New to Ham Radio

[ReloaderBen]

Could any of you suggest a good tech to "peak and tune" my radio. I live in north ga. Any info is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards

Shawn

Check with some of the guys at the local Ham club. http://www.lanierlandarc.org/

 

[Northeast Ga. Cerakote]

Check with some of the guys at the local Ham club. http://www.lanierlandarc.org/

Good idea. Thank you sir.

 

[falken]

The DM-5R baofeng, supports DMR and FM Analog, and is reasonably priced. http://www.radioddity.com/us/2016-b...5r-dual-band-dmr-digital-radio-2000mah-1.html

 

[Northeast Ga. Cerakote]

Ok, so after having the radio tuned and coax/antenna checked professionally I'm still unable to get swr's below 2 with the firestick and almost 3 with the 102" whip. I've tried both with and without the springs and actually does better without. I've also bonded the jeep body to chassis in four spots including the tailgate which is where my mount is located. All paint/oxidation has also been removed before I attached the bonds. Please, please somebody tell me what the heck is going on. I'm very surprised the firestick is out performing the whip as well. Could I be bonding incorrectly. I'm using flat braided strapping?

If you are into guns or yeti cups, I'll provide a free cerakote job on your cup or single color paint job on your pistol slide for the one who solves my problem .

Shawn

 

[Northeast Ga. Cerakote]

Your coax between your gear and antenna could be a multiple of the 10/11 meter band so might need to be shortened (or lengthened), coax might be damaged somewhere, your PL259 (SO259) connectors could be improperely soldered to the coax ends. What type meter are you measuring standing waves with ? Are y0u testing in a field or large parking lot without obstructions such as light poles or overhead wires and power lines ?

Thanks for the help buddy. I took my jeep to a reputable cb shop and he hooked up his meter directly to my antenna stud and got the same results I did using my installed coax. His shop is in a big parking lot at a truck stop. I'm using a 18' piece of coax, not sure what length his was. I called down to Ham radio outlet and their advice was to bond my radio chassis directly to the body and try removing some grounds thinking a bad created a ground loop. Did all that and no change.

 

[sonofapreacherman]

Thanks for the help buddy. I took my jeep to a reputable cb shop and he hooked up his meter directly to my antenna stud and got the same results I did using my installed coax. His shop is in a big parking lot at a truck stop. I'm using a 18' piece of coax, not sure what length his was. I called down to Ham radio outlet and their advice was to bond my radio chassis directly to the body and try removing some grounds thinking a bad created a ground loop. Did all that and no change.

What shop?

 

[Northeast Ga. Cerakote]

Wolfman. Exit 164 carnsville.

 

[3clicks_Off]

Maybe patracy can point you in the right direction. That's if he decides to grace us with his presence this month

 

[patracy]

Your coax between your gear and antenna could be a multiple of the 10/11 meter band so might need to be shortened (or lengthened), coax might be damaged somewhere, your PL259 (SO259) connectors could be improperely soldered to the coax ends. What type meter are you measuring standing waves with ? Are y0u testing in a field or large parking lot without obstructions such as light poles or overhead wires and power lines ?

There's a lot of good points made there. Basically it's going to come down to checking everything from the radio out to the whip, piece by piece. And SWR IS affected by overhead wires, metal buildings/structures, power lines. (My SWR increases in my Jeep with my Yaesu 857 on HF if I park where I normally park in the driveway. This is due to the phone line overhead and nearby powerline.

Maybe patracy can point you in the right direction. That's if he decides to grace us with his presence this month

Yeah yeah, I've been sick this week actually. But back to the topic. Since it's a jeep, there's very little ground plane (I have this problem too). What helped me was making a RF choke with some coils of coax with ferrites on them. There's no "answer" for what will work best. But you'll have to play around with the number of loops and ferittes until you get SWR down. But it's a balancing act. Too much choke and you'll loose output.

 

[Northeast Ga. Cerakote]

Hopefully he will. I'm at a loss. Thinking it's a ground plane issue but many are saying they have good swr reading without additional bonding. I've installed around 6 and seen no benefits.