hey does the "jumper wire" between my swr meter and radio need to be a certain length

Just going between the radio and a meter, it really won't make much difference one way or another...3' intervals (3', 6', 9' etc...) is what most will say use, but I've never ran into a problem using whatever length it takes to get from point A, to point B... Because once you get everything hooked-up, your going to adjust the stinger on the antenna to tune the SWR anyway.

Now this is if your planning on leaving the meter in-line, and not take it back off.

Now if your going to be installing a Amp, or using a 102" Whip (which is not adjustable) then the 3' rule may well apply...

 

no given length even at VHF

 

Good luck on the Cascadia. Where is your antenna mounted? To do proper bonding you should use braided wire for your ground. Coax will work, solder the center conductor to the braid. You need to keep your runs short. I think they say 18 inches or less. If your antenna is on the mirror, run one from the antenna bracket to the door, door to the body, body to the frame. If you are trying to use the factory antennas, the ones that mount behind the door on the side of the sleeper. You might get a good SWR, but you will never be able to hear or transmit very far. I mostly drive Cascadias, and I haven't found a perfect solution for an antenna as yet. I am continuing to try different set ups and hope to find something I can live with soon.

 

I've been using the standard 18' piece of coax to the antenna and any jumpers used to meters or amp have been 3'. Been using this for 30-years now, without an issue.

 

There is loss but on a mobile, you can't even tell the difference. I prefer to use just enough because I don't have anymore room for chords. So I use 3ft jumpers and 9 and 12ft runs. With multiple radios and such, it gets cluddered pretty fast.

 

Any length will work for the radio to meter jumper

 

If your buddy grabbing the coax made your SWR Meter read lower that should tell ya something!

I'm willing to bet your antenna mount is not getting the ground it needs...If it's mounted on the mirror bracket that wouldn't surprise me, some of these new mirror brackets just don't get a good ground...You can try running ground straps off the mirror bracket to a good grounding point like the firewall or frame and see if that helps.

Using old coax like Mike5511 was saying works just fine, but usually what I do is strip off the outer jacket of the coax, then pull the center conductor wire out, then flatten the braid and put a little solder on the ends, then attach that using self tapping screws...But either way would work.

On my work van I originally wanted to mount my antenna on the mirror brackets, but no mater what I tried I could never get a decent ground...Ended up fabricating a fender mount under the hood and mounted the antenna that way, and it worked perfect!