Well when I got home I checked because this is eating at me like crazy that I can't get it to work. My third brake light is "metal" of some kind, same as the tire carrier. Now where I Messed up is I didn't sand any of the coating off because I assumed the screws would contact enough. No I am getting 2 ground straps and plan on removing the tire and sanding behind one of the bolts that holds the carrier on and grounding the bracket to that. Then the second one is going from there to the frame if I can find a good way to run it. This is driving me nuts, I hate not being able to finish a project....

 

The funny thing is my tire carrier looks like plastic, but it's metal. My 3rd brake light looks the same, but it's plastic. I don't have either installed any more, they are sitting in the garage with other parts removed from my jeep, so I had to make a light scratch in each just to be sure I wasn't imagining it.

Even if your 3rd brake light is metal, I'll bet adding a grounding strap will make a big difference.

 

I'm sure it will. At this point looking at it there is really no contact being made to metal. It's all painted. I'll keep you posted once I get time to get straps attached... Ya know something isn't right when I can't even get weather on it. But I out the rubber Ducky on and picked up weather.

 

My buddy just ordered a very capable HAM handheld for $35, doesn't require a lot of money to play HAM. Also they can usually be programmed to run GMRS/FRS (common two way radios). It would be nice if the CB bands weren't blocked on most HAM radios as that would be nice too!

 

That's cool so I'm clueless as to what ham is I only am adding CB cause that's what most places require. Why don't more go with ham? Specially if it isn't that expensive.

 

Ok so I ran a ground strap from the mount to the one bolt in the little swing arm hing or whatever the thing is??? Ran swr meter and needle is at 3.5 roughly on 1 and 40. So my next effort is to run a strap from the first ground to the frame I guess, would that help?

 

You need a license to run Ham. Well, you can receive using a Ham radio but if you want to transmit you need a license.

 

Does your antenna have a tuneable tip? My Firestik Firefly started around 3.0 but after tuning it, I was able to get it down to 1.3 or lower across all channels. It took quite a few small adjustments to get it just right. Also, make sure you are in the clear with no nearby obstructions (trees, buildings, etc.) when you take your SWR readings and make adjustments.

 

Which direction did you have to go to get it down longer or shorter? The needle came back and since was in the red I didn't get a real number but was VERY close to the same spot for both 1 and 40. This antenna does not have a tunable tip, but if this doesn't work I will be ordering one! Location is my other issue I stopped by the local baseball field parking lot but maybe the fence and dugouts were messing me up too. I was probably 50 yards away but was thinking of going somewhere even more open... Just have to think of a good spot cause there's trees everywhere here.

 

The tire carrier is what used to be called pot metal. It is a very light metal. I have the same Midland Radio, and it just ran a ground wire with the Coex Cable even though now I have a AEV tire carrier mounted to the frame. I get about 1.6 - 1.7 on my meter with a three foot Firestick. I had a four foot fire stick on the stock setup.