Newbie from London

[gcn]

Hi all,

I'm completely new to the world of CB radio and bought my first kit a couple of weeks ago.

Good to find this forum and see there are still active users. Nice to e-meet you.

I don't know if this is necessarily the place to ask for help, but thought I should kill two birds with one stone. So straight away, I have a question for you all: what am I doing wrong with my CB?

I'm attaching a few pictures of my gear, an Intek transceiver connected to a (other company) antenna at home. The radio turns on, but only static comes out on every channel, as if the antenna wasn't doing anything...

Cheers!

[stampman]

the antenna looks wrong but if it swr's ok the it should be stood vertical not lying at an angle

[gcn]

Hi, and thank you for your reply.

I tried putting it completely vertical but unfortunately nothing. What do you mean exactly by "the antenna looks wrong"?

Thanks.

[stampman]

i presume you have had a swr meter on it to check it it looks very short for a half wave to me

[gcn]

Unfortunately I don't have a SWR meter to check.
I can make the antenna longer (it is 5 metres max) but it obviously won't fit my studio. I guess I should get a more appropriate antenna and return that one?

[stampman]

yes would be a plan but invest in an swr meter as they are worth there weight in gold

[gcn]

I ended up returning the antenna!
Any recommendations for a home base antenna (2nd floor flat)?
Thanks again.

[Dragonfly]

The Excaliber is the smallest antenna but tends to have poor range , The Boomarang would work better but is around 3 meters tall .
http://www.thunderpole.co.uk/base-cb-antennas.html
The old DV 27 on a Biscuit tin is probably your best bet . http://www.thunderpole.co.uk/medium-cb-antennas.html

[Dragonfly]

If you have a metal bed frame they can sometimes make a good ground plane for a magnetic mobile antenna .

[gcn]

Thanks, Dragonfly!

So if I understand correctly, basically any antenna could potentially work for any situation? Those base antennas that you forwarded look very similar to the one I initially bought and didn't work... Which makes me think that I'm the one who is doing something wrong :/

[andy@thunderpole.co.uk]

Hi GCN,

It looks to me as though the original antenna didn't work as it wasn't extended to the correct length.

Every CB antenna is designed to be a certain length, and it is critical that the length is perfect (to within a few mm) otherwise it won't perform.

As Stampman says, an SWR meter will help, as it will tell you whether the antenna is performing well or not, and if it isn't you can adjust the length slightly until it is.

Andy

[gcn]

Thanks Andy, very helpful.

I'll look into getting a SWR meter asap and an antenna I can extend to the appropriate length.

I foolishly assumed you could extend it to whichever length you wanted, and that it would simply perform less well at smaller lengths.

[tomcruzz]

thank you Andy. this is helpful


gclub ผ่านเว็บ