Can not set my swr's on my 4600 mobile radio.

not really.Many radios come with one built into the meter on the radio. For those with none you will need an external SWR meter. I would recomend a trucker 2000.

• First thing is to put a meter inline as I don't trust meters on radios unless I have tested them and they still are not to accurate.

• Is this a mobile or base setup? I need to know what CB, coax,and antenna you are running. I need to know how you have it installed, the whole nine yards.

• SWR ( Standing Wave Ratio ) is the amount of heat returning back down the coax to your radio. This is why high SWR can blow your final transistors, they smoke them out from being overheated.

• I'll be more than happy to help you get your set up right but I need the full lowdown on your set up first.

• If you have any comments please feel free to leave them here.
• Hope this helps and thank you for using FixYa.

Regards, Tony

First I would recommend a new COAX cable. RG58 and no less. What antenna are you using and is it mobile or a base CB? Mobile antennas often times have to be tuned. Either by the tip which sometimes screws in and out. Other times it may have to be physically cut. Depending on the SWR. If your SWR is high then trim it by 1/4" and recheck. If it is too low the the antenna must be longer. Also SWR meters do go bad. Make sure you are using a functioning one. If you have further questions or input let me know.

Is this setup in your car or at you home? Many use a mobile CB in there home off a power supply. First your antenna is a major part of your set up. Spare nothing when buying this. I recommend Wilson 300 or higher for the mobile and IMAX 2000 for home. Some Wilson antennas tune easier than others. Follow the instructions that come with it and ask me if you are unsure. A good 50ohm coax is necessary too. RG58 or better. For just the CB in the mobile RG58 will do just fine. At home I use RG213U. Now we get to your SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) which deals with return loss and reflection coefficient. To high of an SWR and you will lose a lot of your signal and you can burn up your radio. You will need to purchase an SWR/watt meter and put it inline. The coax from your antenna will run into your meter and then run another coax from your meter into the radio and follow the instructions on how to adjust and check your SWR. So now we are at the point where your set up is properly set up.

Hi, my name is John. ..On some radio,s that is normal, however, Have your SWR checked to be sure. They can do this at Radio Shack for free or some CB shack.... hope this was helpful...

1st. You cannot "set" the swr. The swr is not set on the radio. The antenna must tuned to attain an appropriate SWR reading.

2nd, If this doesn't solve your problem then you could have a worse problem. If there is a problem with the mic such as a break in one of the wires, the radio's receive will be off until you put a good mic on it. Try a different mic, and see if the receive comes back. Then check and see if your transmitting better.

As well, your meter could just be bad, as well your coax or antenna. Your receive could be poor if the antenna is not tuned to lowest SWR.

If it has been working up till recently, and you have "set" the SWR on the radio, which is not what the SWR function is for, because you don't set SWR on the radio, you could have been using the radio with the SWR super high and blown the final or other sections of the radio out.

SWR is basically signal reflection. If the antenna is not the right length, it will reflect energy back into the radio and damage it over time. The more an antenna is off from the correct length, the more reflect you will get.

The meter in the radio is used to determine how much reflect you are getting. You ideally want to have the lowest SWR possible.

To check the SWR, you set the meter switch to CAL. Key the mic. while holding the mic key down, turn the CAL knob up until the needle is at the little triangle at the top right of the meter marked by "CAL", Then while still holding the key, flip the meter switch to SWR. where ever the needle is at that point is your SWR.

You want ch 20 to have the lowest SWR. If the swr reading on channel 40 is higher then channel 1 then your antenna is too long. if it is higher on 1 then 40, its too short. Make small adjustments until 1 has almost the same reading as 40. then check ch 20 and it should be real low.

As I have said, if you haven't tuned your antenna as I have just explained, and have been using it as is, the possibility is high that you have already hurt the radio.

Although it could also have a bad meter. Use an external meter to read the SWR.


Other things to check. Make sure cable connections are tight. Make sure coax is not damaged. try another antenna.

With radio turned on

1. Switch the first switch (S/RF SWR CAL) to CAL setting
2. Key mic up &
3. Turn SWR CAL knob while still keying mic until the needle is on the red CAL arrow at the far end of the meter scale. Unkey mic.
4. Switch the first switch back to SWR setting.
5. Key mic up again and record SWR reading and adjust as needed.
6. When done adjusting put switch back in the S/RF setting for normal operation.

Do not flip the switch with the mic keyed up.

After installing the antenna, follow these steps to adjust the
standing wave ratio(SWR).
1. Turn on the CB.
2. Set S/RF/SWR/CAL to CAL.
3. Key the Mic and rotate SWR CAL so the meter points
to CAL.
4. Unkey Mic.
5. Set S/RF/SWR/CAL to SWR.
6. Key Mic again and note the actual measurement on
the SWR scale. Refer to the following table to interpret
the reading.

1:1 - 1.5 Great
1.5 - 2:1 OK
2:1 - 3:1 Not So Good
Higher than 3.1:1 Terrible

The ideal standing wave ratio (SWR) is 1:1, or a meter
reading of 1 on the SWR meter's top scale. A SWR ratio
of 1.5:1 to 2:1 is excellent for most mobile CB antenna
applications.

Check the SWR on Channel 1 and Channel 40
If the SWR is higher on 1, make the antenna longer
If the SWR is higher on 40, make the antenna shorter
Most antenna's are adjustable. Make small adjustments at a time.

Hi,

Based on your post/description:

1. how do i set the swr
Normally SWR are calibrated on your operating channel (where you usually stand-by). This is to maximize transmit power and receive sensitivity. To set SWR, switch to channel of your choice, switch SWR control to CAL, key or press PTT, while pressing PTT rotate ADJ knob until max deflection of needle on meter, release mic, switch control to SWR, key/press PTT, needle reading/deflection is SWR for that channel.

I would suspect that your SWR will vary from your current 1.4. This is because you have too big excursion of channels (240 channels).

2.reading a 1.4
This reading is good enough and should do. However as earlier stated, you seem to have 240 channels which would mean that your radio + antenna moves in a wide bandwidth and since the antenna tuning is affected by frequency, your SWR will also be affected by channel.

Best if you can further lower it down.

3. some cb cant get me
This is because the standard CB radio is only 40 channels. The next would be a 80 channel and then 120 channels.

4. is it my radio
Yes, you have a wide coverage radio almost an extended 10 meter rig.

5. do i have to set my radio on high or low to set my swr
I will assume you are referring to power output, set it to HIGH when doing SWR calibration

Hope this be of some help/idea. Pls post back how things turned up or should you need additional information.

Good luck and kind regards.

Checking and setting the swr can only be accomplished with an inline swr meter, not with the radios swr cal switch and the radios meter. Once you have set the swr of the antenna, you cal the radios meter to reflect the actual swr reading and use it like a dummy light on a car, just as an indicator of high swrs. To set your swr:

You must have an inline swr meter, which can be purchased online or from a truck stop. The ones at truck stops are cheap ones, but will do the trick for the most part.

You connect your antenna 18ft coax to the antenna plug of the swr meter, and a jumper coax (any length) to the transmitter plug of the swr meter and then to the radio.

Close all doors and make sure no one is messing around with the vehicle or antenna. You must be set up as you would normally be transmitting.

Now set your cb radio to channel 40 and your swr meter to fwd. Key up your microphone and at the same time turn the set knob on the swr meter until the needle is at the line that reads set. Unkey your mic and set the the swr meter to ref. Key up again and note what your reading is. Now leave the swr meter in ref and turn the cb to channel 1. Key up and take your reading. If the reading on ch 1 is higher than ch 40 you must raise the stinger on your antenna. If ch 1 is lower than 40, you lower your stinger. You are trying to get lower than a reading of 3 and as close to 1.5 as possible. If you lower your stinger as far into the antenna as it will go and you need it shorter, you cut the bottom of your stinger no more than 1/2" at a time, and recheck your swr reading after each cut.

Once you have gotten the best reading you can, connect your antenna directly back to the radio.

The setting of your swrs is to make your antenna as efficient as possible, by trying to get it as close as you can to a 50ohm impedance. THE ONLY PART OF YOUR SYSTEM THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR SWR IS YOUR ANTENNA, not your coax and not your radio. Your radio and coax can give you false readings, but only the antenna can actually change the swr.

On the swr meter, the fwd/ref switch stands for forward (power that is being transmitted out) and reflected (power that is reflected back into the radio.

Just for information sake, the swr cal switch on your radio is used to set the meter to reflect the swr that your antenna is set at. The meter on your radio is like a dummy light on your car. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN NOT SET YOUR SWR ON YOUR RADIO, only the antenna.

Dean
Rollin CBs
Mt. Vernon, TX