CB SWR calibration?

Laubage

Laubage

New member
I got my SWR meter in today and I went to try and calibrate my antenna. For some reason, the meter hardly moves when I key the mic.

I have the control box connected to the RTX side of the meter and the antenna connected to the ANT side of the meter. The switches are in 10W and FWD. I tried turning the CAL knob, but the SWR needle barely moves. The WATT side doesn't move at all.

I'm also not picking up any CB signal when it's connected like this. I can pick up the NOAA weather channels, but not CB. Did I get a defective meter?

This is the one I got: SWR meter
 
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Laubage said:
I got my SWR meter in today and I went to try and calibrate my antenna. For some reason, the meter hardly moves when I key the mic.

I have the control box connected to the RTX side of the meter and the antenna connected to the ANT side of the meter. The switches are in 10W and FWD. I tried turning the CAL knob, but the SWR needle barely moves. The WATT side doesn't move at all.

I'm also not picking up any CB signal when it's connected like this. I can pick up the NOAA weather channels, but not CB. Did I get a defective meter?

This is the one I got: SWR meter
Click to expand...

I use the following steps on mine:
1) Antenna connected to "ANT" side.
2) Set to 10W
3) Set to FWD
4) Turn calibration knob all the way counter clockwise
5) Set your CB to channel 1
6) Press the "talk" (key) button and keep the button pressed for the next couple steps.
7) Turn the calibration know until the needle goes all the way over to the far right side and lines up with the "SET" mark.
8) Flip the switch to "REF"
9) Record the reading (the decimal scale is under the main scale).
10) Let go of the "talk" button
11) Repeat for channel 19 and channel 40

Are you using the same steps?

Okki
 
I find the Firestik website a good resource:
No_SWR

"You install your antenna, wire in the SWR meter, flip to a channel and key up to begin the process required to adjust the antenna. All of the lights are lit up and you can hear other people talking. But, when you depress the microphone button the meters needle barely moves, or fails to move at all. Even when you turn the "Set" knob to its maximum position nothing happens. You look at the meter on the radio and it doesn't move when you key up the microphone. What's going on? If faced with this dilemma, go check your radio's power connection, both positive and negative.

The LED's that light up your radio display do not require much power. Likewise, the receiver portion of the radio can receive with less than full power. But, your radio transmitter needs a lot more power. A high resistance connection (corrosion, partially broken wire, loose connection) can supply enough power to light up the radio's lights and LED's yet fail to supply all of the current that the radios transmitter circuits need. When this situation occurs, the transmitter doesn't transmit and the meter has nothing to read.

For best performance, make sure that those power leads are in good shape and are securely connected."
 
hmm good information! I'll have to check the fuse box tomorrow and see if that fixes it. The weird thing though is when the meter is tied into the system, I don't even get any hint of noise on CB. Usually there's 2-3 bars of noise.
 
Still no workie. Maybe it's because it's plugged into the fuse box? It should still get enough power there right?
 
Are you using a tap-a-fuse? or are you using an empty slot in the fusebox in the engine bay? I have mine running of my Aux-fusebox with a 2 amp fuse (I removed the in-line one).

Antman is the king of tap-a-fuses... maybe he has some insight...
 
On a bolt next to the parking brake. I think I'm just going to return it and say my CB is good. I had someone do a test for me and They were hearing me out to 3.5 miles.

On the bright side, my two ICOM F-3011 radios just came in! Looking forward to seeing how far these babies can get out.
 
Laubage said:
On a bolt next to the parking brake. I think I'm just going to return it and say my CB is good. I had someone do a test for me and They were hearing me out to 3.5 miles.

On the bright side, my two ICOM F-3011 radios just came in! Looking forward to seeing how far these babies can get out.
Click to expand...

They may be hearing you, but if you are running a high SWR (due to a faulty meter not picking it up) you are burning up your CB. Do you have access to another meter, or another CB so you can confirm your readings?

Okki
 
Okki said:
They may be hearing you, but if you are running a high SWR (due to a faulty meter not picking it up) you are burning up your CB. Do you have access to another meter, or another CB so you can confirm your readings?

Okki
Click to expand...

What he said. You can easily damage your radio if it isn't tuned properly.
 
Laubage said:
But I dont think it would go out 3 miles if the swr was bad.
Click to expand...
Yes you would. It's just a matter of how long before the finals in the radio get fried.

A little more detail...
It would take an SWR of over 50:1 to cut your power in half, which for someone receiving your signal would reduce your Rx level by 2 S-units (3db). However, the finals are designed for output, not input so any signal coming back at them is a real No-No. The goal is always to have an SWR as low as possible with less than 1.5:1 being acceptable and over 2:1 needs things fixed.
 
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