CB Question

DRaider90

DRaider90

Uwharrie Off-Road Volunteering
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Location
Weddington, NC
There have been a few threads on here about finding places to get your CB peaked/tuned, now I was wondering how can you tell if a CB has been peaked/tuned? I still need to get it tuned to my antenna, but this CB seems to have a LOT more receiving/transmitting power. CBs I am comparing:

97' Cobra 29 LTD Classic -OLD
98' Cobra 29 LTD Classic ST -NEW

On the old CB I had the RFGain maxed out and the Squelch was about at 11 o' clock. Now if I max out my RFGain I have to bump my Squelch up to 1 or 2 o' clock. Now it could be I have it backwards that I am getting more noise because my new CB isn't tuned and the old one was... or maybe I am just going nuts. I try to visualize in my head the imaginary gate that blocks out weaker signals, and it seems maybe I do have it backwards.

So is there anyway to tell if the CB has been peaked/tuned for more power etc? Or am I just way off base? Because when I test it with my hand held (like I did the old CB) from the same distance it also seems it is transmitting 100 percent better also. Keep in mind same antenna set up etc.
 
Could be that the modulation lmiter has been snipped or has been peaked. either way it's a good thing. Set your standing wave (SWR) and see what you have then. If people complain that you are hard to understand, cut back your mic gain and see if that helps. Grounds are VERY important to antenna's, make good conections with power and grounds on the radio also. Both are good radios. I have a Cobra Niterider and I like it a lot. Have had many 29's in the past, I'm a old truck driver. Cobra 29s and Galaxy's were my favorite.
 
Yea, you really can't compare the two till the antenna it tuned to the new radio. Could be that the old one was just half worn out.
 
The thing is neither CB was tuned (SWR wise) to the antenna I am using. So to see any kind of improvement, I am guessing the CB has been tuned/modified.

I don't have an SWR meter, and the antenna is a WX compatible magnet mount. The antenna is adjustable so it can be tuned easily, I just don't have access to a SWR meter. I briefly messed with tuning it on the old CB using the built in SWR meter but didn't get anywhere. Which lead me to believe the rumors about the built in SWR meters aren't that great. Or it could have been I wasn't in an open enough area, and the surrounding trees were messing it up.
 
Whether it was tuned before or not, you run the risk of blowing your transmitter if you don't get it tuned for the new CB. Some companies try and sell their units as "pre-tuned" but that is impossible due to not knowing what vehicle it's going on and the final mounting location of the antenna lenth of cable etc. I have a SWR meter and will gladly help you get it tuned properly. If your going to be in Raleigh sometime we can get together and get it done but I'm sure there are folks w/a SWR meter closer to you than me.
 
There's a fellow with a CB shop down at exit 48 on 77 just south of Rock Hill. He's done some work for me and a couple of the guys I run with around here. He seems to really know his stuff. He's got a ton of used stuff for sale in the shop. Good guy too. His name is Bill Humble and you can get him by phone at 803-482-3222.
 
Webbinator said:
Here's another link with lots of good information:
http://www.rightchannelradios.com/pages/cb-radio-resources-pv-c0-20.html
Click to expand...

There is some good information there, some of it very rudimentary but I did learn a thing or two.

Going to grab an SWR meter off Ebay later in the month. From there it just a matter of finding a big open place (maybe parking lot that doesn't have light poles) to tune it.

I still mess with the RF Gain and the Squelch when I am riding on the highways though when picking up trucker chatter. I noticed the strong signals come in really clear, and I can actually get a decent amount of weak signals. Will be interesting to see how the performance changes after tuning the antenna.
 
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