Help with CB Radio setup

[dannyz]

Hello,
Anybody in the Cameron Park, CA area have an SWR meter and a little spare time to assist me with my setup? I just installed a new radio & antenna and have no sound at all. Not even squelch. I have no idea why. I have installed many radios over the years with no problem.
I appreciate any advise you can give me other than throw it out and buy a HAM. LOL. I have 2 HAM's already. Just want some old school radio too.

The Radio = Uniden PRO520XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio.
The Antenna = FireStik FS-4BK 4' (r) Ii Fs Series Tunable Tip Cb Antenna - 900 Watts Black

 

[M Rose]

Hello,
Anybody in the Cameron Park, CA area have an SWR meter and a little spare time to assist me with my setup? I just installed a new radio & antenna and have no sound at all. Not even squelch. I have no idea why. I have installed many radios over the years with no problem.
I appreciate any advise you can give me other than throw it out and buy a HAM. LOL. I have 2 HAM's already. Just want some old school radio too.

The Radio = Uniden PRO520XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio.
The Antenna = FireStik FS-4BK 4' (r) Ii Fs Series Tunable Tip Cb Antenna - 900 Watts Black

The Pro520xl is a great radio. As for it not making sound... I’m wondering if something might be messed up in the preamp.

 

[El-Dracho]

Maybe you can check on the map who is near you? I guess all members nearby are happy to help!

And maybe it is a good idea to move this question to the communication subforum, so that it can be found again better if someone has a similar problem? @M Rose do you know who could do that? Thanks!

 

[M Rose]

^^ @Jim SoG ^^ could you move this thread to the coms forums?

 

[El-Dracho]

^^ @Jim SoG ^^ could you move this thread to the coms forums?

Thanks!

 

[Road]

I've got a couple Cobra CBs and the one in my van was doing the same thing as yours. Nothing on my SWR meter, etc. I took it in to Walcott CB across from the giant Iowa-80 World's Largest Truckstop to find out what was going on with it.

He said "$40 to bench test, take it apart, give it a good inspection inside, etc. Come back in an hour."

Went back in an hour and he gave it back to me and said "$40. Working fine now."

I must've looked like a puzzled puppy tilting his head, 'cause he said "Just needed re-soldering in a spot or two. No charge for that. You must bounce around a bit."

Interstate travel is no problem, but get back country and bounce around a bit on rough dirt and washboard gravel, and it messed mine up. It's dead again now.

I'm thinking of ditching CB altogether as there's hardly anyone uses it on the highway anymore, and I'm solo most of the time when camping, so don't need it for communication. Mine has NOAA Weather Radio though, too, which has saved my ass more than once. I was chased up I-40 outside of Little Rock by a tornado once, that NOAA kept telling me was at the mile markers I'd just passed.

NOAA often times comes in great when I can get no other chatter, so I might take this thing apart and see if I can find any broken solder connections, then mount it somewhere other than in a bracket on my hard dash.

Good luck with yours.

 

[dannyz]

The Pro520xl is a great radio. As for it not making sound... I’m wondering if something might be messed up in the preamp.

Thank you. I could not find a communication thread. Do I move it or an admin?
- Dan

 

[M Rose]

 

[M Rose]

Thank you. I could not find a communication thread. Do I move it or an admin?
- Dan

Looks like it’s already been moved.

 

[dannyz]

Looks like it’s already been moved.

Thank you!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I've got a couple Cobra CBs and the one in my van was doing the same thing as yours. Nothing on my SWR meter, etc. I took it in to Walcott CB across from the giant Iowa-80 World's Largest Truckstop to find out what was going on with it.

He said "$40 to bench test, take it apart, give it a good inspection inside, etc. Come back in an hour."

Went back in an hour and he gave it back to me and said "$40. Working fine now." I must've looked like a puzzled puppy tilting his head, 'cause he said "Just needed re-soldering in a spot or two. No charge for that. You must bounce around a bit."

Interstate travel is no problem, but get back country and bounce around a bit on rough dirt and washboard gravel, and it messed mine up. It's dead again now.

I'm thinking of ditching CB altogether as there's hardly anyone uses it on the highway anymore, and I'm solo most of the time when camping, so don't need it for communication. Mine has NOAA Weather Radio though, too, which has saved my ass more than once. I was chased up I-40 outside of Little Rock by a tornado once, that NOAA kept telling me was at the mile markers I'd just passed.

NOAA often times comes in great when I can get no other chatter, so I might take this thing apart and see if I can find any broken solder connections, then mount it somewhere other than in a bracket on my hard dash.

Good luck with yours.

I've got a Cobra 25 with weather. With all the sh!t talk on channel 6, for example, and all the nothing on some other channels, I like to be able to switch to weather for either the info or the background chatter.

Mounted under-dash to the ashtray door as it is, when it gets bumpy out there, the ashtray sometimes flops open.

 

[dannyz]

I've got a Cobra 25 with weather. With all the sh!t talk on channel 6, for example, and all the nothing on some other channels, I like to be able to switch to weather for either the info or the background chatter.

Mounted under-dash to the ashtray door as it is, when it gets bumpy out there, the ashtray sometimes flops open.

View attachment 191294

Thank you! Sounds like it has helped you many times.

 

[El-Dracho]

I think in europe CB is end of life.

End of month I will move into a new apartment. So I did find many elecontric gadgets I dindnt remember to even own that.

Did find a Alan 42 Midland portable with 12v plug, did try it during my drive through zurich yesterday. I wasnt able to talk to anyone, nor was anyone talking when I did use the scan option.

My current flat is near the highway, so I can asume that even the truckers didnt seem to use it anymore..

If we drive in groups it can be nice again, the only question is, what frequency everyone would use? Would it still be CB? Or one of these 12$ kiddies PMR walky talkies out of walmart, which may is enough for the line of sight even in a car?

trippin

It is often said that CB radio is dead in Europe. However, I cannot share this experience at all.

Of course, almost everyone has a smartphone, but especially for us overlanders, there are many situations where a radio is the better alternative (scouting the terrain or giving directions, for communication in a larger convoy, inform the rig in front of you of an impending breakdown or the rig behind you of an obstacle, and much more). Another thing is reliability, you know it. With the mobile phone suddenly the connection is gone or you do not even have cell coverage in certain areas - and this concerns the cell phone and not the radio. In addition, ordinary cellphones are less robust and susceptible to damage.

And with a good CB radio with a well tuned antenna you can achieve very decent ranges. With PMR446 (equivalent to US FRS) of course much less.

Overlander and Offroader in Europe use channel 16 FM commonly (4x4=16). Channel 9 AM is the channel for the truckies and also named as emergency channel. Please note: It is not possible in Europe to send an emergency call directly to a permanently manned emergency control center by CB radio. I often monitor both channels while on the higway and there is often some traffic.

Frequency modulation is of course preferable to amplitude modulation in vehicles, as it is less susceptible to interference. some CB devices can also modulate SSB.

Furthermore there are intersting and useful options in CB. In some european countries warning signs at construction areas on for example motorways are equipped with radio transmitters which send out warnings in case of dangerous driving points on various languages on different CB channels. Check the correct channels before you go. Similar systems are available as early warning for rescue vehicles to raise awarenes to give space for the rescue lane.

If you want to dive deeper into the subject and need long ranges for example, I recommend you to look into HAM radio. Especially the 2m and the 70cm band is interesting for us overlanders and there are also exciting additional applications like APRS.

So, despite all the possibilities of a cellphone, a proper radio is still a very good invest for an overlander from my point of view. While CB radio is simple and inexpensive and provides decent ranges, the entry into HAM radio is more complex, but offers enormous ranges and possibilities. In the end, you should choose the radio application that meets your needs best . One question you should always ask yourself is which system is used by the overlanders with whom you usually travel.

This is just some food for thought. Many questions about comms are asked and answered here in the OB Comms forum. Head over and just look around there!

Cheers, Björn

 

[ThundahBeagle]

It is often said that CB radio is dead in Europe. However, I cannot share this experience at all.

Of course, almost everyone has a smartphone, but especially for us overlanders, there are many situations where a radio is the better alternative (scouting the terrain or giving directions, for communication in a larger convoy, inform the rig in front of you of an impending breakdown or the rig behind you of an obstacle, and much more). Another thing is reliability, you know it. With the mobile phone suddenly the connection is gone or you do not even have cell coverage in certain areas - and this concerns the cell phone and not the radio. In addition, ordinary cellphones are less robust and susceptible to damage.

And with a good CB radio with a well tuned antenna you can achieve very decent ranges. With PMR446 (equivalent to US FRS) of course much less.

Overlander and Offroader in Europe use channel 16 FM commonly (4x4=16). Channel 9 AM is the channel for the truckies and also named as emergency channel. Please note: It is not possible in Europe to send an emergency call directly to a permanently manned emergency control center by CB radio. I often monitor both channels while on the higway and there is often some traffic.

Frequency modulation is of course preferable to amplitude modulation in vehicles, as it is less susceptible to interference. some CB devices can also modulate SSB.

Furthermore there are intersting and useful options in CB. In some european countries warning signs at construction areas on for example motorways are equipped with radio transmitters which send out warnings in case of dangerous driving points on various languages on different CB channels. Check the correct channels before you go. Similar systems are available as early warning for rescue vehicles to raise awarenes to give space for the rescue lane.

If you want to dive deeper into the subject and need long ranges for example, I recommend you to look into HAM radio. Especially the 2m and the 70cm band is interesting for us overlanders and there are also exciting additional applications like APRS.

So, despite all the possibilities of a cellphone, a proper radio is still a very good invest for an overlander from my point of view. While CB radio is simple and inexpensive and provides decent ranges, the entry into HAM radio is more complex, but offers enormous ranges and possibilities. In the end, you should choose the radio application that meets your needs best . One question you should always ask yourself is which system is used by the overlanders with whom you usually travel.

This is just some food for thought. Many questions about comms are asked and answered here in the OB Comms forum. Head over and just look around there!

Cheers, Björn

All good points. Many here say that CB is dead as well. Being from New England, I would be comfortable following that line, except that I have found that once I am in Pennsylvania and southward, there IS chatter. I'm headed to Montana in May and hope theres a lot of chatter, because I have a long way to go. I bet @Road can tell us more, just extemporaneously, than we can state here.

In addition to my pictured Cobra 25 with weather, I also have a Cobra 29 peaked and tuned, with upper and lower side band added. Only one of the two can be hooked up at a time though. I also have a couple of Cobra MicroTalk FRS/GMRS handhelds with 22 channels and 121 privacy codes. They also have weather.

Here, the CB trucker channel is 19, because it is in the middle of the dial. That used to be for east-west travel. 17 is used less commonly, that used to be north-south travel. But now everyone just says 19. The 4 wheel drive channel was 4 or 16, for obvious reasons, and marine is 13. Channel 9 is the emergency channel, although it is not longer monitored. From Boston, I can often hear folks in Puerto Rico on channel 9, depending on the weather and "skipping" conditions. Every jackass with an amplifier is strutting his stuff on channel 6, seemingly for no other reason than to brag about themselves and trash-talk everyone else.

I have seen road crews using CB or handheld GMRS/ FRS as well, and sometimes, there are signs telling drivers to tune thier car radio to a specific AM band for road conditions.

Driving my GMC Sierra, I can use hands free blue tooth to speak on the phone, but clearly there are times when the signal is lacking. That's true for any signal.

I may someday dabble in HAM, but just havent been pushed to that need as of yet.