It could either be your base or the coax going to the base. Un hok the connector in the back of the cb and using a multimeter check the center pin to the outside of the connector to see if it is shorted. if it is not then check the resistance from the center pin to the base. to me it sounds as if you are not getting the rf signal o the antenna. let me know if this works. any mor questions, PM me radios are my hobbie.