CB squeal

Disclaimer: I am new to CB radios and electronics so please be patient and dumb it down for me.

I recently hooked up CB radio and it worked fine for 15 hours. Then when receiving transmission from a friend I get major squeal. I've tried adjusting the gain and the SQ levels without luck. Also the CB radio is currently hooked up to a 12 volt cigarette lighter so no ground to be adjusted.

When my friend transmits my CB radio RF signal goes off the charts.

Any help?

 

I'm far from knowledgeable on cb's but I had one in my old pathfinder and eventually want to instal it in the taco.
What I do know is that you're NOT supposed to coil the excess antenna cable....and poor grounding can also be an issue.
Also you want to tune the antenna with an swr meter.

Any chance those could be the culprit?

Poke around here:
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm

 

Thanks for the advice and link!
I coiled the coax so I'll try that first. I have an SWR meter and will do that when I get to an open area. Is there anything I can check for ground? I simply have it hooked up to the 12V cigarette lighter.

 

Coiling up the excess antenna cable is a major no-no and may be causing the problem.


http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/CB_Inst_FAQ.htm



Q The antenna I bought claims to be pre-tuned. Do I need to do anything?
A Yes. You must tune your antenna to your vehicle. The antenna is pre-tuned on a test bench to make certain it is within the general frequency specifications. It will be somewhat different on your vehicle because of the difference in the ground plane and surroundings. Always check your antenna ... even if you move it from one location on your vehicle to another.

Q Can I use any kind of wire to hook my antenna to my radio?
A No! For single antenna installations we recommend RG-58 A/U type coaxial cable. If you are running dual antennas (co-phased) you must use RG-59 A/U type coax. Make sure you buy the best cable too. We see numerous problems caused by low grade coax. Don't cut corners when it comes to coax.


Q Is the length of the coax cable important?
A We find that it is very important ... especially with high performance top-loaded antennas. Your safest bet is to use 18 feet (5.5 meters) coaxial leads on all of your CB installations.

Q I only needed 9 feet of coax to go from my radio to my antenna. How should I handle the excess?
A What ever you do, do not roll it into a small convenient coil. It will become an RF choke. If you cannot let it lie loose under a seat or in a headliner, wrap it into a yarn-like skein of about 12 to 16 inches, put a wire tie in the center and tuck it under your dash, seat, etc.

Q My system has very high SWR, but I only talk very short distances. Since distance isn't important, should I be concerned about high SWR?
A Absolutely! High SWR will limits distance and may cause serious damage to your transmitter. The time spent tuning your antenna is time well spent. Don't take the chance.

Q What is are the most common errors you find on CB installations?
A In order of most to least common, 1) antenna not tuned to vehicle, 2) mounting locations chosen for convenience or appearance versus effectiveness, 3) coax cable ... low quality, worn out, wrong length, or severely pinched, 4) standard antennas used on vehicle with no ground plane instead of special no-ground-plane system.

Q There are a lot of different antennas available for CB. Are some better than others?
A Without a doubt, top loaded antennas are better than center loaded antennas, and center loaded antenna are better than base loaded antennas. Also, within each style, the taller the antenna the better it will generally perform.

Q How important is it to have the antenna mount grounded to the vehicle?
A Unless you are using a no-ground plane system, it is extremely important. Ungrounded mounts will usually cause SWR to be high across all channels.

Q I am using a Firestik no-ground plane (NGP) antenna system and the mirror arm I mounted it to is grounded to the vehicle. Do I need to insulate it?
A No! We already took care of that with the design. The NGP systems will operate the same regardless of whether or not the mount is grounded.

Q I have a couple of different antennas and I've noticed that there are times when one works better over long distances than the other. However, it isn't consistent, Why is this happening?
A Every antenna design has a different angle of radiation and it stays pretty constant unless the antenna is moved. What keeps changing is the ionosphere height. Your signal is bouncing off of the ionosphere and the varying height of it changes the angle at which the signal bounces back to earth. You have no control over this. An antenna might work long distances on one day, and not the next.

Q I've tried to find some books that will teach me how to set my SWR, process coax connectors and offer some tips on antenna installations. Most of what I've seen is pointed towards the engineer or technician. Do you know where I can find some help that is written in layman terms?
A We know the problem. Firestik wrote a simple book titled "Measuring SWR and Things Every CB'er Should Know" to help you better understand antenna installations. The entire contents of that publication is available on this web site under various headings that are accessable from our Tech Help page. Printed copies are available from the factory for $3.00. If you purchased a Firestik antenna or complete antenna kit, send in the UPC and $1.00 to obtain the booklet.


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It's highly unlikely that a squeal on receive is caused by an antenna issue. Every time I hear about 18' of coax and not coiling the excess, I want to go off on why it's BS. Anyway, back to your question.

Was your engine running and did the squeal change with the RPM of the engine? It could be alternator whine. Usually the fix is to run your power wires directly back to the battery.

Does your radio have SSB capability? If you had it set to SSB and your friend was transmitting AM, you might hear the carrier. It would sound like a constant tone.

How close was your friend when you got the squeal? Was he by any chance using an amp? If he was right next to you he could be overloading your receiver.

"When my friend transmits my CB radio RF signal goes off the charts." Does this mean that the received signal strength meter is at max?

 

Squealed with or without the engine on and sounded the same at all RPMs. I have the Uniden 520XL which I don't think has SSB capability (google searched).

My friend was at varying distances and does not use an amp. Yes, S/RF meter was a max when receiving.

I unraveled the coax and had another person transmit and received just fine. I'll have to see if it fixed with my other friend mentioned previously.