A kicker is not gonna help...Its how your ant is set up,mounted,coax,pl259's,where ant is mounted ect.....If you cant rec more than a few miles adding power to get out doesnt help..Maybe its the tech who messed up your radio,fix the issues you have before you asd to them with an amp..
I don't think he has a problem...just lack of power and crappy antenna...amp would still be a plus even with a crappy antenna as long as it's tuned properly.
For a first amp....I would look at the Texas Stars...The 350 or 500. These amps are a little more forgiving if your system is less than perfect...The Texas Star amps are set-up tho for 10 meter, and not 11 meter, so they have to be converted to work with CB...(most shops will do this at no cost, but some may charge a small tune fee)...use to all you had to do is open up the box and move a jumper, but I think now you have to un-solder something or remove a resister...I haven't been inside one of the newer Stars, but I remember reading somewhere that the FCC cracked down on Texas Star for not being hard enough on the mod.
No i bet you he has an issue which is ant related.... If he does then that could hurt the amp then its a bigger issue... Fix any and all antenna issues 1st...What if its a radio problem..Fix that 1st.... Find out why no range 1st before you start slappin bandaids on it.. If he didnt have a radio/ant problem he should be able to get a consistant 8-10 mi unless he was in a vally or middle of the city... If the op buys an amp and only increases his range say even 50% that still only about 10 miles...Think he said he is about 3-5 mi now.. If he buys a amp he needs it matches with a radio..If he cant figure out why he has no range now he is most definately not ready for an amp and all its possible issue... Op needs a multi meter and to get his hands on an analyzer 1st to see where his issues are.. Big boy he can do what he wants but for now i see an amp as a total waste till he learns more..
I'd like to know what this peak and tune is. Is it a 20 watt or 40 watt? That 4 miles maybe all you will get. If you know someone who has some spare antennas laying around you may be able to experiment. I think it has a lot to do with your location. You can get a lot farther with 40 watts in the desert than you can in Indiana. Adding a amp or kicker. Yes you maybe adding a problem on a problem. You will also have to return the Cobra 29 back to stock. The internals can't handle being maxed out, and adding the amp. On my Cobra 29 with a 40 watt tune, 1.4 swr, aftermarket coax, with Wilson 2000, 4' Francis, or 4' Firestik 2. I was only able to get about 6 miles on a good day. But, that is being in North Georgia.
I'm "Assuming" the radio and antenna are both tuned properly...SWR being 1.5 or under... Like I also said, it depends on conditions too on just how far a barefoot radio, or even one hooked up with a Amp can get out...If the noise floor is real high, stations more than 3 or 4 miles away can get covered up, which will reduce how far you can hear and talk...When he said he had made contacts 4 to 5 miles out and thinks maybe one at 20 miles, IMO that rules out a un-tuned antenna and sounds more like just crappy conditions when he was only able to get out a mile or 2... craig_sez you been doing this long enough that you know conditions are everything...You can have the best set-up possible, and be running 10,000w's but still not be able to talk 10 miles if conditions are just in the toilet...Another thing, I don't remember him saying where he's at, but surroundings will also hamper how for you can get out...just allot of variables it sounds like to me that could cause short range... Which brings me back to telling him to buy a amp... "IF" the radio is fine...antenna tuned fine...then a amp will make allot of difference in making contacts to people he hears 10+ miles away, provided the conditions are right... Not allot you can do about Mother Nature...or crowded channels, causing you not to be able to reach out farther than a few miles whether your running power or not. Just have to keep at it. another thing to try is getting on the radio well after dark...noise usually dies down quite a bit after the Sun go's down which makes it easier to make longer distant contacts...
Yes i aggree on conditions but im almost sure there is an amt or radio related issue... An amp rite now till he is sure i think is the wrong suggestion.... You know swr doesnt mean squat other than maken the radio happy..It does not say the ant is correct.... My stryker hooked up on the back of my cab will get me 10 or so miles on a good day with a 10k.. Had my antenna on a pole on the mirror mount no real diff..Added a 22" shaft but still in the door mount helped a lil but still somethin was up.. Not until i did some bonding,got better coax and better connect points and a different ant and tuned it for impedence and resonance did i see the issues..My radio pep's about the 100 watt range or a lil less.. So again his issue is the radio's so called peak n ruin,connections,coax and ant tune vis resonance/impedences.... Anyways..No matter if he listens to me or someone else the problem will get fixed or not..Im sure he will find out at some point..He needs to study,show us his set up,ask questions and we all can make a better suggestions...For now i think he should save his $ on buyin an amp and get a multi meter and buy or borrow a analyzer..
Basically cb specialist in southbend indiana tuned and tweaked it. He took the limiter out and turned it up to 20 watts, I purchased a wilson 1000 magnet mount antenna. It's mounted on a 2005 dodge dakota. He matched the radio to the antenna and also tested it inside the truck and said everything is %100. I'm running a cobra 20 ltd chrome tuned and tweaked at 20 watts with a stock mic and a wilson 1000 magnet mount antenna
There ya go..He took out the limiter..That in itself sez he just screwed up the radio..God know what else he did..
