technology can save your radio from damage.

For more than data on SWR Adjustments Read:

How to ADJUST YOUR SWR on your CB radio and Why.

Adjusting SWR with a Para Dynamics SWR Meter

How does a CB radio antenna work and why does it need to be tuned?

Antenna Length vs Power Output

All Nigh Citizens Band Radio

Wiring Cobra Mics

Source: http://www.offroaders.com/cheap-tricks/cb-radio-installation-troubleshooting/