Radio Discussion Community

hi all

the story so far :

inherited a truck & a cheapy (other company) cb that has so much noise when engine running, unusable, when engine off, fine 'ish. so i thought i'd put my old harrier cbx in its place, which was working last time i used it. got it set up, swr ok at 1.5, seemed to work but nobody can hear me transmit, i bought a new mic, same prob , so i thought i had a broke cb & bought another, a grandstand bluebird off ebay, from an ok seller, i had the exact same problem, not able to transmit, swr still ok at 1.5

now i'm thinking that my old cbx is not bust, but why will 2 cb's not transmit - don't get the interference with theses 2 as with the (other company) thing

i'm puzzled

i do have an old springer on top, need to 'cos of trees & bridges, it is bent at the top 2 inches

why would the (other company) transmit & not the 2 decent old cb's ?

thanks in advance for any help

Hi,

How do you know the SWR is 1.5 if it doesn't transmit?

Do you mean that no random person is answering you, or do you mean that another person who is specifically listening on another CB radio and that they can't hear you?

Are you both using UK CB radios?

Are you both on FM mode?

Are you both using the same 40 CB channels, there are two sets of 40 channels in use in the UK?

Most people use the UK40 as opposed to the EU (or EC or CEPT or FCC - all the same thing) 40 channels in the UK.

hi guzzi.................is it guzzi after the moto guzzi motor bike ? .......... i had 2 x 850 le mans mk2

anyway....back to business

swr.......this is what i did
ch 20, switch to fwd, while transmit adjust needle to 'set' over in the red, still transmit, turn switch to 'ref' & it drops to 1.5.............is that right ?

i'm 30 feet from another truck but he can't hear me

i'll check if both are uk cb & fm

i'm sure there's a simple answer to this

cheers

Yep, I've had a few Moto Guzzi's over the years.

From a V50 to multiple Cali's, with a Quota and Centauro in-between.

Bloody things are more addictive than Harleys!

Anyway...

Yep, sounds like you are SWR'ing it OK.

However, a low SWR doesn't actually mean you are getting out. After all, a dummy load will give you an SWR of 1:1.

So, assuming you are both on the same band (UK40), on the same channel and using the same mode (FM), the only thing left to check is:

1. Power wiring

• Is it run directly from a 12V battery, or is it just bodged into the wiring loom. It's best to run cables direct from a (12V) battery to avoid electrical noise. Is the truck 12V?

2. Coax from back of the rig to the antenna

• Is the PL259 plug in good condition or is it loose or badly soldered?
• Is the coax in good condition or is it squashed, bent or crimped anywhere?
• Is the coax actually still going into the antenna (don't laugh they can easily get pulled out!)

3. Antenna

• Is the antenna still plugged in properly or is it wiggling around loosely? You mentioned it's damaged at the top? It may be that you need to buy a new antenna.

thanks guzzi

i'll check & post back.............i'll also put one of my rigs in another truck just to check it does work

if the swr is ok then set should be transmitting does the other truck hear a clicking when you key the mic if so its the audio can you hear him when he transmits if not the frequancy is off did it have the mid band fitted at anytime and if so are you on the right freq just a few thing's to try

stampman

yes, the key click is heard & i can hear him, but he can't hear me

won't be on here for a while, will get back to this asap, it's starting to bug me know

thanks guys

ok it's just the mic possibly a broken wire in the lead