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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | Does anyone have any documentation on how to tune/check the Vision' CB? I think my CB has issues as I can not receive much traffic and most of it is garbled when I do...I need to see if I can find any documentation so I can take it to a CB shop and have them check SWR, power output and other things on it... |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | there should be nothing technically unique to the vision cb. Any "good" cb shop can help you. |
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | varyder - 2010-05-19 7:51 AM there should be nothing technically unique to the vision cb. Any "good" cb shop can help you. Thanks for the info...Just didn't want to show up at a CB shop and find out I needed some special something (proprietary to Victory) for tuning the radio or anything...Rather do it once the right way than to have attempt the tuning several times running back and forth! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | Question. Why should someone have to tune a cb radio in a factory installation? Shouldn't they (victory or the dealer) have already done that just to make it functional? |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | you would hope TP but cb's can be on or off the mark when it comes to tuning. Some you may never have to touch, others you do, but all should be "close". Mine seems to work like a champ at times, and other times I wonder if I even have one. Right now I need a new antenna and I'm going to get me my own swr meter and tune it myself.
Personally, I want Victory to worry more on making a fantastic motorcycle and I'll worry with the frilly details as I consider a cb. From my perspective they have built the best riding and running bike on the road today. As Song Fan says "Thanks guys!" |
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Cruiser
Posts: 92
Princeton, MN | Try this site for help...
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/Equipment/How-to-Tune-a-C-B-Radio-An...
Good luck |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | viclvr - that link isn't working at the moment, but here is the text from another site. I would still read a few more things before you start hacking though to make sure things are right. Cable length can also affect SWRs, as well as shielding of the cable. Just make sure all that stuff is tight and no cuts in the cover of the cable.
By: Dachary Carey
Don't underestimate the importance of tuning a CB antenna. Some CB antenna manufacturers include instructions that say, "For optimal performance, you may need to tune the antenna using an SWR meter." What they don't say is that if you fail to tune your CB antenna, you can actually overload your CB radio, burning out sensitive electronics and ruining it. In order to ensure your CB radio functions properly and won't burn out, tune your CB antenna with an SWR meter, even if it's a pretuned antenna.
Standing-Wave Ratio
Standing-wave ratio is the reason you need to tune your antenna. Without getting into too much technical detail, your radio puts out power, but an out-of-tune antenna reflects some of that power back to the radio. If too much power comes back down the feedline into the CB, you can eventually overload the amplifier in your radio. When you tune the antenna, the SWR meter tells you how close you are to disbursing most of the energy that your CB radio produces. Depending on your specific setup, a high SWR may indicate that you need to lengthen or shorten your antenna.
Preparing to Tune Yyour CB Antenna
You'll need to hook your SWR meter into the line between your antenna and your CB radio. The easiest spot to hook in the SWR meter is right after the radio. Before you use your SWR meter to tune your antenna, make sure you're at least 10 yards from big buildings, other cars and trees. Close all your doors and the trunk of your vehicle. Once you're properly set up, you can use the SWR meter to tune your antenna.
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Using the SWR Meter
Set the meter to FWD. Turn the CB to Channel 1 and key the microphone. Adjust the SET knob to get the needle into the "full" range. You've just calibrated the SWR meter for your setup, so now you can move the switch from FWD to REF.
Once your SWR meter is calibrated and you're in REF mode, key the microphone again at Channel 1. Record this number. Switch to Channel 40 and key the microphone again. Record that number. That's your SWR. Ideally, your SWR would be 1:1. As long as you get your SWR under 1.4:1, you're not in danger of ruining your CB radio and your performance should be fine.
CB Antenna Length
When you compare your SWR readings, a higher SWR on Channel 40 than on Channel 1 tells you that your antenna is too long. A higher SWR on Channel 1 than on Channel 40 means your antenna is too short. Tunable-tip antennas make it easy to adjust the length with a simple locking mechanism to lengthen or shorten your antenna. If you've got a fiberglass antenna, follow the manufacturer's instructions to shorten the CB it. Err on the side of cutting too little rather than too much, as you can always shorten the antenna further to reach your ideal tuning. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 123
NE Florida Jacksonville | Your ground plane is almost nonexistent on this plastic bike. I ran into a similar problem with a friends Corvette years ago when CB's were really popular. A fix that worked for his car was to glue brass screen under the trunk lid of the car and ground that to the radio ground. Maybe a small section of brass screen can lay under the trunk mat and be grounded to the bikes frame. Just a thought.
Darryl |
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Tuning/Checking a CB