Problems still with 102

[Cain64]

I now have dead on 3's on 1 and 40 for SWR. I have around 26ft of coax but am gonna cut it down to 21ft. all the coax is good checked it all, the mount is grounded to the frame, i am completely stumped on this one, maybe a stronger ground but idk, i could take some pictures and see if you guys can tell by looking. Any suggestions?

[Secret Squirrel]

Tire carriers offer a very poor grounds for an antenna mount. There is no way to make it work well at that mounting point. If you do not have one on the mount the 102 inch whip needs the 6 inch spring to be the proper length for CB frequency.

[jessejamesdallas]

3.0 on all channels means you have a dead short somewhere...Since you said you tested the coax, and it was fine, then I would look at your mounting bracket or what you have it mounted on...Make sure your mount is not grounding out to whatever you have it mounted on...There should be a plastic spacer between the mount, and whatever it's attached to...

Pictures of the mount may help...

[Cain64]

ok well i will find a spacer let me get some pics give me a few minutes

[Cain64]

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[Texas Mobil 219]

Sound like you might have a bad mount itself. Sometimes the inside of the mount will get cracked and cause a short. Had that happen to me. It looked good and tested fine.. I would short out on key ups.


good luck and waiting on pic.

219

[Cain64]

well im not shorting out theats for sure getting good reports from around 7 miles, so im beginning to guess my ground is not strong enough, ad or not completely on bare metal, the bumper is ground to the car so im not really sure.

[Texas Mobil 219]

I must of been posting when you were.

Anyway. Take the spring and check the wire inside. Make sure that it is not broke or even fraid. If it doesn't look broke. Take it of and see what your rig does.. If your swrs are still high change you mount. It might be the plastic insulator inside has gone bad like i said in my last post.

I think you might be getting alot of kick back from you jeep. My oppenion whips are best at cab hight.

If you would like i can build ya a mount that will clamp on to your tire rack and get it up to where you want it. Just need pic and measurments.


219 in Texas.

[Cain64]

Everything is fine, im gonna try my ground again tomorrow.

[jessejamesdallas]

Hard to tell...But there should be a plastic washer between that spring, and your mounting bracket...Sometimes there is also one on the bottom, where the coax connector connects to the stud, so that the coax connector does not touch the bracket. (depends on what stud your using, some have two plastic washers, and some just have one that is notched so it fits in the hole of the bracket)

If the spring or stud or coax connector is touching that bracket, then you will be grounding out the antenna...

Sometimes you can "over-tighten" the coax to the stud, and squash the plastic washer to the point the connector or stud is touching the bracket, and will cause it to ground-out...

[Cain64]

there was never one on the bottom when i got it.

[jessejamesdallas]

yeah...may not be. Just be sure the coax connector, stud, and spring are not touching that bracket "at all, anywhere"...You can test the antenna with a ohm meter to see if it's grounding out.

(I "edited" my earlier post)

[385]

I had my 102 mounted on the front rail in the center right behind the cab on my pick-up and had high SWR problems also. Took it off and put my tool box on and mounted it on the back of the tool box in the center and no more SWR problems...1.2 across the band. Hope this helps, 385

[Cain64]

ok, i wnet out and put a spacer made of rubber bewteen the stud and the bracket channel 1 still at 3 channel 40 1.5.

[Cain64]

bump

[jessejamesdallas]

ok, i wnet out and put a spacer made of rubber bewteen the stud and the bracket channel 1 still at 3 channel 40 1.5.

OK...Good. Least channel 40 is lower, so I doubt your problem is a ground short...Most-Likely what your problem is, is going to be reflect off the back of the jeep... The antenna is just too low, and too close to the body of the Jeep... Your going to have to figure out another place to put the antenna so it's higher, so most of the antenna is not right up next to the body of the Jeep...

If you move the mount to the top of that tire rack, I'll bet you'll see the SWR drop quite a bit...

[Cain64]

ok, is there any way to move the antenna up but still keep the mount i have all thread spacers, or is the something you guys recommend. Does the higher on 1 mean its too long or too short,?

[jessejamesdallas]

SWR higher on channel 1 means your antenna is too short. But, since you have a 102" Whip, and the spring, unless the antenna has been cut, it should be the right length...Thats why I said to try moving the mount so that more of the antenna is up away from the body of the Jeep...Problem almost has to be too much reflect.

Guys mounting antenna's on toolbox's in the back of pick-ups sometimes run into this, if their antenna is too close to the cab.

[Cain64]

ok well im gonna try something really quick just to see, im goona take a piece of all thread and put that on.

[Texas Mobil 219]

It sure sounds like the insulator inside the mount itself has gone bad. Whips put a lot of stress on the part of the mount. Firestick make a good one. I sent a pm to ya of a mount. If you look in the center were the plastic is. it looks okay and tests okay. But it isn't. I broke somewhere in the middle and short when i was keying up. Sent the swrs above 3. That might be your problem. Just get a new one and swap them out and see what happens.

What JJD said too. Kick back from the cab.

Good luck.

219 wave'n from Texas

[Ricky]

is there anywhere else you could try to mount that?

[TICKDOG]

could be the proximity of the spare tire. looks like a couple inches max. maybe take the tire off and see if that isolates the problem.

[Cain64]

ok ill have to check all this tomorrow, i might go to a ball mount and put it up higher.