| Author |
Message |
    
Freebird
Intermediate Member
Username: Freebird
Post Number: 343
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 11:05 am: | 
|
Im wondering why people can never tune there radio right with duel clarifiers?A guy here just got a connex 4800 dlx and I notice every time they tell him hes off he turns one of the clarifiers and it never sounds much better.anyone know why people have such a hard time tuning in these radios? |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 2248
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 1:24 pm: |
|
the radio is ALREADY out of whack OR, i have seen PLENTY of folks insist on adjusting the 'coarse' clarifier for EVERYTHING. just adjust the 'fine' to tune to the other guy, if you BOTH adjust your 'coarse' & 1 radio is a tad 'out', you'll be on the next channel sooner or later....also, xmit could be cranked up TOO high, & turning clarifier is not correcting the problem, but adding to it.
the clarifier is open on my XL, so i just see which side of 'center' most people are talking, & close in on them by 100Hz, & xmit from there. as long as i can understand them, i don't move any farther. if they need me, they'll come to me  |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 8953
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 5:48 pm: |
|
Freebird,
Can't say on the 4800 but on our MAGNUM S-3200B with the FINE and COARSE Clarifier we have no problems.
We use the COARSE to get dead on Freq and then use the FINE to tune people in if needed.
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9OSN |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1005
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 10:30 am: |
|
It could be a couple of things. Either they forget to center the fine control before adjusting the coarse, or they think the fine tracks on transmit and it doesn't.
I takes a while to learn how to clarify someone perfectly. Maybe your friend should let others tune to him until he learns how to listen for the sweet spot where you're dead on frequency. |
Gumpit
New member
Username: Gumpit
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 15, 2006 - 11:44 am: |
|
Rip out those dual clarifiers and install a 10 turn.Makes clarifying in the easiest.
|
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1017
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 10:03 pm: |
|
I prefer dual clarifiers if given the choice - especially for a mobile. Get it as close as possible with the coarse, and dial it in on the fine - excellent results and minimum effort. I'm too impatient to turn a dial 10 times. |
Gumpit
New member
Username: Gumpit
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 5:26 pm: |
|
You don't have to turn it ten times unless you are going to go full swing...You have much more control with the ten turn and it isnt as jittery especially in the mobile....Makes clarifiying in very easy.Even for rookies. Gumpit |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1024
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 9:15 pm: |
|
Different strokes I guess. If the range of the clarifier was really wide I guess I can see where the extra rotations would be helpful, but I still like the coarse/fine configuration even then. |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 2285
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 2:24 pm: |
|
the 10 turn pot works good with the 148/XL clarifier mod that spans 21 kHz. it holds the frequency much better, & a 'nudge' of the clarifier doesn't send you 3 kc's off.
the 10 kc switch mod & the 5 kc slide mod eliminates that problem, too.
dual clarifiers would be better as long as the fine is locked on rcv only |
Hotwire
Advanced Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 821
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 5:29 pm: |
|
Heres my ten cents on this...Say you got these group of guys who talk each night. Each one tunes their daul clarifiers to tune each other in just right and they begin their rag chew. Now...Lets say some other guy gets in there to chat with one of them and he may have a daul clarifier or even worse a SINGLE! Not all radios are zero'd in perfect and now adjustments have to be made to here him in TUNE. So everytime someone tunes in to someone else the next person is gonna have to tune in also. Then the next person and the next person. Its just the way sideband is and would be a little easier if we all had single clarifiers for a 1 on 1 conversation. No 2 radios are identical or at least thats what I think. When I sit and listen to the older retired guys who chat locally with Icoms and Kenwoods I notice that they are all on just a little bit different freqs from each other, just a tad bit off. Its just part of SSB and daul clarifiers and the reason why many stick to AM only. It does not bug me at all. I can talk to someone as long as they are pretty close and never really bring up the off freq subject. Hope I made some sense because it seems to be easier to understand in my head. |
Moonraker
Intermediate Member
Username: Moonraker
Post Number: 137
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 7:38 pm: |
|
If you have dual clarifiers and the corse tarcks TX & RX and the fine tracks only RX. You can set the corse to get your TX on frequency and tune other people in with the fine. This is how my connex works and I wouldn't want it any other way. I only wish my S9 was the same.
If you only have 1 clarifier and it tracks TX & RX, you have the same problem that Hotwire mentioned in his post. If the 1 clarifier only tracked RX that would be OK, but if your radio was just a little off on TX you can't fix it without opening the radio.
"locked" and "unlocked" which is which? And does this apply to both single and dual clarifiers? The way I understand it is a "locked" clarifier only tracks on RX, is this correct? |
Dale
Intermediate Member
Username: Dale
Post Number: 273
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 8:30 pm: |
|
thats correct.unlocked clarifers are good cause
you can make your radiop right on freq without having too take off top cover and make internal adjustment.i talk too 5 locals every nite we all got unlocked clarifers were all on freq. cause we tune to each other and no problems at all works great.as far as the duel clafier thing i think people dont know what one tracks tx/re cause i didnt at first but i learned quickly though what one does what
dale/cef426 |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1040
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 9:34 am: |
|
Some people forget to center the RX only portion - that's why I don't like the RX only fine controls.
The only decent reason I've ever heard for an RX only fine control was because some people need to change the tone of someone's voice to hear them better. I guess some folks don't have a tone control on their radio or they don't know how to use it, so they have to go off frequency. |
Kb9ryi
Junior Member
Username: Kb9ryi
Post Number: 32
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 12:26 am: |
|
I have operated both the dual clarifier and the single clarifier radios. Some with the fine tuning on RX only and some with the fine tune un-locked to tune RX and TX together. Around here there are several operators with the dual clarifiers and they are ALWAYS off frequency. They keep tuning both the course and fine till they have the RX and RX so far off that when they can hear someone they transmit way off on another freq. Then others have to re-tune to hear them then they re-tune again. they keep chasing each other all over the place. It sounds like a mess. Worse even than in the old days with the famous Drifting model 90 slider.
Anyway I guess I said all that to say this. It seems there are a lot of "RADIO OPERATORS" out there who should not have a radio with a dual clarifier. For probably 98% of the day to day radio operation if every radio had a locked clarifier that tuned RX only it would be much easier to hear everyone in the group. I have owned two radios with the dual clarifiers over the years. With both of them I removed the dual clarifier and installed a 10-turn clarifier. This turned out to be the best mod I did to them. I was able to easily tune exactly to the frequency of the station I was talking to. The 10-turn pot made both radios much more fun to operate.
I hear so many radios on the air today that are not aligned OR tuned right and the RX is off from the TX.
I have since sold both of those radios and replaced them with mostly stock UN-MODIFIED radios. Clarifier's still locked on RX only like they came from the factory. I use them every day and enjoy them very much. When I talk to other operators around here they have to tune to me. After a while the group slowly will retune and all center on my TX frequency and eventually everyone can hear everyone else. Thats the way it was supposed to be in the first place.
Life do get complicated sometimes dont it...
Thats about my nickle's worth...
Im QRT and off the key.
CEF 507
KB9RYI
|
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1045
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 12:10 pm: |
|
"For probably 98% of the day to day radio operation if every radio had a locked clarifier that tuned RX only it would be much easier to hear everyone in the group."
I couldn't disagree more. The problem with locked clarifiers is that it's difficult for more than two people to have a conversation. In your situation it seems that everyone tunes to you - because you have a locked clarifier. In order for that to work everyone else needs to have an unlocked clarifier!
On SSB differences in frequency of as little as 50 Hz makes a change in pitch that can be annoying and in the case of a marginal signal, it can make the difference between making the contact or not. The vast majority of radios I've ever heard or used were not even close to being on frequency out of the box. It takes a fair amount of time to get them on frequency too. If I couldn't do it myself, I certainly wouldn't want to pay someone to do it. That's where an unlocked clarifier helps.
I have to say that while I think everyone should follow the rules set forth by the FCC for CB, having SSB radios with locked clarifiers is just silly. Tuning a kHz either way hurts no one, and it makes conversations with more than two people possible. |
Im4jc
Member
Username: Im4jc
Post Number: 73
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 1:14 pm: |
|
For Type Accepted SSB everyday use, wouldn't the world be a whole lot better if no one had clarifiers that tracked on TX? I've taken the time to make sure that my radio is bang-on for transmit. So, I've done my part, right? If everyone takes the time to make sure that their radio is accurate on TX from the get-go, then what's the big deal about modding the radio to have the clarifier track on TX? I don't get it.
And if there are people sidebanding that are off on TX, then I just clarify the receive to match them. If I had the clarifier track on TX, and I turned it to match someone who was off freq, then to everyone else listening, I'd be off too.
As for me, I'll keep my clarifier only tracking RX and let everyone else go galavanting around the spectrum playing the chase game.
Notice above that I said "For Type Accepted SSB everyday use". I understand that there may be a need to clarify RX/TX to get to a freq that the channel selector can't find, but I don't do that, so it's RX only for me 
That said, please tell me if I'm all wet. I'm fairly new to the radio-head world, and I'd like to know if I've gone astray, lol. |
Chad
Advanced Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 665
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 2:21 pm: |
|
I agree wiht HP, I love SSB work but it's rough with a locked clarifier. Even if you want to make sure your transmit is right in kindness to the OTHER party. With the design of today's radios unlocked is key, unless you leave it on 24/7 to keep it stable. I personally like to fire up and go, I do have to end up touching the clarifier a few times |
Im4jc
Member
Username: Im4jc
Post Number: 74
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 3:30 pm: |
|
I jumped the gun. I wrote this before I fully read Hollowpoint's post. That gives me a little better understanding, but I still believe what I said is true, at least for me. |
Freebird
Intermediate Member
Username: Freebird
Post Number: 377
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 06, 2006 - 11:33 pm: |
|
ok call me dumb but i never had dual clarifiers and im thinking of buying a magnum S 9 or a galaxy 99 but what clarifier is the COARSE the big one on the outside or the little clarifier in the middle?so you use the COARSE to get dead on Freq and then use the FINE to tune people in if needed?thanks
ps why do galaxys drift on sideband?i really like the galaxy 99 but i hear there dift boxes so ill most likly get a s 9 |
Moonraker
Intermediate Member
Username: Moonraker
Post Number: 152
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 07, 2006 - 8:00 pm: |
|
The larger outer clarifier is corse and the smaller inner clarifier is the fine. On the S9, both clarifiers are unlocked. Both clarifiers will adjust your TX and RX, the corse is for going between channels (or tuning in someone really far off frequency) and the fine is for the "fine tuning" to get dead on frequency.
I'm not sure how the 99's clarifiers are set up because I have never owned or used one, but I have heard them on SSB and they sound terrible, they sound fine on AM. If you want to talk SSB, PLEASE DO NOT BUY A GALAXY!
|
Dale
Intermediate Member
Username: Dale
Post Number: 306
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 07, 2006 - 9:15 pm: |
|
ageeed,i wonder if the newer galaxys 93t,95t are any better
dale/cef426 |
