My CB does not seem to transmit very well on the lower channels but does better on the upper ones. My question is this, do you have to take the fairing off to set the SWR's or is that done from the tourpack? Does this sound like a SWR issue? Can the Harley Shop do this type of work?

Thanks for any input.

 

Foley,
It sounds like the SWR on your antenna MAY be out of adjustment. I'd find a good CB shop and let them check out the whole system. They are usually better equipped to handle CB problems than a HD dealer. You can usually find a dedicated radio shop around most large truck stops. I would not let them work on the radio, only the antenna. If the radio needs repairs i'd send it back to Harmon Cardon's repair facility.

 

+1 - Most Truck-Stops will know where a "GOOD" CB shop is.

 

SWR tuning is done by adjusting the length of the antenna, and sometimes the antenna cable. But they will likely need to get into he fairing to attach the SWR meter to where the cable goes into the radio. It's a really simple process if you have a meter.
Don't expect the same range out of your Harley's CB as you would from a car or truck. The CB antenna needs a good ground plane to operate and the motorcycle just can't provide that with the way the antenna is mounted.

 

Thanks everyone for the assistance. I'll see about getting it checked out at a local CB shop.

 

The important point is that you can hit a happy medium on the SWR of lower vs. higher channels. I think mine is the opposite but since I use channel one when riding with my buddies and only use 19 when traveling alone I will leave it as is. I also agree that there isn't much of a ground plane on a HD. CB is pretty much little more than line of site anyway since there is so much traffic on certain channels. Manufacturers would do much better to switch to FRS. Unfortunately the standard is CB and a mass changeover is unlikely.

 

FWIW, the SWR meter is connected between the headunit and the CB cable connection to the headunit--so the outer fairing is removed to gain access to the back of the headunit; the CB antenna is disconnected from the back of the headunit; one connecton of the SWR meter is connected to the back of the headunit; and, the other end of the SWR meter is connected to the CB antenna cable.

 

Ditto what harleypingman said. You need to check the SWR (standing wave ratio) from the output of the radio (transmitter). That way you are including the feed line (coax) in the equasion. If Harley did it right they would have tuned the antenna around the center of the CB band. It's possible that it's tuned (peaked) down around Channel 1 or at the high end Channel 40. If that's the case your signal going out would be better or worse moving from one end of the band to the other. BTW, a good SWR is something like 1.5:1 or less. 1:1 would be perfect.