A couple after thoughts:
The only way you can ultimately check the performance of your system is talking to other people on the radio. Are you anywhere near an interstate or a highway where there are a lot of truckers? You can park out there, or ride along out there, and try this:
“I’m just getting started and I put in a new radio, can I get a radio check?” The truckers will feel better about talking to someone who wants to get into the hobby versus some lonely jerk who just wants to yak about who knows what.
Once you get a connection, ask them where they are, you’ll be able to get a sense about your reach distance. Ask them how you sound. Is the signal strong? Is my voice clear?
You mentioned you had a mic problem. I bet you can find somebody who’s got a good mic to just plug it into your radio and check it to see if the mic is the issue. If you have a buddy with a CB, you could do a little broadcast check dance. Park a half mile apart and see what it sounds like. Then go to a mile, etc. Please don’t do it on channel 19….
And, are you using real CB radio coax? Did the cable come with the antenna? CB radio cable is different than cable TV cable or other coax cables. A single run should be 50-ohms impedance, typically RH-58 or RG-8X cable. If you run duel antennas, which I don’t recommend. (ideally 8 feet apart, 6 foot minimum), the best set up is a cable that is coupled together at the back of the radio so there is a single cable to each antenna. Those would also be 50-ohms. If you use a double, where a single cable runs to some point and then splits into two cables for the antennas, the single line should be 75-ohms impedance, RG – 59, and the singles would still be 50-ohms. It’s very important that the two single cables are exactly the same length. Even an inch or two difference, and the two antennas will fight each other instead of broadcasting out double strength. Typically doubles would be on the same spot on opposite sides of the truck. 8 feet is close to quarter wavelength. With double antennas, they won’t interfere straightforward or straight back, but the second you’re trying to broadcast off at a little angle, one will fight the other. The greater, the angle, the more the interference, but they will still work 90° out on each side, the signal just won’t be near as strong.
The coax cable should be labeled along the side of the cable. If you splice the cable, it’s also important to splice the shielding. This is easy to do. Strip the outer skin back a couple inches. Then peel back the foil or squeeze back the braided shield. Then strip the signal wire in the center a little bit. Twist the signal wire together, or even better, solder it together. Wrap that with vinyl tape. If you do it carefully, there will be enough shield to overlap itself. If not, you can just smooth it out and then wrap it with a piece of aluminum foil to make the contact from one side to the other. It’s important that it’s wrapped all the way around. Then you can tape the outside. It’ll look prettier if you use shrink tube on the inside and on the outside, but I’m old and feeble, and I always forget to slip the shrink tube on before I put them together
You’ve got several adjustment features on that cobra 29 LTD. If you’ve got somebody you’re talking to, ask them if they’ll chat for a little bit just so you can check the adjustments on your radio. Then make small adjustments maybe just counting from one till five and ask if it sounds better or worse.
And updates on my post:
When I mounted the radios up high, I had to trim the sunvisors a little bit. It’s not that hard to do, and I could write something with a couple pictures if you’re interested. The wires are run around the inside of the windshield bolding.
On the 97, there are extra switches up above because I knew I was going to be adding additional equipment. I ran extra wires too. And I made us spreadsheet of which wires went to whatever or came from whatever, you’ll never remember a year or two down the road. I actually have a paperback GE sitting between the seats on the back of my electric brake controller with a simple little 3 foot wire whip that I use as a back up. The 29 LTD with the 6 foot antenna works pretty good at distance, and the GE works very good for people close by, but the speaker I hear is a little garbled. I put it in while I was trying to figure out the 29 LTD, but I kind of like it sitting there as an extra toy, so I’ll probably keep it.
The 87 actually has a Cabra 148 SSB (single side band). In addition to the base 40 channels, you can click it to the upper side band where you’re only using the top range of the 40 channels, or vice versa on the lower band. It has the effect of giving you twice the wattage, or three times the wattage, but you can only talk to other people who have a single side band. To be clear, it doesn’t clarify the channel, it’s like having 80 more channels, but they have better reach and reception.
The F250 has an old radio shack TRS that has four or five preset stations. Most radios have a quick flip switch between whatever channel you’re talking on and channel 9. This TRS set up has five preset stations I think. I put it in for use in New York City and a couple other big cities. In New York, there are thousands of people on highways that are only a mile or two apart. 19 is the universal channel, and I don’t remember now, but channel 10 was the Brooklyn Queen‘s Expressway, another channel was the Long Island Expressway, etc. There were always different routes you could take, so with the radio you could reach out and find out what the traffic is like on this one or that one before you exit the one you’re on, and then you can track the one you’re on without a lot of interference from broadcast from other areas. I hardly ever do that anymore, and one of the little bars on my digital read out is failing, so when I said it to 19, sometimes it says 19, and sometimes it says 13, which drives me crazy even though the radio works perfectly. I have a second cobra 148 SSB that I’m going to put in the truck. Same thing with the switches overhead.
In total, I think I have a half dozen Cobra radios, I’ve got a half dozen RadioShack radios, and I’ve got half dozen or more of other brands, all pocketbook. And then I have two or three dinosaurs.
I also have an 87 town car and an 88 town car, and a 1978 Lincoln Marc V. I’m probably going to put cobras in the “modern” Lincoln’s. I have a period correct Sears 23 channel “Road Talker” which is also an SSB that I plan on installing on the hump of the Marc V. It’s the size of an old phone book. For those Lincoln’s, I’m going to use a 4 foot stick or whip on the front lip of the trunk lid.
I’m 1 million years old, and I had a CB in my car before the big CB craze in the 70s. I’ve been fiddling with them ever since. It’s in my blood from when I grow up.
You probably figured out that I could go on about this stuff forever, but I wanted to lay out some details if you’re just getting started. When I was coming up, I had to listen to a few gray haired old curmudgeons to figure out how to do stuff, and my beef was they never went if there were enough detail. I’m probably providing too much detail, but obviously you can just Ignore the parts you don’t need, but someone else might be looking for info, the beauty of these forums.
Hope it helps. Good luck with it, keep us posted!
