Sharkey

Be gentle, I'm a CB idiot and this is my first install. I've got my CB all wired up as follows. Power directly to battery, ground for CB to ground bolt in the engine bay, cooltech gate mount with a ground run to the lower subwoofer bolt. I've tried two SWR's from Radio Shack. With both, my CB shows no watt power and no SWR. In other words, no needle movement at all. I know I'm getting power because the CB turns on. I can listen to the emergency weather channel crystal clear, but when I switch to CB I just get static (unless I crank the squelch) and on some channels I can hear some talk but it's pretty garbled up.

I'm going to meet up with a buddy next week to run a radio check with him to see if he can hear me or I can hear him, but I thought I'd check with you all first for some trouble shooting tips. I'm hoping my cb isn't fried for some reason, but I'm getting worried that could be the case.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

arjeeper

Receive and transmit function of radios use separate circuitry, so being able to receive does not indicate anything about transmit function. Was the CB used? It's possible the "finals" (rf producing transistor) are burned out.

When you press the PTT (mic key) down, does the radio indicate it is transmitting? Typically there is a TX indicator light or similar.

arjeeper

Also, the ideal hookup would be power and ground from the radio to the battery, although it seems unlikely that would be your problem here.

Sharkey

Thanks for the response. I bought the radio brand new a while back but didn't get around to installing everything until recently (which means I'm screwed for a return). Not sure regarding your second question, but I will go check right now and post back in a few minutes.

Sharkey

Tx indicator has .5 to 4 watts across the bottom. When I depress the mic button no bars show up on the tx...I'm guessing that means I'm screwed.

Sharkey

Can the "finals" be replaced? Any idea if they are in the hideaway "box" part of the cobra 75 or in the mic part? I think I can buy an extra box for half the price of the entire setup. Thanks again.

arjeeper

That doesn't sound promising. Yes, technically the final(s) could be replaced. On a CB, that may not be worth the cost. Not sure where they are located on a cobra 75.

Not sure what else to troubleshoot at this point. Mate other will chime in with input.

Sharkey

^^^ thanks again for your help. You saved me a lot of time...I'm just going to get a new one and send this one back to Cobra.

LMT Rubi

let us know if your issue is resolved OP.

Sharkey

I don't think I can resolve anything with my current unit (I believe the transmitter is fried). Once I get a new unit I'll let you know if it works.