Newbie....lots of questions!

Cobra 29 LTD / stock mic

#1 Was told by local cb shop to run a 5 1/2' Francis antenna for best results. Put antenna on, OEM coax, grounded antenna mounting to battery and I could Tx/Rx fine but everytime I keyed up the Ant light came on even though SWR was adjusted using internal meter. Went back to original antenna on the truck (4') and problem went away. Francis' site says their antennas don't need to be tuned....but can you and how? (Single antenna setup)

#2 Got put in different truck with dual antennas and unit works great until I had to jump in a rental and power cord was installed baxkwards and I fried it - should've verified, my fault. Took it to CB man in Salina, KS who showed me the burnt diode and said he could Tune/Peak and repair it for $65, I said ok. Fast forward to yesterday amd going down the road I smell electrical heat/smoke and see my radio shut off and was hot. Remove it, inline fuse is fine but smells like burnt toast....should I take it back to repairman or just bite the bullet and put it towards a new radio and don't mess with it other than checking SWR's and getting a good mic?

If I go the new radio route I'd like to send this one out to be repaired correctly or at least diagnosed honestly and keep it as a spare....who on the forum would be the best to send it to? Thanks in advance guys!

 

I just bought a new Cobra 29 LTD Classic and Astatic 636L....going to take other radio back and see what he says is wrong and how much....still open to sending it to a verified good tech on the forum to be fixed for a spare - any suggestions? I'm going to leave this radio alone and concentrate on the antenna side for "performance"....will have to see how existing antennas perform after verifying SWR's with a meter. BTW, can a guy fuse the ground side with a 5A fuse to protect from crossing polarity???

(Got the new Cobra for $79 with mail-in rebate from local Pilot for those in the market)

 

I just checked out the DTB website and think I'll send it in the next week or so and see what he says. I may have him fix and tune it since I've already got cost + $65 repair that last two weeks in it.....what's another $50-$75 right? LOL!