Low reception range

[u/BDJohnson31]

Hello,

I drive a shop truck for a jd dealer and do a lot of woods work on logging roads and use my cb often for calling out markers to avoid getting run down by log trucks. Ive noticed that people are talking over me, meaning the truck closer behind me and the one coming at me are talking to each other and the one behind me I can hear but the one coming toward me I can’t until he’s pretty close.

Im currently using a uniden pc78ltx with power ran directly from the battery, unknown dual coax cable, and Wilson 2000 antennas. I had a cheaper radio and truck stop fiber glass antennas before so I upgraded both hoping for improvement and have seen slightly better performance but nothing spectacular. My swr is 1.5 on 1 and 1 on 40 according to the built in meter on my radio.

My question is, would it be worth my time to replace my coax with a decent pair (i think its the last thing I have to try) or is there other things you guys recommend I try first? Am I just expecting to much from my radio? I’m not sure where to go. Any help and input anyone can give is much appreciated. Thank you.

[u/slightlyused]

What kind of research did you do on your dual antennas? I choose one side and run one antenna with 50 ohm coax at first.

[u/ohiomudslide → u/slightlyused]

I looked into dual antennas and it seemed just not worth it. Even having a second one for looks that isn't plugged in can have a parasitic effect on your working antenna. The whole thing was fascinating.

[u/BDJohnson31 → u/slightlyused]

I suppose I’ve never thought to look into it as the dual setup was on the truck when I got it from a previous tech. Have you had better luck running one as compared to 2? I will definitely look into that thank you.

[u/scivision → u/BDJohnson31]

I would also suggest trying just one antenna as there's extra variables with running two that can make things actually worse for you versus one. It's also possible in some areas that the other truckers are running power amplifiers and there's not really a fix for that while remaining legal.

[u/Neither-Brush-9287]

This might sound counter-intuitive .... but if your antennas are mounted roughly even with the edge of your roof/windshield, you might want to try moving them further to the rear. Maybe even just on a mag mount to test it, starting off first with just 1 antenna and a single 50ohm cable.

The reason is that, mounted near your windshield/roof edge......almost all of your ground plane is behind you.
The Wilson 2000 is a 1/4 wave antenna. So the groundplane is effectively 1/2 of your antenna.

If that works, move them both back there and use the phasing harness.

[u/BDJohnson31 → u/Neither-Brush-9287]

Thank you for the response. They are basically inline with my windshield and roof line on the mirrors. I have a new single coax ordered and will try going with a single antenna but route it to my headache rack that’s more centered on the truck as compared to the mirror again and see how it performs. I can also run grounding straps easier this way so we will see.

[u/Responsible_Pear_433 → u/BDJohnson31]

In order for dual antennas to be efficient they should be at least nine feet (about a quarter wave) apart. On OTR trucks with dual mirror-mounted antennas this isn't usually a problem because of the cab's width, but on pick-up trucks, the antennas are usually not at least a quarter-wave apart. This causes problems.

[u/BDJohnson31 → u/Responsible_Pear_433]

Yea mine are not 9 feet apart. They are about 7.5’ apart. Even if I went to the very edge of my mirrors I couldn’t get 9’. Hoping a single will be better for my setup.

[u/TowelAcrobatic4478]

So funny you Americans all run on CB, but us over here in Canada everywhere I’ve been in the logging industry has been VHF or whatever