skel130

Yes. That's my recommendation. I believe your issues are very likely due to the eye terminals.

^^ X2

:doh: Alas, so right you are Oyaji. Apparently I don't remember half of what I though I did. Haha. This is what college has done to me. I can't remember things that matter.

"Billionaire"? Dayum - you'd be like the man who invented everything ever invented, from the taming of fire and the wheel to everything else ever conceived... combined! :D Such a thing would change everything we thought we knew about the universe. You'd have all the monies. But I agree with the spring statement earlier. Take that out! Could actually be the root of the problem, especially if you're getting output only on high channels. Longer whip = higher frequency, meaning the antenna would be too long for the low end channels. And thank for the info on the transmit circuits, just a bit more I can file in my brain under "I doubt I'll ever actually need to know this" aka, 90% of my brain.

Actually.......I'm thinking wrong. SWR under 1:1 is impossible, As 1:1 would be 100% output, zero loss. So if you were to have 0.9:1 as a theoretical SWR reading, you'd be getting more output than the radio generates. So under 1:1 shows there is an issue with the meter or output.

You misunderstood me, I do understand lowest SWR is best, but in CB radios, getting your SWR under 1.0 on a CB radio is basically impossible on a good day. When I said a 0 reading would mean 100% is being reflected away, I meant 'sent out' from the antenna. Looking back, I can see how that might read wrong though. Same page :thumbsup: I'm curious as to if it is posible to burn parts of the transmit circuit out, so you were getting no out put on low channels, but capable of it on high end channels? Not sure on that. I know more about radio theory than radio circuitry. Now I hadn't thought about the antenna being SO far out of tune as to be out of range for the SWR. Such as rather than being in tune for CB bandwidths (26.9-27.4) that the low end of the antenna was at something around 27.4, and the top end was 28 something. Though, that seems unlikely as that would be something like a 2 inch shift in antenna length... And should still show up on the SWR meter, even if only briefly. But I think the best option is going to be the external SWR meter/dummy load.

Cobra has all the manuals online :) but could be 1 of 2 things. Either your internal SWR meter is junked, and you should get an external SWR meter to check (google is your friend), OR your radio's transmitting circuits are fried from either age or out of spec SWR (and didn't notice) and you've junked the radio. Those are the 2 causes I can think of for not being able to calibrate the SWR meter. Besides that, just check all connection in the antenna setup, especially the bracket. Take apart the stud that attaches between the bracket and the antenna/coax cable. Maybe if the plastic grommets were out of place or rust was present inside there? That's just an off chance, but free to check :)

Actually, according to the manual (I double checked my initial assumptions), if the switch is in S/RF mode, it shows the broadcast power. This is different than the SWR, so while the low reading still shows we have an issue, you still need to flip over to cal, deadkey the radio, turn the knob until the needle is on the calibrate mark, and then go to the SWR setting and take a reading. A SWR reading of 0 means that no signal is generated. A 0 reading is basically impossible, as this would mean that 100% of your radio signal is being reflected away, which just doesnt happen.

Ok.....So don't shoot me for asking the silly question.... But it doesn't look like you actually checked the SWR..... I say that because I have the same EXACT radio, and the left switch is set to transmit vs. SWR mode. You need to actually go to cal, calibrate the SWR, then get a reading. That should make it VERY apparent if you have an SWR issue, or a transmitter issue (inside radio).

That is very likely the issue. See if you can get a better ground. And what Oyaji means is that if you don't get your SWR down, it will burn out your radio. SWR= Standing Wave RATIO. It's a ratio of how much of the power is sent out from the antenna, and how much 'reflects' back into the radio. And yes, still an issue. :)

Well you had talked about trying to use the cable ordered by putting a ring terminal on the end. If you didn't get it perfect, then high SWR would be the result.

I'm suspect if you clipped the end of the cable and put a ring on it.

This is a super duper off chance, but one of my doors has a slightly 'sticky' lock mechanism. What I mean by this is when I go to unlock it, sometimes the toggle on the lock doesn't settle all the way, and I have to lock/unlock it several times before the lock switch will actually push in a little more on the unlock side of things. The lock will appear to be unlocked, and you can pull both handles, and it just seems like the door is stuck. Might be worth a shot. It's like the difference of a small fraction of an inch (maybe like 1/16th or 1/32nd) but you can feel the difference in relation to the door panel, and wether the button is flush.

Yes. The link I posted is a replacement stud that will allow you to use the same coax. Technically if you strip the coax and attach the center stud to the ring, it should work, but it's hard to do, and you'll probably create a couple issues.

http://www.amazon.com/FireStik-K-4A-STUD-SO-239-CONN/dp/B0002HRBSU/ref=pd_cp_e_3 Didn't notice you got the ring terminal version

All looks decent enough to me. Just remember to properly tune your antenna

I'd just go with amazon. The thing is, even if you spend a couple bucks over $40, the quality difference is going to be exceptional. Any experienced CB operator will tell you the antenna is the most important part of a setup. A $#!& radio with a good antenna will out perform a $200 radio with a $#!& antenna. So I'd say it's worth the extra couple bucks. Here's what I went with: Spring: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00042LC9M/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Antenna: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00317HUWU/ref=oh_details_o09_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Mount: (Though if I were you, I'd opt for a bit thicker one if they make it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002HRBSK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Cable: http://www.amazon.com/RG-58A-Coaxial-Cable-Pl-259-Connectors/dp/B001JT0CGI/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_z Works good for me. I also have a quick disconnect, but that's just because I frequently need to remove it (park in a parking garage everyday at Mizzou). Here's that: http://www.amazon.com/FireStik-K-1A-Push-n-Twist-quick-disconnect/dp/B000UTQUAK/ref=pd_sim_e_19

^^That. Here's some great info from the firestik website: http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm

They aren't needed per say, but I'd recommend one. Here's what they do: I park my car in a garage everyday. My CB antenna is to tall to fit. If I forget to remove it, the spring prevents the fiberglass antenna from simply snapping under the pressure. It allows the antenna to flex if it were to catch on something (like a low tree branch).

Yeah, I'm with gogmorgo. I don't think this is the 'right way' to do it if you were trying to restore the truck or use it as a DD. But for a garage kept crawler? Who cares? It's not my job to be his mom about how he mods his rig. You do you, good luck, and I hope your rig doesn't get stolen. On that note, you could easily drop in a key cylinder with your switches that just enable/disable the starter or yellow wire? Hide it under the dash or mount in plain sight even. Something like this: http://www.jcwhitney.com/standard-ignition-starter-switch/p2019019.jcwx I know that O'Reillys sells a basic one for like $10-15. Just my opinion.

Depending on the year, (I don't know this for a fact) the springs may be a slightly different length. Try trimming up the spring a little. I also vaguely remember the orientation of the pin mattering....but my mind could be playing tricks on me. I've never been inside my MJ's column, the last time I dealt with it was when I fixed the wobble in my '89 camaro.

Yeah. It's the GM column you're looking at anyways.

Honestly, it's your jeep, do whatcha want. But wiring wise, wouldn't it make more sense to wire like this: DK/Green -> push button (aka starter) Yellow-> left switch (kill switch) orange, brown->right switch (acc) This way, you go left to right to start. Turn on left toggle, which starts fuel pump and necessary equipment for starting, hit button to start engine, then right toggle to engage accessories after motor is running. Your accessory position would be right switch only, and everything else off.

ok i get that i want to clear the roof but why don't i want loops in the coax cable, why away from the ignition and engine and why in the center of the window? i already have holes drilled in my bed from the last owner on the driver side, i plan on usin those if possible, Redwolf Basically it all has to do with interference. Loops in your cable let signal 'leak' out, and they get into other parts of your wiring. This causes issues with SWR and with the range you'll get on your radio. Ignition and engine wires will 'leak' EMI (electromagnetic interference) which will degrade signals. The center of the window helps balance your plane so that you get the most signal going in every direction. Imagine broadcasting on your CB as being a pulse that goes all the way down the cable, and all the way to the tip of the antenna. The signal then projects down to the metal below, and shoots out in every direction. If there is no metal (no ground plane) then you need a special antenna to be able to broadcast. If there is only metal on one side, then you will broadcast less to the side without metal. So middle is ideal, but for my setup, inconvenient. SWR stands for standing wave ratio. Going back to the metal plane, the SWR is the ratio of the signal that exits the antenna, and how much bounces back into the radio. If your SWR is too high, then you'll burn out the circuits that send the signals. There is a lot of info on google and firestik's website about all of this stuff. One reason I went with firestik was because of how much info they had on radio theory and the mechanics of CBs

I like 4' as it clears enough of the roof to minimize the interference for the behind the cab mounting. No issues getting the SWR down into a really good range.