Cobra 29 Weak Receive NO Static

[4MUL8R]

2000 vintage Cobra 29--has no static whatsoever with squelch all the way open. You can see the truck coming your way and hear it getting louder and louder until the truck passes you and then the signal fades quickly. Wilson 1000 magnet mount grabs the signal. Any ideas on a cost-effective repair? I have a trip or two to the homestead in a few weeks and want the CB working well.

 

[Boogieman]

Make sure your excess coax is stored in a figure 8.

Check your SWR's.

Also, if your coax is the crimped on style, my suggestion is to take it apart get a new connector and solder it on.

These are good places to start.

 

[4MUL8R]

Will check that coax asap. Thanks for tips.

UPDATE -- coax connector is factory Wilson 1000, with strain relief, etc. Don't know if it is truly open circuit between ground and lead yet.

 

[1342]

have you allways owned this radio?did it seem to receive good before?did anybody work on it?

 

[4MUL8R]

Yes, the radio was mine from day one. As I remember, the selling shop did boost output power (shh). How, I don't know. My wife bought the radio for me as a surprise in 2000. Then, about a year ago, I sent the radio off for a looksee to a reputable CB shop and it came back with a clean bill of health. I suspect they turned down the output to stock level. I'll have to drag up the letter I sent with the radio to see the name of the shop.

 

[Moleculo]

If you had it checked out recently and there were no problems detected, it's probably an antenna/coax problem. BTW, you can coil up the excess coax however you like, as long as you don't coil it too tight to physically damage it...it doesn't care. That whole "don't coil up the excess coax" thing is another CB BS myth.

 

[1342]

unscrew the top and check end to end and center to ground with multitester on continuity.

 

[Cityboy]

The excess coax no matter how you coil it should be kept coiled as close to the radio as possible. There are other things to rule out before lifting lids off the radio. One is to make sure it is definitely not the mic by trying a spare and see if that helps, if no spare then jiggle the wires on the mic and listen for any changes; if no help then move on to step 2. The recieve gain knob on the radio, move it back and forth quickly and see if that makes any changes(if so some contact cleaner will help) and if not then move onto the squelch and do the same thing(same idea for this one) if no help move onto the volume knob and see if the volume coming out of the speaker seems to get louder as you turn it up( if so cleaner will help) if not then it is definitely your coax or antenna. Most likely it will be your coax unless your swr are absolutely through the roof, it takes very little for you to recieve. Go through the coax and hopefully it is the problem and replace if not it is your antenna. Good luck.

 

[psycho]

Make sure your excess coax is stored in a figure 8.

Check your SWR's.

Also, if your coax is the crimped on style, my suggestion is to take it apart get a new connector and solder it on.

These are good places to start.

It doesn't matter how you have the coax wound up, that does not affect receive at all.
A 2000 Cobra 29 is not a vintage radio...........A Cobra 29 GTL is a vintage radio. Nothing made in China is vintage.....it may work great, but not vintage.

 

[Cityboy]

It does matter as far as the inductance of the coax and winding close to the radio. It will have some effect on your swr, however small every little bit helps. I forgot one thing that it might also be; the speaker. It could come in and out if the solder connections are starting to be a cold solder joint. If all else fails try lifting the bottom cover and disconnecting the speaker leads and cleaning them up and resoldering them noticing the polarity of course. If no help then also check the speaker leads going to the board and jiggle them or reheat and solder again on the solder side of the board.