Just upgraded......but need HELP!!!

[outerspacehillbilly]

Originally Posted by BoDarville01

totally understand that. But i dont want to be without my radio for days at a time, and then HOPE i get by the area again to pick it up.

question i have is the place i took it to, that told me i was missing a transistor and had the power cranked down on it....tells me the cost to p and t would change from the $25 to $60. that sound fair, or does it sound like he was asking me to bend over and grab my ankles?

I'm sending you a PM.

[Turbo-T]

Originally Posted by BoDarville01

totally understand that. But i dont want to be without my radio for days at a time, and then HOPE i get by the area again to pick it up.

question i have is the place i took it to, that told me i was missing a transistor and had the power cranked down on it....tells me the cost to p and t would change from the $25 to $60. that sound fair, or does it sound like he was asking me to bend over and grab my ankles?

A good peak and tune should not run anymore than $20.

I can only wonder what transistor would be missing. I have heard of people cutting/removing the modulation limiter diode, which will make the radio sound bad.

If I were you I'd place an order with Sparky when you can, and let him set you up and then wait for it to be shipped to your home. And don't buy anymore truck stop radios. And in the mean time run what you have if it works. Or keep an eye out on Craigslist, you can sometimes find good working CB's for cheap. Heck I picked up 2 working stock not been hacked on Cobras a few weeks ago for $15.

[BoDarville01]

Okay...well took it to Walcot CB shop this morning when they opened at 9a. basic P & T was $30. I needed a 'limiter' something installed, they found some of the solder was poor and the mic was cutting in and out. Also told me that the antenna that i bought at Bosselman's needed to be grounded (even though its a goundless antenna). I get on the road, and find out that when i keyed up my mic (this was after i checked the SWR on my seperate meter) that it pegged the needle clear to the far right.

oh...and was told by the shop in bosselman's that the SWR meter on the radio was 'good'....but the walcot CB shop said it wasnt working at all.

I noticed too that when i have my truck up and running, the needle bounces all over. I shut the truck off. switched back to the dual antenna setup that came with hte truck, and ask for a radio check. i'm curious to see when i get rolling down the road, if i still have the needle bouncing all over when i key up the mic. dont do me any good to waste more money on a radio setup if i cannot get any use out of it going down the road.


i'm about fed up with even trying to get a good setup. after the P&T at walcot CB shop...the ground strap...that all cost me $70. added to the $100 i paid for a piece of !#$% galaxy from the Indy CB shop and the $45 3ft antenna .... i'm thru dumping anymore money into it. after $200 and i still dont have a radio that is usable.

[BoDarville01]

So i get stopped for the night. Take a good look at my radio, and cannot figure out why when i've tried to key the mic for the past hour, i get NO movement with my needle. In fact, it even goes backwards....ever so slightly.

i am about to put this galaxy under my trailer and roll the hell over it. $210 wasted in a used radio....a $45 antenna and 'work' done at Walcott CB shop....and i still dont have a usable setup.....WTF !!!!

[Turbo-T]

I think all antennas require a ground. I could be wrong but I know the ones that most trucks run require a ground. Otherwise you'll get high SWR's.

When the needle bounces all over is that with the radio keyed up?

Is the 3 ft antenna the tallest you can run?

What are your SWR's at?

[BoDarville01]

well after i was 'sold' the ground strap, and got the tuned radio in my truck, i was running that 3ft wilson antenna. I was getting higher SWRs than i was before, but got them down to around 1.4-1.9s on ch. 1-40.

When the needle was bouncin' all around it was when i was keying up. Last night i stopped at a Pilot in southern MI, and a guy had his passenger window down, and radio was on. i could hear when i keyed up....all that came over was static. just for kicks i turned on the 'roger beep' and keyed up....and got "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-beep". I switched mics, and still got static. Cause i thought the 9 volt battery in my noise-cancelling mic from (gulp) road pro was going bad. but its in the radio.

Lucky right now, where i stopped for the night, i'm back in Walcott, IA. so i'm heading back over in the morning, going to get them to look at the radio again, on their dime, since they didnt seem to get it fixed the first time. and maybe this time the tech from inside can actually come out, look at my setup and tell me what i need to change.

i told the goofus i had an '09 Volvo, and he started talking like i had peterbilt window brackets.....um....DUH.


oh...i think i am going to take that wilson setup i was sold.....cut it up into tiny 2-3in pieces, and ship it to the cb shop in altoona, ia. and attch a note with it, saying this is what i think of this, and your expert advise.

[killroy]

Okay I have read all of your posts in this thread and here is my 2 cents.
Stop throwing money to the hacks. That Galaxy is a darn good radio.
Here is what you need too do. 1. the factory coax is trash. get 18ft of a good quality rg8 AKA mini 8 coax. 2. for your needs you can get a Wilson Trucker 2000 antenna for around $ 70.00. one of the best. and you can adjust it to get those swr's down as close to 1.1 as you can.
Now you have been told by several different people to check with Al, at Sparky's CB Shack. He is one of the best there is at tuning radio's. Obviously you have a laptop look up his site and do some reading then call the man.
Then ship it to him. when you get it back it will be right, no if's ands or buts. then the next time you go home it will be there waiting for you.
I would rather be with out a radio for a week then to have a pile of #### that don't work.

The set up you are trying to get right is a very simple one.( Mine will make a grown man scream to get all the bugs out ) Anyway a Volvo can be a major pain in the butt to get the swr's right because the grounds stink on the door's. Mount the antenna on the drivers side, then on the bottom door hinge you will need to run a ground wire from a bolt on the door side to a bolt on the cab side, use 8 ga. wire as short as you can. don't worry about closing the door on it, it will not hurt anything.

Then when you get your radio back, and hook it up to your properly installed antenna, you will have a radio that will be heard and you can be proud of. Or you can keep throwing your money away and sound like ####.

[BoDarville01]

Originally Posted by killroy

Okay I have read all of your posts in this thread and here is my 2 cents.
Stop throwing money to the hacks. That Galaxy is a darn good radio.
Here is what you need too do. 1. the factory coax is trash. get 18ft of a good quality rg8 AKA mini 8 coax. 2. for your needs you can get a Wilson Trucker 2000 antenna for around $ 70.00. one of the best. and you can adjust it to get those swr's down as close to 1.1 as you can.
Now you have been told by several different people to check with Al, at Sparky's CB Shack. He is one of the best there is at tuning radio's. Obviously you have a laptop look up his site and do some reading then call the man.
Then ship it to him. when you get it back it will be right, no if's ands or buts. then the next time you go home it will be there waiting for you.
I would rather be with out a radio for a week then to have a pile of #### that don't work.

The set up you are trying to get right is a very simple one.( Mine will make a grown man scream to get all the bugs out ) Anyway a Volvo can be a major pain in the butt to get the swr's right because the grounds stink on the door's. Mount the antenna on the drivers side, then on the bottom door hinge you will need to run a ground wire from a bolt on the door side to a bolt on the cab side, use 8 ga. wire as short as you can. don't worry about closing the door on it, it will not hurt anything.

Then when you get your radio back, and hook it up to your properly installed antenna, you will have a radio that will be heard and you can be proud of. Or you can keep throwing your money away and sound like ####.

Thats part of my problem....i cant even sound like ####.

i know the galaxy is a good radio. i like spending the extra $$ on equipment that is quality...just not the service that isnt. I notice that all the bolts on the volvo are almost all powder coated. the frame is painted, almost everything is painted. What i might do is take the whole window bracket off the bottom, unscrew all the window bolts, buy one that matches thats galvanized, and take out my palm sander, and sand the paint off down to the metal. =)

[killroy]

You will have to run the ground across the door hinges. Same reason, they are powder coated & painted. In a radio system when in doubt GROUND.
I have so many grounds on my truck Lightning is afraid of it.
But I'm running 2,500 watts, I'm into talking skip.

[BoDarville01]

whats talking skip? I just left the CB shop....the 'work' is under 'waranty' so its not costing me anything to fix it. The guy did tell me about a 'bird pertch' to use. He actually did what i would have thought they'd do last time i was there, and actually go out to my truck and look at it.

He said to unscrew one of the bolts holding the bracket on the door, and screw the pertch in. I wont have to worry about grounding wire or anything. Just mount the antenna to the bracket, bracket to the pertch, pertch to the metal in the door, foot bone connected to the heel bone, and i'm all set.

Different tech is REALLY looking into the radio. resoldering all the 'questionable' connections, etc. Had something in the radio keeping me from transmitting. "something in the saddle".....dont have a clue what it means, but sounds like they are really working on it this time.