not sure if it is working or not ?

[coaster1966]

Hello
Just got set up with a AT-5555, Thunderpole 1/2 Wave on the roof
i am wondering whether it is working or not its all tested the cables everything new but I've been scanning and flicking around for 3 days now and not heard a single thing just squelch
how do i test it to see if it is receiving
the SWR is a bit high 2.5 but i should still hear something or someone
or is it just a crap antenna
Cheers for any help i am in nottingham clifton if anyone has time to radio check me
Thanks alot

[Buick Mackane]

Could be nobody on in your surrounding area, If i was you i'd be getting the SWR Down to below a 2 before you transmit

[coaster1966]

yep working on that ordered an auto atu
would a high swr stop me hearing anyone or is my antenna rubbish i really thought i would be able to hear something on sb even tried 10 meters

[ch25]

Bands are dead and if there is no local activity in 30 miles radius it can be like that. ZzzzZZZzzz and that's all.

[Buick Mackane]

yep working on that ordered an auto atu

Why do you need an ATU ?

[stanogs68]

Its mad that some places can be so dead ,its a shame ,its like someone said on here you think with this lockdown you would get more people giving it a go ,my kids say we can talk to people all over the world on are xboxes ,but i dont think its the same ,or is it ?

[5973Laterz]

SWR is 2.5:1 your RX should still be fine there are no sunspots at this time so 10 and 11m will be quiet for dx and then you only have
your cb frequencies and there may not be many people on. Have you heard anything on CH19 cb freq, you usually get a few people chatting on there at some point in the day just to confirm the radio is working. Also ensure your RF gain is correctly set. With cb radio and relatively few people on there is a bit of a crescendo effect of non activity... you don't hear anyone so you switch off, they don't hear anyone so they swicth off and onwards it goes.. european dx will pick up in the spring summer

You need to sort your SWR out and call.

Don't give up yet just be a bit patient. In the meantime get your set up optimized for when there is some activity and you will have the best chance to make conatcts.

[Alan Pilot]

An ATU won't alter your swr it will just fool the radio into seeing a 50ohm match well try to.
Better to sort the aerial out or buy a better aerial.

[26mb04]

You could try scanning for non-CB things. That antenna will be fine for listening to other bands, see what else you can hear as a good baseline for what you can expect when/if the conditions ever come back.

[Werthers]

An ATU just makes it safer to transmit but does nothing for your signal. I'd be checking the coax. In my experience there is some really crappy coax out there that can affect things. Check for common mode, make a balun etc. Get some decent coax from a trusted radio dealer. Make sure all your connections are solid.

[paulears]

Really? You must have pretty poor atu’s then because if I pick ANY HF frequency I hear noises and buzzes. Bash the ATU tune button and after the clicks and whirs the meters jerk up and all the noises are louder. Bringing the whole system to resonance helps receive and transmit, without resonance, it’s just a bit of metal in the sky. If you have a manual tuner, your first adjustments are usually to bring up the noise to get you in a ballpark tune area. If you have a single band tuner you may just never hear this as the broad tuning pass band wont change much, but if you operate multi band, it’s very, very obvious on receive.

[Andy]

But Paul, the Thunderpole should already be at resonance. There should be absolutely no need for an ATU with a commercial single-band antenna and coax feeder. Your comments make sense for a random wire but not for a pre-tuned resonant aerial.

[Werthers]

Really? You must have pretty poor atu’s then because if I pick ANY HF frequency I hear noises and buzzes. Bash the ATU tune button and after the clicks and whirs the meters jerk up and all the noises are louder. Bringing the whole system to resonance helps receive and transmit, without resonance, it’s just a bit of metal in the sky. If you have a manual tuner, your first adjustments are usually to bring up the noise to get you in a ballpark tune area. If you have a single band tuner you may just never hear this as the broad tuning pass band wont change much, but if you operate multi band, it’s very, very obvious on receive.

I was talking about just using an ATU on one single band to tune a poor antenna is what I meant when I said it will do nothing for the signal

[paulears]

If the antenna is tuned for say, 25MHz and you are listening a couple of megs higher, if it’s then retuned, you hear the noise suddenly go up. Antennas are most efficient at the place they are tuned for. Sometimes the difference is hardly noticeable if the tuning is just a bit off, but sometimes bringing one into tune makes a huge difference. I have a quad band vertical on my office. It’s really compromised on a radio that has the same bands. Pop in the atu and despite bring short, it starts to hear things.