Swr problem on 102" whip

[Dannell Boyd]

Correct

Sorry, Yes home brew I drilled the same hole size as a store bought one.

 

[Recon]

Yes have two radios check both, seprobl

I have a L bracket with u-bolted to end of pole have so-239 on bracket with spring screwed on to it and antenna screwed on the spring.

By process of elimination, I think the problem is at the coax connection at the antenna.

 

[Recon]

Sorry, Yes home brew I drilled the same hole size as a store bought one.

DID YOU INSTALL THE PLASTIC ISOLATOR SLEEVE IN THE HOLE?

 

[Riverman]

Yes. The whip has to be insulated from the bracket. The radials are not.
Like this. Note the white insulator.

 

[Dannell Boyd]

Is the SO-239 isolated where it passes through the bracket? A photo is worth a thousand words!

I'll take some photos tomorrow and try and post them

 

[Recon]

Yes. The whip has to be insulated from the bracket. The radials are not.
Like this. Note the white insulator.

View attachment 56748

There you go! Picture prefect!

 

[Recon]

Hi,. I just trying to get started in CB, so I have to crawl before I walk. I have a mobile radio in my home hooked to a 102" steel whip and spring mounted to 20' pole and my swr as running 1.9 to 2.5 I tied to adjust but no luck. I noticed my pl259 wouldn't tighten up properly on the radio, cheap coax and connectors ? So I got some new coax gray 8x, that connected properly on each end, Damn the swr are even higher now.3 / 3.2 lol the way through. Are you supposed to shorten or raise to lower swr ?? Now the pole is right next to my mobile home, could that be the problem ???

Remove the spring and check the SWR.

 

[Crawdad]

Welcome to the forum Dannell. You'll want your antenna to look something similar to one of these. 3 or 4 radials will work better than 1 or 2 if you can.


Follow Riverman's construction advice and you'll be cooking with gas.

73 and good luck

 

[Recon]

I'll take some photos tomorrow and try and post them

Remove the spring now and check the SWR now, and we can all relax for the rest of the evening.

 

[Dannell Boyd]

DID YOU INSTALL THE PLASTIC ISOLATOR SLEEVE IN THE HOLE?

Yes I looked it over real good, but you know it has a nut that tightens down against the bracket on bottom where it goes.through the hole Isn't that part of grounding it ?

 

[Dannell Boyd]

Remove the spring now and check the SWR now, and we can all relax for the rest of the evening.

Y'all know it's dark and freezing ?

 

[Recon]

Yes I looked it over real good, but you know it has a nut that tightens down against the bracket on bottom where it goes.through the hole Isn't that part of grounding it ?

There should be a plastic insulator exposed on the bottom side of the bracket also and a flat steel washer, lock-washer and nut. If the flat steel washer is touching the metal bracket, that's a no-no! Cold and freezing? Where? I'm in Upstate NY.

 

[Recon]

Y'all know it's dark and freezing ?

Can you see the thin white insulator on the bottom?

 

[Recon]

Y'all know it's dark and freezing ?

Is your home-brew bracket thicker than the Wilson backet? Could it be you did not install the bottom insulator washer because there weren't enough threads because of the thicker bracket?
Well, good luck to you because I'm fresh out of ideas.
Welcome aboard!

 

[Dannell Boyd]

Can you see the thin white insulator on the bottom?
View attachment 56750

Mine just had a large thick black insulator that's underneath the black cone thats between it and top of bracket it sits on.