Antenna question

[Captpoppy]

Picked up an antenna(mirror mount) and tried to use as a temporary base antenna. I keep getting an "ant" light, when I key the mic. Is this a ground issue or possibly a bad cable?

[1206FL]

How is the antenna mounted? Is it mag mount? What kind of antenna is it? And no it's not s bad cable or ground issue. Check the vswr. It's probably real bad and will eventually lead to equipment failure with repeated use. Need more info than a mirror mount. Like I said, how's it mounted and to what is it mounted?? Give more info and maybe it can be fixed.

[MDYoungblood]

That is the problem, it probably doesn't have enough counterpoise (ground plane) to function. Since your just getting back into CB the next thing to buy would be a good SWR/Power meter, they make it easier to troubleshoot.

3's

Greg

[Captpoppy]

It is Temporarily mounted on a Tripod, just trying to "land test it" before install and see if I need to replace the radio. It is an old Cobra 29Plus(about 25 years old) Still works for the most part. I did find that replacing the Mic solved some of the issues. Now to get the antenna issue cleared up. Still getting an intermittent "ANT" light

I will look for an SWR meter locally tomorrow, if not then I will buy one online

[MDYoungblood]

Yep, it's an SWR issue. Here is one of my temporary antennas,
[Please login or register to view this link] click on the pic

3's

Greg

[jessejamesdallas]

Yep, it's an SWR issue. Here is one of my temporary antennas,
[Please login or register to view this link] click on the pic

3's

Greg

Definition of "Mud Duck"...

See MDYoungblood...

[Captpoppy]

Ok. So I did try a K40 Mag Mount (fresh out of the package), Still same issue. I just want to figure out if I should kick the old unit to the curb and start fresh, or have the old unit worked on and resurrected.

If it is time to start from scratch, what do you guys recommend for a decent entry level radio and antenna combo for a Jeep Wrangler, and what are your thoughts on the spare tire bracket from teraflex or the one from right channel? Both mount the same (two bolts directly into the door).. And would it be a smarter choice to go with a dual purpose radio AM/SSB?

Like I said before, total noob so bear with me. I am a quick study, so I should sound foolish for too long

[MDYoungblood]

Definition of "Mud Duck"...

See MDYoungblood...

Yep, the biggest "Mud Duck" in Maryland and not ashamed to admit it, LOL

[Captpoppy]

OK, so I did a little fine tuning to the whip, raised it and tried to recalibrate. The "ANT" light comes on, on channels 13-24???? I know the radio SWR meter is not the standard, but for the moment it is all I have. Any insight into why I am having this problem?

Using a K30 Magnetic mount on a Cobra 29 Classic LTD Manufacture Date March 1986

[1206FL]

You need to get that antenna off the ground and up in the air. Also need some metal under it. Use the K40 and as large a steel plate as you can find to mount it to. Place this on your roof or as high as possible on a ladder or something. Also grounding the steel plate will help as well. At least it will get your vswr reading down. You would be better of building a vertical or horizontal dipole. The K30 mag mount won't hardly tune worth a dang on a good vehicle, it's not going to tune well using like you are. Stop using the radio. JMHO. I would check around locally and see if you can find an A99 or something, but in the mean time check out building a vertical dipole. Good luck.

[Captpoppy]

Thanks

Just to be clear, it was my intention to use this as a mobile. With that, I plan on getting the mount and a quality antenna. I was just going through the process of seeing whether or not it was work keeping this radio or looking for a replacement.

[1206FL]

Those radios are good radios. Unless you do any SSB talking, the cobra 29 you have should be a good radio. If you want to get into SSB the uniden 980 is a cheap radio. I would Invest in the antenna system though. The k30 and k40 are about bottom of the barrel when it comes to talking any distance. Had both and very quickly gave them away! Like I said, not sure of your intentions, but the radio you have should work fine. It's the antenna setup that is causing your issues.

[jessejamesdallas]

Thanks

Just to be clear, it was my intention to use this as a mobile. With that, I plan on getting the mount and a quality antenna. I was just going through the process of seeing whether or not it was work keeping this radio or looking for a replacement.

So let me get this straight.... Your checking the antenna somewhere outside, but your planning on sticking it in your Jeep later?

Dude...Your wasting your time trying to see if it works or not, without it already being installed in the Jeep.

"Even If" you manage to get it working without the antenna warning light coming on, once you install it in the Jeep, your going to have to re-tune the antenna again anyway...

If it were me, I would mount my antenna on the Jeep, then try to get the SWR set on the antenna without the ant. warning light coming on...Trying to do this off the vehicle is never going to work, because nothing is going to be grounded properly until it's mounted to the vehicle...Even if it's a magnet mounted antenna, it needs to be placed on the vehicle where you want it to be located once done, to tune...

Plus, being a older radio, I wouldn't put allot of stock in the radios built-in meter...Get yourself a in-line swr meter, and a short jumper coax, and use that to set the SWR...You can just temporarily wire-up the radio to the Jeep, just to get the SWR set, and then see if the radio has any problems before deciding on whether or not you want to get a different radio later.

[Captpoppy]

Excellent, glad to hear it is on that end.

I will check out the uniden. I was hoping to give the ssb a go, just need to get a decent base of info first.

Thanks again

-- Thursday, 02 April 2015, 21:25 PM --

Thanks

Just to be clear, it was my intention to use this as a mobile. With that, I plan on getting the mount and a quality antenna. I was just going through the process of seeing whether or not it was work keeping this radio or looking for a replacement.

So let me get this straight.... Your checking the antenna somewhere outside, but your planning on sticking it in your Jeep later?

Dude...Your wasting your time trying to see if it works or not, without it already being installed in the Jeep.

"Even If" you manage to get it working without the antenna warning light coming on, once you install it in the Jeep, your going to have to re-tune the antenna again anyway...

If it were me, I would mount my antenna on the Jeep, then try to get the SWR set on the antenna without the ant. warning light coming on...Trying to do this off the vehicle is never going to work, because nothing is going to be grounded properly until it's mounted to the vehicle...Even if it's a magnet mounted antenna, it needs to be placed on the vehicle where you want it to be located once done, to tune...

I just wanted to be sure it was in working order first.

That make perfect sense, I'll get the mount that I need and start over fresh.

[jessejamesdallas]

Yeah do that. Trying to figure out why the antenna warning light is coming on, without the antenna being on the vehicle to start with, is never going to work because you don't have a proper ground...

Like I said, you can hook the radio up just temporarily in the Jeep (just have the thing wired to the battery and sitting in the seat or floor) then run the coax to the antenna, and have the antenna already mounted where you want it..."Then" try and get the SWR set by moving the stinger up and down...Once you get the SWR under 2.0 the antenna warning light should not come on.

Now if you see the SWR meter's needle pegging all the way to the right, then you could have a bad ground...meaning your antenna mount is not well grounded to the vehicle...

[1206FL]

JJD, I didn't even realize he was planning on using it mobile until I read a few posts. You hit the nail dead center on the head!! Captpoppy, listen to JJD. He is 110% correct. Is the jeep a hard or soft top? If is a hard top, get your self a good hard mount, drill a hole and install a good antenna like a predator 10k. JMHO. You can keep the radio. As far as SSB goes, there's nothing to it. Get an SSB radio and listen. Then when you feel like it, start transmitting. There are plenty of other SSB type export radios besides the cb/SSB uniden 980. But for the money, the 980 is a great start up radio. Like JJD said, mount antenna onto truck, with what you have as far as antennas, use the k40 and place it center of the roof. When you go to set your vswr (swr), you need to be away from any trees, buildings, power lines and so on for at least 50-75ft in all directions. Keep all doors closed and you inside the vehicle. Don't have anyone hanging around the vehicle either. Then start taking your measurements. With the k40 you may have to cut a bit off the whip to get it to tune. The whips usually come a bit long. Only cut 1/4-1/8" at a time. Check vswr on 1, 20, and 40. Try to get them as close as you can. Start on channel 20 for the main tuning. Then fine tune 1 and 40 after. Like JJD said get yourself an swr/power meter and a 3ft jumper. If you have any truck stop stations near you they'll have them. TA or loves, flying J. Or get one from one of the sponsors. At any rate. Good luck and good day.

[ogdoa]

JJD, I didn't even realize he was planning on using it mobile until I read a few posts. You hit the nail dead center on the head!! Captpoppy, listen to JJD. He is 110% correct. Is the jeep a hard or soft top? If is a hard top, get your self a good hard mount, drill a hole and install a good antenna like a predator 10k. JMHO. You can keep the radio. As far as SSB goes, there's nothing to it. Get an SSB radio and listen. Then when you feel like it, start transmitting. There are plenty of other SSB type export radios besides the cb/SSB uniden 980. But for the money, the 980 is a great start up radio. Like JJD said, mount antenna onto truck, with what you have as far as antennas, use the k40 and place it center of the roof. When you go to set your vswr (swr), you need to be away from any trees, buildings, power lines and so on for at least 50-75ft in all directions. Keep all doors closed and you inside the vehicle. Don't have anyone hanging around the vehicle either. Then start taking your measurements. With the k40 you may have to cut a bit off the whip to get it to tune. The whips usually come a bit long. Only cut 1/4-1/8" at a time. Check vswr on 1, 20, and 40. Try to get them as close as you can. Start on channel 20 for the main tuning. Then fine tune 1 and 40 after. Like JJD said get yourself an swr/power meter and a 3ft jumper. If you have any truck stop stations near you they'll have them. TA or loves, flying J. Or get one from one of the sponsors. At any rate. Good luck and good day.

If it's a hard top a standard antenna will not work mounted to the top. Fiberglass if its a Wrangler. I mounted mine to the light bar. I was hoping to get some reflection off of the hood. It seems to work ok. Low swr and decent receive. If I didn't have the light bar I would have probably mounted it in the rear on the side or maybe the rear bumper. I guess if its a Cherokee it doesn't matter because you can mount it to the top. lol.

[Captpoppy]

Thanks guys.

It is a soft top. I ordered the spare tire mount and after reading all the info, I plan on grabbing a braided ground strap for the tailgate to the body.

Locally I have access to Wilson products, and was looking at the 5000 trucker? Yay or nay?

Also I saw that Wilson has a prepackaged 18 food mini 8 coax with the ability to run it through the grommet on the jeep without a massive hole, will this work? Lastly, with the Wilson antenna, I assume I need the base to mount to the bracket, should I use the stainless or the "gumdrop". Shopping off the rack, so be patient.

Thanks again for all the advice

(edited by MDY, removed double post)

[1206FL]

The new wilson antennas are hit and miss as far as quality goes. I had a local with 2 brand new ones that wouldn't tune worth a darn. And for the coax the sma to pl259 Connectors are crap and will eventually cause issues. Not a fan of those things at all. Seen too many be the fail point and cause bad vswr reading. Don't skimp on the antenna setup. It's one of the most vital parts of your radio system. JMHO.

[jessejamesdallas]

Check out Breedloves Machine Shop. (Google it)... He has allot of different type antenna mounts just for Jeeps. And if you don't see what you need he can custom build whatever you want.

[1206FL]

Gotta love breedlove. They are some nice mounts he makes.

[Captpoppy]

Ok. You guys were spot on, as I figured you would be.

The radio is working fine now that I made up a mount and checked to make sure I had a solid ground.

Re-purposive at its best. Two aluminum shackles from my retire stock car, a bit of grinding to remove the anodize, a little creativity and "bam" no more ant light.
[Please login or register to view this link]

-- Friday, 03 April 2015, 13:10 PM --

I did order the teraflex antenna mount which bolts in two positions, but didn't get the "kit", as I would rather build a better antenna on your recommendations. I figure the kits are pretty generic and would be a "get what Ya pay for" product.

So, with that, what do you guys recommend for a decent antenna

[jessejamesdallas]

Ok. You guys were spot on, as I figured you would be.

The radio is working fine now that I made up a mount and checked to make sure I had a solid ground.

Re-purposive at its best. Two aluminum shackles from my retire stock car, a bit of grinding to remove the anodize, a little creativity and "bam" no more ant light.
[Please login or register to view this link]

-- Friday, 03 April 2015, 13:10 PM --

I did order the teraflex antenna mount which bolts in two positions, but didn't get the "kit", as I would rather build a better antenna on your recommendations. I figure the kits are pretty generic and would be a "get what Ya pay for" product.

So, with that, what do you guys recommend for a decent antenna

The way you have it mounted...A 102" whip would work great! (as long as you could deal with the height)

If you like the fiberglass type antenna's, I wouldn't go shorter than 5'...They also make some flexible fiberglass type antenna's that are great if you do allot of off-roading.

[Captpoppy]

Thinking of avoiding fiberglass altogether. Height wouldn't be an issue, but if I can get away with a different setup I think I would prefer not having crazy height

So probably a rigid extension on the mount that is coming in. Starting to see the options available, but also where there are options, I am sure there are other problems.

How to get the most bang for the buck.

Oh, and this setup is temporary, my new Jeep should be here Tuesday. I figured why not do all the test work on the old one

-- Friday, 03 April 2015, 17:25 PM --

Ooh!! I know what I forgot to ask. I have heard a lot of back and forth over Firestick, I saw one (48") with an adjustable tip, instead of a trim to tune. If I was going fiberglass, thoughts???

If not, shoot me some options, I'm all ears

[MDYoungblood]

The Teraflex is a pretty hefty mount so if height isn't a problem go with the longest antenna out there, the only thing to keep an eye on is the nylon insulators on the stud mount. If you are like me I carry a couple of wrenches just in case I need to take it off, the local car wash brushes don't like big antennas.

3's

Greg