Our little group of Jeeps recently decided we all needed CBs.

We all purchased uniden pro520xl CBs and various size firestiks depending on our setup.

I have a 3' firestik mounted to my license plate bracket with no spare tire.

I've turned via a SWR on channels 1/20/40 and get the readings I should be, all 1.5 or less.

My friend has a 4' firestik mounted to his rear poison spyder bumper, he only turned on channel 40 and gets under 1.5 on the SWR.

Our problem is this, within 10-20 yards we are great. The farther we get away the less I can hear him. He can hear me just about perfect, even from almost a mile away, however I can hardly hear him.

The other weird thing is, I can pickup much more random traffic on all the channels, even sitting right next to each other, on the same channel, i pick up more than him.

Is it a problem with his setup or mine? Could it be because he's not tuned on 1/20/40 and just on 40 that he's really not all that tuned? Could the mount on his rear bumper be the issue, possibly not grounded enough? We are pulling our hairs out trying to get these things setup. Any help would be appreciated.

 

You have two things that are not optimal. First, by placing the antenna in the back, you limit your forward view. In order, the three best places are on the top of the roof with a base plate, off the hood (just like your radio antenna), and third, on you rear bumper area. Of course the roof just sucks for jeeps. So the hood really is the best place. So if you can move it, that will help.

The next thing is your tune. Actually, you tune channel 1 and 40. Don't worry about 20. Your goal is to make sure 1 and 40 have the same reading. So if 1 has a 1.5 rating, then you want 40 to have the same number. If channel 40 is higher than channel 1, your antenna is too long and you need to screw down your set screw. If channel 40 is lower than channel 1, then your antenna is too short and you need to lengthen your antenna by unscrewing your set screw. Hope that helps.

 

One last point... you need to be as close as possible. Try to avoid a close enough scenario. 1.5 on 1 and 1.7 on 40 means you need to make another adjustment. That last little bit makes a difference. Take your time with it.

Sorry, one last thing, it is him. You cannot just be tuned on one channel. Your tune is based on a range. You use 1 and 40 as your end points. When you do this, channel 20 is your peak performer. If you just tune 40, you have no idea where your range lies.

 

I had an issue when I first installed mine that was similar, the mounting point wasn't properly grounded causing a bad swr. I took a wire from the frame to the tailgate and the swr came right in. Another thing is to make sure the wire didn't get pinched or kinked during the install.

 

I'm no expert, but I've installed and tuned a couple cb radios now. Definitely sounds like the issue is with his install. He needs to check his SWR readings on both 1 and 40 as others have mentioned. If he can hear you just fine, then it sounds like you're transmitting okay. Even when I had a short and was getting a super crappy SWR reading, I was able to hear others great. They just couldn't hear me. No telling for sure if he has a short, or if he just needs to adjust his antennae (assuming it's adjustable or tuneable). Get him to get those SWR readings and then chime back in on the thread.

On another note, if you're picking up lots of unwanted chatter you can always turn down the gain on that 520XL so you are only picking up those that are transmitting closer to you. I have the same radio. Love it.

 

This is a good write-up as well.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-c...r-jeep-227276/

 

Lots of good info guys and thank you for chiming in. It's my radio that is having the issue and we honestly assumed it was since his tuned so easily. There really isn't a better mounting option on my rig so I'm stuck with the bumper and I can live with limitations but right know they are some serious limitations =) we had a terrible time getting a ground but it seems to be grounded now. I couldn't get below a 3 (SWR) but have it down to 1.2 on Chanel 40. I will play with both 1&40 and report back. I'm thinking I need a little better ground to accomplish the perfect " or close as I can get" tune. My antenna is already bottomed out. I did read that I can pull off the locking ring to get a little lower if needed so I'll try that first. It's a 4' Firestik

 

I will tell you that you can apply as much science to this as you want but at the end of the day, it's all luck.

I have a 3' Firestick (never tuned) mounted on my tailgate and 90% of it is between my 37" tire and top (both hard and soft). I use a cheap Midland hand-held job (1/4 watt) and have had nothing but luck. I can hear and be heard clearly for up to a 3/4 mile. (I know this isn't far but it's plenty for the trail and that's all I use it for.)

I have several buddy's who have taken this real serious and "tuned" their antenna and their CBs work like crap. It seems the more they try the worse it gets.

"Tuning" the antenna length is to reduce the reflected power from a mismatched antenna to broardcast wave lentgh. (It is to protect your output transistors.) Most radios today can handle a pretty gross imbalance (provided they are unaltered). So, tuning the length has very little to do with receiving. If you want better reception then move to a longer stick or look for better placement as suggested.

 

lol I'm starting to believe this. If I can't get it any better tail gate is where she is going. It's amazing that the 4" of space between my mount and the tail gate can make a difference.

 

If you haven't already, take a look at the Arizona Rocky Road antenna mounts (http://www.arizonarockyroad.com/antennamounts.html). The owner/fabricator is named Rick and he and his products are great. I have a pair of his mounts on my tailgate for my CB and my ham radio. The mounts bolt up to the tire carrier like the one from Teraflex, but the antenna base is above my spare tire (I have the Rubicon stock 32" tires, and there's at least another 1.5" to the antenna base). I haven't used the CB all that much, but with just a little 2' shorty antenna my ham can reach a repeater 50 miles away (don't expect that kind of range from your CB though).