1. What is the difference between the SW-2000 & the 2000 Trucker?
The first noticeable difference is in the length of the antenna whip. The 2000 uses a 49" whip while the SW-2000 has a 31" whip. Internally, there are more windings on the coil of the SW-2000 to allow using a shorter whip. The stainless steel shaft below the loading coil offers a choice of 5" or 10" on the 2000, and 18" or 22" on the SW-2000. Both have the same high performance qualities, and will offer the same effective and reliable communications.
2. Which Trucker should I use?
That depends on the tractor you have. The primary goal is to mount the Trucker so that the bottom of the loading coil is above the roof of the cab. With the "low boy" type mirrors on some of today's trucks, this means a longer shaft is required. Using an 18" or 22" shaft on the Trucker 2000 or 5000, puts the whip at an unacceptable height for clearing over passes and tunnels. The SW-2000 gives the loading coil the ability of being installed on a mirror mount, clear the roof line, and still be within an acceptable height. See illustration below for proper location.
NOTE:
Bottom of loading coil MUST be above top of roof line.
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Shaft height required can be determined by measuring from top of mirror mount to 1" above roof top.
For conventional rigs:
Use Trucker 2000 or T-5000 with either 5" or 10" shaft.
For ant-eater type rigs:
Use Trucker SW-2000 with either 18" or 22" shaft.
3. Where on the mirror should the antenna be mounted?
Both the Trucker and the fiberglass antennas should be mounted on the top bar of the mirror bracket, and as far out as possible. Do not mount the antenna on the bottom bar of the mirror, as this can cause reflection and interference from the top bar and make it difficult to tune.
4. Use a stainless steel stud mount:
The antenna bracket is a separate part of the connector stud mount. The stud mount is the portion of the mounting system that accepts both the coax and antenna. The normal or standard stud is of brass, and can be used for fiberglass antennas, and in some applications of the Trucker 2000 (with the 5" shaft). However, for the Trucker 2000 (10" shaft) 5000 and the SW-2000, we recommend that this mount be of good stainless steel to safely handle the weight and torque of the antenna while attached to the mount. This is the only type of mount recommended for the T-5000. Alternately a hard rubber "dome" type mount may be used. Wilson has available a high quality line of mounts, and may be viewed at: Mounts & Studs.
5. Why did my shaft break?
If your trucker series antenna fell off the mount, it was NOT because the shaft broke. All of the shafts used by Wilson Antenna are solid 3/8" diameter stainless steel. Stainless steel that thick does not "break". In over 15 years of manufacturing the Trucker series, Wilson has never seen a shaft break. The antenna may have fallen off due to a couple of problems. (1) The shaft may have loosened from the stud mount and through the vibration of travel, slowly worked itself off the mount. (2) The inexpensive "brass" made stud mount simply broke from vibration. (3) Hitting an overhead object, such as a tree limb etc., can break the brass stud mount. That is why we strongly suggest using only stainless steel stud mounts for the Trucker series antennas.
6. Type and length of coax cable to use:
If you are using less than 1000 watts, and a single antenna, use an 18' length of RG-58/AU. This cable is 95% shielded, stranded center, with 50 ohms impedance. If your power is less than 2000 watts, then change to the RG-8X type (also called Mini-8 or Super 8). For co-phased antennas with less than 1000 watts, use RG-59/AU. For power less than 2000 watts, use RG-11/AU. Both co-phasing cables should be 18' in length on each side. Wilson has available a high quality line of coaxial cable, and may be viewed at: Coaxial Cable.
7. What about excess coax cable?
Using the recommended length of 18' of coax cable can sometimes result in an excess amount of cable in the cab of the tractor. This excess cable should be "stuffed" underneath the dash, under the carpet, or use some other means of hiding it. It should NOT be coiled into a nice neat roll or coil. This creates an "RF Choke" and de-tunes the antenna system, in some cases to the point of not being able to get the SWR down to an acceptable level.
8. I can hear a "rattling noise" inside the coil.
This is not a reason to panic, it simply means one of two possibilities have occurred - neither are performance degrading. Either one of the plastic separators have "popped" loose or a small "blob" of solder has fallen to the bottom of the coil. This will generally occur only if the antenna or coil has been hit or struck by something, like a tree branch or an overhead object. This will not cut the performance of the antenna or increase the SWR of the antenna.
9. I have a high background or static noise in my radio, but when I go through rain the noise disappears.
Radial tires are the source of this problem. In some of the radial tires used today, a static charge builds up within the tires. Driving on a part of pavement that is wet causes this static to discharge. The most common solution is to install a drop chain on the rear axle. Some truck stops also have a special rubber strap impregnated with metal for the same purpose. As you drive along, the chain or strap bumps the pavement. This metal touching the pavement sends the static charge to ground and eliminates it from the system.
10. Mounting a Trucker 2000 or 5000 on the pickup bed rail or tool box.
There are two primary items to be aware of with this type of installation. The ground must be very good, and the bottom of the loading coil must be above the roof of the cab. For the grounding on a tool box, do not always rely on the box as the source of ground. Install a separate wire from the tool box to the chassis frame to establish an adequate ground. To insure that the coil is above the roof, it may be as simple as adding a spring on the mount. Other choices are using a longer shaft on the antenna, or using the SW-2000 with the 18" or 22" shaft.
11. Can I use a magnetic mount for my Trucker antenna?
Yes, but not the one that is most readily available. Do not use the single 5" diameter model, as they are not strong enough to generally handle the torque or highway speeds (except for maybe the shortest shaft (5") model), and will tip over. We suggest using a special setup that is a "Tri" (aka Delta) or the "Quad" style. They consist of 3 or 4 separate 5" magnets joined by a steel bar or plate. Examples of these configurations are shown below.
12. How much distance between antennas for co-phased?
The optimum distance for co-phased antennas is 8 ½ to 9 foot between the antennas. This produces greater signal forward and backward on the vehicle, which is generally the desired pattern. If the distance is less, the signal will change. A good "rule of thumb" is: 7' - 9' = front to back radiation strongest, 6' - 7' = side to side radiation strongest. Generally a 5' separation will produce no difference in pattern radiation than a single antenna, and antennas installed with a distance of 4 ½ foot or less, tend to fight each other and would result in less performance than with a single antenna.
13. Bull horn mounting
Tilting the antennas forward (bull-horning) to decrease the height, changes the angle of radiation of the antennas, and is not recommended. If, due to height restrictions, it is necessary, do not tilt the antennas more than 10-15 degrees forward to maintain as much vertical polarization as possible.
14. Heated Mirrors on Tractor Rigs.
Some of the new tractors with heated mirrors can cause interference with tuning of the antenna. If you have this problem, and you know that you have a good ground, remove the fuse to this line. You may wish to install a switch in line to offer temporary use of the heating element, yet cut it off when not required.
15. My SWR is 3.0:1 on all channels.
When a reading of 3.0:1 is present on all channels, this indicates a lack of ground for the antenna. For example, a lot of the tractors today are made of fiberglass or similar material, that offers no ground to the antenna. Others may have only fiberglass doors, or may be on an "Air Ride" cab. Either situation insulates the mirror from the actual chassis or frame ground. To eliminate this condition, a jumper wire must be installed from the antenna mount to the frame or chassis ground. There is a specific method to properly accomplish this grounding. Note that the wire lengths should be as short as possible, not to exceed 3-4' in length of any one piece of wire.
FOR TRUCKS WITH DUAL HINGES Begin by running a length of stranded 10 or 12 gauge wire from a bolt on the antenna mount to the top bolt on the top door hinge.
Install a separate wire from the bottom bolt of this door hinge to the top bolt on the bottom door hinge. (If the door frame is steel, this wire may not be required)
Install the last link to ground by running a wire from the bottom bolt of the bottom door hinge to the chassis frame.
This completes the ground installation, and the antenna may now be tuned in the normal manner.
NOTE: Do not run a 1-piece length of wire from the mirror mount to the frame. This causes the antenna to see an unbalanced condition, with the ground wire trying to radiate, making proper tuning impossible.
FOR TRUCKS WITH A SINGLE PIANO HINGE Begin by running a length of stranded 10 or 12 gauge wire from a bolt on the antenna mount to the top bolt on the door hinge.
Install the last link to ground by running a wire from the bottom bolt of the door hinge to the chassis frame.
This completes the ground installation, and the antenna may now be tuned in the normal manner.
NOTE: Do not run a 1-piece length of wire from the mirror mount to the frame. This causes the antenna to see an unbalanced condition, with the ground wire trying to radiate, making proper tuning impossible.
16. If the SWR will not go below 2.0:1
Not being able to go below 2.0:1 SWR after tuning generally indicates a mismatch of impedance between the coax and the antenna. This can be caused by poor ground but is generally attributed to the mounting location.
17. The antenna whip on my T-2000 is to tall and it hits everything. Can I just cut it to make it fit?
No, not just for that reason. Changing the length of the whip changes the resonant point of the antenna. (In other words - it changes where the lowest point of SWR occurs.) If you need the clearance, consider the following options:Use the 5" shaft instead of the 10" shaft, this will lower the tip 5". However, remember that you should keep the bottom of the loading coil above the roof of the cab.
Change the whip supplied with the T-2000 to the Short Load Adapter. This will lower the tip about 13" in height. For additional information, see: SLA
Use the SW-2000 (with 18" shaft) which will give an overall height of about 10" less than the T-2000.
