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Does swrs effect reception as well

To keep things simple, asking for radio checks doesn't really force anyone to answer. Now that you have two radios and two magnet mount antennas, hook up a radio and antenna, temporarily, on your buddies vehicle and do a radio check with them. Knowing that they intend on answering, you'll know if you have cause for concern or not.

It sounds like the CB shop just took advantage and talked you into buying another radio for no reason other than to put money in his pocket. Its regrettable that there are such dishonest businessmen out there.

I also agree with w9cll, is the little Wilson isn't the best antenna, but it is being extremely exaggerated by calling it useless. When I first got into the hobby I had a K30, which is about the same thing as a Little Wilson. I also bought one for my wife's car. We've talked 7-11 miles with them on a regular basis. And did it with stock FCC legal CBs (Uniden 510XL and Galaxy 929). A hard core hobbyist might not choose one over a 102", but they still serve a purpose. I still keep a K30 and a universal 12Vd power plug on hand on the chance I borrow or rent a car.
 
I went and parked at a park and ride today. Just a few hundred feet from i95. I was able to get some radio checks from the bearcat and the connex but nothing from the brand new stock cobra 29 lx that started this whole mess. This was my intital purchase band before getting my antenna set at all. The cobra was flashing the antenna warning. Cobras answer was telling me to open the unit and turn the vr6 knob down. That's when I went and got an swr meter. The swrs were 3.5 and higher. Is it possible the modulation is blown in the cobra? Went to 4 truck stops and non had a meter for modulation. Only a double gauge Astatic swr/power and a Single guage Roadpro.

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I was told to put the little antenna on the Astatic so I can read power. The little Roadpro doesn't have a small antenna. Whats that deal?

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A swr/power meter will usually show forward swing if you talk or whistle into the mic after keying down. One of the other guys here suggested that you have one radio on the same channel as your cobra,the cobra hooked up to an antenna and key up the mic and talk and listen on the other radio close by to tell if you can hear yourself talk on it. You may have to send the cobra to a tech for repairs,tune and align. I send all my work to DTB Radio.
CB Radio - DTB Radio's Front Page
(717) 258-8397
 
undecidedcallsign said:
I was told to put the little antenna on the Astatic so I can read power. The little Roadpro doesn't have a small antenna. Whats that deal?

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First of all,what model Astatic meter do you have,model number?
You hookup the radio you are testing to the plug on the Astatic labeled,'radio'. with a coax jumper with two PL-259 connectors,one at each end. You then plug your antenna coax into the plug on the Astatic swr/power labeled,'antenna'. Turn radio on,follow instructions that come with the Astatic meter. Select the power scale and correct wattage and key down. Observe what the Astatic is showing on the meter. Make sure the Astatic meter is switched to show power and not swr. Talk or even whistle or say,"Aaaaauuuudddiioooo' into the mic while you are keyed up and see if the meter on the Astatic is swinging from it's dead key reading to a higher wattage reading. That's how you tell if you've got modulation. Still,using another radio close by to hear yourself talk is a good idea too. Just make sure everything is hooked up properly so you won't burn anything inside up.
 
Its an astatic pdc2. I only have a 10w/100 switch and a fwd/switch. The knob on the side will allow me to set swr scale to the set position but the watt scale I see no way to calibrate it even tho it had a set notch on the scale just like on the swr meter

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undecidedcallsign said:
Its an astatic pdc2. I only have a 10w/100 switch and a fwd/switch. The knob on the side will allow me to set swr scale to the set position but the watt scale I see no way to calibrate it even tho it had a set notch on the scale just like on the swr meter

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The calibrate knob is just for setting the needle to the swr set mark while it's switched to swr and in the forward position. The power will read if it's set in the power position and 10 watt scale selected. It the needle goes full right off the scale then un key and select the 100 watt position.



Did the Astatic meter come with a little rod antenna?
From what I've read,it's also a field strength meter and it doesn't come with instructions. Usually when I want to read power,I select forward and select the wattage. Try that and see if that works.
 

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undecided callsign,

in reading through the thread i picked up on a few things that lead me to believe that you need to do some reading before you get bamboozled into another radio purchase.

if you already know this stuff, cool, but read through it anyway to make sure that you havent been misinformed by a "cb buddy".

first, a tutorial on how to use an SWR meter:
How to use a SWR meter

remember that an SWR meter just gives you an indication of whats going on, it will not "tune" your antenna by adjusting its knobs.

here is a guide on buying CB antennas. while it is not all inclusive, it will lead you in the right direction:
CB Radio Antennas Buying Guide | eBay

also cruise around this site for more good info:
CBRadioMagazine.com - The only online CB Magazine in the world


as for the radio check thing, CBers who have been on the air for a while can spot a "newbie" right away, and many times wont come back to them.

yes, this can be a bit of a catch 22 for new CBers, but eventually you will get some attitude and style going on the air that will make other operators want to come back to you.

(loved the post about having your girlfriend/ wife get on the air! that is so true!!!)

so, the reason you couldnt get a radio check sometimes is that the biggest way to advertise yourself as a newbie is to ask for a radio check.
truckers are on their radio all day long and in a new state every few hours.
its easy to see how they could get sick of giving radio checks all the time.

the other thing about radio checks is the way they get misused.
see, some people who are new to the radio will ask for a radio check as a way of starting a conversation with someone.
this is extremely bad form. :thumbdown:

on the "transmitter's" end, it seems like a perfectly plausible way to find out if anyone is on the band, and from there, to start a conversation with that person.

BUT!

on the "receiver's" end of things, he feels duped into a conversation that he had no say in starting. this creates a less than hospitable feeling in this person, and people have been known to get a little, verbally condescending shall we say. :glare:

so, in the future, when you want to know whether or not your radio is transmitting or not, learn to use the radio's indicators that will give you this information.

when you want to find out how far you are getting out, there are a few possibilities.
first, if there is a local group who talks from their base stations, the best thing to do is get friendly with those who give you a good signal on your meter.
(people who hear you well will be more inclined to talk to you)
just wait for a break in the conversation, when no one is talking and ask for a break.
when it is given, just introduce yourself and mention what equipment you are running.
most CBers love to talk about radio equipment and its a good way to start a conversation.
just dont get into the habit of asking everyone the same questions. LOL

if there are no locals where you are, wait until you hear some truck drivers talking, and when they pause, ask for a break. ("break break!")
when it is given, just tell them where you are and that you are trying to find out how far you are getting out.
they will usually reply with a mile marker that will give you an indication of how far you are talking.
and look, in the process you just got a free radio check without asking for one! :thumbup:

just to wrap things up, the lil wil is not a very good antenna, but my dad runs one and ive talked to him at 10+ miles away in the city.

stepping up to a wilson 1000 will be a noticeable improvement.

welcome to the hobby!!!
LC
 
So if the needle pegs switch to 100w setting and lets say its 100 watts the needle will be on the "1" in 100w mode? What does the F.S scale on the bottom of both meters mean?

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Loose cannon's got some good advice here. I can't see the picture of the meter well enough to determine what it says but yes,if if pegs the the meter on the ten watt scale then switch to the 100 watt scale and I guess 1 watt will be 10watts on the 100 watt scale.
 
here is a quick tutorial on using that particular SWR meter (Astatic PDC2):

1. connect coax from back of radio to "TX" side of meter.

2. connect coax from antenna to "ANT" side of meter.

3. set radio to channel 1 (26.965 mhz)

4. set top switch to "100W" position.

5. set bottom switch to "FWD" position.

6. turn mic gain on radio all the way down/ off.

7. key the microphone and adjust knob on meter until the needle lands directly on the right edge of the scale where it says "SET".
(on the left meter, this coincides with the number "10" on the watt scale)

8. unkey the microphone.

9. without touching or moving the knob on the meter, switch the bottom switch to "REF".

10. key the microphone and note the reading on the "SWR" portion of the scale.

11. unkey the microphone.

12. go to channel 40 (27.405 mhz) and repeat the whole process.

both readings should be less than 1.5. if they are, great, your antenna is tuned.

if the reading on channel 40 is higher than the reading on channel 1, then your antenna is a little bit too long.
try shortening it in 1/4" increments.

if the reading on channel 1 is higher than the reading on channel 40, then your antenna is too short.
try lengthening it by 1/4" increments.

if you cant get the readings below 2, then the antenna is still useable, but should probably be replaced with a better antenna.

if the readings are higher than 2.5 and you cant get them lower, then you might have an antenna problem that should be looked into.


as for the wattmeter portion of the meter, i cant tell if there is a switch that goes from "SWR" to "watts" mode, but there should be.

once you know you are in "watts" mode, you can use either of the 10 watt or 100 watt scales. (bottom switch in "FWD" position)
in the 10 watt scale, the number 1 is 1 watt and the number 10 is 10 watts.
in the 100 watt scale, the number 1 is 10 watts and the number 10 is 100 watts.

PS- i forgot to mention that the little antenna stays disconnected for all these tests. it is only used when you are doing field strength readings.
(nothing is connected to the meter and when you key the radio you will see an indication on the meter that will decrease as you get further from your antenna)

hope this helps!
LC
 
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Ok ty. Yeah no where have I even seen anything about the little antenna. Having in connected while doing the other test effect results?

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loosecannon said:
here is a quick tutorial on using that particular SWR meter (Astatic PDC2):

1. connect coax from back of radio to "TX" side of meter.

2. connect coax from antenna to "ANT" side of meter.

3. set radio to channel 1 (26.965 mhz)

4. set top switch to "100W" position.

5. set bottom switch to "FWD" position.

6. turn mic gain on radio all the way down/ off.

7. key the microphone and adjust knob on meter until the needle lands directly on the right edge of the scale where it says "SET".
(on the left meter, this coincides with the number "10" on the watt scale)

8. unkey the microphone.

9. without touching or moving the knob on the meter, switch the bottom switch to "REF".

10. key the microphone and note the reading on the "SWR" portion of the scale.

11. unkey the microphone.

12. go to channel 40 (27.405 mhz) and repeat the whole process.

both readings should be less than 1.5. if they are, great, your antenna is tuned.

if the reading on channel 40 is higher than the reading on channel 1, then your antenna is a little bit too long.
try shortening it in 1/4" increments.

if the reading on channel 1 is higher than the reading on channel 40, then your antenna is too short.
try lengthening it by 1/4" increments.

if you cant get the readings below 2, then the antenna is still useable, but should probably be replaced with a better antenna.

if the readings are higher than 2.5 and you cant get them lower, then you might have an antenna problem that should be looked into.


as for the wattmeter portion of the meter, i cant tell if there is a switch that goes from "SWR" to "watts" mode, but there should be.

once you know you are in "watts" mode, you can use either of the 10 watt or 100 watt scales. (bottom switch in "FWD" position)
in the 10 watt scale, the number 1 is 1 watt and the number 10 is 10 watts.
in the 100 watt scale, the number 1 is 10 watts and the number 10 is 100 watts.

PS- i forgot to mention that the little antenna stays disconnected for all these tests. it is only used when you are doing field strength readings.
(nothing is connected to the meter and when you key the radio you will see an indication on the meter that will decrease as you get further from your antenna)

hope this helps!
LC
Click to expand...

Yeah!
 
When your on Channel the Frequency is 27-185 Your SWR's are Just fine turn up the squelch and see if you hear anyone talking you should be getting out with that Connex that's for sure. Good Luck
 

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