i have a cobra cb with a K40 antenna i also have a small speaker hooked up and i get so much static i cant stand it.
i am willing to try anything to clear this up any help would be great. even when i unhook the speaker it still has tons od static

Static on the CB could be one or a combo of the following.

1) Antenna tuned for low VSWR? Go to Radio Shack or a CB shop and ask them if the can tune your antenna. The ratio needs to be as close to 1:1 as possible. Also it is important that the Antenna is mounted where you will have it when in use. Moving the antenna to different parts of the vehicle will affect the VSWR and thus radio performance.

2) Squelch. I know this sounds silly, but adjust the squelch to remove all the static. If your on CH 19, forget it. You'll have weak signals and strong signals and it's hard to get a good balance of where the sqeulch should be. It's best to test this with a friend on a differnt channel. The lower the squelch setting the "Weaker" the signals are that you let through and the greater the chance of static.

3) Interference. This could come from your trucks electrical system. Again hit a CB shop or Radio Shack, they have suppressors that will help to elimnate this from your truck. If the static makes a humming sounds that increases when you rev the motor, then most likely it's interference.

Good Luck with your testing on this.

ok i had the atenna checked a while back and they said it was better then fine.




Squelch- i have the squelch set just right befor it is clear(with no static) because if i turn it too high or too low i dont get anything.\

interference- well when i have my windsheld wipers on i can hear it throught my speaker little stuff like that i can hear. how can i get rid of that?

And one more ? i cant hear the person i am talking to more than 1 and a half city blocks away. i had my atenna set and they said it should be good. but i can hear truckers that are about a mile away. but the people that i am talking to have very good cbs. hope you can understand all the blab. thanks

Good, Your antenna seems fine.

Range, Your range will depend on several things. Those truckers may have the older higher output CB's or they may have an illegal amp installed that gives them more range. The ability to hear other people depends on 1) How well your CB's reciever is ( Tuned VSWR and sensativity ) can't do a whole lot to improve this without taking it to a shop and they can only help if something is broken. Some Recievers are better made than others, so your kinda stuck with what you have.

2) The amount of power that the other CB's are putting out. It doesn't matter how good your CB is, if they are putting out crap then that's what you'll here.

You also have to consider the terrain. This stuff is mostly line of site. If you have lots of hills or buildings then your signal will be degraded. The CB puts out roughly 4 watts of power so it's ability to penetrate buildings is limited.

Wiper Static.

Well you can put an interference suppressor on your power lead, or you can do like me and just turn the squelch up a bit more. I didn't mess with any of the noise suppressors on my CB.

Hope this helps. It's hard to communcicate some of this via
a keyboard.

these interference suppressor , can i get one at my local cb shop?

Yes, they should have them. They should be fairly cheap $10 range type item. Of course the last one I bought was back in the 70's ( Late )

Breaker,Breaker 19. You got your ears on? What's your 20? It's clean & Green your way, I'm pedal down. Catcha on the flip-flop.

Oh the memories.......

I know this may sound dumb but how long is the cord that runs from the CB to the antenna? I have the same CB and was useing a crappy Radio shack antena with a 8 foot cord. Had the same problem you are haveing. I was then told to get an atenna with a longer cord. So I went for the Wilson 2000 antenna with a 15 or 18 foot cord ( I can't remember the length) The problem stopped. I can't figure as to why it worked but it did. I didn't the etra length so it is in a bundle onder the carpet. Also where is your antenna mounted?

my antenna is mounted on my back bumper the wire is quite long (around 15-18ft) it runs from under the driver seat to the passenger side of the back bumper.

Do you have any power cords such as an amp power cord running next to the CB cord? that will also cause some static. hope that helps

yes i have a amp power cord running right next to the cb cord but it has power running throught it but it is not hooked up to the amp

I would try running it away from the power cord or even disconnect the power to the amp wire. that way you can test it. wires with that much power will distort the signal. I had a amp power wire running next to my stereo antena and it distorted my signal there. I would try to disconnect the power wire so it doesn't have any power running through it and see what happens. If you don't have the static then you know you need to get the cords futher appart.

thanks for all your help ill go do that know and let you know who it works again thanks eb bauer and Gofast

Not a problem...keep us informed! I am curious to see if it worked!

Well, the length shouldn't really matter. But, impedence would ( Line Loss ). A shorter cord should have less loss if both cords are of the same type quality. If the Coax is kinked or of cheap quality then you could have more RF loss ( takes more power to get to the signal to the antenna ).

It is possible that when you went to the longer Coax that it was a better quality.

Good Luck tracing this one down.

ok well i disconected the amp wire so no power is running throught. put in the interference suppressor ($6.98). ok the SQUELCH the static is when i have the squelch low(this is where i can hear all the truckers and the other people i am talking to) but when i turn it up a little more to get rid of the static i cant hear them no more.
UMMMMM... any advice on a new one? :D

How old is the CB you have? IS it a used, here take it for free unit? Sounds like Reciever sensativity is terrible. If you can't hear people a mile away without static then you might have a bad unit. I should have asked this much earlier.

Anyway, I bought a Cobra CB. everything is in the "Mic" on the i-net for $85 shipped to my door, no tax and free shipping. I love this unit because it is so compact. Several on this board gave it a thumbs up as well. Do some searching on keywords " Cobra CB "

Good Luck

what is the site that you got that cb? Is there one better then the other? thanks

This where I got mine!

http://soundradio.vservers.com/c29wxst.html

what is the best cobra cb that has all of the controlls in the mic, that is how mine is set up now and i like it

if i was to get a unit with the controls on the unir its self where would i put it???? i cant put it on the bottum lip of the dash near the trans. hump b/c i have my scanner there and i also have my fire extinguisher mounted on the hump. i dont know if it would be safe to put it on the top of the dash b/c of the little criminals running around. ummmmm.....

I have the same one of the pic I sent you with all the controls. I mounted mine under the dash on the left side of the bump just to the left of the ashtray. Hope that helps some

well i got tired of messing with it and just went and bought a new one and wow what a difference ( should of done it along time ago) the ash tray was no use to me so i took it out and with a few modifications slid in the cb fabricated a couple brackets and it looks great. as soon as i get some pics and get them developed i post them. thanks for all the help. :D

The comments you have been gettinging from the group are valid, but no one has mentioned a couple of things.

1. Explorers are notorious for fuel pump noise: a loud, medium to high pitched whine/ buzz type of static that can only be reduced by installing the "in the tank" noise filter kit offered by Ford. It installs in the power leads to the fuel pump inside the fuel tank. Part # E7PZ-9B357-A "Fuel Pump Noise kit".

2. Explorers also have lots of "transient" static noises from things like the engine control computer. etc. Best remedy is to run the power leads, both + and- directly to the battery, with fuses on both leads at or very near to the battery. Twist the wire about 2 to 4 turns per foot as it runs through the engine compartment to reduce inductive pick up of static from the ignition etc. Use #12 wire, minimum.

3. Good quality antenna cable coax is important. If it doesn't have good tight shielding braid, static can "leak in on the antenna lead. Length isn't important, shorter the better. The Wilson antenna someone mentioned probably worked a lot better, not becasuse the coax was longer, but because Wilson uses really high quality coax. Their antennas are known for their overall quality.

4. Antenna location is really important. I have found the quietest location for 2-way radio antennas on Explorers is the center of the roof. I have tried just about every possible location on the car, and the roof definitely is the quietest location. The rear bumper is the worst: too close to the dreaded fuel pump.

Hope this helps in your search for the noise solution.

Hey J91FORD I am back. First off do not buy Radio Shack Sh*t. Their coax cable isn’t worth a damn. I had all of my CB equipment tested and hooked up by a CB shop in Delaware. They are called R & R Communications. It is well worth the trip. They will come out to your truck and test everything. They will also test your Cobra and can fix anything that is broken on it. I would suggest getting your CB peeked and clipped. Without getting technical this is like removing the governor from the CB and getting a little more power from it. There number is 302-475.1351.

Eagle,
I bought a new cb and i love it sooooooooo much better the the old one so static like the old one. but there is always room for improvment how much are we talking to get it peeked and clipped?

BTW, my truck has changed since thae last time you saw it, new BFG mud's (much better then the old coopers) and finaly got the winch on now all i have to do is go back to paragon and test it out :D

The cost to peek and clip your CB really depends on what you have. Some are easyer than others. It averages around 20 30 dollars. What kind of winch did ya buy?

i got the warn 9,000i.
thats cool im going to have to give them a call, thanks.

I havent herd from tank lately do you know if he is going to the paragon trip or any info about it?

Wilson 2000/5000! Hell yah! Also, Magnet mounts also, if you do have one, anyways...are only really supposed to be "temporary" installations. You'll find better performance with a Wilson 2000 RF/Electrically grounded to the vehicle, not capacitively grounded like a Mag mount! 1/4 ground braid should do it! =)

Chris