I have a couple of question about CB radio if anyone could help me out. First I have brought a station master mkI antenna and was wondering if this antenna needs a ground plane or is it ground independent, also to lower the swr reading do you adjust the length of the antenna or adjust the wire connection on the external coil. Second question is, I am using a Galaxy 949 SSB set for a homebase, do you need to ground the radio or does the power supply do this for me. Any info would be greatly appreciated
Hi Racer,
CB radios and their antennas are generally ground independent and don't require earthing. Power supply outputs also tend to be ground independent.
If you measure the voltage between either the positive or the negative terminal you will notice it is zero.
Mobile car whip antennas use the vehicle as a ground plane.
Generally Station master antennas tend to be mounted on a metal pole which often has some conductivity to Earth.
The best thing to do is experiment and measure the SWR as you change the earthing situation.
I have an independent comms earth for my shack which the chassis of various equipment is earthed. I don't have a HF CB connected up at the moment.
Normally I wouldn't bother earthing it, but if I did and the power supply wasn't already bonded, then I'd earth the chassis of the radio and leave the stationmaster end unearthed. (earth is provided by the coaxial cable shield).
