I've had my cb radio in for a little over 4 months. What I've been noticing more lately is I've been getting a lot of engine interference when it on. My cb radio model is in my signature.

I'm just wondering what can I do to eliminate that interference so I get a clearer signal because whenever I'm talking to someone if they're pretty far away I can talk to them when the truck is off but when its on interference won't let me hear them. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Is your CB hardwired or tapped to something else? Also where is your antenna? Don't think it would matter a whole lot for recieving but did you have it tuned for SWR?

 

The cb is hardwired directly to the battery. Antenna is on the drivers side of the hood. And it has not been tuned.

 

Sounds to me like you need a better ground. Having your SWR's off won't make you have engine noise.

 

Try grounding it at the battery. Get it tuned, you'll gain a lot of performance with a properly tuned system.

 

Where can I take it to get tuned? How much does it cost? This might sound retarded but what exactly do they do when they tune it?

 

I suggest a better cb with better filtering, like a 29. Don't think you can tune a 19dx.



You need the shortest ground possible. My 29LTDbc has a 3" ground. Also, how is your coax routed? No coiling. How is your coax grounded? Post some pics please. I wanna see your setup.

There are filters avalible for both the power wire and the antenna. Usually about $15. I still need to try mine out...damn hid's. One way to tell where the noise is coming into the radio, is while the radio is on, disconnect the coax off the back. if the noise goes away, your interference is coming through the antenna. If the noise stays, the interference is coming through the power wire. You could try to take power off one of the inside fuse panel circuits, or the 12v power outlet on your radio bezel(for constant hot).

 

No he needs to have his antenna SWR tuned. Any other radio and I would recommend a peak and tune on the box but I think you are right in that those can't be peaked. You can get an rf filter at a local cb shop but tune that antenna and check your wires first. To get the SWR tune you are probably looking at 20 bucks and yup it is worth it. Also not sure of the internals on that radio but if your antenna is way off then eventually you are gonna fry your finals on the radio essentially turning it into a listening only box.

 

^^That's right. I just assumed he had it calibrated already. Oh.....and on my Firestik2, i cranked out that tunable tip out about 3/4".

 

Alright thanks for the help. I'll take pics of it in a few since I'm going to try and figure what is causing the interference.

 

No problem and I look forward to the pics. Let us know if it still doesn't work right.

 

10-4 good buddy. How are you grounding your coax? What's it's 20?

 

Hey I didn't get a chance to take pics or work on my cb today? One of my good friends wanted to go out with the guys and grab a bite to eat before we helped him wire his lights on his new Pro-Tech Headache rack.

 

protech headache racks FTW! I love mine. don't see too many rangers with them...let alone lifted rangers.

 

If you lived by me i would tune your antenna for you, go and get an SWR meter and a 3' piece of coax.

Radioshack should have in-line noise filters.

I just tuned my Wilson 5000 yesterday, I got it down to 1.3 with my amp on, lower without it on.

 

http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm

 

Hey 99 NWRanger....How did you mount/wire your friend's lights to his headache rack. I had a lightbar, but took it off when I got my Pro-Tech rack. I thought that it would look kinda goofy with both of them on, but I still want to have my lights up top. Pics? Thanks!

 

You said you had the power wire running right to the battery.....

This may sound a bit odd and maybe it is..I'll probably get flack for it.. But it worked for me on more than one vehicle.... Try tapping the power wire into a fuse say your ciggarette lighter fuse. inside the cab.. one that is really not neccesary to operate the truck safely... pull the fuse out slide the power wire in on one side of the fuse prong and slide the fuse back in.... Thats how I hade my 29LTD hooked up for 6+ years and it always worked great, bonus the radio truned off when I turned off the ignition... had it set up the same way with a small uniden in a 87 Subaru GL wagon.. worked wonders in that car...

I'm not saying it gonna eliminate all the engine feed back but picking up the power source behind the firewall seems to help cancel out some if not the majority of the engine. in the squilch....

 

Tuning the SWR and other RF tuning is not going to change anything with interference being radiated by the electrical or ignition system. You have to stop the source of the noise. In my experience, this is usually easier said than done. If it is coming in through the power wires, then the inexpensive filters will help a lot.

 

PM him. lol.


Protech + Daylighters = micky mouse.