Troubleshooting Your CB Radio Safely

There’s something going on with your CB Radio rig. You’re not receiving the same signal strength as you once did. Maybe what you’re sending out isn’t reaching your audience anymore. Or, on occasion, the radio’s display dims or flickers and drops the signal.

Troubleshooting Your Radio

There seems to be an issue with the radio, the coax cable, the antenna … or all three. Unfortunately, it’s hard to troubleshoot the issue with your CB Radio when your speeding down the interstate to make a delivery deadline. What you need to do is stop, evaluate the situation, and fix it. Or, have someone repair it for you.

What can help another technician with this is to get an idea of the problem. To perform this operation, follow these safety steps to avoid damage to yourself, the radio, or your vehicle.

1. It runs on electricity. A portable radio you previously hooked up may not produce a huge shock to your system but it can burn out the rig or melt needed components. Make sure everything is unplugged before you start checking, especially if you are going to remove the radio’s front panel.
2. Move metal objects. Once you unplug the coax cable between the radio and antenna you remove the rig’s ground. Thus, if you still have the radio plugged in and there are metal objects or wires around, there’s bound to be a shock to you or the radio.
3. Follow the documentation’s troubleshooting steps. The manual that came with your CB should contain a list of troubleshooting steps. Follow these to eliminate potential causes of your problems. If a paper version didn’t come with the radio, then it’s most likely available online.
4. Know what you’re doing. Don’t fiddle with everything if you don’t know what you’re doing. Read the manual and start with the radio itself. If you can’t find anything there, then move on to external components like the antenna, microphone, and coax cables.

Still unsure of how to troubleshoot the issue with your CB radio? Contact our specialists at CB Radio Supply to help determine the problems and how to correct them.