CB issues

[2Greys]

Turned on my CB today and noticed I am not getting any noise out of it except a small click when squelch is adjusted. No static, nada, zilch, nothing. Did some continuity testing and it looks like there is no continuity between the base of the antenna and the tip which is no surprise since I have probably banged the shit out of it in a parking garage over the last couple years being too lazy to take it off.
The question I have is, I would have assumed that there would be static even with no...

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[Kunker]

I'm not familiar with the firestick but could you not thread your regular antenna in for testing?

 

[2Greys]

Good idea but unfortunately the thread is different. I guess I could try a coat hanger maybe?

 

[Kunker]

It was worth a shot.

 

[mudturtle]

if your swr is low(antenna out of ajust)it will do that,,and depending on what u have for a antenna some have a dyod inside the base that will blow,,,that and it could be your squelch switch inside radio is gone aswell,,,id try another antenna first

 

[2Greys]

The antenna is the Firestik 4ft model. I know the antenna is definitely shot as there should be continuity between the base and the tip and there isn't any. I can get a new one from these guys for $25. If I could figure out for sure that the cb is shot then I can at least order a new cb from there as well and get it all dealt with. However I just checked their shipping rates and it looks like it doesn't matter if I bundled them (actually it looks like it is cheaper if I ordered them separately). May just order an antenna anyways.

 

[Twinkie]

Richard has a cb & antenna for sale. If he comes to the meeting, maybe he could bring the antenna for you to test with (K40 mag mount). And maybe he could bring the cb and sell it to you when you find out your cb is shot. LOL

 

[2Greys]

Lol. Thinking about it I think I can fix the antenna myself. Just need to remove the wrap around it and see where the connection broke.

 

[mudturtle]

if u new some1 with a swr meter that would tell u for sure if its the antenna

 

[mudturtle]

i have 2 put a bit far as im in renfrew

 

[2Greys]

if u new some1 with a swr meter that would tell u for sure if its the antenna

Forgot to mention as I have one, when I hooked it up I set it to infinite in FWD and then changed it to SEL and it was at the same spot. Thing is I would have expected that there would be noise or static without the antenna hooked up and squelch set to low

 

[Richard]

Richard has a cb & antenna for sale. If he comes to the meeting, maybe he could bring the antenna for you to test with (K40 mag mount). And maybe he could bring the cb and sell it to you when you find out your cb is shot. LOL

Thanks for the plug and I don't mind bringing them for you to debug your's.

The static noise is normally picked up by the antenna and since this noise is normally undesired the CB unit is otherwise shielded against it. So your lack of noise without an antenna is a good sign!

To test your CB connect a long wire (~9 feet) to the center post of the CB coax connector as a temporary antenna, don't worry about the outer shield connection.


the fact that you're not getting any without an antenna shows that the CB is well designed to shield out undesired noise.

 

[2Greys]

Thanks Richard I will try it tonight. I may even be able to fix the antenna. I just have to see what is what under the wrapping on it.

UPDATE: I took some the heatshrink off and found the wire that coils around the shaft had disconnected from the tip. I resoldered it and made sure I had continuity from tip to shaft and hooked it back up. I was also able to get the SWR to 1.3 for both channels 1 and 40. But still no sound out of it. If anyone has a CB can they bring it tomorrow to do a quick test? Thanks!