The components are all surface mount.
If you can read the schematic's and if you can solder and if you have the proper tools to do the proper measurements - you can repair it yourself.
The problem is with a $15 radio - you probably aren't going to spend $50.00 to repair it...

On Thursday, August 9, 2012 9:12:50 AM UTC-4, Channel Jumper wrote:
a2phil;794670 Wrote:

I recently bought a Cobra 139 XLR at a garage sale for $15. The guy

didn't have an antenna for it, so I couldn't check TX/RX, right then,

but it lit up and didn't LOOK like it's seen the "golden screwdriver"

(no extra switches, no missing/stripped out screws or knobs, no holes in

the case, etc...I've always been told to STAY AWAY from those radios

unless you know the person who did it and you know they know what

they're doing)and I've seen the "it lights up, but I don't know what's

wrong with it" ones go on eBay for $40+, so I bought it. I took it home,

and found that the radio receives GREAT (TONS of skip with an indoor

antenna!!) but no transmit (meters dim and deflect momentarily, but no

"dead key" even with whistling) No power out indicated on my watt meter..

Is there an easy and/or cheap fix for this? Can you still find the

needed part(s) for this 35+/- year old radio?



The components are all surface mount.

If you can read the schematic's and if you can solder and if you have

the proper tools to do the proper measurements - you can repair it

yourself.

The problem is with a $15 radio - you probably aren't going to spend

$50.00 to repair it...









--

Channel Jumper

I have a friend that I could borrow a multimeter (and maybe a soldering iron) from, I'm just worried how much the parts could cost, and if IS the finals (I'm thinking most likely) can they be found?? For a 35 +/- year old radio, it's in pretty good shape otherwise.

Keep it for parts, keep it for what ever - even if you just keep the microphone.

This is called a life's lesson.

People do not usually get rid of a good working CB radio unless it is JUNK!

A indoor antenna is not going to work properly.

It needs to be a certain segment of a wavelenght in size 1/4 - 5/8 ths and it needs to be at least 30' off the ground...

If your antenna system was ok - and the SWR of the antenna was ok, I would suspect the radio was faulty.

Unless you have another transceiver to check the antenna - the SWR meter is not going to do you any good.

I highly doubt if it is going to be as simple as just using an OHM meter and a soldering iron to repair - especially since you have no electronic's background.

You can check the TX if you have another microphone.

Some CB's will not receive unless there is a microphone attached.
There is no way for me to know if it is the microphone or the transceiver until you find a microphone that actually works.

If you knew of someone who had a electronic's background, you could check the final transistors and replace them...
Probably - the person who you bought it off of had it connected to a crappy antenna and it fried the finals....

Sometimes you can start at the front end and work your way back - but it is going to cost you more to fix it yourself then what it is worth.

A CB shop will probably charge you $65 to repair it - not worth the bother, when you can buy a brand new one at Pilot for about $89.00 with a warranty