Don’t forget when checking power output to key up and say “AAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDIO” for a minimum of 10 minutes. This way everyone will know you are an expert.

We used to call this "antenna matching" in the CB shop I worked at in 1977. We charged a whopping $5 back then, and free if you purchased the CB and antenna. Needless to say, I did 100's of these over the two years I worked there. Some were very challenging depending on the brand and location. Additionally, it's important to match this in an open area, without large vehicles, buildings, or trailers very close by. Thanks for the memories once again Eric!!💯

I was watching Uncle Buck with John Candy on tv last night. Never noticed before, but theres a 102” whip on his Mercury Brougham. Thats a good movie.

I used to work at a CB Shop. You would be amazed how many customers would argue with you that the built in SWR meters had the ability to change your SWR. Some of those built in meters had the word "set" where you would calibrate the meter before flipping the switch to read the SWR. They would get mad at you if you told them it didn't change the antenna SWR. I heard things like " You just put the switch to "CAL' and set your antenna" GRRRR. Those goofy salesmen at the truck stop will tell'em anything to sell a radio.

love seeing sedans with big goofy antennas sticking from the top of them, starting to see them more and more nowadays. nice video for people new to the hobby.

Great video. All points covered. You're right, without a good SWR you've got nothing .

I had cb antennas on my row house in Baltimore since the mid 70's. I'm getting ready to put one up in my new home in Vero Beach. I'm also a HAM radio operator. I love them all!

great video sir. I've had CBs in and out of my vehicles since the 70s. My favorite was a Pace 2300 that i picked up already "doctored", with a set of 102 in steels and a small linier attached. i got a new vehicle and havent put a new CB in as the last time i was traveling the road, there was very little traffic on the airways. it was mostly skip and people werent too careful about their language. one guy made me laugh when he said it was his "back up" radio....he mostly only used it when the traffic was "backed up". Thanks for the refresher on the SWR adjustment. Last antenna i had was a firestick on my jeep. it worked pretty well. i forget what the SWR got down to but i wasnt down that much.....lol. thanks for posting.

Thank you for this good and practicall explanation, - it is REALLY useful for newcomers in CB!

All the antennae I've used were adjustable by slightly loosening the set screw and then moving the whip up or down as required. This is the first time I've see the whip having to be physically cut. My first CB was a Pace 23 channel I bought in the mid 70s.

Thanks for all you do Eric, saw you and your posse at the fair on Tuesday. First KZfaqr sighting

On my pickup with a toolbox utility cap, my 102" whip is mounted on a bracket i made that comes out between the bed and cap at the front passenger side. The SWR was all over the place as the antenna moved, even with the truck stationary in the wind. I tried the antenna down with Paracord to the roof rack and the SWT was good, at 1.2 and 1.3 or 1.4 on 40. The odd thing is the SWR is good without the spring, and was way off with it. And I've spoken skip from Canada, all over the US, Jamaica, Mexico and all over Europe. Finally talked to Mower Junkie all the way from New England. Still waiting to hear 707 though!

This is always an important topic Thank you 😊

Excellent video. I have the same antenna. Thanks for sharing this!

Love your videos, glad to see you give back. Do you have a video where you open up a radio and explain what you are looking at?

Great explanation on setting swr

Looks like a beautiful day on the farm at the time of production, my favorite time of year!!!. Great video as always,! If I may add for the new operator's, make sure your not sandwiched between surrounding buildings or trees, that will also give you funky readings!!!😏👍🎙⚡️

Excellent info and presentation sir!!

Great video!!! Thanks for sharing. I've been using cb"s since the late 70's. I used to tune the antenna all the time. I got lazy with my current one. A little will. I just finished tuning it. Had to cut off about an inch in all. Got about 1.5 on channel 1 and just a tad over on channel 40. Channel 20 is 1.25. It's good for me. I can hear it now much louder!! Getting some great skip today here in Maine.

This was an excellent video, thanks for this one 👍🏼

Good info presented concisely!

I installed a 102" whip in the rear quarter panel and got a flat 1 SWR and did well. I used a Firestik slim spring coil

Great info , thanks for the refresher !

Yes you are exactly right about getting a stinger whip too short with your antenna right out of the box . Wilson is world famous for this with there Wilson 1000 series I’ve experienced this twice the last 5 years and had to buy a longer Wilson stinger whip , out of pocket because Wilson refused to do the right thing Shame on you Wilson !! But if you want a roof mount like I do , there’s not many other options until Stryker steps up to the plate . Great video Erik ❤️

I once mounted my sears road talker cb on my motorcycle, and I parked next to the bay and just couldn't believe how good the transmission and reception were .

Another awesome video ! Thanks Eric !😊😊😊

i've never had to trim a sirio 4000, got a couple of them on my motors, out the box they seem to be bang on.. making sure you have a good earth from the battery to the body also helps with swr, some cars have crappy earths

Great video. If you had a boss, I'd put you in for a raise. No more guessing what to do. Thx man

I love my Radio Shack meter, have had one for many years, surprisingly accurate, even compared to higher-priced meters! 73🇺🇸😃

Good video, thank you

I have a President McKinley you don't even need a SWR meter it's got a dial tone noise when the dial tone is steady that means your match is perfect very good teacher

It would be interesting for you to do a video on tuning twin "co-phased" antennas. I've done a couple. Tune one, then the other, then see how both read. I ran one cable to the back, into a "tee" and equal length cables from that to the antennas.

Crazy I’m getting ready to put a whip on my ranger and this came up . I’m in the Ozarks and hoping a whip will perform well. Got a Wilson magnet mount on the f250 and it seems to do ok .

Great Video!

I place my antennas high on the roof as the roof acts as a ground plane as well, on the company truck I drive it has a 16” X 18" X 3/16" steel plate above the the cab welded to the front bulkhead and it has the Larsen VHF antenna and a small GPS dome, it has sufficient space for my CB antenna and the SWR are between 1.0 & 1.1, I strongly believe high mounted antennas is the best to transmit farther.

I've had a devil of time with my SWRs, looks like I'll have to do some trimming

Also make sure PL 259 is tight and not loose

I have a Wilson antenna...The SWR was pretty good out of the box. I just had to raise it a little.

Great video..

Great SWR how to

PEP is the Peak Envelope Power of the output signal produced by the final amplifier circuit

It's also better to test the SWR in an open area. Away from trees and buildings. The Radio Shack brand name was Micronta.

I had to cut a 1/4 off the whip for my Wilson 1000 to get the same swr you have on your rig. That had to be the number 1 problem why people complain about not getting out on a cb radio.

I have a K40 mag mount antenna. It has a long whip. I really like it

FIRST!! 🙂 I ordered the Cobra 19 Mini AM/FM. I'll look out for an SWR meter to use when I install it.

great video only issue I am having with my base station, is I am unable to get to my antenna. unless I can figure out how to get my power wheelchair on my roof. I had finally gotten everything installed but the guy I had put my antenna up is no longer available. so if you ever get up to northeast ohio look me up

After having a rig expert I don't think I could go back to using meter for this. On the cheaper side you might really enjoy a nano vna for antenna setup.

Been trying to tune this exact antenna with a nanoVNA. Nanos are great little gadgets, but I find that I get readings all over the place and it's hard to get consistent results. I'm going to add a second inline meter to have something to compare against.

CB radio always intrigued me. Is it practical for those who arent OTR truck drivers?

A tranmatcher dose a good job on matching the swr of a radio too.

personally ive had terible luck with the a1500... no matter what i did the swr was over 2:1 ended up switching to a wilson lil will and havent had a problem since... after i switched i wanted to figure out why it wouldent tune and it came frrom the factory too short.. added an adjustable toper and was finally able to get it to tune

yup swr 1.1 match helps with a foot warmer to

Wish I could hear locals here in Orlando.

Good to know you got your wife using the radios, too. We know you don’t drive that little car!

Hi everyone, i have a question because i'm new to cb. What the PA option in my cb radio means? Thank you, great video!

Exact antennae I just got so I'm hopeful. I was wondering if I was going to regret the magnet mount. (edit) Ok, and I have that exact radio.This video couldn't be any more timely.

Great video, now do one using a radio without an SWR meter built in. How do we tune with an SWR meter separate from the radio, thanks!

Need help on how to set SWR on co phased antenna system on a 2022 International HX 520

Excellent video Fred :) I cut whip 1/8 " at time on mobile whips magnet mounts and adjusting whip in shaft too till get match 1.1 to 1.5 SWR like good match and tech friend of mine always say try 1.1 SWR because save finals also electrical in radio from over heating too! I always use External Meter setup radio and no meter on SWR are accurate I found! Also to Fred I always keep book wrote down on antenna too on SWR because helps match SWR faster and what vehicle used on to why say that because someone may ask or certain vechiles hard match up especially Fibreglass or Aluminum body's even on JEEP too ! Also wave on antenna on Transmit and Reiceve like small fish 🐟 on mobile on any vechiles sounds fishy but true ! Also hope that helps you and other to understand to! Yes that Cobra antenna is excellent antenna my cousin Nancey husband Steve one on his pickup truck with Uniden PC 76 XL had since new ! Flat match antenna 1 to 40 plus 20 channels is Wilson 1000 Magnetic mount with 64 inches whip ! K40 cut 1inches 1/8 more on whip plus 1/4 from bottom of adjusting shaft on Magnetic Mount match 1.3 on 1 , 20 flat , 40 flat SWR!

I need that

How did you run the antenna cable through the rear hatch and keep it from leaking leaking?

Question before I do it there was a 2m ant. left on my house wondering if it would work on a CB.

If I’m pulling a 13 1/2 foot trailer and want the antenna to be taller than the trailer, could you theoretically do the same thing by adjusting the length of the coax?

I did have a radio that only put out 3 watts. It was a little over 10 years old when I checked it.

Does the internal swr alter the external swr reading at all? I know you said you were going to a different car for the analog meter but either you stayed in the same car or you have 2 Mitsubishi Mirages with the exact same upholstery and mic. Great video though. I bought a cobra 29 lx on ebay that is performance tuned and tweaked. It has an swr meter as you know, but can I still use an analog without the internal one affecting the results

Nice Mitsubishi Mirage.

Question I have 3 pretuned antenna one is a 2 foot,and a3 foot one fiberglass 4 foot antenna,,they all work good .to my knowledge.never had any problems but with adjustable ones cant seem to get it right.ive tried many times ,so thats why i went to pre tuned antennas.any difference??

On my hummer h3 i installed a light bar on the front roof rack. It is just behind the sun roof. Where would be an ideal location for an antenna?. Thanks.

If some antenna/radio combos are just not gonna get the SWR you want without cutting the antenna, then there must be antenna/radio combos where no matter what, you need your antenna to be longer, correct? How does one ensure this won't occur when shopping for a radio / antenna pair?

Really good vid but have always wondered abt something re this meter (& I have one just like it); re RF output (& I'm not that concerned abt accuracy), I'm curious as to how YOU interpret the reading (& whether I'm doing it correctly or not); when "20w" is selected (instead of 200w), shouldn't one then read along the "L" line (instead of the "H" line), as in Low or High, with "L" being 20w & "H" being 200w? If so, with that line having four (4) sections {denoted by darker lines}, wouldn't the "L" readings be as follows: 5w, 10w, 15w & 20w (each section being 5w) for a max of 20w??? Conversely, if set on 200w, then each one of the four sections would indicate the following: 50w, 100w, 150w then 200w?🤔

Where can I find replacement LED for the channel display on a Cobra 25LTD?

I use small bolt cutter to cut my whips easier if blade on it good

I recently purchased a a New Virginia antenna for my midland 75-822 and the antenna is pretuned. Should I get a swr meter and check it?

Hey Brother does the length of the jumper from the SWR to the radio matter? I lost the little 1 foot cord that came with the SWR and all I have is a 9 foot one. Do you think that matters?

I am VERY new to this. I did purchase the 75 all roads. What do I do if channel 40 is reading lower than channel 1?

I can not if you have answered this question. I pull a 34 foot travel trailer, fiberglass with metal studs. I need your advice for a tram and swr.

Do the Strong Magnets make any difference in RF or SWR ?

Have you ever used a linear on you cb?

Do you turn down the rf gain and dynamic turn down as well before adjusting the antenna

How do you lnow if your radio has srw meter built in ?

Maybe a stupid question but i've heard that it is possible to use such a magnetic antenna in the house when you stick it on a "ground" base like a bicycle wheel? Any idea if this is true? or other options like a fridge or something. God bless. 🌝

Does that go for receiving too?

I'd like to see you test out an Antenna made by "Bad To The Bone" from Texas Called the 10-K Predator Antenna. Walcott Radio in Iowa sells them. The particular model I got was the K-2-9 SW.

If u really want to do it right get a nanovna and learn how to use it, you'll wonder why you hadn't got one before now. it is well worth the money.

Why would you Trust the built in SWR Meter?

My take-away from this video: *_"Size Matters"_* 😉

So it's antenna length ?

Any CB radio needs a good low SWR antenna to function properly, you can take the best expensive CB on the market and give it a crappy antenna with high SWR and it will not perform..

Magnet antenna`s are really hard to tune, you need grounding on bare metal, specially if you goanna use the good old booster

Good video but you actually should be doing that in an open field with no buildings around you just my opinion that's what I do

Makes me crazy when people think SWR is plural or a unit and insist on saying SWR'S....

The word you were looking for on a Rad Shack SWR meter is M-i-c-r-o-n-ta

Be a man, DRILL A HOLE in the roof and put a 102 inch-with spring. Use a BreedLove heavy duty mount.

Old meter @ E-Bay and you really think it accurate??? Why do you think it got sold? do you have Calibrated test equipment? When was the last time that SWR meter was calibrated??? DA...

Anybody got their ears on? Come back

You're too close to your house you don't want to be within 60 ft of anything in all directions while tuning your swrs

Cb is not like it was it’s all skip