Gonna Do The Thing I Said I'd Never Do. Unless ...

I said I'd never let some "radio tech" work on my radio. I've run a stock virgin radio for a long time now. Just never been very satisfied with the range, no matter the antenna and no matter how good my SWR is (1.1).

But yesterday, my antenna started shorting to the mount (I'm pretty sure) and my SWR has gone to just below 3. I've tried a couple things (rubber bushing, electrical tape) to create an additional barrier but haven't had any success.

I happen to be taking a 34 hour break near Ron of "CB Radio Store of Fontana." @rabbiporkchop gave a strong recommendation for him back in an old 2015 post, and since @rabbiporkchop is no dummy about radios, I'm tempted. So maybe I let Ron "peak and tune" (whatever that means) and lower my output to whatever he recommends for an Italy amp?

Stop me if you think this is a bad idea. He's meeting me tomorrow if all goes according to plan.

 

I agree, @Ridgeline... I'll ask if he'll give me a variable power knob instead of locking me into a wattage. That way, I can have full 4 watts of power when I don't want/need to run the amp.

 

Totally agree. From my discussions with him so far, I believe it's the same guy and he hasn't changed his stripes.

 

Yeah, Ron said that. He said they're going to spend a week soon to get it reopened in Victorville at the High Desert Truck Stop. (Might be slightly off on the name of the truck stop...)