problems with my radio

willievhook · Dec 16, 2009

I have the Uniden Pro520XL, had it for a couple years now, anyways, it wont work anymore. It'll turn on, but i can't be heard, and i can't hear anyone. I've checked all the wiring, fuse, coax, antenna....all look good to me. i have it mounted right above where your right leg would be when your driving, and i was thinking that maybe it got fried, cause the last time i went coon hunting, my buddy stayed in my truck and slept, and left the "foot" part of the heater on full blast....could that be it? and if not, what else could it be? :dunno:

also, i dont know if it's important to the matter, but i'm runnin it with a tuned 3 foot firestick

Flash Gordan · Dec 16, 2009

Did you get the radio matched to the antenna lately?

tony314 · Dec 17, 2009

Flash Gordan said:
Did you get the radio matched to the antenna lately?

+1

willievhook · Dec 17, 2009

Flash Gordan said:
Did you get the radio matched to the antenna lately?

what do you mean by "matched"
probably about 3 months ago i got a new firestick, same size and everything as my last one, and had the guy at radioshack tune it...

Flash Gordan · Dec 17, 2009

Matched or tuned, its pretty much all the same thing.

willievhook · Dec 17, 2009

Flash Gordan said:
Matched or tuned, its pretty much all the same thing.

10-4, yeah, it got matched pretty recently then

looks like i'll be buying a new radio, hah

Resurrection Ranger · Dec 18, 2009

I had a 510XL when i was 18. Didn't know they still made them. My guess is you have a burned out diode or resistor within your radio. Your best bet is to borrow a radio and use it to put a load your rig. If that all jives them your radio is the culprit. It's not an expensive fix but for what the radios worth you might as well grab a Cobra 29 if you don't want anything fancy. And there's nothing wrong with fiberglass to get you by but nothing gets out or receives better than a steel whip. When your radio shack dude set everything up did he use Standing Wave Ratio meter and did he pull the red cap off the end of your firestik and adjust the set screw? If he didn't do both these things you could of been talking this whole time with a high SWR which is all bad for a radio. Just tryin to help

willievhook · Dec 18, 2009

Resurrection Ranger said:
I had a 510XL when i was 18. Didn't know they still made them. My guess is you have a burned out diode or resistor within your radio. Your best bet is to borrow a radio and use it to put a load your rig. If that all jives them your radio is the culprit. It's not an expensive fix but for what the radios worth you might as well grab a Cobra 29 if you don't want anything fancy. And there's nothing wrong with fiberglass to get you by but nothing gets out or receives better than a steel whip. When your radio shack dude set everything up did he use Standing Wave Ratio meter and did he pull the red cap off the end of your firestik and adjust the set screw? If he didn't do both these things you could of been talking this whole time with a high SWR which is all bad for a radio. Just tryin to help

yeah, thank you

next paycheck i'm gonna be getting a new radio, and yeah, a steel whip
i'm "borrowing" my dads 510XL outta his huntin rig right now, so i'm not in the biggest hurry, lol
yeah, the guy at radio shack used the SWR meter, and adjusted the screw on the top of the firestik

what would be a good steel whip, and, do what, like a magnetic mount or what?

strvger · Dec 18, 2009

magnet mounts are fine and come in handy when going thru the car wash. if you have a good place to mount one permanently then that might be better. it's most important to get a good ground. the magnet mount has that kind of built in really. mine is permanently mounted and has a 10 gauge wire from the mount to the frame for the ground. i use a fiberglass one because my cb also monitors all the weather channels and the antenna is set up to both cb and vhf. and i also use quick disconnects on both my cb and am/fm antennas for taking them off at the car wash, parking garage, etc.

Resurrection Ranger · Dec 18, 2009

If you want a perfect SWR and get out like its no ones business.. oh and never go thru a car wash again.. get a 102" whip. Bumber mount it and you'll still look like an RC car lol.

Or you can do what was mentioned above which I ran a magnet mount Wilson 1000 for a long time. Ground is important. So is a ground plain. Thats why some people drill a big hole in their roof and mount a puck. Your antenna attaches to the puck and you now have your vehicle as your ground plain. That being said if you had a Surburban you'd be set (bigger roof..bigger ground plain)

Some dudes run 6 alternators and 8 batteries in a Suburban.. all to run a CB swinging 20K.

willievhook · Dec 18, 2009

Resurrection Ranger said:
If you want a perfect SWR and get out like its no ones business.. oh and never go thru a car wash again.. get a 102" whip. Bumber mount it and you'll still look like an RC car lol.

Or you can do what was mentioned above which I ran a magnet mount Wilson 1000 for a long time. Ground is important. So is a ground plain. Thats why some people drill a big hole in their roof and mount a puck. Your antenna attaches to the puck and you now have your vehicle as your ground plain. That being said if you had a Surburban you'd be set (bigger roof..bigger ground plain)

Some dudes run 6 alternators and 8 batteries in a Suburban.. all to run a CB swinging 20K.

wow, thats quite something....yeah, i was thinking bout the 102", that'd be pretty cool, and car washes? who goes through those, lol

okay, say i get the 102", pretty much any decent radio would work good with it?

strvger · Dec 19, 2009

any radio should. but it should still be tuned. reason being to account for the length of the coax cable and any mounting differences in the antenna from the specs (like adding a spring of different heights, etc.).

calypso93 · Dec 23, 2009

I'm not familiar with your particular radio, but there are a few things that mysteriuosly happen to any radio that has more than two knobs.
Is the squelch control open? Is the Rf gain up all the way? Is the remote speaker plugged all the way in? Tried swapping microphones? Some have an internal switch that opens the speaker line (int and ext) when you key it.

willievhook · Dec 23, 2009

calypso93 said:
I'm not familiar with your particular radio, but there are a few things that mysteriuosly happen to any radio that has more than two knobs.
Is the squelch control open? Is the Rf gain up all the way? Is the remote speaker plugged all the way in? Tried swapping microphones? Some have an internal switch that opens the speaker line (int and ext) when you key it.

yeah, i know how to work the radio, haha. did try switching the mics, i'm just using a different radio

and thanks for the info/help guys

problems with my radio

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