Cobra 29 problems

[Polar89]

Hello everyone, new to the boards here and I came seeking advice... I am currently running a 2003 Cobra 29 ltd HD SE (peaked and tuned), Wilson 2000 trucker, and all stainless mounting materials and antenna stud, 18ft rg58 coax. I have all this installed on my 2012 cascadia. Now the problem I'm having is when I put all this together I had tuned my swr's down to 1.2-1.3 and all has been working fine and had a happy radio. I went to GA a couple days ago and my swr's have risen to 2.7-2.9 and I haven't touched anything. So I called numerous cb shops and all there responses were "bring it in and well check it out" and after taking it in all of them gave me different answers on what the problem was??? I have tested all my equipment for continuity and everything and it all checked out fine.. So then I got to thinking well maybe it might be a lost ground so I ran a ground strap from my mount to the frame and that didnt change a thing. So I tried swapping out my coax with a brand new 12ft I have laying around for my new setup (more on that later) and still no change. Then I tried swapping out the radio with a brand new 29ltd classic (new setup I'm gonna have the rfx 75 mod done on) and was getting the exact same readings. So I'm at a loss I'm not sure what else to try? Like I said I've tested everything and it all checked out, I just don't understand how I had a tuned system with nice swr to a system that is not transmitting or receiving well with high swr without me changing anything? Help please?!

Thank you,
Cameron

[Slyguy]

Sounds like you checked except for the antenna mount. That's where I would go. By the way, welcome to CBRT!!

[Z-MAN]

Is a Cascadia a Semi-truck (big rig)? If the ant. is mounted on the mirror, you have to ground the door with a ground strap or wire. Its not a good ground with hinge alone.

[MDYoungblood]

Hello Polar89,
Welcome to the forum.
I read your post (twice) and the only thing I see you didn't try was another antenna. I am surprised the CB shops didn't hop on trying to sell you a new one. See if you can find one to try, most truckers have a couple spares. Grounding everything is important, the door hinges have a small Teflon sleeve and the only (not so good) ground contact is door lock. Ground strap on the hood even if it is fiberglass will drain off static buildup ( put one on the top if you have a windscreen). If the radio is on the dash or not mounted to a metal surface put a ground wire from the case to a good ground, don't depend on the negative wire or antenna shield to do it. Let us know if any of this helped.

3's

Greg

[Polar89]

I tried putting other antennas on it this morning (brand new k40, brand new Wilson, and an old truck spec with center loaded coil) and seeing how none of them were tuned yet I was getting really high swr's, so I put my original Wilson back on and they went back to 1.2-1.3??? *scratches head* maybe there was just something in the air the last few days? It all works well now? Just not sure how all that could have changed and went back. Maybe it was just mad at me because I'm heading home today? Thank you for all the input guys. Will keep a regular visit going on here to do some research on giving that brand new 29 I have a boost in power. Have a nice day and weekend everyone.

['Doc]

Still sounds like a problem with the mount, dirty maybe?
- 'Doc

[Slyguy]

Still sounds like a problem with the mount, dirty maybe?
- 'Doc

That's what I'm talking about. Or cracked insulator.

[dime196604]

I have a willson 1000 and every time I unscrew the coil and whip from the base to go in a parking garage or some thing, then reinstal the whip and could without touching the lock screws for the whip(used for tuning) the swr always changes something to 3 or above. Other times it stays the same. That had me scratching my head many times, I never figured it out. Just bought another K40 as that's what I used to have and I like better then the willson.