hood channel mounted cb antenna problem(s)

[niceguy71]

im gonna message the seller later today and see what they say. I did grind a small spot of paint off it around a body screw to run a ground wire to the Trans tunnel. ill see what happens. I know I need something better. I just watched a video that was posted by a pro shop out west, guy has been working on cb's and other electronics for 33yrs! posted aboot 6 months ago. he had the exact same 29ltdnw am/fm I have that was brand spankin new! some trucking company that he does all the cb work for wanted him to open it up and check it out. he did, he hooked his osiliscope antenna analyzer etc up and, out-of-the-box, brand new, it wasn't even hitting 2.5 watts!!!! he said cobra has definitely gotten "lazy" when I comes to power! sooo, if he's gettin less that 2.5 watts outtve a brand new radio, perhaps mine is the same!! he also said that opening up the modulation pot wouldn't really do much because it didn't have enough power to make hardly any difference!!! think im gonna save up the money and possibly go with that radioddity QT40!! I really dig that radio!!!

good idea.... we always get some new guys entering into the forum and they always buy a legal CB radio..... those 4 watt radios are nice little toys.... they get a little range and do all they can do, legally
the smaller the radio the less it seems to do??? don't ask me why... but all those little itty bitty CB's don't receive worth a damn

but if you want a real professional radio that truly works, and talks a long ways off... you buy the Ham radio that has the CB channels.
cheapest one on the market is that Radioddity QT-40 and having40 watts, SSB and NRC makes it Phenomenal!!!!

I like the Cobra 29 .. it's got a good sized case and it receives pretty well and with a good antenna like the Stryker it does a pretty good job.... I've talked to friends that have had them ( bought them at yard sales ) we were able to talk from my Base Station while they drove home 8 to 10 miles.
I put a Radioddity CS-47 ( modified by moving the jumper so it puts out 8 watts) in my friends Jeep... with a Stryker SR-A10 on the hood... we have talked 14.90 miles multiple times on different days

that Stryker antenna should be able to talk to another Stryker antenna with the Cobra 29 over 8 plus miles away.... 8 miles in a straight line is an incredible long distance away... the 9 miles I go to for my tests actually takes me about 14 driving miles ( curves in the road onto and off of on/off ramps ) but 9 miles in a straight line is a long, long, long ways away!!!! for me in my area 9 miles takes me through 4 towns.... so for a stock radio to do that is pretty good! ( it's more the antenna)

why didn't you just call Cobra??????
I gave you the phone number... they say sorry you had a problem with our product... they send you an e-mail and ask for you to send in the proof of purchase with date.. ( 2 year warranty) then they have you ship the radio back and they ship you a brand new one... in 10 days you'd have a brand new Cobra right from Cobra and be done with all of this.... and it would just cost you $20 bucks to ship the package????
why on earth deal with that E-bay seller again???

 

[slowmover]

so for wth ever reason I cant even post pics!! keeps saying "file is to large"

Once taken size images to medium or small when choosing to add a post (bottom right screen button on mine). Helps to crop them to correct size, first.

— It’s because of forums (this and other) I learned to be okay at this.

It sounds like these images would be helpful to the next guy .

 

[niceguy71]

Once taken size images to medium or small when choosing to add a post (bottom right screen button on mine). Helps to crop them to correct size, first.

— It’s because of forums (this and other) I learned to be okay at this.

It sounds like these images would be helpful to the next guy .

to post a picture.... on my computer...

I open the picture and RIGHT click it

scrol down to resize image

drag the resize bar until it's at 60%

click save to a location you can find later

and you should easily up load the picture after that

 

[damion2492]

good idea.... we always get some new guys entering into the forum and they always buy a legal CB radio..... those 4 watt radios are nice little toys.... they get a little range and do all they can do, legally
the smaller the radio the less it seems to do??? don't ask me why... but all those little itty bitty CB's don't receive worth a damn

but if you want a real professional radio that truly works, and talks a long ways off... you buy the Ham radio that has the CB channels.
cheapest one on the market is that Radioddity QT-40 and having40 watts, SSB and NRC makes it Phenomenal!!!!

I like the Cobra 29 .. it's got a good sized case and it receives pretty well and with a good antenna like the Stryker it does a pretty good job.... I've talked to friends that have had them ( bought them at yard sales ) we were able to talk from my Base Station while they drove home 8 to 10 miles.
I put a Radioddity CS-47 ( modified by moving the jumper so it puts out 8 watts) in my friends Jeep... with a Stryker SR-A10 on the hood... we have talked 14.90 miles multiple times on different days

that Stryker antenna should be able to talk to another Stryker antenna with the Cobra 29 over 8 plus miles away.... 8 miles in a straight line is an incredible long distance away... the 9 miles I go to for my tests actually takes me about 14 driving miles ( curves in the road onto and off of on/off ramps ) but 9 miles in a straight line is a long, long, long ways away!!!! for me in my area 9 miles takes me through 4 towns.... so for a stock radio to do that is pretty good! ( it's more the antenna)

why didn't you just call Cobra??????
I gave you the phone number... they say sorry you had a problem with our product... they send you an e-mail and ask for you to send in the proof of purchase with date.. ( 2 year warranty) then they have you ship the radio back and they ship you a brand new one... in 10 days you'd have a brand new Cobra right from Cobra and be done with all of this.... and it would just cost you $20 bucks to ship the package????
why on earth deal with that E-bay seller again???

lol, im gonna call cobra later. sooooo, I had go the local "truck stop" and get some race gas for my sled(I mix 112 octane with 89 octane rec fuel) so I could get it moved from its grave so I could stack wood. anyhow, there were a few truckers gettin diesel so I asked 1 if he'd help. explained my "situation", so we both pulled away from the pumps to the most open area we could, or he could! parked right beside him, went through all 40 channels and, NOTHING!!! all I got was static filled words from him and he got absolutely nothing from me!! even on fm channels! he has some extremely expensive "hop'd up" galaxy hooked to twin whips, idr what brand but they were aboot 5 feet tall off his mirrors. said he had everything professionally installed out east. so, he was nice enough to pull his "well tuned" 29ltd, which was his spare, and let me hook it to my antenna and, it worked, pretty damn good!! I was catchin guys/ppl aboot 8-12 miles away!! so, he put my 29ltdnw on his antennas and, got nothing but static, and couldn't hear me, through his own radio!! sooooo, as he said, "dont waste your "F'in" money on these new cobras, or really any cb's w/o having somebody who has the equipment check them out FIRST! and the radioddityQT40 is a great dependable radio but dont get busted using ham side"!! said his 29ltd is 3yrs old and did pretty much the same thing mines doing!! so he then showed me how to check the coil in my stryker. he opened it up and looked it over and showed me the only thing that can go bad, besides the cable, were where the coils contact points are. even took that dumb led piece out for me cause I didn't want to get pulled over by the cops for using a "handheld device", illegal here in Michigan, cell phone OR cb!! sooooooooo, with that being another strike on my radio, its becoming clear that the problem isnt in my antenna but my BRAND NEW friggin cb🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 I'll get a hold of cobra later, right now I gotta calm down and figure out how to explain it to my wife that the radio is "junk"!! it makes sense, at least to me, given all im getting is static and no transmission on it, BUT, every other radio i hook my antenna to seems to work just fine!! think ya talked me into the radioddity QT40!! I watch aboot 6 vids on it and ppl seem to really like it!! its around $160 on amazon so it'll be a bit before I can afford it!! I'll keep ya updated on it when I get it! until then, I got wood to split, tons of tomatoes to can, and continue to search for someone close enough to me that I can go and actually talk to, IN PERSON, that can help me with this situation!! thanks for all your help support and info on this issue!! truly grateful and appreciate your efforts and everyone else's time 🍻👍👍👍

 

[damion2492]

to post a picture.... on my computer...

I open the picture and RIGHT click it

scrol down to resize image

drag the resize bar until it's at 60%

click save to a location you can find later

and you should easily up load the picture after that

 

[damion2492]

I already tried it and still won't take it.

 

[niceguy71]

I'll get a hold of cobra later, right now I gotta calm down and figure out how to explain it to my wife that the radio is "junk"!!

not hard to talk to the wife and say they sent me a bad radio.... and I'll have to exchange it???? sounds pretty easy to me

you paid a lot of money for the Cobra.... get it replaced and use it for a while or sell it and put the money towards the QT-40

continue to search for someone close enough to me that I can go and actually talk to, IN PERSON, that can help me with this situation!! thanks for all your help support and info on this issue!! truly grateful and appreciate your efforts and everyone else's time 🍻👍👍👍

still searching for someone to help you???
I think we did a good job.... you were having nothing but antenna problems... I told you how to get a fantastic antenna that always works fantastic! (ends people wasting their time and pulling out their hair trying to get an antenna to work) and for cheap money.... you did that and the antenna part of your system is all done.

we told you the radio is the problem and now you have confirmed it again

you know you have 12 volts... so that part of the CB System is done

all you have to do is exchange the CB ( You paid for it and it's under warranty ) so just exchange it, and you're all done other than enjoying your new CB system

 

[K9KLC]

you were having nothing but antenna problems...

What did I miss here, was he having antenna problems before and then switched to the Stryker?

 

[WSAC829]

That was the original reason for this thread. Hood/fender mounted whip antenna not working. Now we know his radios are bad and they were the cause of the issue all along. I’m sure he could reconnect the hood/fender mount and it would now work fine with a known good radio.

 

[damion2492]

not hard to talk to the wife and say they sent me a bad radio.... and I'll have to exchange it???? sounds pretty easy to me

you paid a lot of money for the Cobra.... get it replaced and use it for a while or sell it and put the money towards the QT-40


still searching for someone to help you???
I think we did a good job.... you were having nothing but antenna problems... I told you how to get a fantastic antenna that always works fantastic! (ends people wasting their time and pulling out their hair trying to get an antenna to work) and for cheap money.... you did that and the antenna part of your system is all done.

we told you the radio is the problem and now you have confirmed it again

you know you have 12 volts... so that part of the CB System is done

all you have to do is exchange the CB ( You paid for it and it's under warranty ) so just exchange it, and you're all done other than enjoying your new CB system

I cant afford to pay for the shipping!! I have to drive a hr each way, twice a week to see my cancer drs! while I rarely drive my truck, my other vehicle gets aboot the same fuel mileage! I'll contact cobra nxt wk at the earliest. as for finding ppl to help me, YES, YOU, & OTHERES, have helped a tremendous amount!! YES, ive gotten great advice and direction from you and others on this forum. HOWEVER, im not the best when it comes to technology, especially online conversations! while many call it a "learning disability", I have a hard time comprehending things over the internet, particularly conversations!! I have to hear what ppl say and watch them to better understand what their telling me. I grew up in a garage with a dad who was a machinist mechanic and fabricator! so my "education", if you will, came from hands-on experiences, NOT online forums!! and, its a pretty good idea to actually get to know a person with the skills and abilities that I need, IN PERSON!! I greatly appreciate all the help ive gotten here!! you and others have helped me out and I fully appreciate all who have helped! but regardless, im gonna find a real live human being, in the "flesh" IF POSSIBLE, to continue to educate myself through! I think "online education" is ok at best! but if you look at kids today, especially those that are online more than offline, im sure you can see they're mechanical "attributes" are low, at best! I dont wanna keep having to go online with questions and concerns about my issues! it'd be much easier for me to actually TALK to a human as opposed to typing on a tiny screen and not know if im doing it right because the person telling me what to do isnt readily available to ask immediate questions to!! I'll see if cobra will replace the radio at a later time, due to my severe financial restraints, $20 to me is like $10K to someone else. not being a A'hole, but try living on $1K, A MONTH!! with a wife and 2 teenagers!! not easy!!

 

[damion2492]

That was the original reason for this thread. Hood/fender mounted whip antenna not working. Now we know his radios are bad and they were the cause of the issue all along. I’m sure he could reconnect the hood/fender mount and it would now work fine with a known good radio.

lol, idk if im gonna go back to the hood channel mounted firestik or not. I gotta save up some money and buy a GOOD radio before I start playin around with antennas!! im in a rather "foul mood" over this BS right now!! pretty damn'd sad that you cant trust ppl to sell you good QUALITY products anymore 🤬🤬🤬

 

[K9KLC]

That was the original reason for this thread. Hood/fender mounted whip antenna not working. Now we know his radios are bad and they were the cause of the issue all along. I’m sure he could reconnect the hood/fender mount and it would now work fine with a known good radio.

Ok...thanks.

 

[billdean]

That was the original reason for this thread. Hood/fender mounted whip antenna not working. Now we know his radios are bad and they were the cause of the issue all along. I’m sure he could reconnect the hood/fender mount and it would now work fine with a known good radio.

I am fairly sure it would also. I have a dual antenna system on my f-350 pickup. The NMO27, a drill through mount, mounted on the roof for the CB band and it works assume! I also have a NMO27 hood mount, tuned for 10 meter band and it works assume too. I was using the hood mounted antenna today on 10 meters talking to Spain, Italy and Chile as well as a couple of local (plus 35 mile) radios. They both work though the roof mounted one is in a better position to work better. I couldn't be happier.

 

[K9KLC]

I was using the hood mounted antenna today on 10 meters talking to Spain, Italy and Chile as well as a couple of local (plus 35 mile) radios.

Great when a plan comes together isn't it! Good to see you having a blast on 10, the openings are fun as can be!

 

[niceguy71]

lol, im gonna call cobra later. sooooo, I had go the local "truck stop" and get some race gas for my sled(I mix 112 octane with 89 octane rec fuel) so I could get it moved from its grave so I could stack wood. anyhow, there were a few truckers gettin diesel so I asked 1 if he'd help. explained my "situation", so we both pulled away from the pumps to the most open area we could, or he could! parked right beside him, went through all 40 channels and, NOTHING!!! all I got was static filled words from him and he got absolutely nothing from me!! even on fm channels! he has some extremely expensive "hop'd up" galaxy hooked to twin whips, idr what brand but they were aboot 5 feet tall off his mirrors. said he had everything professionally installed out east. so, he was nice enough to pull his "well tuned" 29ltd, which was his spare, and let me hook it to my antenna and, it worked, pretty damn good!! I was catchin guys/ppl aboot 8-12 miles away!! so, he put my 29ltdnw on his antennas and, got nothing but static, and couldn't hear me, through his own radio!! sooooo, as he said, "dont waste your "F'in" money on these new cobras, or really any cb's w/o having somebody who has the equipment check them out FIRST! and the radioddityQT40 is a great dependable radio but dont get busted using ham side"!! said his 29ltd is 3yrs old and did pretty much the same thing mines doing!! so he then showed me how to check the coil in my stryker. he opened it up and looked it over and showed me the only thing that can go bad, besides the cable, were where the coils contact points are. even took that dumb led piece out for me cause I didn't want to get pulled over by the cops for using a "handheld device", illegal here in Michigan, cell phone OR cb!! sooooooooo, with that being another strike on my radio, its becoming clear that the problem isnt in my antenna but my BRAND NEW friggin cb🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 I'll get a hold of cobra later, right now I gotta calm down and figure out how to explain it to my wife that the radio is "junk"!! it makes sense, at least to me, given all im getting is static and no transmission on it, BUT, every other radio i hook my antenna to seems to work just fine!! think ya talked me into the radioddity QT40!! I watch aboot 6 vids on it and ppl seem to really like it!! its around $160 on amazon so it'll be a bit before I can afford it!! I'll keep ya updated on it when I get it! until then, I got wood to split, tons of tomatoes to can, and continue to search for someone close enough to me that I can go and actually talk to, IN PERSON, that can help me with this situation!! thanks for all your help support and info on this issue!! truly grateful and appreciate your efforts and everyone else's time 🍻👍👍👍

oh brother...... the CB Gods just don't like you Damion2492

I kind of twisted your arm to get the Stryker so you would have an idiot proof great working antenna....

I wanted you to have an antenna that you could just, ....put it on the roof and be pretty sure it will work great.... no wondering if it's got a good ground plane ...... or if the SWR is good enough to key up the mic..... or will the antenna talk for 8 to 12 miles

you had that and didn't have to worry about your antenna system anymore.

then using a new CB, just plug the great antenna into the back of the CB... 12 volts from the battery... the negative wire, direct to ground as close as possible to the radio... and presto.... you have a good working CB System

sadly you opened up the radios and played with them before making sure everything worked.... nothing wrong with making a modification... but generally you only do that weeks or months after everything is proven working....

sadly you also cut the antenna before you could even get the SWR meter to work ( whips are $15 bucks but have to be adjusted.. the factory one is very close to perfect 62.50 inches the replacement ones are 66 inches... the shipping on the huge Stryker whip is generally $35 bucks or more... so if it was cut too short replacing it will cost $50 bucks... ... the whole antenna cost $100 so $50 bucks to get another whip really sucks.
sounds like it was still working good enough with the truckers radio... so you hopefully avoided a problem there.

sadly again.... now you have had a truck driver take the Stryker SR-A10 apart I believe the antenna is sealed from the factory to keep water from getting into it... it has a good warranty... but now the little blue light has been removed and it's been opened up too???? I thought you could enjoy using the antenna for a few months before playing with it

it was a good idea to have the truck driver test the antenna.. good job on that..... and as you said it worked great 8 to 12 miles is Awesome....
but opening up a proven good working antenna.... this may come back to bite you later on.... I hear guys that open up the Stryker generally get water in it, and it shorts out.....

if you get everything sorted out... try to put some 100% silicone on the antenna to keep the water out.

I will be crossing my fingers for you

 

[slowmover]

The roof mount is superior to hood or trunk or bumper mount in every way.

Glad you found a real truck driver.

Flash Bundle Sale (click)

.

 

[slowmover]

“ . . I dont wanna keep having to go online with questions and concerns about my issues! it'd be much easier for me to actually TALK to a human as opposed to typing on a tiny screen”.

It’s everyone’s problem. So?

There’s no guarantee I’ll ever run into that knowledgeable guy.

You've gotten better at this.

No effort is wasted.

FWIW, I’ve read www.k0bg.com front to back at least five times since circa 2018. I don’t know how often on certain sections when I’m inside problems.

Y’all may think I post a lot, but it pales compared to time spent reading (other places as well). Better questions provide better answers.

Hey, I heard Tony Pepperoni @K9KLC on Skip today running 500W or so (that wasn’t you, Brooklyn accent? Shoulda heard this somaro). Understand that there’s those online, in person, and on-air will F you up. On a forum their words are there to examine and re-examine. First time thru won’t get the whole pizza. Or dissuasion, discouragement and derision can be present but not obvious. Till re-read.

Written word is power. Memory. Sharp edge.

Same when it comes to operating the radio — unless you have military or flight or marine radio experience — just following the crowd will be a hindrance. There’s an order to things. Good luck coming across that guy on-air. You'll be learning that, Solo.

Things are yielding to your persistence.
Keep faith.

.

 

[K9KLC]

I heard Tony Pepperoni @K9KLC on Skip today running 500W or so (that wasn’t you, Brooklyn accent? Shoulda heard this nook)

lol nope. Wasn't me. Also no Brooklyn accent here.

 

[slowmover]

lol nope. Wasn't me. Also no Brookline accent here.

Decided somaro was better.

Yeah, I know it wasn’t you. Pulling your leg. Brookline or Brooklyn. But he was full of radio advice

Reading removes barriers that arise from having a man in front us ain’t family

11M SSB is full of the dumb ones some days. Worst part about the QSO game is listening to it. Lies, stoopidity and disrespect re the tech much, much, too often.

Even voice is a problem

(F’n hilarious example below)

Bump to 23:00

https://archive.liveatc.net/kjfk/ZNY-COL-KEN-Sep-16-2025-1400Z.mp3

“Get off the iPad!” warns air traffic control as Spirit flight nears Air Force One

Do not be slow to comply with ATC instructions.

arstechnica.com

Written words stand alone.

@mmckenna earned angel wings, above.
That was awesome. 👍🏻

.

 

[damion2492]

oh brother...... the CB Gods just don't like you Damion2492

I kind of twisted your arm to get the Stryker so you would have an idiot proof great working antenna....

I wanted you to have an antenna that you could just, ....put it on the roof and be pretty sure it will work great.... no wondering if it's got a good ground plane ...... or if the SWR is good enough to key up the mic..... or will the antenna talk for 8 to 12 miles

you had that and didn't have to worry about your antenna system anymore.

then using a new CB, just plug the great antenna into the back of the CB... 12 volts from the battery... the negative wire, direct to ground as close as possible to the radio... and presto.... you have a good working CB System

sadly you opened up the radios and played with them before making sure everything worked.... nothing wrong with making a modification... but generally you only do that weeks or months after everything is proven working....

sadly you also cut the antenna before you could even get the SWR meter to work ( whips are $15 bucks but have to be adjusted.. the factory one is very close to perfect 62.50 inches the replacement ones are 66 inches... the shipping on the huge Stryker whip is generally $35 bucks or more... so if it was cut too short replacing it will cost $50 bucks... ... the whole antenna cost $100 so $50 bucks to get another whip really sucks.
sounds like it was still working good enough with the truckers radio... so you hopefully avoided a problem there.

sadly again.... now you have had a truck driver take the Stryker SR-A10 apart I believe the antenna is sealed from the factory to keep water from getting into it... it has a good warranty... but now the little blue light has been removed and it's been opened up too???? I thought you could enjoy using the antenna for a few months before playing with it

it was a good idea to have the truck driver test the antenna.. good job on that..... and as you said it worked great 8 to 12 miles is Awesome....
but opening up a proven good working antenna.... this may come back to bite you later on.... I hear guys that open up the Stryker generally get water in it, and it shorts out.....

if you get everything sorted out... try to put some 100% silicone on the antenna to keep the water out.

I will be crossing my fingers for you

local truck stop has the whip for $30, and its aboot 6 miles each way, might cost me $3-4 in gas, much cheaper than $20+ for shipping from stryker!! I didn't open the 29ltdnw until after all the issues I was having with the hood channel mounted antenna and im aboot 99.99% positive the 29lxwas bad from the start given i only paid $15. as far as opening the antenna case, its a fairly simple process, you just take the piece that holds the whip in place off, 1 little rubber "O ring" then the outter shield slides off. as for the light diode, its a small round circuit board, aboot the size of a quarter. AND, given the fact that i dont have any other used equipment to look at, I figured wth, might as well use what ive got. took aboot a minute and half to disassemble, aboot the same to reassemble. I looked up the schematics on it as well as a few vids and we didn't do anything different than what stryker would've done. in Michigan, using ANY handheld devices is a instant ticket, not even a warning!! and since that damn thing lit up when the mic is keyed, given just how simple it was to remove that circuit board, and that particular ticking cost $100 for the 1ST offense, the antenna was $100, really what difference does it make? besides, its MY EQUIPMENT, & MY MONEY! if I had another sr a10 to look at, I'd have done it. if I had another 29ltdnw to open up, I'd have done it! I learned how to rebuild engines by tearing good engines apart! if ya ain't nothing to start with, and your trying to learn how to "fix" things, or get a better understanding as to how they work, ya use what ya got!!! the antenna worked just fine after re-assmembly, however the radio in question didn't work from the beginning, so by me opening it up and crankin the mod pot obviously didn't change anything! I dont care about the whole damn setup, its mine, I bought it, if I "F'd" it up, oh well, thats MY PROBLEM! sometimes learning can be an expensive "experience", as im finding out! I'll buy a new radio, and, if needed, since my local truck stop has the sr a10 whip, ill go buy another one! as far as the cobras go, well, through a lot of searching ive found a fella aboot a hr away that has 21yrs experience with ham and cb radios!! he's in the same general area as my cancer drs so its not that far!! we emailed a few times and he's more than happy to help me! I told what I had, and what you told me to get. he agreed! and also said the same thing aboot the cobra store on ebay and how ppl are easily fooled by that!! so, when time, and money permit, im gonna go see him and have him assist me with this situation!!