Is cb ing worth it?

I think if the material gets wet your SWR's would go very high.
What about putting a clear piece of body protection film/tape?

 

I have that one also.

 

The antenna and low SWR's make the range. They all have the same amount of power unless modified.

 

Am I qualified for Velcro shoes if I've used HF over Iraq to call my grandmother and listen to one of my favorite AM radio stations out of Denver? Cause I have a pair I've been eyeing...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kingsize-Men-s-Wide-Width-Kingsize-Velcro-No-Tie-Sneakers/634109384

 

Woodgroup up in AK used compact Uniden Pro 510 XL's. They had a large fleet of trucks. My boss up there bought out Woodgroup when their Alyeska pipeline contract ended. Nice little compact CB. I know. I brought back 6 of them. V(SWR) is a measure of voltage standing waves along a transmission line. 1 to infinity with 1 being ideal load impedance matching. Less than two is ok. A ratio of 1 is near impossible unless dealing with metrology grade connections such as type "N" or APC 3.5mm for example. I have excellent VSWR measurement capabilities at work and rarely hit 1.1. When you use the small SWR meter that you can pick up at a radio shop in line between the antenna and radio you are basically minimizing the standing waves for optimal impedance matching at 75 ohms. Those cheap SWR meters are quite good enough for tweaking your antenna.As long as you have a high quality with decent connectors from the radio to the antenna water will not affect SWR.

 

Negative.

Affirmative.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/world/asia/taliban-sneakers-cheetahs.html

 

There s a place near by, (Jublitz Truck Stop), that I ve been talking to the last week. I m having them give it a go. I can do some of it myself, so I can keep the cost reasonable.

 

Mag Mount antennas are really a compromise so that you can use a radio with no real install needed and one of the ways they compromise is that stuff will get between the base and the truck and scratch it.

Anything that you use in between might weaken the mount to the truck and make the SWR a little worse along with the scratching and while I use one when I have to you are always better off with an antenna stud mount hardwired to the radio location if possible.
Then you can always just unscrew the antenna from the stud if you need to but also always have it there ready when needed too.

I would hope that any shop that works doing this on over the road rigs will make childsplay of your Tundra and get you a clean well working setup.

 

The only thing that can affect SWR would be a defective cable, and or the RF connectors being loose. This the only thing to cause unwanted reflection on the transmission line, ie....cable, which increases the standing waves. Hence a higher measured ratio. I literally make several SWR measurements every day at work. Another description is impedance mismatch error which is the main culprit to cause SWR to go out of spec.

 

Yeah I get it but anything that can cause or create a variable connection or coupling to the antenna is really a negative is all I am saying and by nature the Mag Mount and the ground plane it relies on are subject to this variability I would think.

There are plenty of decent quick release mounts with decent attached or removable cable sets that if installed properly should be OK for a long time,soldering of connectors included as long as someone who knows how is making the cables.

 

I will take solar flares for 800 Alex (RIP).

 

Standing Wave Ratio as it relates to what we want to achieve is nothing more than minimizing the ratio of the maximum standing wave voltage to the minimum standing wave voltage. It's actually VSWR since we aren't dealing with current which would be ISWR. 1.0 :1 means perfect impedance match or no standing waves. Any time you physically move your mount or antenna it's always good to recheck SWR. A huge mistake I see is instances where you may have too long a cable between your radio and antenna and this excess cable gets coiled up to take up the slack. A big no-no. It's best to cut the excess cable and put on a new end connector and to make sure the cable shielding doesn't interfere with the center conductor. A single stray shield strand in contact with the center conductor can screw up things so it's good to have a decent connector kit and appropriate cable connector crimper. We actually calibrate cable crimpers and strippers at work. They do have tolerances.

 

That is all there is to it?
Wow is that compact..



Sorry for the thread drift, BUT;
This thread has sent me down memory lane...........
My first CB was a 23 channel Midland like this one...

Used as a base station with a Astatic D-104 microphone, a DC power supply, and a roof mounted base antenna.
I was 14 in 1974, the high point of the 70's CB craze.





Got my first car at 16 in 1976.
My Dad and I put that radio in my 1969 Fairlane with a 102" whip antenna ball mounted in the rear fender.
Kinda like this..



My Dad was a Ham operator so he knew how to install this stuff and get the low SWRs.



My handle was Crazy Idiot and I think my call sign was KHY 4103..
Back then you were supposed to have a CB license..

Funny thing is, I still have and use that 12 volt DC power supply.
I test LED bulbs with it for my Tundra mods.
Also use it to bench test HUs...
It is a staple part of my workbench.
Never thought about it until tonight, but it is 45 years old....

 

My stuff is long gone now. Was 18 in 74. Senior in high school. You had to be 18 to get a CB license. FCC didn't issue CB licenses to anyone under 18. My call sign started with KTA. "Mad Dog", I remember those Vanco SWR meters and DC supplies. Not bad at all. The Vanco DC supply had very low AC ripple. Surprised the caps haven't crapped out. I had a 23 Midland that was used as a base in our bunkhouse. Most of my friends had Midlands. Our ranch was 3 miles out of town. Iffy during the day but after sunset I could usually make contact. Way kuul back then because of the party line bs.

 

Dang brother! Your ready for instructor school!

 

I've been doing RF/Microwave calibration now for 42+years. I do teach the younger techs that want to learn

 

nearby or radio shack style shop that does installs.

Not to steal the thread but your Rat Shack reminded me, they're trying to make a return to brick and mortar https://www.radioshack.com/pages/store-locator

 

I hope that pans out. I miss the Shack. I used to there to buy resistors and such back in the day. Free battery too!

 

Been working in RF for more the 45 years and we always said a great antenna system can make a bad radio good and a bad antenna system can make a great radio bad.

 

I here you. I'm only at 42 years doing RF/microwave and still in the lab calibrating the latest and great goodies.

 

Well, Jublitz truck stop seemed like a good idea, but after talking to the, "cb guy", there, I m more comfortable doing what I can myself, and just paying someone to tune it. $120.00 an hour is a bit much.

 

If you buy the cobra c75wst, make sure you add the external speaker. The sound quality off the hand set is not great. This unit is great for jeeping with friends.

My first cb had tubes, an had only 6 channels and you could add crystal in the front one at a time, but if I remember right it was 10 watts, that was back in 1972, and I bought it used.