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Mobile antenna grounding...
- Thread starter BammBamm
- Start date
Yes, Road Squawker it was never my intention to suggest that you or others were not on the right track. There is much to be considered when grounding Mag mounts. Mag-mounts in and of themselves are meant to be what they are "Magnet Mounts" I have run as much as 600W on a Wilson 5000 with no issues at all! That being said there was a significant preparation done to the both My F150 and my van and this was just as a matter of routine for me and may or may not have contributed to the Wilson working just fine without those preps. So don't ever think I'm dismissing anyone on here sometimes I don't read all the posts and that is a my-bad issue.I'm OK too (see posts 2 & 6)
I'm assuming the AM is fine? If so then maybe there is an issue with RF getting into the power supply line, You say you are using 10Ga which should be fine for current but maybe there is a weakness in the grounding or the way you have run the supply line. I have encountered in the past some issues in cars where I had to run the positive line separated from the ground and make sure the Pos feed is also hugging the body metal as much as possible, normally I would just do the full door, trunk and hood grounding but some customers didn't want to pay for all that. The reason I think it's good to play with the positive lead routing is that 3 radios displayed the same issue which would indicate the issue is with the integrity of the vehicles grounding or lack of, or maybe the antenna or both? and, it may also be the "Little Wil" isn't up to the task as it does have a much smaller base and is much more narrow banded than the 1000 or 5000 Wilson. Now there is also the radio I chased a problem in a dodge truck install one day with a brand new out of the box low power cobra 139XLR turns out the chassis screws in the radio were all lose in the final section and the screws that secured the final and driver to the case were also loose after torquing them down the problem was gone. So the moral of the story is simply leave no stone unturned!!..
OldTech
I also remember once where the extension speaker was causing the same issue you are having as the speaker wire was acting as an antenna because of a bad board connection on the speaker socket, Forgot about that one but forgetting seems to be my strong point these days!
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FWIW. got to K0GB's site .. there is lots of good info on grounding and bonding for vehicle chassis and radio equipment.
He does get a little over the top with some of his personal opinions about certain manufacturers, but, most of his info is correct.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ww.k0bg.com/&usg=AOvVaw24vSG2S1v99AxmwRCkkxKe
He does get a little over the top with some of his personal opinions about certain manufacturers, but, most of his info is correct.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ww.k0bg.com/&usg=AOvVaw24vSG2S1v99AxmwRCkkxKe
Could this be part of my problem? https://powerwerx.com/ring-terminal-powerpole-inline-fuses-10-gauge
Only if they're getting on a bit. Should be fine if they're new. The problem comes due to dissimilar metals of the contacts and the fuse which causes corrosion over time. The fix is as simple as taking out the fuse and putting it back in which cuts through the corrosion and makes a good contact.