If the swr is high on the lower channels you need a longer antenna, if the swr is higher on the high channels you need a shorter antenna.

 

oops.... yes it did appear that way...

I fixed that.... good catch... and also good suggestion. that washer gets a lot of people..

 

another test is if the SWR isn't changing with the channel take off the antenna and see if the SWR changed.
if it stays the same your coax could have an open... I had that happen to me once... it's not common but it happens.

Instead of scrapping paint use star wasters that bite into the metal, it worked for me.

Grounding the bracket to the tailgate, then the tailgate to the frame, then the body to the frame.
everyone has to do a different amount of grounding. running 5W you should be able to get away with maybe just ground the bracket to the frame, run a 12 or 10 awg stranded wire through the tailgate via the hinges to the jeeps frame.

 

Not much. It is pretty even. At most, it might shift 1/5 of a degree (if that is the correct term).

 

the washer is on the right side, Done....

make sure the washer is working.. just because it's installed doesn't mean it's working.
Make sure the connector above the washer side is open from the bottom side of the connector which should be a good ground.

minime had a picture here is another one I had..



here is how I grounded my tailgate.


I ground my Jeeps body to the frame.... rear passenger side... I need to do this on all corners.. I also ran another frame to transmission ground...


I'm also running HAM bands going as high as 100W, so you probably don't have to go this far...
there also are better ways to run grounds I'm sure.

 

The washer is definitely keeping the antenna from contacting the mount. That does raise one question for me. If neither the antenna nor the coax cable is in contact with the mount, what exactly is being grounded via the mount-to-gate-to-frame set up?

I may just completely not understand electrical!

Thanks for all your feedback.

 

Wow. Great information and pics. I think I wrote my last post while these were being submitted. Disregard my last. I will compare these pics and info with what I have done tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks again!

 

You have received good advice so far. But my bet would ride on a "grounding" issue at the antenna mount base as it connects to the vehicle body. It is also very possible that the short length of your antenna (3 ft) is just not high enough and not far enough away from the body to allow proper loading.

If you still have trouble in the morning, I live in Watsonville and can sweep your antenna system and either fix or give you some solid info to get you on the right track. Feel free to PM me for details.

Phil

 

i ran a separate ground wire from the mount bolt through the tailgate to the rear tiedown bolt on mine. The picture didn't have the paint removed well enough and i got high swr like you. then i used a dremel tool to really clean off the paint and got low swr. mine is a different mount, but you could try a ground wire.

 

It's not really an electrical ground issue, (so to speak) it's a RF (radio frequency) ground.....which is a different thing. Although you do need good electrical connections. The mount is what has to be grounded. And the ground which ideally is ALL the metal of your jeep, actually becomes the other half of the antenna system.

Earlier you wrote that it was a new Radio Shack swr meter and "should" be good, but unfortunately people have found faulty units right out of the box.

Also make sure you don't have any severe bends in your coax. The cheaper coax has been known to short out at a real bad bend, and/or can change the impedance.