CB Questions

[NMTerras]

Not really 18ft is ideal like you said but i was still getting a 1.5 on the meter which isnt to bad but im using a stainless antenna that has alot of adjustability in it. Another thing is the excess coax you loop in a big circle instead of a tight bundle.

Im no expert but my old mans a trucker,so is my stepdad & several family friends as well as myself. When your around something all the time you pick up things. I still want to learn how to peak/tune radios myself so i dont have to pay to get another one done.

I have a stainless antenna also, and I ended up pulling the tip and cutting off like half an inch to get it to tune right, and that was with 18' of cable (maybe it was slightly longer). But it took me forever, and lots of frustration, before I finally figured out to snip off part of the antenna to make it work

 

[midget]

Difference might have been somewhere else then but i dont have a clue lol. Mines mounted down on the bumper & the coax is ran down the passenger side of the to my cobra 29 102" antenna. I lnow with the 18ft i used to have it got right down to 1 on the meter & it wont do that now.

 

[TKDx00]

Tuning a radio is plane and simply a PIDA!!! You have numerious variables that have to come together at the same time to make it work. AND one of those variable YOU have no control over. Cable length, cable construction, connector connection, antenna, antenna length, antenna connection, antenna gound, radio, radio condition, radio location, antenna location, cable position, your position when you key the mic to test, any metal around you when you do key and lastly...weather: sunny, cloudy, windy, sun spot. Oh I forgot...other cables or radios in the vehicle, other power sources, a heater(amp), has the radio been tweeked(more than 4w) or modified.

Once you get everything lined up properly and get a good meter read(1.4 or less on 1, 18, 40), don't ever take the connections apart for storage or change antenna or radio... nothing, cause if you do, guess what, you gotta tune it all over again when you put it back together.... PIDA !!!

I got into the habit of leaving my meter in the loop when I use my Pres. Jackson. It has 800 channels and shoud be using 5 different antennas.

 

[midget]

Oo just to put this out there for newbs or anyone that just spaced off like I did when i first put the cb in my x.
If you have rca cables run them down the opposite side of the truck as the coax or you will get feedback through your speakers. I had a real homer simpson moment lol.

 

[KChurch86]

Gonna dig up this thread for the good of the community (or at least the good of myself )

I've got a Cobra DX 19 IV. I want to add a PA speaker, but I don't know which to get because I cannot find the output impedance anywhere - is it 4 ohm or 8 ohm?

Anyone?

 

[J Everett]

PA speakers generally have their own on-board amplifier, say 5 or 10 watts. So you don't need to match the impedance to the radio; the output is a preamp signal.

 

[KChurch86]

PA speakers generally have their own on-board amplifier, say 5 or 10 watts. So you don't need to match the impedance to the radio; the output is a preamp signal.

Thanks man.

Next question...

Will one PA (a 4 ohm model) sound better/louder than another PA (an 8 ohm model)?

 

[J Everett]

Not really.

 

[KChurch86]

Alright then, between those two answers I think I know everything I needed to. Thanks J!

Gonna pick up a nice marine unit from Amazon, had to get a couple other things from there anyway and they seem to have some good deals.

 

[J Everett]

Happy to help!


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