Is my CB junk?

It mighta been the shipper or rec , that had the bad radio , and not you at all, but any truckstop's sell ant meters, duel or otherwise, read the directions and you can fiddel with it till you get right, i heard from the last place i worked at , we was running those columbas too. that stock freightshaker , were junk ant from the fact, but couldnt swap em out due too company poilcy, anyway like at the dock with plenty time, just play with it, i know first hand its annoying becuse my ex wouldnt let me buy nice cobra, so i sneeked $10 buck's away from my paycheck and after awhile i got my new cb , it was like Christmas for for me, but first thing i did was run it down too the truck stop and had it peek and tuned, then went in my freight shaker, wouldnt work right so i had too run the whole thing down there, so he gets out his step ladder and got it tuned and peak too them junk fact ants, so it would work just anthor thing we have too live with Everett.

 

Most ant , you put the meter the between the coxail cable , infeed onside, out feed the other side, not sure about duals , but this the way i did one ant system, then i took my allen wrench that came my wilson, and the very top part of the shiny skinny one,there on the bottom were it goes into that big part is a allen screw, loosen that, then slide it up and down and wacth your meter , thats how i did mine, not sure if its right or not, but that what it said on back of pkg too do it that way,any truckstop should have a cb repair out back somewere, or in the truckstop even. Everett.

 

Ibelive the coils , and i could be wroung here , are for ground plane type thing , not sure, but far as pointing foward, which i think is stupid myself, i belive they got from a country band , cause after every show they take both hands and point too the crowd , its just a driver thing , much like wereing your pants around your ankles and showing your female side off, Everett

 

I've heard of having them SLIGHTLY leaning forward so that they are straight up at speed.

But I know the ones you mean and they lean WAY forward.

 

Turn the RF gain fully clockwise. Turning it to 1 o'clock will lower your receiving. That is your problem. By you cutting it back you could be miss hearing people 5-10 or more miles away. Set it and forget it. You only turn the RF gain back when a signal is much too strong. Leave it full right & the Delta tune at 12 o'clock.

 

Yup...Gain to the MAX....(don't worry about DELTA TUNE, you are not equipped),
and THEN set the squelch till it just barely makes noise. Re-adjust the squelch as needed. Like the previous poster said...if the gain to too low, you will not hear any weaker conversations...heck you might not hear a person 1 mile away, like a shipper.....
A Peak and tune might take 20 minutes, IF the tech is working...but many shops are hacks (they no longer have to be licensed, and some are just rip-offs, some ((getting more rare)) do good work), and these days, I'd say it is more cost effective to save the $20, and put it towards your new radio that you want...the cheapest, smaller radios will likely not gain very much...and they may be worse depending on who works on it. Just my opinion.
The multi-meter will not help you tune a radio...it will just ensure you have a good power source, and continuity of the RG59 or mini RG8 antenna cable. Since you can transmit OK, this is not likely an issue...I guess the conductor could be kinked, or the insulation cut, a SWR meter can do this (some folks carry them)...heck, a friend in a truck-stop might help you with this if you have a chat over dinner and some time to waste!!

 

I apologize for this long post but; let's do this by the book. If you only receive nearby stations, check the following:
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1. If you have a local/long distance switch, It should be in the long distance position.

2. If your radio is equiped with a RF gain knob, it should be turned up.

3. If at all possible, see if you can borrow (just for testing purposes)
another antenna.
The general consensus of opinion on the internet is that the minimum length for an antenna on a tractor is 4 feet. I personally prefer slightly longer antennas with a length of 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet in length. Some antennas are slightly tilted forward so that they will be vertical at highway speeds. Those that have a coil are using an electronic "trick" to get better performance/longer transmission distance without being as long as the 102" whip in length. Antennas with coils are normally more expensive than other antennas.

4. Check the antenna installation. I suspect that you have either a
. ground plane problem or an antenna problem.
.
. a. Using a multimeter (volt/ohm meter) set on the lowest resistance
. scale, check the resistance between the antenna mount and door.
. If it is not zero, ground the antenna mount to the door.

. b. Next check the resistance between the antenna mount and the
. door frame. If it is not zero, ground the door to the door frame.

. c. Finally, check the resistance between the antenna mount and
. chassis. If it is not zero, ground the door frame to the chassis.
.
.
The guy that said that your radio has about 3 watts is probably correct. What he did not tell you is that just about every other radio that is stock out of the box has about 3 watts. That includes Cobra and most every other CB radio brand. I do not believe that your radio is junk. Hey, that is my opinion. I don't claim to be perfect.

If your decision is to purchase another radio that is certainly your choice. I seriously doubt that purchasing another radio is going to greatly change your situation. Have you considered borrowing another radio and testing it out in your truck before you spend your hard earned money on another radio?
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I believe that your problem is a cheaper to fix non-radio problem. What ever your decision is, I hope it works out to your satisfaction.
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PS. Just a final thought, some drivers believe that the Cobra 25 has a better receive capability than the Cobra 29. And, the "25" costs less.