[sbatson]

I have a 05 Century with the stock antennas and co-ax, my buddy gave me a Connex 33 but it seems like it dont go that far, what do I need to have a decent setup? It also has some interference coming through it like static and sounds from the truck.

[HWD]

Connex 33 is a good radio. Do *not* let some dufus at a CB shop charge you for a "peak and tweak". All they'll do is take a screwdriver and jack all the little pots inside as far as they will go, and you'll splatter and sound like crap. Some actually remove internal parts! All for $50 bucks...there's a sucker born every minute...the point is don't take it to a CB shop.

If you want to get out buy a Wilson 1000 and some decent coax, and dump the factory coax most definitely. It's crap. I would be willing to be if you get decent coax your noises from the truck will disappear, at a minimum the noise will be way less. Keep the radio stock but invest in a good mic like a Road King 56. You'll sound great and get out plenty good.

[sbatson]

It has a good mic ( well thats what I was told) I'll list 2-morrow but how far do you think that thing will reach with that set up?

[Uturn2001]

I agree, the stock coax and antennas are usually not that good. Upgrading them will help. Also make sure you have a good ground for your power. Try grounding the radio to something other than the negative wire. This may help with a lot of the noise. A power filter may also help, but before spending money on that check the ground. Also make sure all of your connections are tight. A slightly loose one at the radio or antenna can mess things up in a hurry.

Finally make sure your SWR is acceptable. You want to get as close to 1:1 as possible though anything under 1:1.5 is acceptable.

[HWD]

Originally Posted by sbatson

It has a good mic ( well thats what I was told) I'll list 2-morrow but how far do you think that thing will reach with that set up?

If you have a good mic don't bother...I suggested the Road King as a replacement to the stock mic because anything will be better than the stock mic. Those stock mics are cheap and give you low, muffly audio.

The biggest thing you can do to improve your signal is to get a decent antenna and coax. With a decent antenna and coax, on a quiet day with no skip you should reliably be able to talk 7 to 10 miles out. When the channel is noisy and skip is in around 3-5 miles. "Peaking and tweaking" the radio will *not* help you get out farther. The antenna will. Once you have a good antenna, you can improve your range even more with a nice little "leenyer"...I am not advocating that since it's illegal, but if you insist a nice little "two pill" can be had cheap and will "warm up" you signal just enough...

[sbatson]

The mic is a Astatic, I was told it was good but what do I know.

[jd112488]

if you wanna get out do NOT listen to most of this advice. you need to go to the cb shop and at least get the radio checked. most importantly you want them swr's set properly to your attenna...you will want to go to a good cb shop for that. do not buy a linear and just throw it on the radio turn it on and start talking thinking you are getting out 50 miles...you are not, unless you went and spent the money to have your dead key adjusted to run the kicker properly. the rf gain switch should do it, switch in low position is a lower dead key needed to run kicker, but always best to get checked or you will burn up your finals faster than shit. remember in your post you wanna get out, the advice you received so far is for getting a bear report from the guy directly accross the highway from you. these guys don't use the radio the way you are wanting to use it.

[headborg]

Originally Posted by jd112488

if you wanna get out do NOT listen to most of this advice. you need to go to the cb shop and at least get the radio checked. most importantly you want them swr's set properly to your attenna...you will want to go to a good cb shop for that. do not buy a linear and just throw it on the radio turn it on and start talking thinking you are getting out 50 miles...you are not, unless you went and spent the money to have your dead key adjusted to run the kicker properly. the rf gain switch should do it, switch in low position is a lower dead key needed to run kicker, but always best to get checked or you will burn up your finals faster than shit. remember in your post you wanna get out, the advice you received so far is for getting a bear report from the guy directly accross the highway from you. these guys don't use the radio the way you are wanting to use it.

hmmm, I thought most of the advise was dead-on especially about junking the stock coax & antennas. You need your own good Coax- I prefer the clear( that way you can see and inspect the condition of the braided ground inside and see any shorts)- you don't need 18'(that's a myth), you do need to check the swr( as recommended-it's the single most important part of getting out/receiving). If running bi-polar( which will increase your forward/rear signal sweep and pull in the side sweep) the antennas need to be matched, swr's matched too, including the coax length to each. You do need a good HONEST CB shop, agreed there are many rip-offs a-holes out there. You got to be careful. I ran around for years with a little Cobra 25, played "oppossum" (dumb) and would run that little radio- in to this & that shop just looking to find me a good one/honest/ that knew what they were doing-- before bringing in the big bad Galaxy or Ranger to them.

I wouldn't be running a kicker anymore at all-- starting next year-- all the UHF/VHF frequences will go to Emergency First Responders and Homeland Security--( all TV will be Digital ) and you can bet your rear they won't put up with trucker's interfering with their reception.

[JeffTheTerrible]

Connex 3300 is a great radio. I absolutely love mine. As said before, don't let CB shops touch it! They'll tell you that your finals are blown, just so they can replace them with a lesser type and steal the originals.
All you really need is a good antenna, and to have the SWR tuned. As for coax, I use Belden coax... there are other brands reportedly just as good.
As for microphones, Road King makes a good microphone. Personally, I've always used the Astatic mic.
Don't get conned into buying more than what you need as far as an antenna goes. Running a barefoot radio, you don't need a $100+ antenna, when a simple Wilson 1000 is plenty sufficient to handle the power produced by that radio.
As for the bit about all UHF/VHF frequencies going to First Response and Homeland Security...
Even though TV stations will be transmitting digital signals, they will still be transmitting on VHF frequencies.. the frequency isn't what's changing - just the format. Additionally, if all VHF and UHF frequencies were going to the aforementioned agencies, then that would mean that all FM radio, all satellite radio, all Marine radio, all amateur radio, all business radio, all cordless phones, all cell phones, etc. would have to be bumped off of the VHF/UHF range, every vehicle with an FM receiver would have to have it replaced, etc. Perhaps all first response agencies will be required to operate in the VHF and UHF ranges, but they're not getting the entire band. This would be practically impossible, for one, and would be especially problematic in border states, as the FCC has no authority to regulate radio stations in Mexico and Canada, many of have transmissions which can be received within the US border.

[headborg]

Originally Posted by JeffTheTerrible

Connex 3300 is a great radio. I absolutely love mine. As said before, don't let CB shops touch it! They'll tell you that your finals are blown, just so they can replace them with a lesser type and steal the originals.
All you really need is a good antenna, and to have the SWR tuned. As for coax, I use Belden coax... there are other brands reportedly just as good.
As for microphones, Road King makes a good microphone. Personally, I've always used the Astatic mic.
Don't get conned into buying more than what you need as far as an antenna goes. Running a barefoot radio, you don't need a $100+ antenna, when a simple Wilson 1000 is plenty sufficient to handle the power produced by that radio.
As for the bit about all UHF/VHF frequencies going to First Response and Homeland Security...
Even though TV stations will be transmitting digital signals, they will still be transmitting on VHF frequencies.. the frequency isn't what's changing - just the format. Additionally, if all VHF and UHF frequencies were going to the aforementioned agencies, then that would mean that all FM radio, all satellite radio, all Marine radio, all amateur radio, all business radio, all cordless phones, all cell phones, etc. would have to be bumped off of the VHF/UHF range, every vehicle with an FM receiver would have to have it replaced, etc. Perhaps all first response agencies will be required to operate in the VHF and UHF ranges, but they're not getting the entire band. This would be practically impossible, for one, and would be especially problematic in border states, as the FCC has no authority to regulate radio stations in Mexico and Canada, many of have transmissions which can be received within the US border.

Yes, that was a overstatement on my part about the "all"- but the point was- with the broadcasters- both TV & Radio are being mandated to upgrade move to digital- to free THOSE bandwidths for first responders& homeland security. The difference between the old analog signals and the digital format-- high powered CB's can interfere with the analog signal, but if there's any interference with the digital one-- the TV/Radio just goes Blank until the interference ends. Still, my point was really- now it won't be some little lady trying to watch here "general hospital" that's calling the FCC to complain- it will be a government agency that's being interfered with.