hygain penetrator 500

[sheldonth]

Unable to get this antenna matched. Started at 22.9 ft and slowly shortened. Match never gets below 3
Shortened radials from 105 to 103. Nope
Started at shortest length and worked my way up...nope.
Bought a second new match meter hoping the first new one was defective....nope
Tested coax for shorts, (its brand new rg8x)....nope

Using a little cobra 4 watt radio or antenna matching. No way Im putting my new big shiny radio on until matched!
The little cobra 40 channel is new also.
Posted pics of antenna build for comments....didn't fix it.

Sooo......any help I can get here is appreciated. I kind of made the mistake of asking for help on ham forums. I guess they done care for cb enthusiast.

[mjd420nova]

When trying to track down an elusive high SWR, start at square one. Insure the integrity of the coax. USing any known value resistor like a dummy load and connect to one end and measure resistance from the other end, then swap to the other end and measure again. Also insure the measurement when open is at least 10 megohm. I have seen some runs of coax that were heat exposed while on a reel and the center conductor worked part way through the insulator. Checked good on the spool but shorted when straightened out. Bends can cause a short from one end and an open from the other.