Well, i see that you have a Wilson 1000 mag mount. They are pretty good antennas. I don't see why the SWRs wont come down. Is the stinger all the way out or all the way in when you have it tuned to the lowest? Bonding the truck always helps, but you really don't have to, unless you are having major antenna problems. We have done some installs where guys were worried about the rust from the holes. When we were done with ground straps, we sprayed primer and undercoat spray in the areas that we drilled. Make sure that you grind a clean area off so the strap and the screw can get a good bond to the chassis and the body. Also, make sure that you have a good grounding cable from the motor to the chassis and to the firewall. Bond both front fenders, both sides of the cab under the doors, and the area behind the rear wheels. Being that you are not worried about being directional, start grounding under the doors and check the SWRs (don't tune), then do the two front fenders and check the SWRs then the rear of the truck and check the SWRs. When you get done, the SWRs should be good. If you have to tune all the way out, then you need a longer stinger, or if you have the stinger all the way in, then just cut a 1/4 in off each time and recheck. If you get one extra battery with the alternator that you have, you will be ok with a 1x4 or 2x4. You will be doing really good with two extra batteries. The alternator being a 120amp is ok if you have enough storage to handle the load. I had a truck with a 100amp alternator with two extra batteries and done good with a 2x4 as long as i didn't get long winded. What is the dead key on you two texas star on low and what does it swing to on low? You can use that for a driver on a straight 4 pill..save a few bucks...then you can talk on your 2 pill until them bucket mouths call you out. Then you can force feed the 4 pills and tell them to call you in the morning. lol Does your radio have a variable?crazytruker wrote:I don't need ya to send me an amp kidd but I am about way tired of a couple of these locals talking crap. I need to get my antenna squared away mounting wise to get the swr's down. I really hate to start drilling and bonding my 1 year old truck and it's got a 120 amp alternator. I would be willing to upgrade the alt. and charging system wires. I wouldn't mind bonding but never did it and would prefer to have help from someone who has. I would want good sealed connections where the braid attaches as to eliminate the mag chloride and water from getting to the body metal and rusting. I am just tired of these ducks out here and this one black guy out here runs around saying he has a 2 pill mobile but he won't shut up. I have a 2 pill Texas Star but I wanna blast him of the air waves. He could be lying but I am thinking at least a 1x4 or 2x4. I'm not sure how big I can go without bonding even though I know bonding helps no matter how small of power you run.
These never ending relentless idiots out here need some medicine and I want to give it to them. Forced fed crazy meds.
ww228Kidd
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ww228kidd
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crazytruker
I'm not using the wilson. I have a predator 10 k on a predator terminal stud mounted to my tool box lid. The antenna is about 8 maybe 10 inches at most behind the cab. I think my problem is reflect but it may be the cheezy ground wire I have from box to frame of truck. Right now my best swr is 1.6 -1.7
I have a pole made up to raise it to cab height but I am leaning away from that right now as I will have to slide my tool box further rearward for it to clear the front bed wall. I want to slap a 102 in the stud and see what swr I get. I may eat the cost of the 10k if a 102 tunes in good.
My radio now is an older Uniden Grant. I need to get it re tuned or get another radio. It is keying about 10 watts on my Dosy. That is prolly high but it's around there somewhere. I don't have the amp in yet. It's a TS 350 hdv. It's variable and if I remember with the variable all the way down it keys around 20w and I don't remember the swing. I think as the variable is turned up the swing pep goes up to. It's been several years since I've had the amp installed and using it. Since the amp is a high drive the tech I had in PA said it would be ok and at the time that I used to have it hooked up I was driving it with a peaked and tuned 148f gtl. I think it was keying 6 or 7 watts swinging 20 to25 or there abouts. Everyone says that is driving it hard. I don't know. I need to get a good set up and get this antenna crap solved because as time goes on I start thinking screw it, just take out the radio and antenna and forget it. But I sure want to key on them idiot ducks around here. I don't think anyone is running big power but I want to establish my mobile as something that will put them in their place :D
I have a pole made up to raise it to cab height but I am leaning away from that right now as I will have to slide my tool box further rearward for it to clear the front bed wall. I want to slap a 102 in the stud and see what swr I get. I may eat the cost of the 10k if a 102 tunes in good.
My radio now is an older Uniden Grant. I need to get it re tuned or get another radio. It is keying about 10 watts on my Dosy. That is prolly high but it's around there somewhere. I don't have the amp in yet. It's a TS 350 hdv. It's variable and if I remember with the variable all the way down it keys around 20w and I don't remember the swing. I think as the variable is turned up the swing pep goes up to. It's been several years since I've had the amp installed and using it. Since the amp is a high drive the tech I had in PA said it would be ok and at the time that I used to have it hooked up I was driving it with a peaked and tuned 148f gtl. I think it was keying 6 or 7 watts swinging 20 to25 or there abouts. Everyone says that is driving it hard. I don't know. I need to get a good set up and get this antenna crap solved because as time goes on I start thinking screw it, just take out the radio and antenna and forget it. But I sure want to key on them idiot ducks around here. I don't think anyone is running big power but I want to establish my mobile as something that will put them in their place :D
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ww228kidd
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well, most of the time when you put a 102 steel whip on, it will have low SWRs. And oh yes you do need to have them Rs to come down before you install an amp. You would be smoking and not in a good way. lol I would tune the radio down a little to run into the 2 pill. I would turn it down to about 2 watts so you will have a low dead key coming out of the 2 pill into the 4 pill. Do you have a pic of your antenna setup. I am trying to picture it. What size shaft did you get?
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crazytruker
For some reason I think a 102 in that same spot in that stud will net a better swr. Of course if I upgrade my ground to chassis the swr of the 10k may come down too. I'll have to re ground better. I'm not really wanting to put the riser pole on that box. I could move it to the rear facing box wall but if I can get better swr's in that locations that would mean no more holes in the box. If I move the mount then the holes that are there now are just holes that need plugged.
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crazytruker
I used what I had at the time since the hardware store was closed. I ran I think it's 12g wire to the chassis. Not the best I know but I wanted to get it at least talking. The stinger can up or down some. I cut about 9 inches off of it to get it tuned to where it is now at it's lowest point. Channel 1 is 1.6 and 40 is 1.8. It may be the other way around. That's as low as I can get it. It's not bottomed out and it's not near being all the way out. I can't do anything else as far as tuning the stinger. A better ground may lower it some but I think it needs moved back or raised.
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ww228kidd
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run two ground wires from both sides of the box the chassis, if that dont work, just try to move it back some...if you can go to the rat shack and get one of those (L) brackets that come off the back of the tool box, it will work good too...you see them sometimes with a 102 whip on them, they are bolted to the box with 4 bolts..that will bring it back and down just a little...i have seen them to work fine..rat shack has the kit...
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crazytruker
I was thinking of bolting a mirror mount to the rear facing wall where the box logo is. That would get it back further. I could use the riser mount thing I made to get it up higher some. I was going to put the riser on the front facing wall but it's offset to let the hinged lid open but I would have to move my box back further for the riser to fit between the box and bed wall losing more bed space. I am thinking of shortening my riser because it will be further back if I mount to the rear wall versus the front wall. I could keep the height but the car wash washing strip things may wrap around it. If it's about 6 inches high it will be easier. I'm in a bit of a pickle. I know if I keep thinking I will find a set up that meets every obstacle I am facing. I would just buy the 102 to try in the current location and it may tune right in but then adding power may give me too much reflect compared to barefoot. All of this probably shouldn't be in the Comp area but I am trying to get to competition status and win over the ducks here in my town so to me it's a competition. Maybe I'll buy me an old suburban or at least an old truck to drill and hard mount and bond and add a couple alternators to. Heck, a old tuck with lots of under the hood room and say a 350 Chevy has to be fairly easy to add alternators to. At least 1 or 2 extra and some batteries...
HELP, I am turning into a monster.
HELP, I am turning into a monster.
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ww228kidd
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lol...the (L) bracket looks like one side of the mirror mount....it will work too, just need some spacers to get it off the back of the box some so when you open the box, the lid dont hit it...yeah i am talking about the place with the name plate not by the window....the exender that you have , will it add to the antenna or is it made like a bracket of some sort....it was a pic on this forum of a guy that used the (L) bracket with some spacers....that is how i have seen them installed and works great for them...
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crazytruker
What I did for the bracket I have is took flat stainless (1/4" thick x 2 inches wide x 15" long) and heated and bent a couple inches of it to a 90 degree so it's all flat and the last couple inches is 90'ed making it sort of an L. To the top of the 90'ed I welded 1 inch square stainless tubing that is about 17 inches long. To the top of the square tubing I welded a stainless mirror mount because it already has the hole for the stud and a small hole for the shield terminal to attach to. So in essence what I have is a z bracket of sorts. I can't do paint or I'd draw it for ya. The flat stainless I was going to bolt to the front wall of the box the bend allows the square tubing to offset from the hinge to allow the lid to open and it takes the mount to roof line level. But to allow room for that bent flat with the tubing on it I have to move my box back to give more of a gap between it and the front bed wall. I am losing enough bed space now. Plus taking it out to mount the riser I made and more holes in the box only to not use the holes I already made. I'm thinking L bracket by the logo and calling it good. I am steering clear of the mag mount 1 k because of the scratches that mags leave but it sure would be alot easier
