lionseye640 wrote:
Hopefully my last question for right now - what's an "SWR tuner"? Do I need one if I get the Cobra cb & Firestik Firefly antenna w/ mounting bracket?
Okay,
Where do I start....
GREAT CB. I have one and love it. Mounted under the driver's seat. I also have the 3 foot fire stick. mounted on my Gecko rack with a folding mount. for garage driving.
All of this is great IF it is installed and set up and tuned properly.
1. Get a TUNABLE antenna. At least 3 feet long. Anything under 3 feet (i.e. 2 footers) are a witch to tune.
2. Get 18 feet of GOOD high quality coax cable. DO NOT CUT IT TO FIT UR INSTALL!!!! the tunability of the antenna is based upon the length of the antenna AND the cable.
3. When you run the coax, DO NOT LOOP IT BACK ON ITSELF!!!! don't coil it to stuff it in the body panels or roof liner. it will cancel any tunability out. Run it all through the kj, you will be surprised how fast you can run 18 feet of coax. Sounds like a PITA, but necessary.
3. Mounting location is important but not critical. The best mount you can have is a PERMANENT CENTER ROOF mount. This gives you what is called a "Ground Plane" and actually uses the metal roof as part of the antenna. It also raises the antenna to it's highest point with no interference from the KJ. This also gives you a good solid ground for the antenna which is CRITICAL.
Other mounts are good as long as the antenna can "See over the KJ's roof" So get a good grounded steady mount and a long enough antenna to clear the roof of the KJ by atleast a foot and you should have a good signal, ONCE YOU TUNE IT!!!!
Tuning is an intimidating task to newbies. NOT A BIG DEAL. basicly you want the CB to have the lowest Standing Wave Ratio it can get, meaning it is not sending any extra wattage back into the CB there by cooking it.
Tune it to a LOW SWR on channel 1 and Channel 40 and have fun. IF it wont tune, check your antenna ground. still no tune, check your coax for kinks and sharp bends.
With a tunable antenna, remove the condom on the tip, adjust it and replace the condom BEFORE messuring the SWR. Do that everytime you adjust the tip.
Also go to a walmart parkinglot or someplace where you can get away from buildings and other objects to test and tune your antenna. In your drivway next to the house will actually reflect the signal back to the antenna and give you a false reading. Getting it set there will be diificult, but if you do get it set, when you actually use it on a trail or on the road, you will have different results and could harm the CB.
Walcott CB is a good source for antennas and mounts. and Tech tips. GREAT customer support.
http://www.walcottcb.com
Good luck. That's a Big 10-4!!! Sorry I just had to say that....
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