hook up help

[choupique108]

i have a cobra 29, and i am looking to get it peaked and tuned.. this is my first personal cb, and i was wondering what does a dead key do and also which antenna would be the best. i dont want anything taller that 5' and i am getting a road king 56 mic. but what do i need to do as far as mods on the radio so that it will talk good and clear. i dont want to send it off since we have a pretty darn good cb shop about an hour away. i just need to know the name of the mods.. thanks

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by choupique108

i have a cobra 29, and i am looking to get it peaked and tuned.. this is my first personal cb, and i was wondering what does a dead key do and also which antenna would be the best. i dont want anything taller that 5' and i am getting a road king 56 mic. but what do i need to do as far as mods on the radio so that it will talk good and clear. i dont want to send it off since we have a pretty darn good cb shop about an hour away. i just need to know the name of the mods.. thanks

"dead key" pretty much means that you key up the mic as to talk, but you don't. you just hold in the key (PTT) switch.....and by doing this, with a radio that's been "peaked and tuned", you pretty much cancel out anyone nearby with an "out of the box" cb radio.

as far as antenna's go, i like the Francis line. they are tuned at the factory, and they are fiberglass. cost of these are around $25 and up. the taller the antenna was thought to be an advantage over a shorter one. i usually run with a 3 foot antenna.

now for a few dollars more, a Wilson 2000 steel whip is good as well. cost around $60 and up, but this antenna you need to tune it yourself, and if you do not know how to do this, a cb chop might be able to help you too, but usually, you'd want to buy the antenna from him, not someplace else.

as far as "mods" go, a talk back switch, and maybe a "tune and peak" of the insides. a cb shop will know what to do. the talk back swiitch, allows you to hear yourself talking through a portable speaker. when you hear your voice, this means at least 2 things...

1) your radio is getting out, and you don'r need to ask for a "radio check"

2) you can hear for yourself how clear/sharp your signal is....

the cb shops charge different prices for these "mods" so inquire with them.

for me personally, if the radio doesn't already have these "mods" built in when i buy it, i don't pay someone else to do it......


WOW ....COOL.....this posting ( 2,000) made me hit VIP Member........!!! yippee.....!!!

[mudder]

where are you i louisiana? what cb shop are you talking about?

[CHAVEZ007]

as far as antenna's go, i like the Francis line. they are tuned at the factory

If you go with the glass Francis be sure that you use 18' of coax because that is the length they use at the factory to tune the whips. If you use a shorter or longer piece it will throw off your SWR!

[Turtle2464]

Francis comes in 4 1/2 ft. and 5 1/2 ft. and cost anywhere between $10 and $15. The Wilson Silverload comes in 3, 4, and 5 ft. They run anywhere between $20 and $30. The Francis is a good antenna and is self tuned but it doesn't last that long. The Wilson needs to be tuned at the tip but lasts longer. Also, just in case you want to run power in the future, the Francis will only handle about 175w. The Wilson will handle up to, I think 1000w.

It would be good for you to get a 50w upgrade and talkback like Pro1 said. Since I've had talkback, I'll never go back. Also, with the peak and tweak and an RK56, you'll Probably want to run your "Dynamic" at no more than 2/3. Trust me, especially since the RK has a louder modulation. Now, there's not a whole lot that a shop can do with the receive on a 29. That's why you need to make sure your antenna, coax and connections are all in good shape. I'm sure you've already done this since your post was almost a month ago but oh well. If you go with the turbo board or connex board (gives you echo), make sure you have that thing turned down. Nothing is worse than trying to listen to someone that has too much echo.