Cobra 75 WXST and Bandi Mount Install - Page 22

**doublejfj** · 03-09-2008, 01:44 PM

Great idea - looks awesome, but would it be launched at your head in the event of the side airbags deploying?

ruebarb · 03-09-2008, 02:32 PM

Quote:

doublejfj previously said:

Great idea - looks awesome, but would it be launched at your head in the event of the side airbags deploying?

I don't have side air bags, no worries for me. I'm not sure how much force and how high the air bag deploys, but it would have to snap metal.

bartt · 03-19-2008, 02:31 PM

Quote:

doublejfj previously said:

A few words on my Bandi mount antenna selection:

I originally started off with a Wilson 2' fiberglass antenna on my Bandi for the purpose of being able to leave it on when pulling in my garage. With all the CB's I've owned over the years (and still own!) I should have known better, but I guess I overlooked this for general laziness.

Here was the problem: I kept getting a high SWR (2+ on any channel) with the Wilson, no matter what I did to it. Tried tuning shorter, longer, reallllly short, reallllly long and still couldn't get the SWR to come down to anything reasonable. Took it to the local CB shop because I needed a PA speaker anyway and talked with the guy about it. He came out and took a look at it, suggesting I try the feature on the Wilson antennas of the impedance-matching lead. He also suggested that if it didn't do much, try it not installed -- but hanging down freely, taped up against the antenna (as suggested by the manufacturer if not to be used), or even cut off if it's not helping any. He mentioned that any of the above solutions have worked in certain cases that he had seen. Tried all of the above, but of course there was no bringing the SWR's down.

I thought I needed a longer antenna...

Trip 2 to the CB shop: I specifically headed down to diagnose the problem and see what the guy could give me for advice now. I was pretty confident it was the length of the antenna combined with the placement on the vehicle that was causing the issue. The original guy and another older guy came out this time and brought a handful of antennas; various types, lengths and manufacturers. I agreed to let him try whatever he thought would be the best on the rig. He started with a 2' K40 and when that did nothing, continued with a 3' Firestick and 3' K40, neither of which was much better either. The next stop was a 4' K40 which finally brought everything in check. Instantly after tuning, the SWR's were down to like 1.1~1.3 on channels 1 and 40, with the needle pegging as much as it can below 1 on my meter on channel 19.

Why? The general consensus at the CB shop was that the roof rack was reflecting the signal on transmission and causing the high SWR's. I spoke with another person who deals with amateur radio and they agreed, saying it may have been better just the little bit of height without the roof rack even.

Just sharing what I found in the hope that it helps others if they're having a similar situation. I'm not saying a 2' antenna won't work on your vehicle, I'm just sharing my findings...
-2J

Thanks for posting this. I just set my CB up last night and could not get the swr to anything reasonable. The best I could do is about 2.5 across the board. Now I wonder if all the extra metal I have on the racks (ski racks and extra cross bars) could be causing part of this. I used a 3' firefly and most of the same hardware as BigBill did in the original post, so I thought that I would be OK. Guess not.
Well this is new territory for me, so if there are suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

**doublejfj** · 03-19-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

bartt previously said:

Thanks for posting this. I just set my CB up last night and could not get the swr to anything reasonable. The best I could do is about 2.5 across the board. Now I wonder if all the extra metal I have on the racks (ski racks and extra cross bars) could be causing part of this. I used a 3' firefly and most of the same hardware as BigBill did in the original post, so I thought that I would be OK. Guess not.
Well this is new territory for me, so if there are suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

Check your ground first, then try a 4 footer or higher. That'd be my guess based on my experience with the metal junk up top.

BLUE TONKA · 03-20-2008, 04:42 PM

according to your earlier post DoubleJ, I might need a 4' antenna for my problem then?

bartt · 03-20-2008, 05:43 PM

Quote:

doublejfj previously said:

Check your ground first, then try a 4 footer or higher. That'd be my guess based on my experience with the metal junk up top.

Pretty sure I have a good solid ground, perhaps not.. I put a meter on the coax connector at the swr meter end and had zero ohms to ground and no short to the center conductor. Is that good enough?

The reason that I went with a 3' is I wanted to be able to put my rig in the garage. I guess I'll have to make it detachable..?

ruebarb · 03-21-2008, 08:05 AM

Just a note on those with a detachable antenna, make sure you spray some PB Blaster in the connector every once in a while. I went to the car wash to get the winter salt off and I had a heck of a time getting it off, rusted a bit over the winter.

**doublejfj** · 03-21-2008, 08:08 AM

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according to your earlier post DoubleJ, I might need a 4' antenna for my problem then?

Your SWR's came down low enough... I think your setup might be OK (sounds like it was was anyway, have yet to hear your results from testing today though).

Quote:

bartt previously said:

Pretty sure I have a good solid ground, perhaps not.. I put a meter on the coax connector at the swr meter end and had zero ohms to ground and no short to the center conductor. Is that good enough?

The reason that I went with a 3' is I wanted to be able to put my rig in the garage. I guess I'll have to make it detachable..?

I'd definitely try yours with a larger antenna and the quick-disconnect setup. That should take care of your problems if you've got a good ground and no shorts to the center. Your problem sounds exactly like mine, which was only solved with the longer antenna...

bartt · 03-21-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

doublejfj previously said:

Your SWR's came down low enough... I think your setup might be OK (sounds like it was was anyway, have yet to hear your results from testing today though).

I'd definitely try yours with a larger antenna and the quick-disconnect setup. That should take care of your problems if you've got a good ground and no shorts to the center. Your problem sounds exactly like mine, which was only solved with the longer antenna...

Thanks very much.. On the hunt.

Decidion · 03-22-2008, 05:01 AM

I'm trying to get a better understanding of the grounding issues when installing everything. A lot of folks are saying a good ground is the root of a good percentage of the problems, and to scrape the paint off the FJ door hinge real good. But then I look at one of the pictures from the original post...

And it is showing the plastic washer in there. Why Plastic? Don't you want the assembly to make a good (or better) ground connection to the Bandi mount?

Also, I have read the Fire Rings are prone to breaking if you crank down too hard on them. What are the other options to using a Fire Ring? Anyone have any pics?

Thanks....I'm just a CB newb here