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Message |
    
Deer_hunter
Junior Member
Username: Deer_hunter
Post Number: 11
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 3:11 pm: | 
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I have to embarrass myself(again) by asking what is probably a dumb question. I am considering purchasing a CB with sideband. Having never used/owned a CB with SSB and not that familiar with it. I read that some radios have built in meter, some have plug for externally mounted meter and some have neither.
How do you know what freq. you are on without a meter? |
Nobodyknows
Member
Username: Nobodyknows
Post Number: 85
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 4:26 pm: |
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Well, you don't.. It depends on the radio. SSB radios that have the fine/coarse tuning knob (Galaxy and others for example) you have to just go by radio checks from someone on SSB. The 12 o'clock setting on the coarse knob is close but usually never dead on. Get several radio checks on SSB and where everyone says you sound good at on your coarse knob, use a fine tip pen and put a little dot on the face plate or just remember where it's pointing at so next time you can just aim at the dot and you know where center freq is.
Radios that have just a clarifier knob alone (Cobra 148GTL for example) are already set to be on freq on am/SSB as the clarifier only tracks the recieve signal and not your transmit.
If you want to sound good and ON freq. on SSB, go for the freq counter radios.. If only on occasion do you talk on SSB then without a freq counter is ok too.
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Yankee
Advanced Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 858
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 4:28 pm: |
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You don't know what frequency you're on without a counter, that is why I have a Galaxy FC-347 hard wired to my Uniden Grant XL.
Carl CEF-357 |
Vanillagorilla
Intermediate Member
Username: Vanillagorilla
Post Number: 155
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 4:40 pm: |
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What ever channel you are on is your freq.
Lets say your on 27.115 AM which is ch13. If you switch to LSB then your on the lower side of that freq. (27.115 LSB) Your just operating within a different "Zone" on that freq. Even if you were to get a 10meter radio and wanted to try FM band....same freq as AM....FM is Frequency Modulation and AM is Amplitude Modulation...same freq just different wave.
As far as being "off freq" on sideband (as you may see mentioned here sometimes) thats all in the clarifier which every SSB radio is equipped with. Dial SLOWLY up or down to bring the person you wish to communicate with in clear enough to understand. You'll get used to it quick....trust me.
Freq counters are not at all nessesary but do come in handy when you use an open clarifier which may allow a slide of 7k or more. It's also handy if your going to mod for upper and lower channels.
Good luck and pick a good one!
Hank '905
CEF 559 |
Hollowpoint445
Advanced Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 719
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 4:50 pm: |
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The channel. It works the same way as an AM CB. Personally I don't see the point of having a frequency counter on any CB except that it's an easy way to keep track of the frequency you're operating on if you have a radio with lots and lots of bands in it.
They certainly don't help you to make contacts, and they're not accurate enough to depend on - especially if you actually use the radio on 10 meters. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 397
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 5:01 pm: |
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You would still be on the same frequency as if you were on AM. Radios with out a counter, if your on 27.115AM and switch to side band, your still on 27.115. |
Road_warrior
Advanced Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 788
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 5:35 pm: |
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Some radios have a built in freq counter
which shows you the freq your on.
40 channel only radios have a channel display
which tells you what channel your on from
1 to 40. When placing the channel display on
lets say channel 13. If you flip your Am, Usb, Lsb selector knob to Lsb your on channel 13 Lsb, flip to Usb your on channel 13 Usb. Then just use your clarifer or tune selector to tune the persons voice in that your listening to...
Hope this helped...
JIM/CEF 375 |
Deer_hunter
Junior Member
Username: Deer_hunter
Post Number: 12
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 6:58 pm: |
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Thanks for all the great answers. All of this information 'clarifies' the frequency counter question I posed. This forum has great members so willing to share their knowledge.
Deer-Hunter. |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 1342
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 9:44 pm: |
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where am i? |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 405
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005 - 8:50 am: |
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you are here. |
Moderator1516
Moderator
Username: Moderator1516
Post Number: 9
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005 - 10:04 am: |
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to know what frequency you would need a chart for that particular radio:better yet is a freq meter i have tried both and it is better to have a freq meter in front of you then a chart
moderator 1516
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Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 1345
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005 - 2:20 pm: |
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thankyou coyote. the fc347 on my XL says....NOTHING! hey, wait! all i have are wires hanging out the back! darned kids! at least i know when i'm on ch 13. i just keep hearing 'how 'bout ya cef 376...' |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 407
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005 - 9:33 pm: |
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your welcome Pat, you can always "count" on me to let you know where you are! |
Al_lafon
Intermediate Member
Username: Al_lafon
Post Number: 210
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 8:29 pm: |
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Well hellfire evry one in my town is so close we
don't use them clarifier knobs! now tell me why
some them cb radios you know AM ones have a delta
tune knob on them what for? Tell me Boys Why? |
Coyote
Advanced Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 743
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 9:33 am: |
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It's pretty much the same thing as a clarifier.
Here is one explanation I found...
"This was a functional feature back in the 23 channel crystal controlled radio days. The older radios didn't meet the tighter frequency tolerances required of today's CB radios. They also drifted more over time as they aged. The Delta Tune allowed receiver tuning of off frequency transmissions. The PLL radios of today don't drift like the older units, therefore the Delta Tune is useless, except for it's replacement with an echo board dual gang control."
CEF-443  |
Dale
Intermediate Member
Username: Dale
Post Number: 365
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:33 am: |
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in my opion if your buying a vregular cb 40 channel a freq.counter isnt really needed unless
ya add extra channels.if ya get a 10meter radio definately get on with a counter im mostly on ssb much better than am id reccomend get a radio witha 6 digit counter very helpful when tuning to people off freq.id get
rci 2950,2970,690025,6900150
connex4800
and i think the cobra200has a 6digit counter
my 2 cents worth
dale/cef426 |
Yankee
Senior Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 1177
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 4:41 pm: |
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OK, where was I, now I remember.
In answer to a post of 08/28/05. My counter on my Grant XL is very accurate, granted a frequency counter doesn't help to make contacts. My counter reads dead on frequency and is a great help to let me know, that at least I'm on frequency. Which is a good starting point even with a 40 channel sideband radio without extra channels. Also over the years there were a few regular type accepted sideband radios that had a built in frequency counter, some of them a 6 digit read out, one of them the famous Cobra 2000 GTL.
A seven digit counter, the likes of many amateur radio transceivers would even be a greater help. With a 5 digit counter, it's like hunting on a dark night blind folded.
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Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1212
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 10:51 am: |
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There is no way a frequency counter with only 100Hz resolution can show you "dead on frequency" because it's missing 2 digits to the right of the decimal. Please don't think these counters are accurate. They cannot be because they don't have a crystal oven and/or a TCXO, so they drift from cold to warm, and probably quite a bit after warm up too.
They work well as a frequency display - I agree with that. They're probably accurate to within a few hundred Hz after warmup. Just don't assume that you're dead on frequency or tell others that they aren't, because unless you've checked it against WWV or some other frequency standard in the last few minutes - you have no idea. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 3812
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 5:21 am: |
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Hollowpoint is right
If your display uses a 10 meg time base you can check it against WWV but with out a oven most drift some quite a bit ..... so much for that .001 HZ readout! |
Yankee
Senior Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 1180
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 9:49 am: |
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OK Bruce,
I don't often ask, but how many digits would a counter need to be able to say I'm on frequency?
That question has yet to be answered. My counter is both transmit and receive and a 6 digit, on sideband if I set my clarifier to center frequency, and the counter reads center, most everyone sounds ok.
Yes, it's an open clarifier with +or- 7KHz, I've had it much broader in the past, but I've put one resistor back in line to regulate it at 7 KHz. |
