New CB Antenna High SWR

So I got a new CB antenna today, it’s the Terminator 2 antenna they sell at Pilot. I installed everything correctly and calibrated it on the CB but I am getting a SWR of about 2.9 just barely in the green. I have the antenna the shortest it will go without cutting the whip and noticed that if the whip is higher then the SWR is also higher. I should of done more research in cb antennas before I bought it because I see now that it’s kind of overkill for the radio. Think the antenna is fine and I should just start actually trimming the whip? Or since I kept the original packaging and receipt should I just exchange it for a different antenna?

Get online and do some hunting around for a CB shop before you do anything yourself. They will know more about doing it correctly the first time.

The antenna's been around awhile and seems to be a reliable performer for your rig. A few reports of grounding issues:

... I had to bond the pretty chrome upper bracket cover to the mirror arm with a small piece of flat-braid before I could get the SWR down .... After that, it worked great, with a ~1.2 SWR. I was using a "Terminator II" double-coil antenna, the one they sell at Pilot. ...once I did it, SWR plummeted and I actually had a good range. ... I used flat braid straps to bond the mirror arm to the door, the door to the cab, and the cab to the frame, in addition to bonding the chrome cover of the upper arm bracket to the mirror arm itself. This improves ground plane significantly.

Terminator II SWR fix with ground plane mod is the Trucker's Report Forum page for those quotes.

Are you taking SWR readings on different channels?

Searching "CB antenna SWR" on here turns up a lot, too, including problems with Cascadias, mount location, nix on original equipment... From guyjax (Guy Hodges):

Thank you Guyjax. Now what's a good antenna? I want to get out there.

It's going to depend on the swr's and the type of reflection there is. Those can only be measured with a meter. The lower the swr (standing wave ratio) the better. Mine is 1 and 1.2 that is the swr for channel 1 and channel 40 respectively. About as good as you can get.

Antenna type does not matter so much as long as it gets low swr's. Steel whip of course for better reception.

Never use anything that can with the truck. Seriously. Even run your own power cord to the batteries. And that includes the antenna coax.

It should be inexpensive to get the antenna tuned at a shop. Please post back and let us know how you resolve this.

Anyone know a cb shop around Syracuse NY?

The antenna's been around awhile and seems to be a reliable performer for your rig. A few reports of grounding issues:

... I had to bond the pretty chrome upper bracket cover to the mirror arm with a small piece of flat-braid before I could get the SWR down .... After that, it worked great, with a ~1.2 SWR. I was using a "Terminator II" double-coil antenna, the one they sell at Pilot. ...once I did it, SWR plummeted and I actually had a good range. ... I used flat braid straps to bond the mirror arm to the door, the door to the cab, and the cab to the frame, in addition to bonding the chrome cover of the upper arm bracket to the mirror arm itself. This improves ground plane significantly.

Terminator II SWR fix with ground plane mod is the Trucker's Report Forum page for those quotes.

Are you taking SWR readings on different channels?

Searching "CB antenna SWR" on here turns up a lot, too, including problems with Cascadias, mount location, nix on original equipment... From guyjax (Guy Hodges):

Thank you Guyjax. Now what's a good antenna? I want to get out there.

It's going to depend on the swr's and the type of reflection there is. Those can only be measured with a meter. The lower the swr (standing wave ratio) the better. Mine is 1 and 1.2 that is the swr for channel 1 and channel 40 respectively. About as good as you can get.

Antenna type does not matter so much as long as it gets low swr's. Steel whip of course for better reception.

Never use anything that can with the truck. Seriously. Even run your own power cord to the batteries. And that includes the antenna coax.

It should be inexpensive to get the antenna tuned at a shop. Please post back and let us know how you resolve this.

I ended up getting some bolt cutters from harbor freight and trimmed down the steel whip by about a inch. This dropped my SWR down to 2. Much better than 3, I could probably trim it down more but I think I will just wait now when I stop nearby a cb shop.

Anyone know a cb shop around Syracuse NY?

Still in the area? Nu'Tronics. 3615 James Street. Syracuse.. phone # is: 315.437.0333 ... my brother lives up yonder! He said if you are near Buffalo or Monticello, that Doc's is the best .. probably THE best in the U.S. of A ~! I'm on the run or I'd google'em for ya, sorry!

Tried, anyway!

Stay safe, man..KUDOS, always!

Annie :)