CB radio help

So I just installed a cobra 19 cb and today was my first using using it. Just me and one other person using one off-road. When he would transmit, all I could hear was a squealing noise and sometimes a siren type sound. Also he said he couldn't pick me up on his when this happened.

Mine is powered directly to battery. Extra coax looped then tied in the middle (like a figure 8). 6' whip adjustable antenna mounted on bare metal mount.

Is this a problem with my cb?? If so what do I do to make it not happen?

 

Did you install it? Check SWR?

 

Did you tune your antenna's swr and what do you have your radio grounded to?

 

good advice above,, make sure to have it weel grounded,, also check swr .. a little willy by Wilson makes for a great car/truck pipe... rather than a whip.. once ur swr is set for the whip then worry bout ur swr for the cb... howlong is ur co-ax (total feet)?????

 

^ 18' coax is recommended

 

I installed an tried tuning myself. Swr is about 2.5, I know is high but couldn't seem to get it closer to 1.

My radio is wired, power and ground, directly to the battery. The antenna itself isn't grounded

Coax is an 18' if I'm not mistaking

 

when u key it up does the ant lite stay on

 

the antenna needs a good ground as well and that will help lower your swr's. your mount should be on a good ground or you can run an additional ground for the antenna

 

also un loop ur co-ax and try it.. never wind up ur co ax

 

I've havent noticed an ant. light but when the mic is keyed it shows the tx with the bars (look like cell service bars)

 

What side does a direct ground wire run to? Bottom side of the stud mount?

 

I have a cobra 19 cb as well and was having trouble with the same thing try like was said unloop your coax and make sure your antenna mount is gounded good. I have my firestik mounted at the end of my bed by the tailgate with a door jam mount and it works great now. Mount was only 16 bucks from Amazon.

 

it goes stud to ground / mount then plastic washer then flat washer lock washer antenna

 

it should look like this.

 

thanks for posting this! I'm currently having a different issue with my 19 that i'm hoping will be fixed when the SWR meter gets here and I can tune it....

and in terms of grounding.. what kind of whip are you running? I ask because firestik gives diagrams on their site for how to ground specific mounting methods as well as types of coax

EDIT: also, if you end up finding that you're haven a problem with the mount, buy a piece of steel flat bar from home depot or lowes and make one. That's what I did and know i've got a great ground, strong mounting point, and it only cost me about $8... just a thought

 

I'm not sure the specifics on the antenna since it was one given to me but it's got the adjustment screw on the bottom to raise/lower it.

I am currently running a mount off of my bed bar so I may need to sand the paint where the mount is. With the mount here, would it be better to run a direct ground for the antenna?

 

just for note...anyone else who reads this post,,, go to a local (big) truck-stop in ur area a lot of them have cb shops.. they will calibrate ur swr for the radio and ant,,, also can fine tune and peak ur cb for about 20.00... remember the max allowed from stores is about 5watts... peak and tune with swr calibrate will help u achieve max range with ur unit.. I currently run 35watts with a maxx force 300watt kicker in my big rig. and again just my 2 cents.. a little willy by Wilson resolves a lot of these problems,, other than the bros here that off road with low trees... magnet mounts come loose with heavy branches...

 

no need to sand,,, un screw it,, raise the rod very very little,, re-tight,, and check ur swr

 

^X2

 

Ok thanks for the help. I will adjust the antenna and unloop the coax and hopefully that'll take care of my issue. Being my first cb I'm not sure of the 'quirks' that they are sensitive to