CB shops, I-10 HOU to NOLA

I wasn't going to do it myself, but since I seem to actually remember more about how they work than I thought, I might do a little more research and dive in.

 

So an update, not that anybody really cares, but it's my thread, so I'll hijack it if I want.

I got to the house, so I put the 949 in. Have a single top loaded 5' fiberglass antenna on a grounded cascadia mirror mount. SWR just under 1.5 (according to the radio, can't find my jumper for my meter, need to pick up a new one) Stock the radio is putting out 5w on the carrier with rf power all the way up. Modulation is maxing out at about 60% on the meter regardless of mic gain/rf power settings. Seems to be getting decent reception, squelch off, rf gain anywhere from 50%-100% depending on how noisey the floor is.
I've been getting good reports on transmit sound and clarity.
Plan is to let it ride as is until I happen to find myself in the vicinity of a good shop with extra time. I will most likely crack it open and turn up the modulation prior to that, and may replace the antenna if run across a decent one for the right price. Also contemplating buying some better tools and meters (pricing oscilloscopes after I post this...I think this might get expensive) and picking up a couple old used radios and some spare parts to see how much damage I can do while I figure out how to do this #### on my own.

 

I'm using an Astatic 636. Very happy with the radio's current performance. I was wondering how accurate the meter was, probably good advice not to mess with it as I'm getting good reports. It bothers me more than it should that it doesn't read accurately though. SWR meters being off doesn't bug me as much because they move so little, and only when checking it. I want to see the modulation meter swing when I talk, just because it's SUPPOSED to.