My cb radio has good reception but only for a short distance, why ?

The antenna warning is the key, the swr on the antenna/feedline is very high. check antenna connections, coax and connectors for damage

Before having a fix on your rig, borrow from a buddy

a SWR meter, measure the power rating of your radio.

It should be having at least a power of 4W with a good SWR of 1.1 to 1.5.


That power would be a match for amp like these:

http://www.cbradiomagazine.com/Amplifier%20Reviews/Palomar%20Elite%20250/Palomar%20Elite%20250%20Review.htm

If radio checked good it is either a bad antenna or a short on the coax from it to the radio.

heck your antenna for problems. Wire could be broken, shorted or other problems. If the antenna is shorted this may be normal in some cases as some antennas are designed to be DC shorted.

check the swr's on the antenna. all shops should do it for free just to check them. WE DO here in texas.. but if antenna isn't install properly then it may be high swr causing short distance.

Typically, this type of handheld has a useful range of approximately 1-2 miles. This distance will be increased with other radios being mobiles and base stations. Distances of 5 miles is possible if the other person has a good base station antenna. I would not expect much from the stock rubber ducky antenna.

JTRadiojunkie

Hi, my name is John. Welcome to FixYa. Check your antenna, you need to set it with a real SWR meter, pick one up at any near-by CB shack $10.00. Thanks for choosing Fixya...John

Cb radio is line of sight. If there is a hill in the way, or some other kind of structure it will block the radio waves.

But also, radio waves, will bounce of the ionosphere and come back down.

So whats probably happening is...

You hear people close because they are near. You can't hear some one some what far away because of hills or something, but you talk to people far away because the are within range of the radio waves bouncing back down to them

Sound to me like a ground problem but I need more information to corectly help you with your problem.

Oh yeah. The best radio to get reach that distance with no problem would be a 10 meter, such as a General Lee, Connex, Stryker, or Galaxy with a 2 digit model number. Those, with a good antenna set up properly, will reach out 10 miles real clear and up to 14 - 15 miles with some reception loss.

Regular cb radios, such as Cobra, Galaxy 3 digit model numbers, Uniden, etc will have a decent reception, but generally when used barefoot, will only transmit and recieve about 6 miles real clear and up to 9 or 10 miles with a decent amount of signal loss.

Now, you do not have to have a big, expensive antenna to get the distance you want, you can do it with just a cheaper fiberglass stick antenna like a Francis 4 1/2 foot. After I installed a Francis antenna and a General Lee on a tuck outfited the other day, I was able to talk to a man apx 14 miles from my location.

The main thing to look for when installing the antenna is that you have a good coax (braided center conducto and 95% braided sheilding), and that the antenna is not grounded out, just the bracket (this is what makes your ground plane). Make sure the nylon spacer (looks like a plastic washer with a lip on it) is place on top of the antenna mount, with the lip facing down through the hole. You can use a magnet mount antenna, but you will have much much better luck with a hard mounted antenna.

If you have more questions, or if you need me to send a picture showing the placement of the antenna and bracket parts, dont hesitate to email me. [email protected]

Dean Pitts
Rollin CBs