Imax 2000 and SWR Issues

[loosecannon]

copclyde, the fact that changing the coax length changed the SWR says that you have an antenna problem.

Im sure you know that changing coax lengths is not the way to fix a high SWR issue when it comes to this type of antenna.

your antenna could have sustained some damage from a close by lightning strike which may have also fried your radio's output transistors.

no, the groundplane kit is not reflecting off the tower.

you either have an antenna problem, a grounding problem, or both.

also, this thread is about five years old. you will find that you get more help if you start a new thread when they are this old.

best of luck,
LC

 

[wavrider]

try an rf choke or ugly balun, or order a line isolator from MFJ install at feed point it may be CMC on your coax causing issues with erroneous vswr readings

 

[pinktorpedo]

Basic , Basic , Basic. make sure the center conductor on the both ends of the pl 259's are clean. sometimes it will get coated with a film of flux. shine it up with a ruff green pad. make sure the threads are clean also. make sure there is electrical continuity between the pl 259 ground at the antenna feed point and the mounting bracket on the imax. the mounting bracket must see the ground coming from the coax. start with some simple basics . the imax more or less is plug n play

 

[loosecannon]

just to add to what is being posted, i will mention that on an IMAX 2000 antenna, you WILL see DC continuity if an ohmmeter is placed on the center pin and coax shield.

this is the way the antenna is designed, so don't assume you have a problem if you measure this.
LC

 

[357]

If you have a factory defect like this then its finished.





Mount a dummy load on your tower and check the swr.

ditch the extra 50 feet too thats gotta go.

I'd say it was a bad section if you cant get it below 1.5

 

[kaos513]

If you have a factory defect like this then its finished.


View attachment 18375


Mount a dummy load on your tower and check the swr.

ditch the extra 50 feet too thats gotta go.

I'd say it was a bad section if you cant get it below 1.5

Coax connectors could also be bad as well, cause to have high swr.

 

[kaos513]

I have tested radio shack connectors they are garbage caused my swr to go high at times using ant99 so i went with astatic connectors never had any swr issues.

 

[Sonar]

My Friend just put up a tower aprox 50 Ft. with an Imax-2000 on top. The coax is new 9913 the radio is low power Am 11 meters or a mobil cb,power-supply power mic no amp as of now. In tuneing he had swr problems that could not be adjusted at the antenna. with several attemps at the antenna..Had a local teck come over with antenna analizer and Swr equipment and the end result was to add ( and dont quote me I forget how long) but like 80 ft of coax. everywhere I read you can not change your Swr by the legnth of coax. I read to add a balun of 6 to 8 turns and about 8 ft total at the antenna base. Was asking what is the best thing to do seems like a lot of coax 185 total legnth and he wants it in one full legnth from meter to antenna. I also think his highest swr is 1.5 to 1 on 40 chanels he is also thinking of buying an export that is why he thinks his match is an issue.

You never mentioned if you tried another meter. I did have an issue and it turned out to be a bad solder/connection at the pl 259 (radio end).
Maybe the meters bad. Try another.
My imax 2000 is 10' off the ground and about 15' from a large near object.
That object being my house.
My swr is a bit under 2 and there's little I can do about it with my 2000 at 10ft and it being so close to my home except put it at the proper height.
I hear everyone my locals hear and those using the imax 2000 like myself are above their roof lines and most at the proper wavelength.
I went from an 11 meter dipole to an a 99 then the 2000.
it's worked flawlessly for me even at 10 ft.
I didn't want to install it on the roof because it's new and didn't want to put hole's in it.
I purchased a gable/eaves mount and keep saying I'm gonna get it above the roof line on the next weekend.
7 weeks later and the imax is still on my non penetrating roof mount 10' in the air.
I'm so happy with it and am in no rush.
Even with the fact that my swr will most likely come down quite a bit isn't enough to give me the ass kick i need to put it above the roof.
Setup is IMAX 2000 10ft in the air, mfj 915 chocke, 80 ft lmr 400, mfj 828 mete, uniden madison (soon to be retired for HF) silver eagle, lmr 240 flex jumpers and a dl&a phantom. I'm truly happy with the imax. For me it's an excellent antenna. Even with it not optimally installed.
Lot's of excellent replies to this post. 73.

 

[Sam Moriarity]

First of all Solarcon bought the design and rights from Antron. I doubt that cat you talked to is nothing more than some clown in their so called development department. I have been building my own Ham antennas for years and just took down a 17 year old 'real Imax 2000' and replaced it with a Max 2000. After doing many tests the poor SWR culprit is the crappy new Antenna design! Channel 1 = 2.5 channel 40 = 1.6 channel 19 = 1.7 . The best matching is on 10 meters 28.000 at 1.2 3/4 - 28.300 = 1.3 1/2 - 28.50 = 1.3 - 28.800 = 1.6. This is not the IMAX of old that worked nice on both 11 and 10 meters but now is just some millennial junk ....a waste of almost $200. I would not recommend this MAX 2000 to anyone... it is not the performer of the past when it was the IMAX 2000. It should be against the law for any CB Shop to advertise or sell this MAX 2000 as an IMAX 2000 as these are not the same.

 

[NightThumper]

This thread describes the issue and fix.

https://www.worldwidedx.com/threads/new-imax-wont-tune-11m-this-sucks.228884/page-24

 

[Recon]

My Friend just put up a tower aprox 50 Ft. with an Imax-2000 on top. The coax is new 9913 the radio is low power Am 11 meters or a mobil cb,power-supply power mic no amp as of now. In tuneing he had swr problems that could not be adjusted at the antenna. with several attemps at the antenna..Had a local teck come over with antenna analizer and Swr equipment and the end result was to add ( and dont quote me I forget how long) but like 80 ft of coax. everywhere I read you can not change your Swr by the legnth of coax. I read to add a balun of 6 to 8 turns and about 8 ft total at the antenna base. Was asking what is the best thing to do seems like a lot of coax 185 total legnth and he wants it in one full legnth from meter to antenna. I also think his highest swr is 1.5 to 1 on 40 chanels he is also thinking of buying an export that is why he thinks his match is an issue.

Did you receive the new "short" IMAX 2000 or the original three eight-foot section IMAX 2000?

 

[Recon]

My Friend just put up a tower aprox 50 Ft. with an Imax-2000 on top. The coax is new 9913 the radio is low power Am 11 meters or a mobil cb,power-supply power mic no amp as of now. In tuneing he had swr problems that could not be adjusted at the antenna. with several attemps at the antenna..Had a local teck come over with antenna analizer and Swr equipment and the end result was to add ( and dont quote me I forget how long) but like 80 ft of coax. everywhere I read you can not change your Swr by the legnth of coax. I read to add a balun of 6 to 8 turns and about 8 ft total at the antenna base. Was asking what is the best thing to do seems like a lot of coax 185 total legnth and he wants it in one full legnth from meter to antenna. I also think his highest swr is 1.5 to 1 on 40 chanels he is also thinking of buying an export that is why he thinks his match is an issue.

Remember this?
From Bells CB Radio site: "We no longer sell this antenna because Solarcon decided to shorten the antenna so that it would ship easier. They did this without changing the tuning of the antenna so now it comes tuned for 10 meter Ham band and not CB radio".

 

[Swamp Yankee]

I recently purchased the Imax 2000 Optimizer with the same issues. Cannot get below 1.5. So, I figured the antenna was bad after trying every SWR trick in the book. I then went and purchased another Imax 2000 Optimizer 2 weeks ago with the same results. The "NEWER" Imax 2000 Optimizer are designed for 1.5 at best which does not fit my needs. My Amp requires 1.3 SWR or better when not running and 1.5 SWR or better when running. Time to buy a Sirio 2016...

 

[pcastillo93]

My Friend just put up a tower aprox 50 Ft. with an Imax-2000 on top. The coax is new 9913 the radio is low power Am 11 meters or a mobil cb,power-supply power mic no amp as of now. In tuneing he had swr problems that could not be adjusted at the antenna. with several attemps at the antenna..Had a local teck come over with antenna analizer and Swr equipment and the end result was to add ( and dont quote me I forget how long) but like 80 ft of coax. everywhere I read you can not change your Swr by the legnth of coax. I read to add a balun of 6 to 8 turns and about 8 ft total at the antenna base. Was asking what is the best thing to do seems like a lot of coax 185 total legnth and he wants it in one full legnth from meter to antenna. I also think his highest swr is 1.5 to 1 on 40 chanels he is also thinking of buying an export that is why he thinks his match is an issue.

I have same problem w/my imax 2000 I changed 3 brand new coax. The ring tuning won't do nothing it stays between 2 and 3. I even use 3 different swr meter. I don't know what's causing

 

[Swamp Yankee]

I installed an MFJ-915 RF Isolator just below the antenna connection & a MFJ-704 Low Pass Filter(s) before my Amp & after my Amp...I no longer have an SWR problem with my IMAX 2000 OPTIMIZER. Just saying what worked for me. Your condition may be different. I am no expert, just very persistent.