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Uniden 510xl

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sierrawt09

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I just recently got a 510xl to use in communication with the log trucks in my area as some are not using MURS yet. When I installed the radio I ran the coax from the radio along the floor and out through the vent in the back of the cab to my Firestik mounted on the back rack (Which I know is not the best for performance). I have been trying to troubleshoot a SQL issue where my radio has some interesting interference with my LED light bar mounted on the front bumper. I cannot have the radio turned on and the light bar without turning the SQL more than half-way open causing there to be 3 receive lights lit up on the face of the radio. When I turn the light bar off it acts normal for the most part.

I have not tuned the antenna yet, still waiting on my SWR meter to come in. Not sure if that would make a difference. My MURS VHF antenna is mounted in the same way on the rack with a Laird 1/4 NMO antenna. There are no issues with that one having any interference with the Light bar. Not sure if this CB is really sensitive as the others I have had in the past have not been this finicky.

Secondly I have figured out that I get less interference if I touch the coax at the back of the radio or touch the radio itself. If there are any receive lights lit up on the radio they will go out when I touch the coax or the body of the radio itself. No sure what would cause this to happen.

I would appreciate any help with this, thank you.
 

FiveFilter

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Make sure everything is well grounded. You might be getting some common mode current.

Some LEDs spread RF signals that cause interference. The easiest thing to do is turn them off while using the radio. Other than that, perhaps a different brand or begin experimenting with chokes, etc.
 

jonwienke

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It's not really the LEDs that are the culprit, it's the switching power supply that drives the LEDs. Adding capacitors across the power supply input and output terminals can cut down on RFI, but figuring out the correct values can be a PITA.
 

mmckenna

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Secondly I have figured out that I get less interference if I touch the coax at the back of the radio or touch the radio itself. If there are any receive lights lit up on the radio they will go out when I touch the coax or the body of the radio itself. No sure what would cause this to happen.

I would appreciate any help with this, thank you.

Run a short wire from the CB chassis to the vehicle body. Do not rely on the long negative power lead or coax shield as your only ground. Grounding the radio chassis to the vehicle as closely as you can might help, and it certainly won't hurt.

Also, you didn't say where your CB was powered from, or the LED lights.
Your CB really will like being wired directly to the vehicle battery, not tapped into existing wiring or cigarette lighter plugs.

The AM modulation used by the CB is a lot more sensitive to noise than the FM used by your MURS radio. I'm running several LED lights on a Polaris UTV with a commercial VHF radio and have no issues.

The capacitors on the LED power feed are a good solution. You may have to do all these together to get it to work right.
 

sierrawt09

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Feb 18, 2018
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Thanks for the replies! I do have it powered by a cig. lighter right now. I have a console build in the works for the spring and will change that then to have battery power run the right way. I will try the ground line and see if that helps. I have found another culprit that I unplug when I am using the CB, the cig. lighter USB adapter. When I un plug that the CB noise goes away to almost nothing, the light bar does still affect it but I think with both the LED and the USB plug were acting together to make it really bad.

Thanks for the help!
 

mmckenna

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Thanks for the replies! I do have it powered by a cig. lighter right now. I have a console build in the works for the spring and will change that then to have battery power run the right way. I will try the ground line and see if that helps. I have found another culprit that I unplug when I am using the CB, the cig. lighter USB adapter. When I un plug that the CB noise goes away to almost nothing, the light bar does still affect it but I think with both the LED and the USB plug were acting together to make it really bad.

Thanks for the help!

Ahhh, yes, the cheap USB adapters are a notorious source of noise.
Cigarette lighter sockets are not always the best source of clean power, either.

I think running a dedicated power feed from the battery to your console will be a step in the right direction. Finding a less noisy USB adapter will be another trick.

Grounding the radio chassis is always a good idea, and often gets overlooked. Making sure it's grounded through the mounting bracket or through a dedicated ground wire isn't going to hurt anything, and I've found it fixed some issues.
 
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