NewfoundlandVenture Posted April 23, 2014 Share #1 Posted April 23, 2014 Hi. I have an '89 1300. CB has been working great, but started to have problems last riding season. I can receive a signal fine from a fair distance, beyond visual range, but I can only transmit to bikes within roughly 50 ft. of me. I"m not really familiar with CB's. Any thoughts on where to start hunting down this problem and possible culprits? My buddies are starting to get annoyed with my hand signals while riding! Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Pad Posted April 23, 2014 Share #2 Posted April 23, 2014 even the 2nd gens could only transmit, maybe a mile or so. the bike needs a booster. now I was able to pick up base stations, up to 20 miles away, but they would have to increase there booster to here me reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted April 23, 2014 Share #3 Posted April 23, 2014 You should start by checking the swr of your antenna system. Next make sure your ground connection's are good and clean. Make sure your coax is in good shape. Not kinked or rubbed through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted April 23, 2014 Share #4 Posted April 23, 2014 You should start by checking the swr of your antenna system. Next make sure your ground connection's are good and clean. Make sure your coax is in good shape. Not kinked or rubbed through. I don't have any problem reaching 1/2 mile or more with mine transmitting at low power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted April 23, 2014 Share #5 Posted April 23, 2014 Besides the above, there is also the possibility that with all the vibration it is subject to, the transmitter has gotten out of adjustment. That is one of the biggest reason truckers have to replace their CB's frequently. If that is the case you will need to take it to a CB specialty shop. When you test your SWR and you can't get it below 1.6 even with a different antenna then that may be the case. MK2 CB's show up on ebay all the time, and I've even purchased one for $30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted April 23, 2014 Share #6 Posted April 23, 2014 Finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted April 23, 2014 Share #7 Posted April 23, 2014 Yupper!!! those poor little coil tweekers get all discombobulated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted April 23, 2014 Share #8 Posted April 23, 2014 WOW!!! Look what I found on Fleabay! Brand spankin' new! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-XVZ1300-XVZ13-NOS-CB-Radio-Assembly-/310203876969?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4839978669&vxp=mtr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAWildKat Posted April 23, 2014 Share #9 Posted April 23, 2014 WOW!!! Look what I found on Fleabay! Brand spankin' new! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-XVZ1300-XVZ13-NOS-CB-Radio-Assembly-/310203876969?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4839978669&vxp=mtr I can't afford that! If only Mike's cb worked perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfoundlandVenture Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted April 23, 2014 Thanks for the great advice everyone. I'm in a small town, so a dedicated CB shop isn't an option. Never done CB diagnostics, but I've seen a couple youtube video's now! lol So, wanting to do this as cost effectively as possible, would an SWR meter like this.... http://www.ebay.ca/itm/131114855315?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 ....do the job? I don't know if there are a myriad of different connection types, and if so, what do we have on the first gen venture? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfoundlandVenture Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the help everyone... After doing a front to back inspection on connections, etc. I found that the antenna wire had become disconnected from the base of the antenna. I have the original antenna... there is a post inside the antenna mounting bracket which makes contact with the antenna wire as it comes through the bottom of the bracket. Over time, tightening the antenna, etc., the post was pulled up, losing contact with the wire. A simple fix in the end! Edited June 11, 2014 by NewfoundlandVenture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geobob Posted June 15, 2014 Share #12 Posted June 15, 2014 My cb worked great a couple of weeks ago after tuning it with the SWR meter. The last week it started to get worse and worse with respect to transmitting. Tonight it dropped down to 3 feet. Literally, my girlfriend was on her bike sitting right next to me and we could talk but that was it. It went from a mile to several hundred yards to 50 feet and now less than 5 feet. This is a timely thread. It is not often that I do a search and find someone with exactly the same problem. I checked my coax connection to the antenna first since I have replace the stock set up with some off the self connectors. It all looked good. I have had connection at the radio come apart or disconnect (or maybe I forgot to plug them in LOL) so I should probably check their first. I think it started after I was in their attaching a antenna tie in for my sirriusXM radio. I think they are common items. You unplug your antenna, plug in the external signal and then plug your antenna wire into the added on item. I'd be willing to bet that connection of my antenna to falling out. The sirriusxm radio still plays fine but when its off I noticed almost nothing coming across 88.1 which usually gets a little something. This site and everyone's and other sites like it are so helpful I wonder how we managed without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ky. Rider Posted June 16, 2014 Share #13 Posted June 16, 2014 Check your squelch setting. The lower the number the greater output but also the more static/chatter you'll pick up. I was having the same problem and when I lowered the squelch setting the other bikes could pick me up much better at a greater distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWa Posted June 16, 2014 Share #14 Posted June 16, 2014 Squelch only affects the receiver. It works like the spring on a door. It controls how strong of a signal it takes to open the receiver door. But once open everything gets in. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradT Posted June 17, 2014 Share #15 Posted June 17, 2014 Doubt I am going to be able to hear you even after you fix it. Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted June 17, 2014 Share #16 Posted June 17, 2014 Check your squelch setting. The lower the number the greater output but also the more static/chatter you'll pick up. I was having the same problem and when I lowered the squelch setting the other bikes could pick me up much better at a greater distance. The squelch control only affects receiver range. I cant explain the difference your friends heard...possibly messing with you for some fun? Or maybe they were adjusting the squelch at THEIR end to match your setting? Who knows. I once heard a guy on the CB tell another listener that if he changed the inline fuse to a larger amp fuse the CB would transmit further. Yeah. Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted June 17, 2014 Share #17 Posted June 17, 2014 Doubt I am going to be able to hear you even after you fix it. BradGetting that old, are you Brad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted June 17, 2014 Share #18 Posted June 17, 2014 After doing a front to back inspection on connections, etc. I found that the antenna wire had become disconnected from the base of the antenna. .....the post was pulled up, losing contact with the wire. A simple fix in the end! Are you sure this was the only issue? In your first post you said the CB receives fine....how could it receive anything at all if the connector or cable was disconected from the antenna?.... it probably was able to receive the signal from a very nearby CB transmitter...if you did a test like that. And, if you keyed the transmitter with the cable un-plugged it could have damaged the final in the transmitter. Be sure to re-verify your transmit range...it should be good (bike to bike) for a half mile to maybe...2 miles or so. (~1 to ~3 kms for you Canadians) A range of about a mile (~1.5 to ~2 kms) is normal with bike-to-bike CB use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted June 23, 2014 Share #19 Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Are you sure this was the only issue? In your first post you said the CB receives fine....how could it receive anything at all if the connector or cable was disconected from the antenna?.... it probably was able to receive the signal from a very nearby CB transmitter...if you did a test like that. And, if you keyed the transmitter with the cable un-plugged it could have damaged the final in the transmitter. Be sure to re-verify your transmit range...it should be good (bike to bike) for a half mile to maybe...2 miles or so. (~1 to ~3 kms for you Canadians) A range of about a mile (~1.5 to ~2 kms) is normal with bike-to-bike CB use. Actually I ran into similar issue with my 89. I could transmit a short distance only about 100 feet but receive not to bad. I did however have to turn squelch right off to get any reception at all. I came across a 52 inch Wilson which had been removed from a truck traded in at the dealer were I work and thought I would try it to see if the taller antenna would make any improvement. Before mounting it I checked continuity from tip to base to make sure it was ok, because sometimes the wire antenna breaks away at the base. When I swapped it for the short Wilson on my bike I decided to check its continuity just to compare. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered it had an open connection between the tip and the base. And here in lies the mystery. How is it I could transmit at all, poor as it was and how is it I did not blow the finals in my CB. Only thing I can think of is because my antenna system is not a direct hook up to the radio but goes through a multiplexor, as the 1st gens do, it somehow compensated in some small way, Maybe some how using the coax lead to the am/fm radio as a substitute antenna . Oh yeah, after I installed the new antenna I had to adjust the squelch because I was picking up everything now and it transmits like a dream. Edited June 23, 2014 by saddlebum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted June 23, 2014 Share #20 Posted June 23, 2014 ......And here in lies the mystery. How is it I could transmit at all, poor as it was and how is it I did not blow the finals in my CB. Only thing I can think of is because my antenna system is not a direct hook up to the radio but goes through a multiplexor, as the 1st gens do, it somehow compensated in some small way, Maybe some how using the coax lead to the am/fm radio as a substitute antenna . Oh yeah, after I installed the new antenna I had to adjust the squelch because I was picking up everything now and it transmits like a dream. Thats as good a guess as I would have made...when transmitting, the radio output finals need to see something close to a 50 ohm load. (CB antennas are normally about a 40 to 50 ohm load when tuned properly)...maybe that combiner and the AM/FM antenna were close enough to that value to work. It also depends a lot on how LONG you transmit. Sometimes a few short bursts on the mike are harmless...even if the antenna has an open or short in it. But an extended transmission...15 seconds to maybe a half minute...might generate enough heat in the final transistor to fail. Either way...its good news...right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted June 23, 2014 Share #21 Posted June 23, 2014 That is more or less along the lines that I was thinking. I know in the old days when I used to tune twin sticks, I would put a 50 ohm dummy load in place of one antenna while tuning the other and then do the same for the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted August 2, 2014 Share #22 Posted August 2, 2014 Coming a few months late on this...but I was just reading that the CB's on our bikes have a built in failsafe that is good for about five minutes of protection during transmitting. So if you have a bad antenna or a shorted cable, you can safely keep transmitting for short bursts without blowing the outputs....until you figure out you have a problem. david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted August 3, 2014 Share #23 Posted August 3, 2014 Also bad ground plane due to corrosion at the mount..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfoundlandVenture Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share #24 Posted August 4, 2014 Are you sure this was the only issue? In your first post you said the CB receives fine....how could it receive anything at all if the connector or cable was disconected from the antenna?.... it probably was able to receive the signal from a very nearby CB transmitter...if you did a test like that. And, if you keyed the transmitter with the cable un-plugged it could have damaged the final in the transmitter. Be sure to re-verify your transmit range...it should be good (bike to bike) for a half mile to maybe...2 miles or so. (~1 to ~3 kms for you Canadians) A range of about a mile (~1.5 to ~2 kms) is normal with bike-to-bike CB use. Just noticed this thread was continuing on... So far I've had no other issue with the CB. Shortly after doing the reconnect between cable and antenna, I completed a 3000 KM 5 day ride with 2 friends who have CB's on their bikes. We had no problems back and forth, even in the 1-2 KM range on twisty roads through hills and valleys. As for receiving before the fix... In a loose five bike formation I could receive from the bike at the rear while i was at the front, but could not transmit further than the bike next in formation behind me. let's say receiving 200-300 ft at least, but sending no more than 30-40 ft. Not knowing much about CB's I couldn't explain why it was that way... I'm just glad it$ working now:cool10: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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