very little noise from cb

[schneiderz]

Hey I have a browning 62" whip on my truck and when anyone calls me on my cb I can barely hear them. My buddy has a 5 ft firstik on his bronco and has the same problem any ideas?

[02RangerXLT]

What CB do you have?

Where is your antenna mounted?

What type of antenna mount are you using?

What type of coax do you have?

[schneiderz]

its a midland 1001z, the antenna is attached to the toolbox in middle, windshield mount with a 5" spring, and i think its a 9 ft cable

[02RangerXLT]

Windshield mount?

[schneiderz]

its mounted on a toolbox using a rearview mirror mount

[02RangerXLT]

Is your toolbox actually bolted (into the bed rails) to your truck bed or is it just attached with J-bolts or some of those goofy Kobalt mounts?

[schneiderz]

The box is attached with j bolts but the box is mounted directly on the metal there isnt anything between the two metal surfaces

[02RangerXLT]

That's not a good enough of a ground... There isn't any true bare metal touching (You have paint and clear coat creating a layer in between). You'll either need to attach it with some bolts to the bed, attach some ground straps from the box to the bed, or get a NGP setup. The NGP setup being a last resort, since it isn't as effective.

[Milton]

Start with some basic troubleshooting by answering the question, "Is the issue with the transceiver or not." You need a CB watt meter and a 50-ohm dummy load to see if your transceiver is transmitting. Configure your radio as follows:

CB_Transceiver===COAX===CB_Watt_Meter===COAX===Dum my_Load
(connect the transceiver to the watt meter using a 3 foot length known good coax, then connect the watt meter to the dummy load using another 3 foot length of known good coax)

Try transmitting and the watt meter will tell you if your transceiver is functioning. The Midland 1001Z should transmit a whopping 4 watts of power, does it?

[schneiderz]

I have talked on the cb with it. The problem is that when it gets to the other cb it is really quiet

[Milton]

The Midland 1001z is an AM (amplitude modulated) radio. This means that the transmitter carrier wave varies in strength in proportion to the volume of the transmitted audio signal (your voice) and how quickly the carrier wave strength is varied matches the frequency of the transmitted audio signal. So to transmit a good quality signal the radio needs to put out a well modulated high power signal.

Sounds like you do not have a lot of test equipment so let's try this. Find a buddy with a good working CB and take your radio to where his radio is. Then:
1) Make a radio test on his radio, to prove that his radio is working.

2) Disconnect the coax cable from the back of his radio and connect it to your radio.

3) Make a radio check with your radio.

If your radio does not pass, then the issue is with your radio.

If the radio does pass then the issue is either your installation or antenna system. So then back at your truck, are you getting the expected 13.8 VDC to power the radio? Check this when you are transmitting. If that is good then the issue is with your antenna system which is defined as everything from your radio's coax connector to and including the antenna.

You have to be systematic, so now we are trying to determine if the issue is with the radio or not.