CB antenna on roof of Promaster

Pro3500

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
I have a CB antenna in the center of the roof on my Promaster van. Had it in 2 CB shops and the SWR is still above 2.5. It was 4.5, got it down by adding a 12" mast raising the coil 14" above the roof. I was told the roof is the absolute best spot for both transmitting and receiving. It does receive better with it raised up but transmitting is only slightly better. 10-15 big truck lengths in any direction is about it. I had a cobra ltd 29 on it. Checked out good no issues. Replaced it with a new Uniden 880 same results. Replaced the mics. Changed the new coax for new coax 18' only because thats what it takes from point A to B. Replaced the new wilson 2000 with a roadpro antenna with a 12" mast. That helped the most of anything I've done thus far. (Tried 6", 8", 10" mast not much difference.) The wilson on the 12" is also better. SOOO my question is is there anyway to shield the ground plane on the roof from the antenna base so I don't have to run 20" mast with a 4' whip with total height of almost 6' ? Maybe a disc of some type 12-14" around under the mount? Lost on this one. It's been like this from day one. With everything new. The coax has an external ground wire spliced into the ground shield on the coax and grounded to the vehicle as well as the radio, radio mount and roof base. So I'm really sure it's grounded really good. Anyone else running a roof mount on a van with no issues or the same issues?
 

invisible man

New Recruit
Just wondering how you fixed this issue with the high SWR’s I also have a roof mount antenna on my pro master. We did some antenna testing and found that the perimeter of the roof has better bonding swr readings. The center the largest sheet metal portion is the issue. So I’m looking at possibly bonding the center to the sides somehow. Let me know what you done to resolve the issue.
 

Pro3500

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
I never resolved it. I recently installed a roof top ac where the antenna was mounted. I bought a mount for side of the van but haven’t installed yet.
 

zero3nine

Veteran Expediter
Your problem - in my opinion - is grounding. It's difficult to get a good ground on the roof. Run a wire all the way from the negative battery terminal to whatever you're mounting the antenna on. I bet that SWR disappears.
 
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