SWR tune up on a Little Wil'

[hiddencam]

My before numbers were crap! Worst reading was SWR of 3.5 on channel 40!!

Ended up trimming about 1.5 inches.....and yet to highway test, but what a huge difference in transmission range locally from the Lil Wil!! Roughly 2.5 times further in my neighborhood with obstructions like houses & trees using a Pro-107 scanner + 7" rubber ducky. So I'm looking forward to seeing a very nice distance boost on the highway.

My after-tune-up numbers are very respectable at:
1.4 on channel 1
1.0 on channel 19 (needle motionless when keying up)
1.3 on channel 40

I understand 1.5 works out to about a 4% loss in transmission power, so I'm grinnin' at this stage. Especially considering this is my first SWR tune up. I'm stoked I went to the trouble.

I was going to pay someone to tune up the antenna, but they weren't available til tomorrow....so I decided to pick up the Radio Shack 21-534 SWR Wattmeter and give it a shot.

[AirMoore]

You'll love that meter mate!

[KaPro]

Good numbers! The lil wil is awesome. Especially a tuned lil wil.

[supercowpowers]

That's a great tune for a Little Wil.

I always prefer to buy the tools and do stuff like that myself. So what if you did get someone to tune it for you... if you wanted to move it to a different spot on the car you'd have to go somewhere and pay for it again, for something it's dead nuts simple to do in your driveway.

[hiddencam]

You'll love that meter mate!

Woot! I'm already very glad I got it. The power meter option is good to have too. Speaking of which, I did the Midland 1001z RV2 mod last week and couldn't measure output differences (it didn't seem to make much performance difference for my out of tune antenna). Last night I measured output and I'm getting 5W carrier with 20W swing (channel 1) with degrading output up to channel 40, which was around 2.5W carrier and 15W swing. Channel 19 was just shy of 4W carrier and 16W swing. I don't expect much out of this cheap cb, and had intended getting the 510XL but got impatient and saw a 29 buck deal at Loves, found good reviews for this 1001z and cheaped out. But it seems like a great starter cb and reckon I'll just add a power mic and leave it at that. If I can sound good enough to get some acks & info from truckers then that'll do, Donkey! I'll leave the cb-viagra-swing-kits and mods to the ppl wanting insane transmit range.

Good numbers! The lil wil is awesome. Especially a tuned lil wil.

Thanks man.

That's a great tune for a Little Wil.
I always prefer to buy the tools and do stuff like that myself. So what if you did get someone to tune it for you... if you wanted to move it to a different spot on the car you'd have to go somewhere and pay for it again, for something it's dead nuts simple to do in your driveway.

Cheers. And speaking of those numbers, I just realized I should have been reading the L line, so they're actually 1.5/1.0/1.4. Still good nuf fer anyone not completely anal about searching for academic perfection. I understand there's very little difference in real-world performance between 1.1 and 1.5, and most people won't even notice a difference. 1-4% loss is pretty small in my book.

Speaking of those numbers, I just figured I'll lower the rod down 1 more millimeter to get that 1.4 on channel 1 - I'm more likely to use the lower channels that enjoy the higher output than go to channels above 19.

And you're so right....why pay for something that's so easy to do!!! In my earlier research I was reading posts from so many people struggling to do it and realized if they just RTFM!! Always the way....cyberspace reveals a lot of eejuts out there!

[Duke]

.....I understand there's very little difference in real-world performance between 1.1 and 1.5, and most people won't even notice a difference.

Not most, no one. No one will be able to notice the difference.

[brasstownbald]

I just bought the same one Midland 1001z

At that price I can toss it if it fails right? lol

I drive a Dodge Caravan so I figured I might be able to get away with a Wilson 1000.
I was trying to decide between the LIL Will and the Wilson 1000.
Mag mount either way.

I may look into a pre-amp as well....I dunno.

I'm hoping with all the enforcement bustin out everywhere, more non commercial folks will go back to getting a CB just for "bear huntin".

[hiddencam]

I just bought the same one Midland 1001z

At that price I can toss it if it fails right? lol

I drive a Dodge Caravan so I figured I might be able to get away with a Wilson 1000.
I was trying to decide between the LIL Will and the Wilson 1000.
Mag mount either way.

I may look into a pre-amp as well....I dunno.

I'm hoping with all the enforcement bustin out everywhere, more non commercial folks will go back to getting a CB just for "bear huntin".

Cool man! Good luck with it. I'm very happy with mine. I may upgrade to the Wilson 1000 at some point, although I'm not sure about those extra 2 feet! And I can't even imagine having the 102" whip! I say go for the 1000 if you're undecided! haha

[brasstownbald]

Probably will go with the Wilson 1000

Found this on the web....

RV1 Squelch
RV2 Modulation
RV3 S Meter
RV4 RF Meter

I guess this is what you meant by adjusted the Modulation pot?

I think I'll get the Magnetic Mount Antenna if I can find an acceptable way to get the cable to the radio. I hate drilling holes in a vehicle.

[hiddencam]

Probably will go with the Wilson 1000

Found this on the web....

RV1 Squelch
RV2 Modulation
RV3 S Meter
RV4 RF Meter

I guess this is what you meant by adjusted the Modulation pot?

I think I'll get the Magnetic Mount Antenna if I can find an acceptable way to get the cable to the radio. I hate drilling holes in a vehicle.

Yep, RV2. I didn't mess with the other 3 because they seemed correctly set. RV2 is easy to find. Remove the 4 screws at the bottom of the radio and carefully lift off the plastic cover - you'll note there are speaker wires attaching it so be careful to avoid damage. I can post a pic if you have trouble finding it. Be sure to turn RV2 counterclockwise. If you turn clockwise it'll lower modulation and you won't transmit properly. I tested it at both extremes and confirmed that counterclockwise is the correct direction to raise modulation. I ended up turning mine counterclockwise as far as it would go, tested it & noticed bleedover to numerous other channels while transmitting, then backed it off a little to reduced/almost eliminate that bleedover. The deadkey/carrier doesn't change with this tweak; just boosts the swing, which if you had a meter you'd notice would be swinging up to around 12-16 watts while speaking into the mic, depending which channel you were on. I've noticed channels 1-20 on the 1001z transmit a higher deadkey than channels 20-40, roughly half a watt. The RV2 tweak actually makes a significant difference to the stock swing. And the real-world effect is that your speech will be transmitted with more power via the higher modulation, therefore better range.

I've read that there are other things you can do to boost the deadkey/carrier but they are involved and intricate, and of course, it's illegal to transmit more than 4 watts. But if you are so inclined, like the many truckers who do it, it's reportedly possible to put in a swing kit at R999 (a 10 ohm 1/2 watt resistor), or you can replace that R999 resistor with one of a higher value to effectively lower the deadkey so you can then add a linear amp.

As far as antennas, yeah with a van the magmount is the way to go. If you had a trunk you might consider a trunk mount, which screws on. Either way, the 1000 is reportedly a fantastic antenna.