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cb, i can hear but cant transmit?


mikhail

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i was offroading with my friend today, and we were using the radios, i can hear him just fine but he said he couldnt hear anything i said, ever. We were usually within a few feet of each other as well. Even when he was right behind me at a redlight he said he couldnt hear me. I was just wondering how this could be, im picking up his signal fine, the red light on my radio comes on when the mic button is pushed, dont know if that matters or not. could the mic be broken?
 


Southern3.0

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Try swaping mic's with your buddy.
 

Wicked_Sludge

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what type of antenna do you have, where is it mounted, how is it connected, and was it ever tuned?

sounds to me like your box saw some unacceptable SWR and blew the transmit coils. ive done it twice.
 

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Generally a bad antenna (or even a blown final output transistor) will still let you be heard a few feet away (maybe 100ft or so).

I would lean toward it being a microphone issue (bad audio connection or mic element).
Yeah, swap mics (if they fit each other's radio), that'll tell you for sure.

Checking the antenna with an SWR meter certainly can't hurt though (chances are good it can still be optimized a bit better anyway, even if it's not the cause of your current problem).

What kind of radio is it?
 

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Yeah, you'll be surprised how a big a change a little tuning will do. Speaking of which... I need to do that.
 

shadetree

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Transmit and receive are two different circuits in the radio. If your antenna connections are good, and power connections to the radio are good, you probably have an internal problem with the radio. shady
 

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ive always been confused on what kind of antenna it is, its not the fiberglass kind so is it a whip? its just like a regular car antenna but longer and i mounted it right in the middle of the roof, with a chop top though so its in between the driver and passenger.

i might have to show pics to better explain but i screwed it into a hole i drilled in the roof, and it hits trees and this eventually bent the hole and was screwing up the roof so i put two giant washers in between it to make a base for it. its not screwed in all the way though into the coax wire now because theres washers in between causing a space. im sure this hurts performance a little but i dont think thats the problem but maybe?

the radio is about 20 years old i think so that might be the problem lol. my dads been saving it in a box in the garage, he never used it the past 15 years. its a stalker IV i think, i dont know anything about it so i cant say if its ever been tuned but probably not.
 

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the old stalkers were good radios.

Check your radio make sure you do not have your P/A switch on. this will let your hear but not transmit. A good antenia. would be wilson or a larson.

Another good trick is to use RG58 cable for your power as well. Has it is sheilded it stops any interferance from elecrictrial noise.
 

mikhail

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well it turned out to be the volume switch on the mic, he can hear me now when were close but not far away still. seems like it needs an amp, im talking like 30 yards though, no obstructions either and i can hear him fine. its recieving fine, i heard him when we were on the highway and he was like a quarter mile ahead of me.
 

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Is your mic a power mic which uses a battery? If so, put a new battery in it..
 

mikhail

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no, its just a regular one, same one that came with the radio
 

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well it turned out to be the volume switch on the mic, he can hear me now when were close but not far away still. seems like it needs an amp, im talking like 30 yards though, no obstructions either and i can hear him fine. its recieving fine, i heard him when we were on the highway and he was like a quarter mile ahead of me.
Now that the mic's fixed, it's starting to sound like the typical shorted (or ungrounded) antenna problem that's remaining.

Get that coax connected properly and get a SWR meter on there and make sure that the match is under 1.5:1 or so.
 

mikhail

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will do, im gonna figure out some other way to mount it, i think ill get a spring mount
 

mikhail

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does anyone know where i can get a pa speaker? i know radio shack has one but its $50 and its a bit too big. would a truck stop have one?
 

Black'03LevelII

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yes truck stops have them, probably could pick one up about the side of your fist for 10-15 maybe. I don't remember how much they cost there. I have to use one on my 29LTD classic as the internal speaker is dead, it is about 3"x3"x2" and works great. I did drill a small hole in mine and put a plug in it so I can use a small ear bud for when I have someone in the car with me so they don't have to listen to it.
 

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