intermittent audio problem

[scottish558]

Hey everyone, I've done allot of reading here but have not come across a problem like this, I just replaced my old Firestik Antenna with a new Model: FS5. I have my antenna mounted on a 1978van on the side mirror, it is properly grounded . The swr's are low 1.5 and .7 according to my external swr meter ( MICRONTA 21-525B Field Strength Tester and SWR CB Meter),
the reading on the internal swr meter on a brand new uniden 980 is a little bit different (I think 1.7 and 1.2 on ch 40 and ch 1 respectively). All the coax was tested for shorts (none) . The problem I am having is intermittent audio on transmit. I have a uniden radio scanner set up at my house recording channel 20 on cb band and I will go for a drive around the block and come back and listen to the recording and it will be cutting in and out, tried different mikes ,no difference. sounds like a loose connection but it does happen sometimes when the van is not running and standing still. Also even though the audio is in and out I dont have any distance at all past a mile , nothing. Do you have any ideas what it could be , I have had many Firestik Antennas over the years on different vehicles and have never had any problems, this last one I ran for over 16 years with no problems, but I replaced it (with a Model: FS5) because it was the last "old" thing in my setup. Please help. thanks

 

[jtsmith82391]

My guess would be that there's too much signal reaching the scanner. I'm not sure how much input wattage a scanner can handle. Try using a cb in place of your scanner.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

[scottish558]

thanks for the reply

When i am in my driveway the recording is the loudest and and most constant (unbroken) as i move further away it seems like it breaks up, If i do a number count 1 through 10 it seems to cut out halfway through the number and again on the next number.

 

[scottish558]

sorry in the first post i mentioned i tried a different mike (stock Uniden) with no change in audio, I meant to say that the audio with the stock mike sounded unbroken but very low at 1 mile away. When i hooked up the EC 2018cxtreme mic at that distance my audio cuts out like i had described, tried turning mike gain down to 2 on the cb but no difference, turned the adjustment on the back of the mic to 1/4 turn , no difference.

 

[WA0CBW]

I would also vote for a problem with the scanner and not the radio. The scanner could be overloaded by other signals causing it to cut out. Talk to someone on the air and see if they also hear the cut out.
BB

 

[jtsmith82391]

What brand/model is your CB? Is it stock or has it been tuned? I assume you're not running any kind of amplifier since you didn't mention any?

(At least your swr is good, that's where I always run into problems lol)

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

[mmckenna]

So, what kind of antenna are you using on the scanner?

 

[scottish558]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'm running a stock Uniden 980 with an EC 2018 xtreme mic on a mirror mounted 5' Firestik. On the scanner I have a Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna
(Cat. No. 20-176) . I receive cb communications on the scanner antenna even though it says 108Mhz is the lowest it is rated for. Like I said with the stock mike the audio recording is not broken up just low, switch over to the EC 2018 and I have problems. I saw a youtube video of someone with the same mic and radio and he sounded great , stock at 5 miles away. I'm thinking it is the EC 2018 mic.has anyone ever heard of a power mike causing this kind of a problem?

 

[BonesB]

Possible things to check...

sorry in the first post i mentioned i tried a different mike (stock Uniden) with no change in audio, I meant to say that the audio with the stock mike sounded unbroken but very low at 1 mile away. When i hooked up the EC 2018cxtreme mic at that distance my audio cuts out like i had described, tried turning mike gain down to 2 on the cb but no difference, turned the adjustment on the back of the mic to 1/4 turn , no difference.

You may have a broken wire on the mic EC2018 or a dirty switch in mic, try cleaning the switch with contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol

 

[scottish558]

Thanks BonesB for the reply, I actually made some contacts today in town and everyone said I sounded great, loud and clear, I gave a ten count to one driver and asked if the audio cut out at all he said I was blasting him with my loud audio, and no cutting in and out, so I will thank you all for the input you have given and come to a conclusion it had something to do with the scanner set up I was using to monitor my transmission.