SWR in the red!
JK Newbie
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Ramsey, NJ
Same Thing
I have the same exact setup, and I initially had the same issue with the SWR readings. I had to adjust the antenna QUITE a bit before I saw any movement in the readings...actually was starting to worry if it would ever adjust correctly. But I just kept adjusting it out and it finally came right into line. Just keep going further than you think and I bet you will see the readings come into the low end where you want them
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach, VA
I just hooked up my CB and Cool Tech Ultra mount kit with 3' Firestik. I can't get my SWR out if the red. It doesn't really drop down from "set" that much when I switch over to REF. I'm pretty sure it's my ground. I hooked everything up and tested it and was in the red. I took off the tail light and license plate housing and tried to scrape to get more metal showing where the bracket bolts on. It looked pretty shinny using my mechanics mirror and a flashlight. I remounted everything and still in the red. Not much more I can do today, I'm losing light. I'll have to wait until my next days off and then I'll go buy a heavy gauge ground strap and run it from the antenna mounting bracket and drill a hole in the frame and mount it there. I hope that'll do it.
Oh yeah, I live in the mountains and when I tried this I was in a turnout off the side of the road, so there were no buildings and I was pretty well clear of any trees.
Oh yeah, I live in the mountains and when I tried this I was in a turnout off the side of the road, so there were no buildings and I was pretty well clear of any trees.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: New Jerzey
Part of the problem is cooltech's and teraflex's mounts is they are aluminum. They need to give the grounding straps with them. I have a mount that is identical to them but is made of 1/4" stainless steel. So no ground strap is required. I run a amped up cobra 29 with a custom 5'-9" fiberglass antenna. I'm pushing an average of 4 miles without the amp on.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: Duncan, Ok
Did this issue get resolved?
I know that when tuning SWR's, make sure that you are NOT inside a building.
Also on the FireStiks, the Red Rubber cover should be re-installed everytime you check the reading. If you check the SWR while this cover is off... it can be significantly out of adjustment on the meter. Something I learned the hard way
I know that when tuning SWR's, make sure that you are NOT inside a building.
Also on the FireStiks, the Red Rubber cover should be re-installed everytime you check the reading. If you check the SWR while this cover is off... it can be significantly out of adjustment on the meter. Something I learned the hard way
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 361
Likes: 1
From: Lake Arrowhead, Ca
My SWR is good now 
I couldn't get a good ground just using the Ultramount bolted to the body no matter how much paint I scraped off. I went and got a 10 guage wire and a couple of crimp on connectors and ran it from the antenna mount and drilled a hole in the frame. That gave me better readings:
CH1=1.8
CH19=2.5
CH40= just in the red at 3.2
I still couldn't get the higher channels out of the red. So... I swaped out my 3' Firestik for a 4' one and after adjusting a bit I got these readings:
CH1=1.5
CH19=1.8
Ch40=2.0
Much better. Thanks everyone for all the replies.
I couldn't get a good ground just using the Ultramount bolted to the body no matter how much paint I scraped off. I went and got a 10 guage wire and a couple of crimp on connectors and ran it from the antenna mount and drilled a hole in the frame. That gave me better readings:
CH1=1.8
CH19=2.5
CH40= just in the red at 3.2
I still couldn't get the higher channels out of the red. So... I swaped out my 3' Firestik for a 4' one and after adjusting a bit I got these readings:
CH1=1.5
CH19=1.8
Ch40=2.0
Much better. Thanks everyone for all the replies.