Do I have a Ariel Problem ??

[P5shn]

Well I have brought the venom 5/8 Ariel for the time being, I was going to spend more on an Ariel but as I have been buying a couple of transcievers aswell & scanner Ariel, swr meter, coax etc etc ....
Anyway I have mounted the venom 5/8 on a new 3m heavy duty Ariel pole from screwfix & I have also mounted to the pole is my new Air band scanner Ariel ( about
2ft fibreglass pole with 4 x 2ft radials coming from bottom.
Well here is my problem, Last night I spent a good couple of hours going through my president Grant 2 and I never heard anyone on any band, I found this really strange.
My swr is good at either 1.1 or 1.5 either end.
Is it because the fibreglass top of my scanner Ariel is poking between the 3 radials on my venom 5/8 a good foot of it anyway would this mess with my reception on my Venom
5/8 antenna ?
The scanner Ariel has plastic brackets that isolate it from contact with the 3m pole.
I am at a loss as to what is wrong ?
I struggle a lot as it is with my health so now I am thinking bugger more physical excursion.
Would I be best taking the Air Band Scanner Ariel off the 3m pole that the Venom Ariel is on & would that solve my problem ?
Also my scanner coax is running along side for 50ft the same length of of my President Grant
coax, both being mini 8 military grade, i don't use the cb & scanner at the same time but there is deffo a problem cus I am getting no one on my Grant 2 & it is a new rig that has had the export mod professionally fitted by the same shop where I brought all my kit.
I also Soldered My PL259s on as I always do.
Any help would be much appreciated.

[MrWeetabix]

Can you hear anyone on the CB bands on your scanner?

It could just be that there was nobody on locally. It's not unheard of these days. Perhaps someone local to you could give you a pre-arrange on-air test

[P5shn]

what would be the best frequency to check Mr Weetabix ?
When I say that I mean which is the most commonly used ones now ?

I am starting to get back into the hobby after some 28 years when I used to use my ole Harrier CBX & Rotel 863 ? if my ageing memory serves me correctly as I know things have moved on a fair bit since then.

Thank you

[MrWeetabix]

monitoring ch19 would be your best bet. 27.78125

[porky.69]

19 a roger or try channel 14 some still use this around my qth ......good luck hope you get it sorted

[NightProwler]

Sounds like it's all working fine to me, Probably just no one on in your area. I can go days without hearing anyone where I live.

[MrWeetabix]

Give us an idea where you are and we'll see if any TM1 users are local and we can organise a QSO between you, that'll make sure it's all OK.

[P5shn]

I am near the Staffordshire county showground ST18
Thank you that would be a good idea

Today I brought a offset Ariel pole and bracket for my scanner antenna so I can Have just the 5/8 wave Ariel on its own in the 3M.pole.

[ghost123uk]

Try UK C25 in the daytime, a good few of us, within range of you, get on there most days. It's generally known as "Mr Moonraker's" net, he is only about 30 miles from you, on top of the big hill known as "MowCop" and he gets out very well. Not on all day, in and out, but give it a go. You might even pick up me (~30 miles as the crow flies)

[P5shn]

Recieved some modulation tonight on ch19 but signal wasn't that great, SWR reading is 2.0 on this channel.
I personally think my SWR is a little high and I am thinking is it that the venom 5/8 needs adjusting ?
The Venom is set at all the set marks when I built it at the weekend & I waterproofed all the joints.
What is my best option on altering the ariel to improve the SWR ?
Lengthen or shorten the ariel.
To be honest I wish I just spent a few more pounds & brought a better quality ariel.
If I am going to get the results I don't mind buying another ariel if it will give me better results.
What does people think ?

The reason I am talking about upgrading my ariel is because I am disabled & very limited what I can do & I have to rely on help from my son so obviously taking ariel up & down to adjust isn't really practical for me.
I know something like the Antron & imax 2000 are simple screw together & SWR at bottom with the 2 rings if need be, although from what I have read people never need to adjust them.

I just want to get it right and not have to mess with it again.

[ghost123uk]

Ideally you should have done a dry run before you waterproofed it and permanently mounted it. At that point one checks the SWR and adjusts the length accordingly. They are usually too long, especially up on the higher UK frequencies.

So, check the SWR carefully on UK channel 1, then again, not forgetting to do the "FWD" calibration on the meter again, check it on channel 40. Post the results on here and one of us will tell you whether it needs to be longer, or shorter, and roughly by how much. (I'm going to guess it needs to be 12" shorter) Adjust it at the bottom 1 or 2 sections, this helps the structural strength of the aerial.

By the way, the aerial you have bought is very very nearly as good, performance wise, as those dearer ones you mention, but it might only last 5 years instead of 10.

Oh, and an SWR of 2, whilst not ideal, would only knock a max of 1 S point off anything you receive or transmit, so whilst it should be done, it's not a deal breaker.

[ghost123uk]

Try UK C25 in the daytime, a good few of us, within range of you, get on there most days. It's generally known as "Mr Moonraker's" net, he is only about 30 miles from you, on top of the big hill known as "MowCop" and he gets out very well. Not on all day, in and out, but give it a go. You might even pick up me (~30 miles as the crow flies)

If you wish, we could schedule a QSO at a time to suit you, during the weekday daytimes. I am very sure that one of our group can give a good signal into your QTH.

[P5shn]

Think I could have a coax problem, shop sold me mini 8 and said it would be fine but after reading online running 70ft is going to detrimental to my performance, so I have decided to change to RG213 as that is apparently half the db loss compared to mini 8
Especially now as I have changed my Ariel to a Sirio gain master.
So wish I did this in the first place could of saved £60

[ghost123uk]

Nothing wrong with 70ft of mini8, that is about the same length I have at home and I get out just fine, and with a Silver Rod too.

[P5shn]

So Sorry My Mistake ..... it is NOT mini 8 coax it is RG58 I am using at the moment and I am upgrading to RG-213
Sorry for any confusion
I am new and still learning the ropes