Cobra 148 nw st repair/ trouble shooting

[Orbit_Uranus]

Picked up my first cb radio today used off Craigslist owner said it works great!

It's a cobra 148 nw st soundtracker

The channel number light up and so does the meter but not the faceplate like I think it should, also the meter never moves on transmit or receive , I did read the Manuel online n played with all the switches but no meter movement

I did hear one distant transmission on channel 19 but no replies to my radio check calls

Anyone know where to find documents on how to trouble shoot or repair the meter and backlight? I am no radio repair expert and looking for some guidance on where to start looking to learn more about poking around inside the radio.

The price I paid for the radio was 25.00 usd

Thanks!

 

[Orbieswar]

For that sort of $$$ your lucky it even turns on.
I would be getting your power meter and dummy load onto her to see what if anything is transmitting.

 

[Orbit_Uranus]

The meter seems to work this morning, maybe it was just sticky radio seems to work as far as I can tell...

here are some links i found with a service manual and operation manual

Cobra 148NW ST

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/CBRADIO/Cobra_148NWST CB Tranciever_Manual.pdf

Thanks

 

[Dawn]

You probably picked the best radio for aftermarket parts and accessorization. A replacement meter can be purchased from just about any cb supply. Instead of the bulbs/lighting, you'd be much better off replacing all of them with bright white LED's. Most all the cb supply places sell them premade with a series resistor and flying leads as a direct replacement. You're in Fl. Redman should be pretty close to you and probably sells everything you need in one stop or on Ebay.

 

[milkman21218]

What type of antenna are you using? What is your SWR reading? And do you have the Mic gain full right when trying to TX?