Fix it, give it away or shoot it?
 

I have a Maxon HCB-10C handheld radio I bought a while back at Wally
World so that I could monitor very short-range CB traffic from my
vehicle without hooking up the real CB I use just for long trips.

It worked fine for a while, and then I lost the sheath off the rubber
duck antenna, at which point it didn't pick up any thing at ALL except
maybe some hiss. Assuming a bad antenna was the culprit, I just
bought the RS telescoping center-loaded antenna (cat. no. 20-006).
Same deal - nothing but hiss.

Given that this little radio was pretty short-range to begin with, is
it worth having repaired?

Anyone want this thing for parts for free (except shipping)?



Thanks,

tmac

tmac wrote:
I have a Maxon HCB-10C handheld radio I bought a while back at Wally
World so that I could monitor very short-range CB traffic from my
vehicle without hooking up the real CB I use just for long trips.

It worked fine for a while, and then I lost the sheath off the rubber
duck antenna, at which point it didn't pick up any thing at ALL except
maybe some hiss. Assuming a bad antenna was the culprit, I just
bought the RS telescoping center-loaded antenna (cat. no. 20-006).
Same deal - nothing but hiss.

Given that this little radio was pretty short-range to begin with, is
it worth having repaired?

Anyone want this thing for parts for free (except shipping)?

Thanks,

tmac

Did you try it by the freeway on ch 19 for receive?

On 02 Jan 2004 23:05:20 GMT, Steveo
wrote:


Did you try it by the freeway on ch 19 for receive?

Yep. I live about 1/4 mile off I-65, but earlier today I parked right
off an overpass and got out of my truck with it. Nada. I even tried
to transmit to it from my mobile CB. It ain't doin' NOTHIN' - no tx
or rx.



tmac

tmac wrote:
On 02 Jan 2004 23:05:20 GMT, Steveo
wrote:

Did you try it by the freeway on ch 19 for receive?

Yep. I live about 1/4 mile off I-65, but earlier today I parked right
off an overpass and got out of my truck with it. Nada. I even tried
to transmit to it from my mobile CB. It ain't doin' NOTHIN' - no tx
or rx.

tmac

I'd throw it away, and look for a better radio. There's good
deals on used mobile rigs that will work much better anyway.

What are you trying to do with it, if it -was- working?

On 03 Jan 2004 01:09:47 GMT, Steveo
wrote:


I'd throw it away, and look for a better radio. There's good
deals on used mobile rigs that will work much better anyway.

What are you trying to do with it, if it -was- working?

This will sound stupid to serious CBers, but I have a mobile rig with
a magnetic mount antenna stored in a metal box behind the seat. I
don't want it hooked up all the time - only on long trips. So I
thought a portable would be a good alternative for daily commutes - I
don't need a lot of range, but it's good to be able to hear the
truckers if I run into a traffic jam. And it can sit on the seat next
to me with a minimum of setup and fuss.


tmac

tmac wrote:
On 03 Jan 2004 01:09:47 GMT, Steveo
wrote:

I'd throw it away, and look for a better radio. There's good
deals on used mobile rigs that will work much better anyway.

What are you trying to do with it, if it -was- working?

This will sound stupid to serious CBers, but I have a mobile rig with
a magnetic mount antenna stored in a metal box behind the seat. I
don't want it hooked up all the time - only on long trips. So I
thought a portable would be a good alternative for daily commutes - I
don't need a lot of range, but it's good to be able to hear the
truckers if I run into a traffic jam. And it can sit on the seat next
to me with a minimum of setup and fuss.

tmac

Oh I understand that application, they're golden on road trips.

A cheap Uniden is like $45 new, add a cigarette lighter plug
and a cheap mag mount antenna, and you're good to go.

Rock on.

Hey Steveo, where would I get and what type of cig plug would I need say for
a Uniden PRO538W CB?

Thanks...

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
tmac wrote:
On 03 Jan 2004 01:09:47 GMT, Steveo
wrote:

I'd throw it away, and look for a better radio. There's good
deals on used mobile rigs that will work much better anyway.

What are you trying to do with it, if it -was- working?

This will sound stupid to serious CBers, but I have a mobile rig with
a magnetic mount antenna stored in a metal box behind the seat. I
don't want it hooked up all the time - only on long trips. So I
thought a portable would be a good alternative for daily commutes - I
don't need a lot of range, but it's good to be able to hear the
truckers if I run into a traffic jam. And it can sit on the seat next
to me with a minimum of setup and fuss.

tmac

Oh I understand that application, they're golden on road trips.

A cheap Uniden is like $45 new, add a cigarette lighter plug
and a cheap mag mount antenna, and you're good to go.

Rock on.

Got it

"Forest" wrote in message
link.net...
Hey Steveo, where would I get and what type of cig plug would I need say
for
a Uniden PRO538W CB?

Thanks...

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
tmac wrote:
On 03 Jan 2004 01:09:47 GMT, Steveo
wrote:

I'd throw it away, and look for a better radio. There's good
deals on used mobile rigs that will work much better anyway.

What are you trying to do with it, if it -was- working?

This will sound stupid to serious CBers, but I have a mobile rig with
a magnetic mount antenna stored in a metal box behind the seat. I
don't want it hooked up all the time - only on long trips. So I
thought a portable would be a good alternative for daily commutes - I
don't need a lot of range, but it's good to be able to hear the
truckers if I run into a traffic jam. And it can sit on the seat next
to me with a minimum of setup and fuss.

tmac

Oh I understand that application, they're golden on road trips.

A cheap Uniden is like $45 new, add a cigarette lighter plug
and a cheap mag mount antenna, and you're good to go.

Rock on.

"Forest" wrote:
Hey Steveo, where would I get and what type of cig plug would I need say
for a Uniden PRO538W CB?

Thanks.

Radio **** Shack, should have it, it's only a hot and ground, two
wires. Try to find one that opens up with a screw, that way you
can fix it if it gets tugged. I don't like the ones with a rivet
thru them, although I've drilled out the rivet a few times.

They might be at best buy, or circuit city too.

On 03 Jan 2004 03:27:06 GMT, Steveo
wrote:

Radio **** Shack, should have it, it's only a hot and ground, two
wires. Try to find one that opens up with a screw, that way you
can fix it if it gets tugged. I don't like the ones with a rivet
thru them, although I've drilled out the rivet a few times.

Tell me about it. I had a riveted one that came with the
aforementioned Maxon. When it got a short, the best thing to do was
throw it away.



tmac