Gagh! Is CB radio a science, or a black art?

Shouldn't make a difference having the external speaker close to the radio or not...If your getting a squeal in your external speaker, it's because you have a ground problem. I have my external speakers in both of my trucks right next to the radios and no squeals what so ever, and I'm also running quiet a bit of juice...You just need to make sure your system is well grounded...

Now even on my set-up's, or any set-up for as that go's, "IF" you take your Mic and stick it right up to a external speaker, then Yes your going to get a loud squeal when you Key...But just having a speaker mounted close to the radio and Mic shouldn't squeal unless somethings not well grounded...could be the radio or the speaker, or both...

Suburban...Ranger External speaker...


Work Van, external speaker mounted right below the radio...(2x6 Amp is no longer sitting where it is in the pic tho...that was just temporary at the time)

 

It could be a combination of factors including grounding and diode swing mods inside the radio. Not being one dimensional in your thinking may help solve your problems.

 

To ground the radio, you can run a ground strap from one of the mounting screws that holds the radio on it's mounting bracket, to a good grounding point on the Firewall somewhere or run it right to the frame...Usually you would need to do this if your picking up noise from the motor or fuel pump or something, or getting a squeal when you Key the Mic...

If your receive is not as good as you think it should be tho, there's other things to consider...

Not all radios receive as good as others...Some radios have better receiving capability than others...Also your antenna has allot to do with how well a radios receive is...Shorter antenna's won't receive as well as longer ones do for instance...

Then there's your SWR to consider, and how well you have your ride's body bonded to the frame...

In other words, just slapping a radio in and hooking a antenna up wont necessarily mean your going to be getting the most out of your radio.

 

You said you bought a Northstar, an export radio. Which means it had to be converted to 11 meters. I haven't ever bought a export radio that had the receiver aligned properly. Most shops don't have the proper equipment to align the receiver. Some just convert it and don't do an alignment, some align by ear, and get pretty close, maybe close enough, but most don't do a proper receiver alignment. I know one that will/does, if your interested, PM me.

 

everyone has good tips.
sadly northpoint / northstar radios were nightmares.
Id say that the tech who tuned the radio took out the limiter. thats why you need to turn down the mic gain. even at 8 oclock you should still have decent audio if the limiter was removed. Turning off the talk back and get a radio check, see if it squeels then also. If it does then you do have a ground issue,

with todays cabs its important to runa ground wire from the antenna mount all the way to the frame. I typically recomend mount to door hinge, hinge to floor, floor to frame with enough slack to allow cab movement.