Cb radio

[Jim Oaks]

Well okay we’re do I get a swr thing at are the expensive how bad is it to just tinker around with it will I really burn my radio up? I was looking at power comm antennas but don’t know how good they are

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If you buy one, make sure it comes with a cable to connect between the radio and the meter.

Some of the old CB's came with one built in.

I don't know that you'll burn it up as long as it's connected to an antenna, but it's probably not going to transmit and receive very well.

 

[RobbieD]

ell okay we’re do I get a swr thing at are the expensive how bad is it to just tinker around with it will I really burn my radio up?

An untuned antenna will kill your transmit distance, if the antenna has too much resistance it can burn out the radio's outputs.

I kinda doubt that there's any kind of app that'll turn your phone into an SWR meter. Call around to 12 volt shops, or anybody that installs mobile radio equipment, and pay them to tune your antenna. Like Jim posted, if you just had the meter, it's an easy DIY job.

Not common, but some of the old CBs had built-in SWR meters.

 

[1994xlt]

An untuned antenna will kill your transmit distance, if the antenna has too much resistance it can burn out the radio's outputs.

I kinda doubt that there's any kind of app that'll turn your phone into an SWR meter. Call around to 12 volt shops, or anybody that installs mobile radio equipment, and pay them to tune your antenna. Like Jim posted, if you just had the meter, it's an easy DIY job.

Not common, but some of the old CBs had built-in SWR meters.

I have a cb it’s a cobra 29 classic it says it was made in 2016 is this old enough I’m worried I’m gonna put this antenna on my truck and then burn my cb out I’m not really looking for distance or perfectly tuned I’m just kinda going for looks and to maybe talk to a buddy 1-2 miles away

 

[RobbieD]

A good quality, not-damaged antenna, and you should be OK.

Radio damage is mainly caused by a grounded-out antenna. That why back in the day, unpopular CBers would find pins poked through their antenna's coax, after their radios stopped working.

 

[4x4junkie]

I have a cb it’s a cobra 29 classic it says it was made in 2016 is this old enough I’m worried I’m gonna put this antenna on my truck and then burn my cb out I’m not really looking for distance or perfectly tuned I’m just kinda going for looks and to maybe talk to a buddy 1-2 miles away

Many of the Cobra 29 radios did have built-in SWR meters (I know the "29 LTD Classic" and "29 GTL" did... I can't recall if the funky one that had the big dial right in the middle of the panel had one though).
If yours has a "SWR CAL" control on it (or SWR scale on the meter), you have one built-in.

Agreed, the longer the antenna, the better (all the way up to a 102" steel whip).
I always liked the 102" fiberglass whips, but apparently no one's made those for quite a long while now (they put out a better signal because they stood more upright in the wind as you drove).

Whatever antenna you get, don't get one shorter than 5 feet tall (less than that, their performance really drops off a cliff).

That said, I find I don't use CB as much anymore... Seems every time you get into areas where there's electricity nearby, there's also massive radio noise (pulling up to a gas station or grocery store, you can't call out to your buddies: "Hey anyone need anything from the store?" because 95% of the time it's impossible to hear them respond with the meter pegged at S9+20 dB of hissing electrical static). It wasn't like this 10-20 years ago...

I try to use MURS when possible, but failing that, then GMRS or FRS (CB has turned into a last-resort).

 

[superj]

i always used the 4 foot firesticks, also. one on each jeep for a long time. since we are on the beach and its flat with no tall buildings, we could easily talk back and forth at 10 miles out. i geuss water skipped the signal too?

you can get an swr meter very cheap if your cb doesn't have one built in. off amazon, radio shack (if you have on nearby still), or garage sales. i got an swr meter for 50 cents at a garage sale a year or two back and we put a firestick on my son's jeep so he and his friends could talk at the beach when cruising for girls during spring break. we had one in one of hte trucks here at the house and that is how we found out we could get 8-10 miles because they were out at mustang island/padre island and i could talk to them from the driveway.

the jeeps had the antennas on the back corner and the truck had a magnetic stick on that was centered on the cab roof.

 

[1994xlt]

A good quality, not-damaged antenna, and you should be OK.

Radio damage is mainly caused by a grounded-out antenna. That why back in the day, unpopular CBers would find pins poked through their antenna's coax, after their radios stopped working.

What does that second part mean?

 

[superj]

What does that second part mean?

instead of keying their truck, people would poke safety pins, or push pins, through the coax cable of the antenna causing it short out the cb radio.

 

[1994xlt]

Many of the Cobra 29 radios did have built-in SWR meters (I know the "29 LTD Classic" and "29 GTL" did... I can't recall if the funky one that had the big dial right in the middle of the panel had one though).
If yours has a "SWR CAL" control on it (or SWR scale on the meter), you have one built-in.

Agreed, the longer the antenna, the better (all the way up to a 102" steel whip).
I always liked the 102" fiberglass whips, but apparently no one's made those for quite a long while now (they put out a better signal because they stood more upright in the wind as you drove).

Whatever antenna you get, don't get one shorter than 5 feet tall (less than that, their performance really drops off a cliff).

That said, I find I don't use CB as much anymore... Seems every time you get into areas where there's electricity nearby, there's also massive radio noise (pulling up to a gas station or grocery store, you can't call out to your buddies: "Hey anyone need anything from the store?" because 95% of the time it's impossible to hear them respond with the meter pegged at S9+20 dB of hissing electrical static). It wasn't like this 10-20 years ago...

I try to use MURS when possible, but failing that, then GMRS or FRS (CB has turned into a last-resort).

Well mines got this dial looking thing on it is that what your talking about.

 

[1994xlt]

i always used the 4 foot firesticks, also. one on each jeep for a long time. since we are on the beach and its flat with no tall buildings, we could easily talk back and forth at 10 miles out. i geuss water skipped the signal too?

you can get an swr meter very cheap if your cb doesn't have one built in. off amazon, radio shack (if you have on nearby still), or garage sales. i got an swr meter for 50 cents at a garage sale a year or two back and we put a firestick on my son's jeep so he and his friends could talk at the beach when cruising for girls during spring break. we had one in one of hte trucks here at the house and that is how we found out we could get 8-10 miles because they were out at mustang island/padre island and i could talk to them from the driveway.

the jeeps had the antennas on the back corner and the truck had a magnetic stick on that was centered on the cab roof.

Thank you!

 

[1994xlt]

Have any of you guys used power comm antennas

 

[superj]

not me. i am not against using whatever is the best price though so if you are getting one for a good price, go with it. i jsut happen to always find firestick antennas at garage sales for a couple bucks

 

[1994xlt]

not me. i am not against using whatever is the best price though so if you are getting one for a good price, go with it. i jsut happen to always find firestick antennas at garage sales for a couple bucks

Well if I came across a fire stick can I just screw it onto the mount and run it?

 

[superj]

you can but make sure and use the swr to tune it or you will probably get bad reception and just get static. but as far as threading it onto the same mount, yes, all the cb antennas i ever saw used the same mounting thread pitch and count. (the thicker ones did, not the ones that look like a car radio antenna)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well if I came across a fire stick can I just screw it onto the mount and run it?

There is a cap on the tip, you remove that and there is a thing inside you can turn to tune it. But yeah, you don't have to tune it although it will work much better if you do.