CB Power Up Issues

[Dazrin]

I posted this on Mud a few days ago but wanted to see if anyone here has any other ideas. I assume this is a problem internal to the CB and I will need to get a replacement unit but I want to see if anyone has a good solution for this before I throw good money after bad.

I have a new Cobra 18 WX STII CB that I purchased over a year ago (meaning the warranty is no longer good.) I installed it and went to turn it on and got nothing. So I double and triple checked all of the wires and everything checks out. (Wires direct from battery to CB with new, good, fuses installed. I took both power leads to the battery since I like to have it on when the truck is off sometimes, so no switched power to the radio.)

So, I pulled the CB for more intensive testing. It turns out that it will turn on IF I turn the radio on and then connect the ground. If I turn the radio off and then back on it doesn't do anything. If I connect the wires with the radio switched off, it doesn't do anything. It will only power up if the switch is on and then the ground is connected. Same behavior whether or not the mic is plugged in.

Obviously something is wrong with the unit. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this short of getting a new radio?

Here are the options I see right now:

1. Get a new CB. Same unit since the front firing speaker is a must for installing it in the dash.
2. Put a switch on the ground wire to make it think the connection is new. I haven't tested but I suspect this will mean the memory is never going to be saved.
3. Get a HAM and bag the CB. I wish I could do this but the group I run with uses CBs exclusively so far. (I would take suggestions for cheap, single DIN units though, same form as this since the space is available, maybe I can get some pressure on them to switch.)
4. ????

I am leaning towards #2 as a temporary measure and getting a replacement eventually.

 

[1Louder]

I can't help you with our particular issue. Yes HAM is way better but plenty of people won't make the switch. So I still have a CB as well. After going through a bunch of radios I now have this model. Uniden Bearcat 880 CB Radio with 7 Color Display Backlighting Link: http://amzn.com/B006TA2F1M

It has been working great. We will see how it hold up long term. I keep it simple with a mag mount antenna Lil Wilson and it is wired to a dedicated fuse block for all of my accessories. The only downside is it's a big radio. Otherwise transmissions and receiving are very clear. Good squelch and great gain control. Also has weather alerts but I already have one of my ham radios programmed for that. My radio is not installed in the dash. Just velcroed to the back of my center console just behind my front seats. Since I rarely change frequencies the radio is accessible enough to change the volume etc. I use an external speaker mounted behind my headrest.

 

[WhiteH2O]

That's an odd problem you have there. My first thought was to simply switch the ground wire like you said. Simple and easy.

If that bugs you as a long term solution, upgrade to ham and get a little handheld CB.

 

[Dazrin]

That's an odd problem you have there. My first thought was to simply switch the ground wire like you said. Simple and easy.

If that bugs you as a long term solution, upgrade to ham and get a little handheld CB.

You said it! It was a pain to figure out what is going on.

Anyone want to buy a Cobra 29 NW Classic CB to help me finance a HAM? This isn't the CB I have been having issues with, it just doesn't fit how I want it in my Landcruiser so I haven't been using it even though it was a great CB.

 

[unusedusername]

Have you tried putting a multimeter on your power wires or driving that radio from a different power source to see if with of them makes the issue go away?

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like something in the radio's CPU isn't powering up correctly.

I'd suggest maybe try to contact wherever you bought it from, or contact Cobra. If this is your very first time unboxing the radio, plead your case that you bought it but never got around to installing it until now. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll ship you a new one anyway upon return of the old.

I'll also 2nd the Uniden 880 that 1Louder mentioned. I've talked to a couple guys who had that radio and indeed it has a nice clean sound over the air. I didn't get to witness it's receive side but I'm sure it's just as good (Uniden radios on average have much better audio in both directions than Cobra units do).


If you do ditch the CB, maybe take a look at MURS. Getting everyone to MURS might be easier than ham since (like CB) there's no license requirement for it... Buy the radio gear (and if necessary, program in the MURS channels), hook everything up, check your antenna's SWR, and you're ready to go. Range of MURS averages about 4-7 miles with 2 watts output... Given that many people nowadays seem to refuse putting a decent antenna on their CB, this could work out to be an overall improvement.

 

[Dazrin]

Have you tried putting a multimeter on your power wires or driving that radio from a different power source to see if with of them makes the issue go away?

Thanks, I did check the connections with a multimeter but didn't use a different power source. I was going directly from my battery though, so if it doesn't work that way there isn't much point.

Sounds like something in the radio's CPU isn't powering up correctly.

I'd suggest maybe try to contact wherever you bought it from, or contact Cobra. If this is your very first time unboxing the radio, plead your case that you bought it but never got around to installing it until now. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll ship you a new one anyway upon return of the old.

I'll also 2nd the Uniden 880 that 1Louder mentioned. I've talked to a couple guys who had that radio and indeed it has a nice clean sound over the air. I didn't get to witness it's receive side but I'm sure it's just as good (Uniden radios on average have much better audio in both directions than Cobra units do).


If you do ditch the CB, maybe take a look at MURS. Getting everyone to MURS might be easier than ham since (like CB) there's no license requirement for it... Buy the radio gear (and if necessary, program in the MURS channels), hook everything up, check your antenna's SWR, and you're ready to go. Range of MURS averages about 4-7 miles with 2 watts output... Given that many people nowadays seem to refuse putting a decent antenna on their CB, this could work out to be an overall improvement.

Ya, I might be able to get Cobra to replace it for me but ??? and either way I will be out shipping costs to them for a "maybe".

I might consider a different radio but I really like the forward facing speaker on this Cobra. Lets me have a cleaner install (no external speaker).

I will check out MURS but I am more likely to just skip and go directly to a HAM. I have spent a bit of time looking into HAM setups and at this point I am leaning towards putting in the switch to fool the CB and still getting a basic HAM setup. The license seems easy enough and I could get a license + cheap BaoFeng handheld for the price of a CB, so I may be able to convince others to do that as well. I would probably get an external antenna for the handheld too with the idea of upgrading to a mobile unit in the future if it works out.

 

[Dazrin]

Just to close this out, there is obviously a problem with the radio but it does work fine as long as I connect the power after the radio is switched on. I stuck a small push-button switch in the hand throttle hole and it works as well as can be expected. The memory is useless but at least I can talk on the trail which is the point.

Sometime this summer I will get my amateur radio license, a hand held BaoFeng, and a good mobile antenna mounted to my other YotaTeq antenna mount. Long term will be a good Yaesu or Kenwood mobile unit but that can wait till I can convince a couple others to get their licenses too.

 

[4x4junkie]

Keep in mind that Baofeng will work quite dandy on MURS... Also a Yaesu or Kenwood too if you modify it (though technically not legal due to the power output of the radio).

 

[MG34]

Get a export radio.