Any tips on getting better swr readings?

hey all, just got my hands on my new SWR meter, and so this morning, i drove out onto an old access road, about a mile away from any heavy traffic, buildings or power lines. i have a cobra 19 dxIII radio, and an old magnet mount k40 style antenna. i dialed in to channel 20 and started tuning.

my initial reading was right under 3, but after adjusting the height on five different trials, i got it to read right outside of 1.5. im trying to get it as close to 1 as possible. any tips? i am working with a 03 ST XLT, i mounted the antenna on the roof right above the third brake light, theres a roof rack on the rails too. is it just my antenna? should i just try buying a new one? will moving it to the front on the opposing side of the am/fm radio possibly help?

any help would be greatly appreciated. im also planning on eventuall mounting a cb antenna where the regular antenna would go and getting a splitter to have both of my radios share that antenna. will i get better swr in this spot?

thanks guys

 

[LONO100]

thanks DB, in a few months after my this aussie locker install and maybe a new alpine deck, im going for the wilson.

 

[The DB]

Your actually doing right about what our current laws state is the maximum distance you are allowed to communicate with that device (5 miles if memory servs).

This was in error, legally you are allowed something like 150 miles transmission range, however the intended effective range of a CB radio is four or five miles which shows with the four watt limit on AM transmissions.

Yea yea, correcting myself... Surprised no one else caught it and brought it up...

The DB

 

[rizzjc]

Yeah, I didn't think there was any limit at all. After all, you can't control how far radio waves travel. That's why they put power limits on the frequencies. I don't see cb band ever getting 150 miles, but I also can't see how they can enforce a specific distance.

 

[The DB]

Yeah, I didn't think there was any limit at all. After all, you can't control how far radio waves travel. That's why they put power limits on the frequencies. I don't see cb band ever getting 150 miles, but I also can't see how they can enforce a specific distance.

If your not causing any serious trouble I don't think they care, if they do it hasn't shown in a very long time...

It's not actually very hard to talk over 155 miles, but not usually directly. Ever listen to channel 6 during sunspot cycles? A friend and I were talking on our tuned radios (but no amps) going about our day in the St. Louis/St. Charles area and someone asks for a break wondering where we were. He said he was in California and it sounded like we were both right next to him.

For those who are unfamiliar its called sky wave propogation, and the cb frequencies are among the best available for this type of contact. If conditions were right I could see a stock radio and a descent well tuned antenna pulling it off... Someone would have to be listening in the right place and time and have a good enough setup to respond. It's unlikely but possible. In the example above we weren't using much more than 20 watts on our end.

The DB

 

[LONO100]

i kind of just assumed you meant limits on wattage and not range. i hate to be a stickler about correcting people.

hey DB, your story about catching a guy in cali while being in the midwest is similar to something i just experienced last week. the other week, i was driving home from work and just happened to have my cb tuned to channel 6 during the early evening and i happened to catch two guys giving each other directions to a short cut to avoid some delay. the two guys were talking about some highways that didnt exist here in the bay area, and i listened further only to realize that the guys were in fresno (one of them actually said "im still just outside of fresno"). for those of you who are unfamiliar with california, fresno was about 400 miles away from where i currently was in the bay area at the time that i heard them talking. they sounded like they were in the car right next to me. i could hear them for about 3 minutes before i lost their signals.

why does this occur on channel six? i noticed that all of the cb regulars around my area that are always chatting it up are always doing so on channel 6. are they doing this purposely because of the sky wave propogation?

 

[The DB]

i kind of just assumed you meant limits on wattage and not range. i hate to be a stickler about correcting people.

I corrected myself. What can I say, I just like being accurate...

why does this occur on channel six? i noticed that all of the cb regulars around my area that are always chatting it up are always doing so on channel 6. are they doing this purposely because of the sky wave propogation?

Its not just channel 6, that is just where people on the CB bands that actively attempts to make those long range contacts hang out. I can't speak for the people in your area, likely a few picked a channel that happened to be clear and more just started using it as well.