Met the Guy in Amarillo. He will insult you and he has to be the biggest narcissists I have ever encountered.
He actually believes the reason there are not many CB shops left like there were years ago is because his quality work has put them all out of business. That's pretty much a direct quote! This guy claims to be an ex-truck driver having driven more miles than I have, yet we are about the same age and I know for a fact he has been off the road doing his CB shop business for over 10 years so that is a lie. I do believe he did drive over the road but his years of service and mileage is doubtful.
Now he is self proclaimed CB engineering specialist? CB radios isn't rocket science. That's the equivalent of a tech school student working on lawn mower engines as opposed to a AES certified mechanic working on Industrial diesel engines.
The real reasons for the declining number of CB shops is because at one time, Truck drivers were some of the biggest users of CB's and many if not all CB shops were located at or near truck stops.That's a fact I can attest to from driving trucks over 30 years myself. Now they are few and far between.
Now a days, Many drivers don't own one or hardly ever turn it on if they do. Today's trucks are mostly speed governed so no need to watch for "smokey bear" (except for those 55 MPH communist states), and most trucks have electronic logs so no need to ask if the " chicken coops are open" more drivers use GPS so no need to ask "break 19 for local info".
The company I drive for has over 150 trucks based in Phoenix and I can easily count 40 or more trucks without a CB. Other forms of entertainment has succeeded the CB with today's drivers. The others I asked why they don't turn it on and the most common answer is they are sick of all the idiot base stations shooting skip blaring across what should be the calling frequency that is Channel 19 jamming the frequency up. That's pretty much a direct quote. That should make plenty of you guys out there proud who do exactly that.
Then there is the influx, if not taking over the trucking industry, all the foreigners from Europe, India, and Asia driving trucks who can careless about what a CB is. Then one day soon NAFTA will be fully implemented but at least I have seen many Mexican trucks using CB radios. Don't believe me? look at the reefer trucks with california and British Columbia plates, Majority of them drivers are Sikh's from India, no they are not arabs just because they wear turbans! Look at the trucks with plates from Illinois, New York, New Jersey, those drivers are from all over former Soviet block countries like Bosnia, Ukraine, Armenia, etc. hardly the CB radio truck driving stereo -type from years gone by.
But This guy at Fine tune (goes by "hard drive" on the CB ) believes otherwise along with his white list CB shop buddies that the decline of CB shops is because they have successfully put those other CB shops out of business.
To answer the OP's question, I only stopped in to buy a part not have a radio serviced. You have to wonder why he moves around a lot. I remember him being in Arizona, then Gallup NM and then to Milan NM before he went to Amarillo, now he is in North Carolina? Amarillo should have been the best market for him since it is located ideally to catch all the East to West coast running trucks and even though Amarillo might be a small town , it has always been a mecca for drivers with multiple truckstops, plenty of drug dealers, lot lizzards, titty bars, and yes, CB shops!
If you are just looking to fine tune your radio without adding parts and no repair, learn how to do it yourself. There is no magic to it. There are many knowledgeable people on this forum who you can ask for advice.
Checkout CB tricks.com. You can look up your radio and most of them have service manuals along with diagrams of the board showing which pots will adjust what.
My advice, If you want "big" modulation, don't clip the modulation limiter like most people do, Just turn up the AMC pot inside the radio all the way then use your mic gain for adjustment. Most newly purchased in the box radios have this pot turned too far down. Cb tricks will show where this pot is on your Galaxy 959 assuming that's your radio.
Get a better mic. CB base stations prefer D104 mics, Mobile radios prefer either Astatic or Road king noise canceling mics.
Check peak output power by turning RF power knob fully up with a good watt meter, then divide the peak reading by 4 and adjust your deadkey with the RF power knob at that value. (ie. if your radio peaks 12 watts, set deadkey at 3 watts.)
If you want more power, leave the radio alone and get an amplifier. Nothing is more ridiculous than gutting a radio up or adding circuity that wasn't intended to be there just to get a few more watts that really doesn't make one bit of difference on the other end.
Other than that, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!
