CB Not Working: Antenna Issues(???)

I decided to hook up a CB to my personal 4 wheel vehicle. I bought a brand-new Cobra 29 Chrome off of a friend & I had gotten the antenna components from a Pilot Travel Center. I didn't think I'd need a whip as big as the ones on my rig, so I just bought a 2 1/2' fiberglass whip & a 12' co-ax. The antenna is one of those clamp style ones & I have it mounted on the bumper of my Super Duty. The co-ax is nice & tight on the antenna & the CB ends.

Now, the CB turns on/off fine, but I'm not getting any noise & the ANT light isn't on. I've checked both ends of the antenna wire & made sure the antenna was mounted firmly on the base & I'm still not getting anything. Did I mount the ant in a bad spot or is the ant &/or the co-ax a piece of crap? If it makes any difference, the company that man'd the antenna & co-ax is Truck Spec. Thanks in advance.

 

This may sound dumb. But what is the setting of each switch & knob? And a 2 1/2 ft antenna is by no means the best. In fact it's one of the worst antennas for CB.

 

2.5 ft antenna bumper mounted aint gonna hear diddly

 

Especially check the Ch 9 / 19 switch. This switch causes dead receive when dirty or misaligned. Would probably be a good idea to spray all switches and tuner down with contact cleaner.

Are you sure the radio is brand new? Did you see the radio working before you bought it?

Antenna light should come on when SWR reads 3:1 or higher, but these lights can easily go out of whack. Have you calibrated and read SWR via the radio's meter? What value is it showing?

 

Thanks a lot, guys. I stopped # Pilot again & scooped up a Truck Spec magnet mounted antenna & now I'm finally talking to people. Just gotta do some tuning. Now; on a Cobra 29, I don't have a squelch knob. Which one of these knobs controls the squelch?

 

Just about all CB's have a squelch knob...Even the "Cheap ones"

Yours will be the outer ring on the volume knob....Turn it clock-wise to squelch out what your hearing...Comes in handy when talking to someone who is very close to you...Thats about it...

 

what is the diameter of the mag net you got ?

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM173753621P?prdNo=23&blockNo=23&blockType=G23 is that what you have because that seems like a cheap antenna