A few months ago I installed a CB radio in my truck. Everything seemed fine at first. I was able to get about 10-15 miles of clear transmit no problem. Over the last few months I have slowly experienced a loss of the ability to clearly transmit. At this point when I transmit it sounds like a combination of clicking and Morse code mixed in with barely intelligible voice.
Specs:
Radio: Cobra 18WXSTII
Antenna: FireStik Firefly 4' Fiberglass
Mount:FireStik SS-194A Bedrail Steak-Hole mount
Coax: RG-58 A/U FIRE-FLEX
Truck Body: Alunimum
The mount is grounded via 12 AWG stranded copper wire directly to the frame of the truck. The coax does not appear shorted (ohm meter tested) and the connections are solid. The radio is wired directly to the cab's fuse box (no filters). I had tuned the antenna to around a 1.5:1 SWR when I first installed and I tried to check the tuning again but I am getting SWR readings that seem to be randomly above 3 and then checking again around 1.5.
I had noticed that the handset's cord had pulled out from the connector a bit so I cut the end off and re-soldered it checking for shorts and resistance with an ohm meter. The handset is electrically sound.
The problem that I notice now is aside from the garbled transmissions and lack of range, I am also getting a fair amount of static and seem to have to increase the squelch more and more to drown it out. Another interesting thing to point out is the static seems to be cut in half simply by touching the handset cable. It seems that when I am holding it, the static is nearly gone but when I let go, it comes back to the point where I need to set squelch to about 75%.
Any idea what is going on? I know the radio and antenna is not the best but I was also able to get rather good results a few months ago. Ideas?
Specs:
Radio: Cobra 18WXSTII
Antenna: FireStik Firefly 4' Fiberglass
Mount:FireStik SS-194A Bedrail Steak-Hole mount
Coax: RG-58 A/U FIRE-FLEX
Truck Body: Alunimum
The mount is grounded via 12 AWG stranded copper wire directly to the frame of the truck. The coax does not appear shorted (ohm meter tested) and the connections are solid. The radio is wired directly to the cab's fuse box (no filters). I had tuned the antenna to around a 1.5:1 SWR when I first installed and I tried to check the tuning again but I am getting SWR readings that seem to be randomly above 3 and then checking again around 1.5.
I had noticed that the handset's cord had pulled out from the connector a bit so I cut the end off and re-soldered it checking for shorts and resistance with an ohm meter. The handset is electrically sound.
The problem that I notice now is aside from the garbled transmissions and lack of range, I am also getting a fair amount of static and seem to have to increase the squelch more and more to drown it out. Another interesting thing to point out is the static seems to be cut in half simply by touching the handset cable. It seems that when I am holding it, the static is nearly gone but when I let go, it comes back to the point where I need to set squelch to about 75%.
Any idea what is going on? I know the radio and antenna is not the best but I was also able to get rather good results a few months ago. Ideas?
