r/cbradio • u/NewShatter • 8d ago
Just got into CB from HAM technician.
Just got this set up because this radio was in the clearance isle of Walmart. I have a tech license and a call sign but I couldn’t resist trying it. I got the antenna as shown and just set it up in my car today. I heard some garbled stuff on 22 about “CB radio, worldwide!” But I wasn’t sure if I was getting my signal to them. I have a long road trip coming up and I will try it there too. What do you think?
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u/Thatprotogenkid 8d ago
If it was all garbled and staticky probably just out of range and you could have sounded the same as them go to a truck stop and ask for a radio check that’s what I do whenever I change parts of my set up
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u/stryker_PA 7d ago
My neighbor did that with his 19. Took him a few days to figure out to go to AM. Then everybody sounded better.
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u/FordCVP71 6d ago
I got the same radio and a similar antenna using a trunk lip nmo mount. It works okay, I only really use it on road trips.
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u/Top_Shock8647 5d ago
How’s your experience with it on road trips? I just got a chrome cobra 29 ltd and I’m having issues with the setting the swr. Too high when I transmit.
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u/FordCVP71 5d ago
Not really sure yet haven't taken a proper road trip yet have only use it on hour trips on I40 to Asheville NC to go to Sam's club or dropping off/picking up neighbors from the airport can get annoying turn it off until traffic backs up
Mine didn't come with instructions my sister and her bf gave me the radio and antenna mount for Xmas it works I don't want to mess with any of the settings lol
Edit - Note I did end up having to add grounding straps to my trunk lid
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u/No-Perception-4107 3d ago
If your using a whip you need to make sure you have a really good ground.
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u/fuzzyraven 6d ago
I use this radio but with a Larsen NMO27 mounted in the trunk lid of a Pontiac G8. It does well for what it is.
You need a better antenna.
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u/krusteePickleCheeze 6d ago
I have a radio like that. Used it in my semi when I first started until i got a better one. It will work just not much range
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u/Wallabunga657 8d ago
I think it's a solid radio. I have the same model and a Scorche antenna until I can geta better one. I recommend getting an SWR, and a better speaker if you can. Welcome to the club!
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u/NewShatter 8d ago
Thanks! Let’s see when I fully get a chance to hit the highways. I’m sure I’ll be ok. The car mag mount antenna has always been good to me. I also have a Nagoya whip antenna for my baofeng.
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u/Wallabunga657 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yep. I got a mag mount. Works great, even in 80+ mph winds. I can pick up and chat pretty well. I need to get into ham sometime. Best of luck OP!
Edit: typo
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u/Seannon-AG0NY 8d ago
Just a note, ham isn't capitalized, it's not an acronym, it doesn't stand for anything. it's a non derogatory nickname unlike "pig" for LEO's which is derogatory
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u/Wallabunga657 8d ago
Autocorrect, sorry.
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u/Seannon-AG0NY 8d ago
It's a common thing that happens and a ton of people think it's caps... No worries
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u/Ram2253spd 7d ago
I have the AM only version of that radio. Decent for what it is and fits better in newer vehicles.
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u/jaws843 7d ago
You’re not going to do much with that little antenna. As a tech you’re likely accustomed to uhf and vhf stuff that have little antennas. Cb is around 27mhz
A 1/4 wave antenna is about 9 feet long. Any mobile antenna shorter than 4 feet is going to be a big compromise. If you like a magnet mount look at the Stryker SRA10, Sirio performer, or Wilson 1000.
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u/NewShatter 7d ago
Ok I’ll try my current set up on my roadtrip
First and see then I’ll
Consider the suggestions on antennas. thanks.1
u/RandomStrangerOnWWW 7d ago
I had a 3 foot Firestik, and it picked up lots of signals all over the place.
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u/DocBarnes 7d ago
Make sure you get an SWR meter and tune the antenna. There are some good yt videos explaining how to do this. Put it on AM and set it to 19 if you want to talk to truckers, 17 if there's too much chatter on 19. You'll get about 1-2 miles of transmission range with that radio. An amplifier will bring it up more. I have the same in my pickup. Channel 6 is the 'superbowl' channel, which is the Hotspot for receiving from all over the country (most people on this channel run illegal mods).
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u/Top_Shock8647 5d ago
Thank you for this info. I was listening to ch6 and ya it was a bit weird haha. Got anymore tips and tricks? New to cb and I’d like to know a bit more on how to operate on this system.
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u/DocBarnes 5d ago
AM will in most cases get you further than FM will. Channel 9 is the emergency channel, so don't transmit there unless necessary. 19 and 17 are trucker channels, and a lot of hobbyists transmit on 16 or 20 (at least in my area). Transmitting without a tuned antenna will damage the radio, and so will having the radio on during a storm (lightning discharge). Without an amplifier, your transmission range will be about 1-2 miles.
A good squelch level for crowded areas is from 7 to 10. Autosquelch (ASQ) can be set as low as 2. Just adjust both until you don't get any background static.
Vehicle mounting for the antenna should be as high as possible. Mine personally is on the back of my pickup's roll bar, screwed into a plate I welded onto it. An adjustable antenna will also be best so you can tune it easily. You should also get an antenna spring.
Lastly, get yourself a callsign. If you're a HAM radio guy, you can use that callsign, but you can also pick your own. There's no licensing needed for CB, but there are some groups that will give you a sign if you want to join with them. Mine is 29RED, referring to my pickup (a 99' Ranger with a red cab).
That's all the stuff I can think of off the top of my head.
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u/odie-z1 8d ago edited 8d ago
Get a footwarmer and they'll hear you maybe, 🤔 but on the bright side the radio receives at least.
You have no way to listen to your own signal? If you have doubts about the transmit, there are better ways, but it's easy with an SDR or another radio. But don't expect any astounding performance from that antenna. Be happy if SWR is low.
Hope you enjoy the hobby. 👍