checking swr?????
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chopcorejc
checking swr?????
how often should you check the swr readings?????????is that a one time thing, or should you check it periodically????????????
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521 Houston
Re: checking swr?????
Personally, I keep check on mine quite often. However, once your antenna is set and matched to the vehicle, you shouldn't have to worry about it again for a loooooong time. I like to keep track on what mine is set at, because often I clip tree limbs and drag the drive-thru roofs with it, and running the setup that I am, even a small change in SWR can be critical. If you're thinking... "Gee, what harm can clipping a tree limb do?".... well, normally no big deal. But at 70 to 90 mph, clipping a tree limb feels like someone is ripping the whole antenna off the roof, (not to mention scares the heck outta you when you hear that THWAP) and I have actually bent the stinger from doing so.chopcorejc wrote:how often should you check the swr readings?????????is that a one time thing, or should you check it periodically????????????
Other than that, unless you're running BIG watts, damage the coax or antenna, move the antenna to a new location on the vehicle, or see a drastic change in the operation of your radio, once set you should be good to go.
If you have the equipment handy, what harm would it do you to check it once a month or so? Take you all of what.... 5 minutes? WORTH spending the time in my opinion.
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bazookajoe
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521 Houston
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chopcorejc
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Gadfly
Vic
Houston,
I once had an interesting race with a Crown Vic Interceptor. Some years ago I had a '93 Lumina Z34. That particular series of car would "fool" people into thinking it was just a plain ole Lumina. Not the FASTEST thing around but it would surprise you, especially if you knew how to use its power band correctly.
I was coming down the interstate when I overtook a Crown Vic in the slo lane. I pulled out to pass (somewhat absent-mindedly) and the dude abruptly speeded up. (I was NOT wanting, nor expecting, a race). I slowed down, and got behind the Ford. But, he got slower and slower. I tried it again, and he did the same thing. I still didn't want to race, and rarely ever pushed the Lumina to its limits; it was just a nice, well-behaved (and reliable) car.
I exited off at the next exit, and being that the exit was two lane, the Ford guy got off, too; I signalled the exit not even thinking the guy would follow me, but he did. I turned right onto a boulevard; so did he. Each time we hit a light, he would gun it as if to race me. I ignored it---for awhile until the ole devil got hold o' me
and I thot, "Ok, bud, you're on! Light changed and I floored the car with a lite "squeak" from the wheels, and it was on. The CV paced me for a short time, and when I reached 4,000 RPMS, the 3.4 Dual-cam, OHV V6 began to pull away (4,000 RPM is where this engine's power band begins) from the Vicky. I pulled him at two car lengths up to about 85 (I had no business doing this; I know better), and slowed down when it was clear that he couldn't match my Lumina, and stopped at the next light. The guy was MAD!!!! But he was SHOCKED, too! He made a couple of smart remarks, and I said back,
"Yeah, but just think; you just got outrun by a six-cylinder Chevrolet!!!
WOW! I thought he would bust a blood vessel! So I "squeaked" away once again and left him to stew in THAT!!!
It was a stupid stunt, and I haven't done that since, but it WAS funny!!
73
Gadfly
I once had an interesting race with a Crown Vic Interceptor. Some years ago I had a '93 Lumina Z34. That particular series of car would "fool" people into thinking it was just a plain ole Lumina. Not the FASTEST thing around but it would surprise you, especially if you knew how to use its power band correctly.
I was coming down the interstate when I overtook a Crown Vic in the slo lane. I pulled out to pass (somewhat absent-mindedly) and the dude abruptly speeded up. (I was NOT wanting, nor expecting, a race). I slowed down, and got behind the Ford. But, he got slower and slower. I tried it again, and he did the same thing. I still didn't want to race, and rarely ever pushed the Lumina to its limits; it was just a nice, well-behaved (and reliable) car.
I exited off at the next exit, and being that the exit was two lane, the Ford guy got off, too; I signalled the exit not even thinking the guy would follow me, but he did. I turned right onto a boulevard; so did he. Each time we hit a light, he would gun it as if to race me. I ignored it---for awhile until the ole devil got hold o' me
and I thot, "Ok, bud, you're on! Light changed and I floored the car with a lite "squeak" from the wheels, and it was on. The CV paced me for a short time, and when I reached 4,000 RPMS, the 3.4 Dual-cam, OHV V6 began to pull away (4,000 RPM is where this engine's power band begins) from the Vicky. I pulled him at two car lengths up to about 85 (I had no business doing this; I know better), and slowed down when it was clear that he couldn't match my Lumina, and stopped at the next light. The guy was MAD!!!! But he was SHOCKED, too! He made a couple of smart remarks, and I said back,"Yeah, but just think; you just got outrun by a six-cylinder Chevrolet!!!
WOW! I thought he would bust a blood vessel! So I "squeaked" away once again and left him to stew in THAT!!!
It was a stupid stunt, and I haven't done that since, but it WAS funny!!
73
Gadfly
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521 Houston
Re: Vic
Good one there, Gadfly... Mine is running the OHC 4.6 fuel injected with the full police interceptor package in it. It's laggy as hell off the line, but i've had it at 140 with pedal left. Scary as hell at that speed though.... the frontend starts floating and it gets hard to control, so without a loooong straightaway, I doubt i'll ever be pushing this thing to the limit.Gadfly wrote: "Yeah, but just think; you just got outrun by a six-cylinder Chevrolet!!!
WOW! I thought he would bust a blood vessel! So I "squeaked" away once again and left him to stew in THAT!!!
It was a stupid stunt, and I haven't done that since, but it WAS funny!!
73
Gadfly
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Rex_foxhound
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Gadfly
YES! Friend once had '62 Galaxie 390 Police Interceptor. Would bark the tires up to 80 by punching the throttle. Another had '66 Galaxie with a 428 Police package. This thing was DANGEROUS! I took it to the store for Cokes one afternoon after a T-storm. At 40 MPH I rounded a curve on wet road. Just barely touched the throttle to resume speed and ZIP! I was almost sideways!! YIPES!! Scared the bejeepers out of me, and I gingerly turned the car around, took it back to the house and got my car which was much more tame. I *knew* I had NO business driving this car; I wasn't trained for it and I recognized I couldn't handle such a beast. And my friend had it get away from him (wet road), and do 3 donuts off into a field!! And he wasn't DOING anything. This Ford was literally out of regular folks' league!!! I feel to this day, that car should have NEVER been sold to the public!!Rex_foxhound wrote:My great uncle who is a former state trooper and retired sheriff says that they don't make police cars like they used to. I'll have to ask him about what the old cars in the late 60s early 70s were like. Anybody here know??
In the 70's, NC Highway Patrol used Plymouth 440 Magnums that were likely as bad as the Fords were (or worse). The "hemi" of that day was far and away badder to the bone than anything Chrysler has now!!! The last of those cars (still in NCHP livery) was placed on loan to the NC Transportation Museum but, I believe, is still owned by NCHP. I remember seeing it out "on tour" at malls and car shows back in the 90's. Funny story an NC trooper told me. One day he was on his way from Raleigh, NC to Hickory on I-40 when a Mustang flipped him the bird and accelerated away (he thought that "old" car couldn't bother a big bad 5.0 Mustang). HeeHee! Now bear in mind, this 1971 Plymouth STILL had it radio, STILL had its "bubble gum blue light) Long story short, the 460 HP Plymouth walked down this Mustang to the utter shock, dismay, and disbelief of this 90's kid who had never seen or heard of a 440 Magnum Police Package Mopar! The cop told me that ticket was the most fun one he ever wrote and it was all he could DO to keep from snickering like Roscoe P. Coltrane while he wrote it!
So there were some AWESOME cars back in "my" day!
Gadfly
