Coax cable?

[88fadedglory]

Antenna Theory 101:

An antenna is a unusal electrical conductor in that radio frequency AC current can effectively fly off it and head outward from the antenna.

This works best when the antenna resonates at to that frequency, much like a guitar string has to be tuned to a certain pitch to give a clear tone.

For a CB antenna to work right it must resonate in the CB 27 MHZ band.

The minimum free wire length (slightly dependant on wire gauge) would be 108 inches or 9 feet which is an electrical 1/4 wavelength. Fiberglass antennas, otoh, have much more wire than this, but still resonate like the 108" antenna.

An SWR meter measures the efficiency of the antenna system (antenna, coax, and the antenna gound) and lets the operator set the antenna for best efficiency.

If too much power is not allowed to radiate off the antenna it goes backward into the radio and overloads the final RF amplifier transistor / IC chip, destroying them quickly.

Ideally, the ratio of radiated power to reflected power would zero or 1:1 on the SWR meter, but usually any reading under 2.5:1 will work well.

Operating a radio without checking the SWR is an invitation to problems, usually the destruction of the radio's final amplifier which usually costs as much to fix as buying a new radio.

[Fidishund]

awesome info thank you

[88fadedglory]

Originally Posted by Fidishund

awesome info thank you

You're welcome.

Since CB's have lost popularity over the years, many stores, including Radio Shack, don't have the knowledge a person needs at times.

Back in those days of yesteryear, I found that knowledge of how antennas worked gave me more range than many got by going to illegal power.

An example: Two blocks from my house in IN was a guy that went by the handle of "Mule Driver" (He drove a forklift for Arvin Ind of Greenwood IN) and he ran about 1000 watts of power into a badly set up antenna system. He was bleeding across 5 channels 3 miles away!

I was using a mobile on a power supply, a 5/8 wave base antenna (1.2:1 SWR) with a barefoot 4 watts output.

I could talk to Bermuda, he couldn't ... but then I could hit Bermuda off the 108" GlassKat whip on my bicycle and he couldn't from his base.

I guess you could say, " The Boogieman got him."






'Cause I be da Boogieman.

KBH-4658 aka "The Canon City Boogieman"

[88fadedglory]

Is that a Hudson I see in your avatar?

[Fidishund]

No way That is my 1947 Kaiser Special.

[Fidishund]

Just got done a 1955 Thunder Bird as well Here is the almot finished pic.

[88fadedglory]

Originally Posted by Fidishund

Just got done a 1955 Thunder Bird as well Here is the almot finished pic.

Sorry about not recognizing the Kaiser. We had very few of them in my home town back in Indiana.

But Hudsons were everywhere.

Nice T-bird. I liked them better before they became a luxury touring car (the Squarebird in 59)

[Fidishund]

Even looking at it up close with my 47 kaiser licens plate many people do not kow what it is lol.. No worries