Need some help tuning a Uniden 980 Bearcat CB (In dash install)
08-20-2014, 06:19 AM
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Need some help tuning a Uniden 980 Bearcat CB (In dash install)
Ok so I'm a novice when it comes to CB's. I read a lot on the features I had a few things on wanted and ended up buying a Uniden 980SSB Bearcat. I mounted it in my dash, ran the 18' of RG-58 coax to the left rear quarter panel. I mounted the antenna directly to the body of the Jeep with 4 bolts. I sanded down the paint on the inside to be sure it got a good contact with the metal body of the jeep. I have the radio grounded to a bolt in the firewall. I tested the location with a multimeter since I have my Spod grounded there as well. I have the 12v power coming off my secondary fuse relay block. The antenna I have is a non tunable antenna. The guy at the place I bought it said I didn't need a tunable one... which I though was odd... but I figured that guy must know since I know nothing compared to him.
After I got the whole thing installed I gave it a test. The 980 has a weather channel... which works great. Comes in very clear. However the TX and RX don't seem to be working. So I thought maybe the ground on the antenna was just not good enough. So to test that theory I grabbed some wire and attached it right to the bottom of the antenna and connected it directly to the negative on the battery. Ran a few tests... seemed to be the same problem. So then I thought, maybe the ground to the radio was bad, or just not getting the connection I need there, so I did the same thing, I ran another lead from the negative side of the battery to the CB radio ground and tried again... still more of the same.
The radio's internal SWR meter says its failing... but those can't be trusted. What leads me to believe its not working is the fact that I don't really here anyone talking on it...
So I think I need a little help tuning it. I'm going to grab another antenna this afternoon as well as a braided copper grounding strap, and I'm going to reground both the antenna and the radio again to see if that helps at all.
But any ideas or pointers would be great!
If it helps here is how I mounted everything:
After I got the whole thing installed I gave it a test. The 980 has a weather channel... which works great. Comes in very clear. However the TX and RX don't seem to be working. So I thought maybe the ground on the antenna was just not good enough. So to test that theory I grabbed some wire and attached it right to the bottom of the antenna and connected it directly to the negative on the battery. Ran a few tests... seemed to be the same problem. So then I thought, maybe the ground to the radio was bad, or just not getting the connection I need there, so I did the same thing, I ran another lead from the negative side of the battery to the CB radio ground and tried again... still more of the same.
The radio's internal SWR meter says its failing... but those can't be trusted. What leads me to believe its not working is the fact that I don't really here anyone talking on it...
So I think I need a little help tuning it. I'm going to grab another antenna this afternoon as well as a braided copper grounding strap, and I'm going to reground both the antenna and the radio again to see if that helps at all.
But any ideas or pointers would be great!
If it helps here is how I mounted everything:
