CB Radio DIY Antenna

CB base station and antenna put together from a mobile CB, a 102" SST whip antenna, and some CB shop / hardware store items. My experiences getting the antenna tuned. Quick SWR check. Good pics of the antenna. One of my cats also decides to help me make the video.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• 102
• whip antenna
• CB radio
• CB base station
• antenna
• ground plane
• Cobra 25 ltd classic
• DIY
• howto

[Ridethemoto]

why did you ground the radio?

[CrypticCRICKET]

@Ridethemoto The ground adds an additional safety ground but more importantly it acts as an RF ground, helping to reduce RF noise on the receive side. You hear weak signals better.

[Ridethemoto]

@CrypticCRICKET thanks for the reply, i have done almost this exact same thing in my backyard after seeing your video but i cannot get my swrs lower than 1.5. im using a 102'' SST whip on a ball mount i attached to the top of an 8 foot mast. does my mast length matter? do i need more than one ground rod for the antenna? i have 8 guage wire for my ground planes similar to yours but they are not solid wire. and im sure power lines will throw off the swrs? if you have any tips that would be great.

[CrypticCRICKET]

@Ridethemoto Question: 1) are you getting 1.5 SWR on both ch 1 and ch 40?

At 1.5 it sounds like you have a weak ground plane or bad continuity between the coax ground and your stranded wire ground plane.

8 ft off the ground, you'll need a good external ground plane to get the signal to jump off the antenna. Energy travels on the outside surface of a wire. If you're using stranded wire then you have a bundle of little wires with each one carrying energy on it's outer surface.

:-)

[CrypticCRICKET]

@Ridethemoto Earlier today I was working on a video about tuning up a new mobile antenna. I was parked at the beach, within a stone's throw of the ocean. The ocean (the liquid linear) is a perfect ground plane. I couldn't make my video because I couldn't even force a minor miss-match SWR from the new antenna without removing the spring from the antenna. A great ground plane will bring your SWR's all the way down to 1:1. Next time I try to make the video, it will be farther inland.

[1sadcock]

Be careful with the swr meter and your calibration. You adjusted for max needle throw and then switched to measure swr while still transmitting. It is best to avoid doing this because depending on how your meter is built it could damage the radio. Unkey the radio then throw the switch. Second, a flat swr doesn't mean your antenna is tuned correctly. Assuming you have an acceptable swr it really just indicates you have an broadband antenna the can work over a large frequency range.

[CrypticCRICKET]

@1sadcock That's interesting. I've not heard or read that before.

[Ridethemoto]

@CrypticCRICKET Yeah it was 1.5 on all, i moved the ground plane wires from straight to the roof to about 45 degress downward tied to a rod in the ground. as soon as i did this my swrs dropped and is now a little higher on 40 meaning my antenna length actually affects the meter now. i got it all dialed in and it seems to go a good amount further locally. thanky you for all your help and your helpful video take care.

[lunaticasai]

@6:11 Kitty offers a rub in trade for snack!

[CrypticCRICKET]

@rowlettrooster40 That's excellent! The 102" SST whip is a great antenna. Thanks for the report!