Radio Discussion Community

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member here, and I'm new to CB radio. I joined this site to get some advice and hopefully solve some problems that I have.
I have a Thunderpole T-800 CB and a Thunderpole Silver Rod 1/2 Wave Hi Gain antenna.
My antenna is about 2 1/2 metres off the ground, and my SWR is 1.1 on Ch1 and Ch40. I'm receiving great, but nobody can hear me? I just wondered if anyone could help me as to anything I may be missing or doing wrong?

Thanks,

Mike.

Welcome.
Im sure somebody would be here soon.
Why 2.5m off the ground? Are there lots of buildings there?

Hello there,

It's a small country village, but the buildings are quite high. I've just moved the antenna up higher to 6 metres high and the reception is a lot better, but still no joy of anyone hearing me.

Hi,
You say the rx has improved since you increased the relative altitude of your antenna, do you mean that a known conversation source is now reading higher/stronger on the rigs meter?
If you are receiving signals in the 8, 9, or 9+ range then you should be able to make contact even with a lousy swr - that said there are those who will ignore or squelch out interruptions. Sorry, that's just the way some are. Have a regular trawl slowly through all the channels as there are people who only use a particular channel and won't be on 14/19, give a QSK and just ask for a rig check.
Just a thought, when you checked the swr, did the swr meter calibrate ok? eg you got a full needle swing on the set position? When you key the mic does the rig meter show tx, and give a reading? Have you checked you are on UKFM not EU?
Don't loose faith though, keep trying. It helps when there is someone local who can confirm you actually are getting out.
Rob.

Hi there,

Many thanks for your reply. Yes, I am hearing people better from further away, and yes, the SWR metre gave a full swing on ch1 and ch40. Also, the SWR on both channels is still good at 1.1 on both.
I've thought that people might be ignoring me or squelching me out. I'll try on different channels and do a rig check, as I had a feeling that maybe I was interrupting people in their conversations.
I don't have a rigs metre, sorry, I'm only just learning about CB radio. It looks like it would be worth while getting one. Yes, I'm on UKFM.
I did read online that my antenna should be grounded with a copper earth spike. Is this worthwhile doing, as I've seen many videos of people with my exact antenna and their's aren't grounded?

Many thanks for your reply and help.

I haven't have any dealing with a T800 yet, but looking at the pictures there are 3 green leds and one red, these are your 'meter'. Some rigs have a moving needle, others have a display with bars like a mobile phone. On rx I would guess that they represent an incoming signal strength of 3, 6, 9, and the red one is 9+ (also known as end stop, full box, strawberry patch). On tx, you would have the red tx light, and the three green leds. The red on tx may indicate an swr fault. The radio's manual may explain better.
How are you powering the rig?
I'm not aware of a silver rod needing a grounding spike.

Brilliant, thanks. Yes, it's on red every time I key the mic. On receiving 'it's on either 1 green light or two, but no higher. I've just used my other meter to do an SWR check again, and it's still 1.1 on ch1 and ch40. I'm using a cigarette plug in a mains converter that I got with the CB, in the house.

Thanks.

OK, so the power supply is good, tick that box.
So, just thinking about rx for the moment, you say you have 1 or 2 green lights. Can you hear other conversations? If so have you any ideas about how far away they are?
Do you have access to a basic multimeter?

Great, thanks. I live in Runcorn in England, and I can hear conversations as far as South Wales and Preston. They are on one green light and crackly, but I can hear them OK. I've picked up a few people around Runcorn, Warrington and Windes, and they are on two green lights and very loud and clear. I haven't heard anyone as close as that for a while, so maybe only people within that range could hear me? If I hear them tonight, I'll try doing a rig check and see if they can hear me. I'll report back if they do.
I don't have a multimeter, but I'll see if I can try and get one.

If you can pin down a location for those you can hear, I would expect within a mile should get all green and the top red, 2-4 miles 2-3 lights, then beyond that 1 maybe 2 lights. Turn the rf gain fully clockwise, and the squelch control anticlockwise so you can hear some static hiss, then you should be able to hear anyone that answers even if their signal is weak.
I only asked about the multimeter in case you need to do a continuity check through the coax. Don't worry about it for the moment.

Thanks very much, yes I've done all of that. I've found that I'm not getting any higher than two green lights, but at two green lights the signal is very strong. I tried doing as rig check with them, and one person said Roger, but they left after that, so hopefully they were receiving me at least.

Bear with it, try again a few more times then you can be reasonably sure you are...
a) making contact and having two way a conversation that may give you some indications of how well your tx is working, distance, quality of signal etc. or
b) still no confirmed contact then we may have to think again.

If you can't get on the side of an already progressing conversation, listen for them to use the phrase 'Dead Key'. This will suggest that you could be transmitting a 'carrier' (signal) that they can hear, but no 'modulation' (speech). This can be caused by a number of things all of which would require a bit of specialist knowledge to sus out and more normally show up in older well used systems where mic switches, leads, and plugs get worn stretched and abused.
Not suggesting in any way that the radio is faulty, but did you buy the rig new with warranty?
I'm hoping that the Thunderpole guys will show up soon with some ideas!

Hi, thanks. I've been trying all of this, still no joy. I bought everything brand new and installed everything very carefully, but When I first got the CB, I plugged it into an old antenna I had on my roof, a horizontal VHF one. That was before I knew about tuning an antenna or about SWR. Do you think it's possible I could have damaged the CB in some way by doing this?

Physically connecting to an incorrect antenna won't do any harm, likewise switching on and listening with that antenna won't hurt - you just won't hear anything. But... if you were to attempt tx on that antenna there is a risk of damage to the output side of the rig.
If you bought from a shop, is it local? If so then it may be worth buzzing it back and asking if they could do a quick operational check. Often you will find dedicated radio dealers will have a radio on in the shop so they can be contacted that way. If so, find out what channel they monitor and if they're within about 5 miles or so then you know where to try for a rig check.
What type of coax are you using? Type and/or rating are normally printed along the outer sheath.

I did key the mic a few times, so there's a possibility that the CB may be damaged.
I got the CB from the Thunderpole website, so I could send it back.
I'm using RG58 cable.