Does a 102 whip need a spring?
You’ll still need that spring to make the antenna the proper electrical length. Yep, exactly. In order to get the lowest SWR and highest performance the 102″ SS whip was designed to be used with a spring.
Why is my SWR reading so high?
The most common cause of a high SWR is an antenna shorted to ground. There are two places a short can occur in a CB antenna system, in the coax and in the antenna stud.
What if my SWR is too high?
For instance a SWR too high (over 3:1) all over the band can be an indication of a bad part or junction, poor ground or poor location. An SWR too low over the whole band (1:1 for all 40 channels) can indicate a low efficiency antenna or lossy component.
How does high SWR damage a radio?
High SWR can reflect enough power back into the radio to create enough heat to cook the final RF transistor. It isn’t usually an immediate failure, it takes some time for that heat to build up and do damage.
Can trees affect SWR?
Generally speaking, trees have very little effect on the performance of an antenna at HF. There can be some arcing if the antenna touches tree branches. Also, a thick bush or tree located closely under the antenna can often result in a small increase in SWR.
Does coax length affect SWR?
As the reflected wave travels back up the cable, it adds to the magnitude of the incident wave where it arrives in-phase with it, and subtracts from the magnitude of the incident wave where it arrives out of phase with it. …
Do you have to tune a whip antenna?
If your antenna is too short, it is necessary to increase its physical length. Most instances where the antenna length is too short are caused by a lack of ground plane. As a starting point, it’s best to put the tuning screw either all the way in or out, so each antenna is the same length.
Can you shorten a whip antenna?
If your antenna needs to be further shortened, you can usually do this by either trimming the stainless steel whip with pliers OR by removing the tuning screw from the tip of the antenna. These options will often allow you to shorten the antenna enough to finish tuning.
When is the 102 inch whip too short?
Whenever the antenna is mounted in such a way that this ground-plane or its effect is not perfect in relations to the 102″ length of the antenna, the result of being out of resonance start to appear in high SWR and transmit-receive efficiency drops rapidly. Very rare is the antenna electrically too short for most applications, thus DO NOT CUT IT.
What causes low VSWR from 102 inch whip?
B. Low grade coaxial cable. C. Poor, or no chassis ground on the antenna mount. Reflective ground too far beneath the antenna. (This holds true with vehicles which have a fiber-glass body). D. Short or open connections at the mount.
Is the 102 inch whip a ground plane antenna?
Sounds logical to me. The 102″ whip in a general 1/4 wave length antenna designed for placement on top of a ground-plane.
What do you need to adjust a whip?
Once this is done, you will need to start adjusting the antenna and compensate for the error in its ground-plane surrounding. You will need two or three small nylon cable ties and a length of clean metal rod about 10 to 15 inches long and the thickness of the whip near the end before the BALL.
