transfered my CB to the k5, now no talkie talkie....

[moneypit_K5]

Ive got a pro510 XL, and a 62"SS whip. i have the whip mounted on a fender mount halfway down the drivers side fender, in the hood/fender seam.

I transfered it from my '85 SWB to the K5, now I cant seem to get out or get in at all.

its been about 4 months since Ive run it, but it worked fine in the last truck, mounted exactly the same way...

Somebody told me cb's just mysteriously go bad, but that just seems ridiculous to me. any ideas on what my problem might be?

 

[pauly383]

Sometimes something does go bad inside due to being in a wheeling rig . Solder joint loose , volume control pot goes , speaker dies etc .

Its not very common though .

Are you trying to talk to anyone close by like a friend or a local ?

Reason I ask is there hasn't been any real good propagation lately on the higher bands . May just be no one around .

 

[moneypit_K5]

not talking to anyone specific, I tested it with my buddys CB's a about 1/8th mile. it just doesnt seem like its getting the reception it should. why isnt theremuch going on on the CB waves recently?

 

[pauly383]

not talking to anyone specific, I tested it with my buddys CB's a about 1/8th mile. it just doesnt seem like its getting the reception it should. why isnt theremuch going on on the CB waves recently?

Then something could be wrong inside , 1/8 mile is more than adequate . Scan ebay for a decent rig , and sell me yours cheaply and I or my father will look at it


As for CB waves recently , radio , and how far you can transmit is dictated by some natural occurances . Namely the cycle of the Sun and our atmosphere . ( I won't go too in detail , you can google radio propagation )

When there are a lot of sunspots every 11 years on average there is an increase the distance radio waves above a certain threshold can travel .

Which is why CB is only popular every once in awhile , like the mid 70's , mid 80's , mid 90's . And soon the mid 00's .

Other bands below CB see to be less affected , and worldwide contact is possible with simple equipment .

Now , with the advent of Satellites , we can just send the higher frequency stuff straight up , bounce it off stuff , and send it back skirting the rules of nature . Allowing worldwide broadcast of voice , and data . Just not CB , it was intended for local only when created and nothing orbiting earth is set up for CB .

 

[moneypit_K5]

well hey, thanks for the info. I dont know jack about them i guess. I just press the button and hope for the best...

 

[Fordum]

I'm betting on the antenna or coax. A bad ground on the antenna mount will do that, but more than likely you have damaged a connection or the coax its self. Make sure that the center conductor is not shorted to the braid. Some base loaded coil antennas are a DC short, which will fool you when you try to test them with an ohm meter. The fastest and easiest way is with a SWR meter. Given where you have it mounted, you might see higher than 1.5 to 1, but I'm betting with your problems, you will see better than 3 or 4 to 1.
1 to 1 is the ideal, but pretty much undoable on a vehicle. My personal truck has about 1.2 to 1, but I'm an electronics engineer, and I like to tinker. When I put in a radio in a friend's truck, I'm quite happy with 1.5 to 1, and when one of them asks me to check their's out, I usually don't worry unless its over 2 to 1. The Standing Wave changes as the whip moves in the wind going down the road anyway, so I don't get too excited at less than 2 to 1.
If you don't have a SWR meter, ask around. Most CBers have one they will check it out for you with.