SWR tune up on a Little Wil'

**Duke** · 08-27-2010, 03:30 PM

I would guess that you're viewing this changing output because you are transmitting into an antenna instead of a dummy load. That is likely happening because the antenna is a reactive load. Get yourself a dummy load if you want to see what the radio is doing versus what the radio is doing because of a changing load due to a narrow banded antenna.

The Wilson 1000 is an OK antenna for a base loaded antenna but is nothing special in the wider scheme of antennas.

**hiddencam** · 08-27-2010, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Duke

I would guess that you're viewing this changing output because you are transmitting into an antenna instead of a dummy load. That is likely happening because the antenna is a reactive load. Get yourself a dummy load if you want to see what the radio is doing versus what the radio is doing because of a changing load due to a narrow banded antenna.

Good to know, thanks.

**brasstownbald** · 08-27-2010, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by Duke

I would guess that you're viewing this changing output because you are transmitting into an antenna instead of a dummy load. That is likely happening because the antenna is a reactive load. Get yourself a dummy load if you want to see what the radio is doing versus what the radio is doing because of a changing load due to a narrow banded antenna.

The Wilson 1000 is an OK antenna for a base loaded antenna but is nothing special in the wider scheme of antennas.

I keep reading that the Wilson 1000 is unbeatable in the 5ft antenna range for CB...for UNDER $100
If that's not true, can you recommend better?

thx

**brasstownbald** · 08-27-2010, 07:23 PM

So I was out in the van today with the Midland and I'm one of those who just can't stand to "modify" my vehicle.

I also go to great lengths to avoid drilling, cutting or making any change than I can't undo quickly.

Anyway, I devised a nice spot for it and will fabricate a custom bent aluminum hanger/clamp/bracket to neatly attach the CB to the side of the passenger seat in such a way that it is very convenient to use, see and still remove it in seconds. I could have used velcro, but I didn't want velcro bands stuck to the side of the passenger seat when the CB wasn't being used.

For power, i added a cigarette lighter end to the power cord and I have a powered cigarette lighter socket convenient to it
so is there any reason I shouldn't use power from the cigarette lighter?

**supercowpowers** · 08-28-2010, 06:07 AM

Originally Posted by brasstownbald

So I was out in the van today with the Midland and I'm one of those who just can't stand to "modify" my vehicle.

I also go to great lengths to avoid drilling, cutting or making any change than I can't undo quickly.

I tried that at first, and was never really happy with my setup until I broke out the drill. It's my car, I plan to drive it until I can't trust it to be reliable or safe anymore, and at that point whoever is buying doesn't need to be picky.

For power, i added a cigarette lighter end to the power cord and I have a powered cigarette lighter socket convenient to it
so is there any reason I shouldn't use power from the cigarette lighter?

A little Midland can easily be powered by the cigarette lighter, so if that's convenient there's nothing wrong with trying it. If you get excessive noise in it you might have to think of something else. We can help with that.

**Duke** · 09-08-2010, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by brasstownbald

I keep reading that the Wilson 1000 is unbeatable in the 5ft antenna range for CB...for UNDER $100
If that's not true, can you recommend better?

thx

Where are you reading this information? How did they conduct their tests?

The disclaimer for the Wilson 1000 says their claims are based on a comparison to the model that can't be discussed here. It isn't too hard to beat another base loaded antenna, just wind a more efficient coil, but with a base loaded coil you place the current low on the antenna since you're replacing the bottom ~4ft of the antenna with wound up wire and that will reduce the horizon your antenna sees. But more importantly you have loss in the loading coil that you can never get back.

A much more efficient and effective antenna is a full size 1/4 wave whip. Costs about 20 bucks and it has zero losses associated with any loading.

I've personally tested a Wilson 1000 versus a full size 1/4 wave whip and the 1000 was many S units down in strength measured in the real world while I drove my 45 mile commute (90 miles round trip) over the course of a week. The people I spoke with every day on my commute also concluded my signal was much stronger with my other antenna.

When I was on the CB a full size 1/4 wave whip was the only antenna you would find on my vehicle because that's what I found worked best and then later in theory I understood why that was.

I've been a Ham for almost 20years now. One of my favorite things to do in the hobby is to model and build antennas. I don't claim to be an antenna engineer but I know more about antennas than the average ham does. The latest antenna I built I've been using to bounce my signal off the moon. I've communicated with about 42 other hams all over the USA and Europe in the last few days via the moon. You can see the radiation pattern of that antenna in my avatar.

**Duke** · 09-08-2010, 07:02 PM

Any time you replace antenna length with a shortening method you reduce its efficiency. Generally the longer the whip length the smaller the coil and the smaller the losses. Moving the coil up from the base moves the current point higher but that requires larger loading. You will find most amateur radio antennas use mid loading instead of base loading, because that method "works better".