so i hooked up a cb radio/ pa system in my civic.  yea i know its silly but it didnt cost a dime.  i didnt install an antenna yet but i did hook up the PA speaker behind my bumper.  there are 2 wires that run from the speaker.  one goes to a 12v source, the other to a headphone jack.  there are 2 holes in the back of the radio, one for external speaker (CB function) and the other for the PA speaker.  there is a switch on the front of the cb that lets you switch btw CB and PA.  my problem is that when i hit the button on the mic, my voice is broadcasted thru the PA speaker whether  the switch is on PA or CB.  so if im trying to talk to someone over teh CB, people outside my car can hear what im saying too!  is there a problem in the unit itself or am i not doing something right?

is a new cb?

idk newer ones may have a sensor if you dont have an antenna hooked up it goes to PA idk its a guess try to hook up the antenna and see what happens i guess

good call. i will try it asap.  i know the CB wont work if the mic isnt in.  anyone else have  suggestions?

what kind is it?  Where'd you get it?

its a basic midland model. 40 channel.  its fairly new. i got it from some shady kid at work

I'd hook an antenna to it and find someone nearby to test with and make sure that the thing actually transmits.
It sounds like the switch may be bad and stuck on PA.

i dont think its stuck because when its on CB, the channel is displayed. when switched to PA, no channel is displayed.

Here's my suggestion: STOP BEING SUCH A HICK!

Are u trying to meet up with some hot sweaty truckers for some truck-stop-sex again??

Hook up the Antenna you'll burn it up if your not Transmitting.

no no no no no no no no no................stop...................
first you have two "power leads"..........................one to pos the other to neg
The "CB" has an internal speaker. Period.
There is NO external positive negative bullshit external speaker bullshit. Stop.
The external speaker jack is for inside the cab. CB RADIO only.
The "PA" jack is for external HORN (bullhorn) type speaker ONLY.
These are called "mini-jacks" (not to be confused with 1/4 inch "phone jacks").
ALL these aformentioned things are true unless the unit has been modified by an idiot.
This "does" happen when the idiots want to hear themselves talk through the speaker
while they are talking. BUT this is usually accomplished (inside the radio) by disabling the
receive/mute switch (stop looking at the word "switch"---that is a transistor).
If you have hooked all this up correctly as prescribed.....................throw the sonofabitch away.
New ones can be had for less than 40 dollars. Stop wasting your time.
I loved the CB back in '68......................nowadays only the truckers/idiots are on them....mostly..
Methinks you are trying to (as was earlier mentioned) get some of that trucker kitty cat.............
watch yourself.....................hope this helps, love, Nosliw (that's what the aliens call me)

nice post lol.  i do not have an external speaker thing.  i have the bullhorn type PA horn.  its plugged into the PA jack NOT the EXT jack.  what is this 1/4 inch jack you speak of?  as far as i know its an 1/8th inch headphone jack type.  i should go and get a mono male jack and wire that up but i just spliced it into an old headphone jack.

Quote from: Old Mr. Wilson on September 30, 2006, 12:10:08 AM
no no no no no no no no no................stop...................
first you have two "power leads"..........................one to pos the other to neg
The "CB" has an internal speaker. Period.
There is NO external positive negative bullshit external speaker bullshit. Stop.
The external speaker jack is for inside the cab. CB RADIO only.
The "PA" jack is for external HORN (bullhorn) type speaker ONLY.
These are called "mini-jacks" (not to be confused with 1/4 inch "phone jacks").
ALL these aformentioned things are true unless the unit has been modified by an idiot.
This "does" happen when the idiots want to hear themselves talk through the speaker
while they are talking. BUT this is usually accomplished (inside the radio) by disabling the
receive/mute switch (stop looking at the word "switch"---that is a transistor).
If you have hooked all this up correctly as prescribed.....................throw the sonofabitch away.
New ones can be had for less than 40 dollars. Stop wasting your time.
I loved the CB back in '68......................nowadays only the truckers/idiots are on them....mostly..
Methinks you are trying to (as was earlier mentioned) get some of that trucker kitty cat.............
watch yourself.....................hope this helps, love, Nosliw (that's what the aliens call me)

Oh my!!!  I think I'm dreaming.  OMW's first "technical" post.

just kidding OMW. I've seen you post some other's.

ok.............the unit requires a mono jack. This is called "tip and ring" (Bell telephone jargon). If you are using a stereo jack, this is a tip, ring, and sleeve. You HAVE to use tip and sleeve. Use an ohm meter to determine this. Go buy the right damn plug and stop trying to Homeboyus Africanus-rig it. Geez.

I did NOT write "black-rig" it...................I wrote something else...........

tehe ya i got ya.  but first u say a mono jack is a tip and ring. then u say i need a tip and sleeve.. is there different kinds of mono jacks? i just want to make sure im buying the right one if i buy it.  so using a headphone male jack and splicing it to one side will do what?  im just trying to figure out why the hell its broadcasting out of the PA horn when the switch is on CB..

no no no no no no..................stop
the plug you need is a mono plug

it appears that you tried a stereo plug......... either get the right plug or wire the one you have
from tip (the tip) and sleeve (the base). Find that out with an ohm meter. Do not use the center
ring (on the plug you are trying to [racial slur removed by moderator]) for this application.

damn.

As for the rest of your question about if all is wired correctly and it still is not functioning......
you will need to order a schematic for that unit from midland. How electronically adept are you?
Most shops worth ANYTHING will charge 30 to 50 bucks an hour. Do what I previously mentioned.
Throw that sonofabitch in the garbarge and buy you a new one for 40 bucks. Stop wasting your
precious time. Time that could be spent riding that GS500!!!

kk i'll get the mono.

ok so the cb was junk so i bought a new cobra for 34 bucks at wally world.  still having PA issues tho.. everything works but i have a little problem.  when the switch is set to PA and i turn the unit off, the LCD glows a little bit still and the PA is still useable jsut really quiet.  so i got out the multitester and put the red wire to the jack end and the black wire to the chasis.  the car was off. it was measuring 16 volts!! how is that even possible?  the setup for the pa speaker horn thing is like this.. 2 wires off the back of the horn. one goes to the fuse box, the other has the mono jack that plugs into the unit.  im assuming its normal for the jack end to have power running through when its grounded because its completing the circuit. correct?  would the extra voltage coming thru cause the LCD display to glow slightly when the unit is off?  also i get a constant quiet buzz from the horn at all times.