tune?

What do you have for antennas ?

There are lots of things that improve performance of a CB radio , proper tuning , good coax cables , good tight clean connections and SWR tuning

 

To get better range and receive on your radio, first off we need to know what type of coax and antenna you are running. If you have those 2 foot little Firesticks and are using some radioshack coax, then you're not going to talk far.

Run the tallest antenna you can and run the best coax you can. I like Wilson antennas, and their 2000 trucker line with some good RG8X coax would probably be enough.

As for adding talk back, that's as simple as soldering a resistor across the PA jack and the ext. speaker jack. Or run a variable resistor so you can dial in how much of yourself you want to hear.

 

And Why do you need talk back?

 

Why do you need to know?

 

ANTENNA ANTENNA ANTENNA the 3 things that determin range ....

As for talk back ( know as " sidetone" to the morse code guys ) I see no reason for it but to each his own ....

 

If you drove truck you would. Many like it because it simply helps them stay awake on lonely 2 lane roads at night. It helps knock them out of the road hypnosis effect allowing their mind to come back to a greater awareness of their surroundings. Also the endless motion of the mike cord makes them go bad quite often and they can hear instantly if there is a problem with their audio. Much better than days of no one ever answering them while they wonder why. I have over decades heard many say things along the lines of talkback is just another stupid feature some people want. As always they either are not a driver long haul or they have not done much of it.

 

I used to think talkback was stupid and unnecessary, until I had it and used it awhile. My experience has proven to me I was wrong and it is a useful mod....IMHO.

 

If for no other reason, you can use it to see if you've accidentally turned on that ridiculous Roger Beep.

 

you can check into having what is called the receive mod also referred to as the Shottkey Diode mod. that mod is highly effective at removing ALOT of background/line noise. i had my 99 done in carlisle pa at DTB radio, it cost me 25 bucks, and it dropped my line noise by 3db during the day. it is incredible.

but be warned, it is not a good idea to have someone to just throw the 4 parts in the radio. the receive has to be realigned, and only competent shops will do this. anyone can grab a soldering iron and play radio tech. just take it and have it done. you will be glad you did.