scubadude85 Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Please help a noob out. 1) I understand SWR needs to be as low as you can get. 2) dB I don't understand are low numbers good or high numbers? 3) When installing an outdoor antenna and weather packing the connectors can one use die-electric grease or just heat shrink tubing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kidphc Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Low swr is better. 1:1 means you are getting all the power out. Higher means you are getting reflected power or wasting some as heat. There is an old video (50's 60's) that explains it with models. Swr is not the end all to antennas and many focus on it too much. But generally strive for lower. Db is the increase of gain on the antenna. Dbi means it is based off a reference. Usually DBi gives you a better idea of increase in gain to a reference antenna. Where db may the gain vs a pencil for all you know. So 3 db with make your 5 watt radio equal to a radio with 15 watts of power with no gain. The higher the gain value normally the radiation pattern is flatter with a higher take off angle. For example 1/4 wave antenna is a bit more spherical (like a ball). So when offroading it can be beneficial if you are going up a dune at the crest and there is a truck below you, you'll can hear him. With a half wave design the pattern is flatter and you may not hear him. However, when using a repeater from a mobile the 1/2 wave can more beneficial because then repeater is higher and you have more gain. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk berkinet and Logan5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kidphc Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Sorry the third part. You can use a sealant for the connectors. It is available from most radio shops. I'd use a weatherproof boot specific to the connector and maybe some electrical tape. Problem with heat shrink is if you need to remove the wrap to service the connector you need to cut it off. In doing so you may cut the cable. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kidphc Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Here is the video on swr (standing wave ratio). Long and reminds of video from grade school. But worth it. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Lscott Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 You may find this book of interest. The book is about antennas and transmission lines. I hope Firefox didn't mangle this link again. http://www.w3pga.org/Antenna Books/Reflections III.pdf It's a good reference to keep on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Lscott Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 You may find this book of interest. The book is about antennas and transmission lines. I hope Firefox didn't mangle this link again. http://www.w3pga.org/Antenna Books/Reflections III.pdf It's a good reference to keep on hand.If the link above doesn't work, you have to copy the whole line and past it into the browser. Then try this one. http://www.w3pga.org/Antenna%20Books/Reflections%20III.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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scubadude85
Please help a noob out.
1) I understand SWR needs to be as low as you can get.
2) dB I don't understand are low numbers good or high numbers?
3) When installing an outdoor antenna and weather packing the connectors can one use die-electric grease or just heat shrink tubing?
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