Uniden Pro510XL Not Transmitting

Check your SWR using an external SWR meter. Radioshack sells them for $38.

The SWR check is a measurement of how much the signal goes out as opposed to how much goes back into the radio. The lower the SWR, the more signal is being transmitted out. The higher the SWR, the more the signal is NOT being sent out.

You want the SWR to be 2.0:1 (at a minimum) or less. I prefer 1.5:1 or even 1.0:1 but that's not always achievable.

If your SWR is something like 3.0:1 or higher, you have an antenna issue or a coax issue or possibly an antenna ground issue; any of these issues will severely hinder your transmit range.

However even with a high SWR, you will still (in most cases) be able to receive rather well.

Also what kind of antenna are you running? How is the antenna mounted? And what kind of coax are you running?

 

Find out if you can what kind of antenna you have. You say it's a mag mount but there's all kinds of mag mount antennas. It could be any kind of antenna for all anyone knows. Some ham radio antennas could be mistaken for CB antennas. Also some mobile CB antennas use loading coils that can open over time - if the loading coil on a CB antenna opens, then your SWR will go sky high and you won't be able to transmit beyond a few feet.

Can you say how long the whip of the antenna is?

Also most likely the coax, if it's slightly less than the thickness of a pencil eraser, is probably RG58-AU...not the best coax for CB but it will work.

 

i've had 2 510's and both mics crapped out... try switching them and see what happens.
i had same prob. and fixed it with new mic

 

A 2ft antenna is probably the problem, won't get out very good even if you do have a good SWR. Put your radio in his vehicle and see what happens.

 

If the antenna was in good working order and you had a half way decent SWR, yes it should do better than that.