If I were to add a 64" whip from a 5000 into the little wil, will it still work ok?
The reason I ask is that I can't get it to match up with my 2950.
The reason I ask is that I can't get it to match up with my 2950.
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Little Wil
- Thread starter RoadRanger
- Start date
From a resonance standpoint don't know how the base will match up w the longer whip. If it did...would that Lil magnet hold all the extra length of that whip?
Simple answer: no
You should be asking yourself why doesn't it match up in the first place?
If you are using it for the CB band then this antenna was designed to work on the CB band with only minor adjustments and your problem lays elsewhere.
Some people assume that just because an antenna is advertised to cover frequency ranges from 26 - 30 MHz it will do just that. The antenna probably will do that but the claim is misleading. What it really means is the antenna coil can cover that frequency range but only by raising or lowering the whip as larger increases or decreases in frequency is changed from the lowest tuned point.
The lower in frequency below the CB band, then the longer antenna is needed, and the higher in frequency, the antenna needs to be shortened. At best, a mobile CB antenna may have 1.5 MHz of bandwidth at an SWR below 1.9, but that means it's really +/- 750 KHz either side of the lowest tuned point.
Despite what some neophytes might think or say and regardless of what their Radioshack SWR meters says, none of these mobile CB antennas including a 1/4 wave whip has 4 MHz of bandwidth with a low SWR across the whole range.
If you are using it for the CB band then this antenna was designed to work on the CB band with only minor adjustments and your problem lays elsewhere.
Some people assume that just because an antenna is advertised to cover frequency ranges from 26 - 30 MHz it will do just that. The antenna probably will do that but the claim is misleading. What it really means is the antenna coil can cover that frequency range but only by raising or lowering the whip as larger increases or decreases in frequency is changed from the lowest tuned point.
The lower in frequency below the CB band, then the longer antenna is needed, and the higher in frequency, the antenna needs to be shortened. At best, a mobile CB antenna may have 1.5 MHz of bandwidth at an SWR below 1.9, but that means it's really +/- 750 KHz either side of the lowest tuned point.
Despite what some neophytes might think or say and regardless of what their Radioshack SWR meters says, none of these mobile CB antennas including a 1/4 wave whip has 4 MHz of bandwidth with a low SWR across the whole range.
When it's plugged into a cobra 29 it matches up fine.
When I plug my 2950 in the swr is off the charts?
When I plug my 2950 in the swr is off the charts?
And what are you measuring the SWR reading with?
If you are using the radio's internal SWR meter, It could be giving a false reading.
Other things to check,
On the 2950, make sure you aren't on split frequency mode. A "split" icon will be displayed on the LCD display. Toggle the split button and cycle the 2 split displays (split + and split - ) till off. In split mode, you are transmitting on another frequency shown when transmitting while receiving on the one displayed while not keying the mic.
Check that the radio's antenna connector isn't loose and if so, tighten the locknut. Also try jiggling the coax at the connector to see if your SWR changes. That could be a worn out antenna connector and the coax center pin is not making a good contact.
If you have access to an Antenna analyzer or a good CB shop that uses one, that can definitely rule out your antenna/coax or the radio.
Hello
Sorry I have not been back to replay.
The 2950 works great with my wilson 5000 (now sold).
The little-wil works great with a number of cobra 29's.
I have a PDC7 swr meter that I have used to tune a number of radios with.
I'm not on split frequency.
Everything is tight.
Thanks for the replays
Sorry I have not been back to replay.
The 2950 works great with my wilson 5000 (now sold).
The little-wil works great with a number of cobra 29's.
I have a PDC7 swr meter that I have used to tune a number of radios with.
I'm not on split frequency.
Everything is tight.
Thanks for the replays
I've used the Lil' Will and a K30. Both are very narrow banded, and finicky about their placement on the vehicle. You just have to fiddle with it for a while to make them work right. Just curious if you're trying to use the 2950 on higher or lower frequencies than the usual 40 channels. If so, you're going to need to tune the whip for those specific ranges.
And no, you can't really use the longer whip with the Lil' Will. Not if you want it to be resonant, and not if you want it to stay on your vehicle while driving down the road.
73,
Brett
And no, you can't really use the longer whip with the Lil' Will. Not if you want it to be resonant, and not if you want it to stay on your vehicle while driving down the road.
73,
Brett
That was my biggest point was the weight vs the magnet size. As well as not being the correct length. Not worth the effort. Just use it for what channel you mostly talk on. That or near it. They really are a narrow banded antenna that are not really meant to talk any amount of distance other than maybe the occasional lucky dx one might catch if conditions are right. But other than that, they are made to talk a couple miles at best. JMO.
The Lil-Wilson is an excellent antenna for demonstrating a principle people should remember when selecting a mobile antenna. There are three factors to an antenna which are size, efficiency and bandwidth. An antenna can have two out of the three as an optimum but what is left will be what has to be compromised.
So...
If we want a small efficient antenna for its size we have to sacrifice bandwidth - our Lil Wilson.
If we want an efficient broadband antenna we have to sacrifice size and have a large antenna - Sirio Performer 5000/ or 1/4 wave whip which are both efficient broadband antennas but are quite long.
If we want a small antenna with a wide bandwidth we sacrifice efficiency - The ultimate example being a dummy load which is extremely small and operates over many hundreds of MHz but has an effective radiated power of a fraction of a percent because it needs to be seriously lossy to work over a range of frequencies that wide so virtually all power put into it is turned into heat.
OK we know that, now what? I want to buy an antenna thats short so it can get in my garage - how do I know what I am buying is compromising on efficiency or bandwidth? Hopefully what antenna you're looking at buying should either state its bandwidth or have a chart showing the SWR curve either in the marketing literature or the user manual. The narrower the bandwidth where the SWR is in the usable range of 2:1 or less, the more efficient it'll be compared to another you look at with a wider bandwidth.
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