Do CB antenna matchers really work ?

I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna
to give a good SWR etc...true or false ?

Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!

hello,

All the matcher will do is make your CB think it has a perfectly tuned
aerial plugged in. So it will deliver full power. it stops you blowing the
back out of it. You would be able to use a discone but because the aerial
is not the correct size it will be very inefficient. The ATU will not alter
the aerial in any way, just fool/protect the CB. You would be better
joining the inner and outer core of the coax together and putting that into
the centre pin of the ATU connector, then connect your ground to a
waterpipe. Then you will probably have a better match by using the entire
length of coax as a radiating element.
Experiment!

"noone" <noone@home.here> wrote in message
news:420ad206@news.greennet.net...
> I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna
> to give a good SWR etc...true or false ?
>
> Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!
>

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 23:21:22 +0000, noone wrote:

> I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna
> to give a good SWR etc...true or false ?
>
> Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!

A well designed ATU or Aerial Tuning Unit, such as used by Radio Amateurs
is usefull when experimenting with various aerials such as long wires etc.
For single band working it will not beat having a proper resonant aerial.

Dave

--
For what we are about to balls up may common sense prevent us doing it
again
in the future!!

no they just kid the radio into thinking it is feeding into 50ohms.
you could stick a coathanger in the aerial hole and it will still say good.

throw it away.

mike

"noone" <noone@home.here> wrote in message
news:420ad206@news.greennet.net...
> I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna
> to give a good SWR etc...true or false ?
>
> Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!
>
>

"noone" <noone@home.here> wrote...
> I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the
> antenna to give a good SWR etc...true or false ?
>
> Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!

As others have said, it does not really tune the antenna, it just makes your radio
see the antenna as OK - avoiding damage to the radio. The antenna will not
perform any better for it, it will still not work for 27MHz, but your meter will tell
you that all is fine.
A dummy load will show a 1:1 SWR, but it will not work effectively as an antenna.

Using a tuner on a CB is only ever a last resort and temporary measure. You
really should get the correct antenna for the job and tune it correctly.

Regards,

Peter
http://www.citizensband.radiouk.com/

	#1
noone	Do CB antenna matchers really work ? I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna to give a good SWR etc...true or false ? Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it!

	#2
PK	Re: Do CB antenna matchers really work ? hello, All the matcher will do is make your CB think it has a perfectly tuned aerial plugged in. So it will deliver full power. it stops you blowing the back out of it. You would be able to use a discone but because the aerial is not the correct size it will be very inefficient. The ATU will not alter the aerial in any way, just fool/protect the CB. You would be better joining the inner and outer core of the coax together and putting that into the centre pin of the ATU connector, then connect your ground to a waterpipe. Then you will probably have a better match by using the entire length of coax as a radiating element. Experiment! "noone" <noone@home.here> wrote in message news:420ad206@news.greennet.net... > I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna > to give a good SWR etc...true or false ? > > Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it! >

	#3
Dave Stanton	Re: Do CB antenna matchers really work ? On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 23:21:22 +0000, noone wrote: > I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna > to give a good SWR etc...true or false ? > > Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it! A well designed ATU or Aerial Tuning Unit, such as used by Radio Amateurs is usefull when experimenting with various aerials such as long wires etc. For single band working it will not beat having a proper resonant aerial. Dave -- For what we are about to balls up may common sense prevent us doing it again in the future!!

	#4
mikeFNB	Re: Do CB antenna matchers really work ? no they just kid the radio into thinking it is feeding into 50ohms. you could stick a coathanger in the aerial hole and it will still say good. throw it away. mike "noone" <noone@home.here> wrote in message news:420ad206@news.greennet.net... > I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the antenna > to give a good SWR etc...true or false ? > > Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it! > >

	#5
Peter	Re: Do CB antenna matchers really work ? "noone" <noone@home.here> wrote... > I'm told they just give a false reading and do in no way match the > antenna to give a good SWR etc...true or false ? > > Reason I ask is that I have a discone and want to use the CB with it! As others have said, it does not really tune the antenna, it just makes your radio see the antenna as OK - avoiding damage to the radio. The antenna will not perform any better for it, it will still not work for 27MHz, but your meter will tell you that all is fine. A dummy load will show a 1:1 SWR, but it will not work effectively as an antenna. Using a tuner on a CB is only ever a last resort and temporary measure. You really should get the correct antenna for the job and tune it correctly. Regards, Peter http://www.citizensband.radiouk.com/