Yep! Too bad the rest of my evening didn't go as smooth. I went to put in some 1" rear spacer blocks after I replaced the IAC. I had the truck supported by a jackstand on a block under each side of the rear frame. I pulled the u-bolts and was about to lower it down to place the blocks on top, but thought "Why not add an extra block just in case? You can't have too much room to work with." I jacked the rear back up just a bit and ::CLUNK:: the rear end shifted back, rotated, and pulled the driveshaft out of the trans. I was asking for it since I pulled the u-bolts first, haha! After a few choice words and a quick walk around the yard with a cold drink, I got it all buttoned back up. What a night!

 

LOLOLOL.

Yep, been there, done that. I recognize that sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, at sounds you just KNOW are something *bad* happening.

 

Well, installed a CB radio today, radio is a bearcat 980ssb and the antenna is a Wilson 2000 trucker center load
Tuned and tuned and tuned the antenna, have it tuned now where that it's sitting at 1.62 swr on channel 1 and 1.66 swr on channel 40. And here I thought it was supposed to go lower than that
If I move the antenna up adjustment wise it drops channel 1 again and raises channel 40. If I drop it it's the opposite but it won't go farther than 1.6s. I have a 16g wire as a ground wire from the bracket to the evap canister bracket so I know it's somewhat grounded

 

What's the SWR on channel 19?

I've got some ideas, but starting at the start makes better sense.

 

In between the high and low. I think it was either 1.64 or 1.65

The swr was at 3.3 when I first PTT with the meter on wonder if I blew a final.

 

I'd expected that... nice flat antenna, crap install location. That antenna, with the correct feed length and a good mounting location, should tune to dead freaking flat or right close to it in the middle of the band, and no more than about 1.15:1 at the outsides.

If you don't want to move the antenna, and don't really want to fool with it any more, just hit the nearest radio shop and get an antenna (impedance) match box. It's just a little box of passive components with a couple of ***** you dial around to minimize your SWR readings, and the only ones I've ever seen fail just simply rusted apart. If you're not going to be running freq's, just adjust the thing for minimum reflected power on channel 19, then tuck it out of the way somewhere so you'll never have to think about it again. That's the easy way out. It'll leave you with a pure crap radiated pattern, but it'll keep the reflected power out of your final amplifier. But it won't solve any other problems that mounting location causes, so it's a thing you should go into with your eyes open and expectations low.

If you're willing to do it, put that Wilson right smack in the center of the roof, and route the cable such that it forms no loops. It ought to match reasonably well at just about any feed (coaxial cable) length, but if it won't and you just want to be done with it, install a cable of 18' 6" length (one-half wavelength) and then, better you than me, puzzle out how to route it so that you create no loops and as few tight bends as possible. No tight bends is best, but reality is unlikely to make that easily accomplished.

If center of roof is just not gonna happen, second best is tops of corners (hood or bed rail corners, that is). You should get below 1.5:1 across the band out at the corners without any other dorking around. Just clamp or magnet mount the thing in place (with a nice solid ground right at the base where it belongs) first to see how it performs before drilling holes. Those corner locations are huge tradeoffs -- they avoid some of the cab reflection, provide some sort of not so great ground plane, and deliver a radiant pattern that will be lumpy and unlikely to put the peak energy where it's best for you, but if it's what's doable then it is what it is. If that's the tradeoff you'll accept, go with it. Ain't nobody bidness but yo own. It's also easier to hit the half wavelength feed length with more physical separation to work within, so there's that. If yours is a longbed truck, the front corners are likely but not certainly better than the rear ones, for reasons hinted at next:

Don't go using wire to get antenna grounds unless you just have no other option and are willing to accept this-is-a-suck, and even then, if you can, use a wide braided strap. AC, and particularly at higher frequencies like RF, doesn't see impedance the way DC does. The relationships are algebraic at DC, but trigonometric for AC... What's a hard short at a half wavelength away is wide open at a quarter wavelength, as just one example of how interesting things can get over the span of just nine feet at 27MHz.

Just as a point of reference: The very best performing mobile rigs I've ever seen are those in vehicles that provide the opportunity to take advantage of an existing large ground plane or to create one with a big sheet of stainless steel -- I've stuck antennas into steel sheets grounded via braid to the nearest heavy ground on the roofs of many RV's, and every one of 'em has been a damn good performer. Some I haven't been able to center on the vehicle, either due to obstructions at that mounting location or others (air conditioners, roof racks, etc.) reflecting from that ugly quarter wave distance, but centered on the sheet is more important than centered over the wheels when your sheet is big enough. That's the kind of a ground plane you really want, and all the rest are just tradeoffs. That's why center of roof is best.

If it's making four watts, the final isn't smoked. Leave the antenna just as it is, though, and you'll be changing them out every now and then when they crack and let their magic smoke out.

 

So. I went to a radio shop, and asked the guy and he keyed the mic up and pointed to the swr meter on the radio and said that it shouldn't bounce around like that, checked all my things
Put his tester on, solid 1.1 the way I have it set up, can hit the river about 4 miles from my house pretty easy and I know the people down there aren't running tuned antennas
Reason why nobody couldn't hear me, I didn't have mic gain set up high enough for me because I'm not a mic chewwer and I don't shout into the mic

 

Well, think my transmission is on the way out, fluid smells good (lol) and fluid has a nice color to it, but when the truck is cold it almost shifts perfect, when it warms up if I just go like a normal person would it feels like it's shifting back and forth between 1-2 and going into 2-3 it does the same

I did press the OD button and turned it off and it shifted the same except when I clicked the button to turn it back on the revs went up a good bit then it shifted then hit lockup, gonna have to get that checked out I guess

 

Check the TV cable adjustment. You may have got the PCM ping-ponging between sensors in its search for a truth none can reveal.

 

I have it set right now where there is no slack, but it's not pulled out any at idle

Truck seems to shift fine 1-2 manually