cobra 29 ltd classic , and orginal starduster for home base,, need help.

[itsonlysir]

yea it is inside the other pipe , i will get up there tomorrow and make sure there is no pinching or nothing got chafed , also i got another cobra 29 ltd classic , hooked it up and the meeter seams to be working fine , with this radio . but what is weird is that it seams to work about the same as far as tx / rx .
i have made contact on this radio tonight as well but still dont seam to be getting out more then like 7 miles... after cutting 10 -15 feet off the cable , should that make a difference ??

anouther note i took the first 29 in the car tonight , ans the swr reading was still not reading right , so i took a ride , and could talk to people about 7 miles away on the wilson1000 i have on top of the car... weird stuff

 

[Moleculo]

This is starting to get a little confusing So you're saying that the first cobra 29 will now not calibrate the swr in the mobile, but it did before? And now the second cobra29 calibrates properly AND shows a low SWR? Before we get any farther into the "talk distance" problem, we first need to understand whether or not the antenna is installed properly...and the SWR measurement helps us understand that question. What is the SWR with the second cobra 29?

 

[Marconi]

"yea it is inside the other pipe," Boy, now that clears it up.

Tell us: since you did not know what a "Dead Key" was, and that is alright, and since you have only been into CB for a week or so, then how did you know what to do in order to repair the coax connector after you cut it?

Why did you cut it?

 

[itsonlysir]

Marconi,,,, you asked this .... I can't see the details of the mast/tri-pod connection. Does the mast pipe attach to another pipe, side by side in the tri-pod somehow? in other words does the longer mast pipe inside the antenna hub of the SD'r have an open bottom end?


i dident see where you had asked about the hole at the bottom .. sorry , but
yes the mass pipe has a hole all the way threw it .. the pipe on the tripod that the mass connects to is about 1 1/2 deep , alsothe pipe on the tripod is 2 inch's around , and my mass is only 1 1/4 on the outside.. so the coax does come out the bottom of the mass pipe and then loops along side of the mass comeing out of the tripod , ( like i said i plan on moveing the antenna up higher, i just wanted to see if i could get a descent reading up on the roof . if i do leave the antenna there i will drill a hole in the tripod and take the pitting off and feed it threw the pipe and then into the bottom of the mass,,

as far as the cable goes ,,, i havent cut it yet ... but i did buy 60 feet with no ends on it ,, i got the pl-259 uhf-type connectors ( solderless) type ,, i just read the back of the package that the connectors came in and did just as it said ,, i then checkd with my meter that they where oaming out ( beep ) then checked the other edge of the connectors to see if that oamed out as well ( beep ) then i checked the center of the connecter to the out side and no ( beep ) ... so i figured that everything was good and that nothing is touching inside . if i do cut it i will just fix back like it was ,,,once i am happy with the location of the antenna i will solder the tip of the center wire where it sticks out of the tip , to make sure nothing comes apart ...( no i wont leave a big bob there , i will solder it then sand paper then end to insure a smooth tip, as most of the solder will be inside the metel tip of the connector....


moleculo,,, im very sorry this is confusing , trust me i know the feeling .. lol .

yes before in the Mobil the first cobra 29 lets call it (29a) and the newer one (29b) .. but yes the 29 (a) was swr tuneing fine in the Mobil , but not in the house . but yesterday i took it back outside and tested it , and the readings are just like in the house.. wont go to the cal mark ..

and yes the 29 ( b) newer one seams to calibrate fine , and shows low swr readings ,, ok im about the do another swr reading ..

channel 20 set to cal on the ( external ) swr meter , key mic and adjust knob to where it says ( cal ) then without ltting go of mic switch to swr .
also i will note that the radio is set to ( s/rf )
reading is 1.2

channel 40 same steps as above .
reading is 1.3

channel 1 same steps as above .
reading is ,1.3

here is the wierd thing , i dont seams to be getting better reception or further, i have made contact with the newer 29 ( b ) and it seams to be about the same as the other ,,, weird stuff


hope this helps guy's im sorry this is a pain , like i said i will answer anything and do anything to try to make this easyer for us all .

 

[Marconi]

You cannot depend on the center conductor of the coax to make good contact inside the PL259 pin without at the very least soldering the center pin in place. Period!

I think you have burned your final in the radio and that is why it won't go to the set mark in CAL mode.

 

[Marconi]

Because the coax runs out the bottom of the antenna mast pipe you cannot just cram the thing down inside another pipe in a Tri-pod stand just because the coax will clear in between the two pipes. I would guess it possible that the whole weight of the setup, the bottom of the mast pipe (a sharp edge), may be setting right down on the coax inside the base adapter mounted to the roof.

If you were able somehow to stop the antenna mast pipe from going all the way to the bottom of the Tri-pod pipe, then you may be alright and not hurt the coax yet, but it is still a bad way to install. The wind pushing the antenna around will surely cause a grinding on the coax between the two pipes and if it is sitting down on the coax then the wind motion can cause the sharp edge of the mast to cut the coax.

You must in all cases do what is necessary to protect your coax and running in up, in between two pipes, one inside the other is a very bad idea.

You need to get a good book and some insurance.

 

[Moleculo]

Yeah, it sure sounds like you have damaged the coax somehow and may not have the connectors (PL-259s) on good enough either. If you ended up smoking the final transistor in the radio (that's the one that produces most of the power output) then you'll never be able to get that swr calibration to work until you get the radio fixed. I would be very careful about using the second radio on the setup until you get the antenna installation straightened out.

Inspect the coax carefully. If you've smashed it somewhere, pinched it, chafed it, etc, that section is no good. Check the connectors again to make sure they're on properly. You shouldn't just screw on those PL-259s and run with 'em...you need to solder the center pin. Without that, you could get an intermittent connection and ultimately damage the radio.

Do you have a shop or tech around you that can check the radio?

 

[itsonlysir]

im ot being a smart arse here at all, but why would you need to solder it ,if it says solderless ??
and you say you cant depend on it makeing a good contact , i slid the center of the coax all the way threw the tip of the connector and the cut it just above the tip then folded it over seeings how there is nylon inside i figured it would make great contact, and again the conecters say solerless , so i just figured they would be fine,,, i guess ignorance is the easy part of this hobby ..

as a side note , the mass does not go all the way in ( sorry if i made it seam that way ) but i can move the cable around easily and also hear it moveing around inside the pipe when i jiggle the outside cable ...


(You need to get a good book and some insurance.) i have many books ( just too bad there not about cbing ) and i have great insurance. lol

but again like i siad i dident do anything permanent beacuse i do want to move the antenna higher , i just dident want to mount it all the way up there if i was just going to have problems ...


there is a shop around here , i will take the radio there , but what is weird is that last night wile on the radio that seams to not calibrate , i seamed to talk fine in the mobil setup , only a few miles , but that was on a Wilson 1000.

ok , tomorrow i will take down the antenna , check the coax for any areas that might have been damaged , and cut to correct length ,, solder the center pins .

but i want to ask this ! it seams that the second radio is tuneing fine . do you guys just think im getting lucky at the moment or are the readings i posted earlier not like they should be .. yes even if they are like they should be i will be changing the set up ...

also i never was like screw it this is good enough ( about the set up ) , i just diffident get reception with the antenna low to the ground , so i was worried the antenna wasn't a good one , so i temporarily thew it on the roof to see if i could get a better signal . ignorance is bliss :blushing:

 

[Moleculo]

To answer the question about the connectors: Yes they are solderless, but most people just don't trust them. It's a cheap insurance sort of thing. Most people that have been in the radio hobby for very long have tried them, had them fail, and cussed at them.

Do you know anyone that has an antenna analyzer? That would be the most helpful tool in determining whether or not your antenna and coax is installed properly. As you can tell, it's a little difficult troubleshooting something like this online, but we'll keep trying.

It's possible that everything is installed OK and it's the first radio that has something goofy with it. That could be because of the work that was done previously, or some other problem. One thing I just thought of: you mentioned that this radio had an echo board installed. Are you 100% sure that the SWR CAL still controls the SWR CAL? A lot of people use that control for the echo board control, which disables the SWR functionality.

 

[Bionic Chicken]

It's possible that everything is installed OK and it's the first radio that has something goofy with it. That could be because of the work that was done previously, or some other problem. One thing I just thought of: you mentioned that this radio had an echo board installed. Are you 100% sure that the SWR CAL still controls the SWR CAL? A lot of people use that control for the echo board control, which disables the SWR functionality.

I was wondering the same thing but CRS prohibited me from posting. Maybe the CAL switch (if intact) is actually a variable power thus causing the erratic readings and lack of range? This would account for the meter not going all the way to the CAL position "IF" the S/RF meter is properly calibrated. Most fly by night shops these days don't think about setting the meter properly. The more it show........the more it does.

BC

 

[itsonlysir]

hay guys , thanks for the reply's i was worried that i might have came across as getting smart or something , but that wasn't it at all , im just trying to learn .

about the radio , the swr knob does in fact adjust the needle when in the cal mode . and before it would go to the cal mark .. i believe they took out the delta tune knob . and used it for the echo. it has two knobs where delta tune is . one on top of the other ,, from what i gathered the outer switch is a on and off switch and adjusts the speed of the echo and the knob in the back is for the volume of talk-back .

as aways thanks guys for the advice , i am still trying to get up there today and get the coax right and solider the fittings .

 

[itsonlysir]

ok today i went up on the roof and drilled a hole at the middle of the tube on the mass and fed the wire threw it and made sure there is no way for it to start touching or rubbing . i also cut 15 feet off the cable . and soldered both ends od the coax . i seams to do like it should on the swr meter 1.2 - 1.3 on channels 20 and 40. i just dont think im getting out like i should ,, i can get out like 6-7 miles , is that normal for a barefoot 4watt cb , even with a starduster mounted ??

most people say they are useing things they shouldent around here ,, i dont really want to go that rout but i would like to get at least 20 miles.. if i can

 

[itsonlysir]

as a side note , i had a rubber grommet in a tool box , that was just about the size of the hole i drilled , i went up there and it fit great so i also had a ruber gromit protecting the coax where it leaves the tube ..

 

[Moleculo]

If your SWR reads OK, then give it a try for a while like it is. Remember, part of how far you can "talk" is how far they can "hear". The point is, give it a longer test so you can get some tests from more stations. Over time you may decide you want to try different antennas or antenna height to get the performance you're looking for. I would think you could have farther range with that setup, but it's hard to say for certain without being there and testing everything.

 

[itsonlysir]

would my antenna being higher help me out ? or i guess what im asking is what are some suggestions i could do to get out there more ?