Alex wrote in
:

I just purchased a Cobra 19 DX III and a 36" base loaded magnet mount
antenna. So far I'm picking up pretty good, and transmitting well
also. I don't think I'm getting out there as far as i can.

How far are you transmitting? On a clear channel, or busy one?


Most likely
this Friday I will be purchasing a Wilson 1000 Magnet Mount to replace
the antenna I have now. Is that going to get me out there a little
more (the wilson 1000) No modifications have been made to this radio
and have not been able to find any either. I purchased it brand new at
a Pilot Truckstop, and am sure it is only putting out 4 watts (fcc
required). Will the Wilson make me receive further or transmit further
or both, or neither? I'm new and feel it all has to do with how much
your getting out ( 4 watts doesn't seem to good )


4 watts is actually a great deal of power. The first mistake a newcomer
makes is believing power determines range.

The Wilson antenna will increase both your transmit and receive range.


Maybe I don't need a new radio, maybe the wilson 1000 will do what I
want it to do. I get so sick of losing communication once I'm not
close to truckers anymore. What do I need to do? I want to make sure i
am getting out as far as possible.

Is your radio tuned to your antenna? Again a newcomer mistake... not
adjusting the SWR of your system. Just dropping a radio and antenna into
a vehicle and operating is not all that is required. You must make sure
the antenna/radio/vehicle combination are matched up with one another.
You can search on the web for how to adjust SWR.

Also, antenna location is important. Placing the antenna right in the
middle of the roof of your vehicle is the optimum place to mount an
antenna. Especially if it is a car.

To make it simple.... the metal in your vehicle will act as a "guide" for
radio waves. Wherever the most metal is is the direction the radio waves
will be directed. The center of the vehivle will direct your signal
equlally in all directions. Placing an antenna, say on the roof of a
pickup truck will actully direct the signal BEHIND the vehicle, since you
have the whole bed of the vehicle to guide the signal. Mounting your
antenna, say on the driver's side mirror of a car will actually direct
the signal to the left, side and rear of the vehicle, while sending a
diminished signal to the front and left. Hope that makes sense.


My other dilemma:

I've been looking here http://www.wilsonantennas.com/cobracb.shtml at
some of the radios and the three that have caught my eye a

Cobra 29 LTD Night Watch Classic

Cobra 25 LTD Classic

Cobra 148 GTL Classic

To be honest.... any and all radios will perform for the most party, the
same. They differ in "bells and whistles" only. I had one of the first
generation Cobry 19 Plus radios.... best sounding radio I ever had...
perhaps the newer generations are similar.


The site also offers two tuning options before shipping. Which one
should I go for? Seems like the Mega Tune. One more question below as
well. The tuning options a

The Mega Tune 29.99
....

The True Tune 10.00
....

If you want to stay legal, stay away from this stuff. The only legal way
to operate a radio is out of the box. I have yet to see a peak and tune
that doesn't sound awful, or bleed over.

To be honest, most radios ARE undertuned. You CAN get set up to run at
the full legal 4 watts, and not exceed modulation limits. Just go to a
trustworthy shop.


Last question: The one that bugs me.

I purchased a SWR Meter from Radio shack. It was the cheapest one they
had and I am on a budget here, because some they had were way to
expensive. The one I got was
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...&product%5Fid=
21-534 I took it back because nothing seemed to make much difference,
or I wasn't operating it right, seemed to always fall in the red. The
antenna I have the only way to adjust is to move antenna up and down.
Maybe I wasn't in a good location. I finally got it to 2.3, and just
left it. My question is was I operating it right to finally get a 2.3
or is that just a cheap ass SWR Meter?


In the red is VERY BAD.... A factor in your range for sure. 2.3 is not
too bad... you want an SWR under 3. See my above on antenna location. I
figure you have your antanna tuned as good as it can be. Your SWR meter
was working properly. All it does is tells you the truth. Some
vehicle/antanna combinations don't agree with one another.

I really hope someone has the time to answer and help out a newbie as
I am very interested in Cb's since i finally broke down and got me
one. I just want to be able to transmit and receive as far as possible
without breaking the law to bad. Not ready for a amplifier or anything
like that.

Good deal.... best way to be.


Hope I helped.