I didn't say they are unreliable but sometimes a mag mount will not make a good enough contact through the paint to allow the antenna to see the counterpoise well enough to get an acceptable SWR. An easy way to see if this is the problem is to run a temporary ground strap from a known ground on the vehicle to the base of the magnet then check the SWR.
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wilson 1000 swr issues
- Thread starter eagleeyes
- Start date
Just check the case of the coil ftom the bottom conductor to the top of the coil with an ohmmeter and see that there is no resistance. If there is no resistance, it is OK; but if there is resistance then it might be faulty. Just like testing a fuse.
Same goes with the center of the coax and the shield of the coax. IF you don't understand how coax conducts; then look it up on Google.
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A mag mount grounds itself through capactive coupling from the magnet to the piece of metal its attatched to. It doesn't need to have a good electrical connection to work. A ground wire would most likely only skew swr
readings. Or so I have read
Continuity is an electrical connection between two points. You will need a multimeter to check this, set to the lowest ohms setting. Or some meters have a beep or buzz feature for this.
Make sure you don't have continuity between the coax center conductor and the outside of the pl259.
See that you do have continuity between the centrr conductor and top of the coil.
I see robb beat me to it. I type to slow
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Also if you have a newer Wilson it may come with a 2 piece type sma to pl259 type connector. These are a known failure point. I had 2 fail on me. Best to replace the stock connector if it's the 2 piece type and get a good amphenol pl259 connector. Like others have said you have a short or open somewhere. Those antennas come just about pre tuned and don't usually require curtting much off the whip. I have seen a few cases where the whip may have to be cut down a bit, but most of the time it's slide the whip all the way down or cut maybe 1/4-1/2" off the whip. Do as the others have said and check all connectors and the coax for any damage. The newer Wilson antennas seem to have some QC issues vs the older pre barjan models. It's the reason I went with a sirio 5000 instead. Good luck and hope you get it figured out. God bless.
If you know someone that has an antenna analyzer they can set you straight in about 15 seconds. At this point before you cut anymore try to find where your best (lowest) SWR is, this probably will be above 40 unless you chopped too much off. If the SWR is consistant and high over several bands then your antenna has an issue.
Never tune an antenna with a amp inline powered up. Too many ways to get erroneous readings that will mislead you. Harmonics boosted will register as primary channel power and will register on the SWR meter.
It works by capacitive coupling. It doesn't need a physical contact. If it sticks to the vehicle then its usually enough.
One thing not asked is what is the power rating of the amp and did you try it with the amp first before seeing this problem?
I tried the radio first. it didnt come to me at first but after reading about wilson having quality issues from one of the posts it made sence. thanks for the tips for future reference. Ill be staying away from wilson for now on. Sirio is gaining a new customer
I was like you until I tried a sirio performer 5000. I run a turbo 5000 now, basically same antenna, and it works well.