Radio Install Issues

Have you got the Prostar with the antenna mounts on top of the mirror or the mirror side mounts? How long have you had the truck? Were the antennas already in place?

Reason I'm asking is when I got my Prostar, the coax had been sitting loose, with the PL 259 facing skyward for at least 1 month (So I was told that was how long the truck had been sitting before I got it)

Turned out the coax was saturated with moisture. Had to trash it and re run all of it. Not saying that's your situation, this was just mine.

And yeah, the stock coax is absolute trash.

 

Tree,
Is the radio new, or have you had it previously working in another vehicle, or ??
If the radio isn't new but is new to you, then you're working with two variables: a radio of unknown functionality coupled to an antenna with similar qualities.
When faced with an equation with two variables, a quick way to narrow down things is to eliminate one variable. Have you got another radio that you know is working OK to test with that antenna system? (Of course, that only matters in the case that the radio isn't new but has only recently come into your hands).
And have you got another vehicle (car, pickup, locomotive, F-117, etc.) that has a known-working CB antenna, that you can slip that radio into just to make sure the radio works OK when it's hooked to a good antenna system?
Unless a radio has been horribly mistuned by a clueless hack, most "poor range problems" can be reliably blamed upon a faulty antenna system. And by "antenna system", I include everything from the PL-259 that plugs into the back of your radio all the way to the tip(s) of the antenna(s), with the connectors, coax, couplers, tuners, meters, amplifiers, bandpass filters, harness (if feeding a paired antenna system), mount(s), and the amount of metal that extends out & away from the base of the antenna at its feedpoint and is connected to the mount.
jbee's question will help narrow things down a bit right off, as he's already familiar with a potential problem that's specific to your model of vehicle. My quasi-rant is more of a general troubleshooting guide.
But to sum up: it's usually a problem with the stuff *after* the radio, rather than the radio itself.
73,
Handlebar

 

Talk to company first before doing anything, (if you're an O/O, disregard that last statement, if you're a L/O, talk to company that is leasing you the truck) then, trash the COAX, Get a new antenna, rewire everything for it. Or have a Technician do it for you. Stock Antanna, stock coax, are garbage. Get a better antenna, and a better coax. It's better to re-install/replace what's there, so you know it's done right, and to remove margin of future error. One single splurge, can save you hundreds later down the road. (Literally) Or your company hundreds later down the road.

You cannot have a vehicle on the road is bad commo. Believe it or not, bad commo capability can have your trucked fixed to a position for months without DoT approval. If you are doing anything related to HAZMAT, or anything that involves $25,000 or more in goods, or traveling state to state or outside the USA with any goods, HAZMAT or not, that bad radio can screw you. And hard. I know of one trucker right now who just got himself a felony operating his truck and crossing the WA/OR border with Diesel Fuel. Without communications with dispatch and/or your companies operations section, they have to toss your truck and all information on it from cargo, to driver, etc. To the Feds to track down.

You can be doing everything right, safely, and soundly. But without open coms, you can go to jail. (Reason being, without documentation, your downed radio can be seen as operator-intentional, for a "black out" to transport HAZMAT or goods to an alternate destination) Get that radio fixed, IMMEDIATELY.

 

what???

am i understanding this right. having a truck w/ a radio that works poorly gets you put in jail? soooo what about these guys who dont even have one. Not trying to be a jerk but Im calling Bravo Sierra on that one. can you elaborate any? how does a cb let you communicate w/ your dispatcher 2,000mi away. thats what a cell phone is for. Again not trying to be rude but this makes zero sense to me. thanx!

 

<whew!> That was a close one. Sounds like the guys in the black helicopters were likely to swoop in on you any minute, if I understand the jist of the rather dire warning a couple of posts ago....


Glad you were able to confirm your original suspicion about the antenna/coax.
73,
Handlebar