Do i need an Swr meter for my cb radio?
You would need the SWR meter to monitor and tune your antenna. If the SWR is better on Channel 1 than it is on Channel 40, then your antenna is too long and needs to be shortened. If the SWR is better on Channel 40 than it is on Channel 1, then it needs to be lengthened, which may be difficult to do. Channel 19 is in the exact center of the bandwidth authorized for CB frequencies, so if you’re going to hang out where the truckers are, you’ll want your lowest SWR here. 1:1 is ideal, but SWR at 2:1 is still giving you 90% of your power going to the antenna, which means that there will be no noticeable difference in your signal. Some transmitters may not be able to handle 2:1 or over, though. Now for the science of it. RF energy exits the transmitter, and goes to the antenna. If the antenna is not resonant, some of the power going to the antenna will be reflected back to the radio. It is then reflected back out to the antenna, and a portion of this again heads back to the radio. This sets
