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Asher
New member
Username: Asher
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 6:58 pm: | 
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I wanted to say thier is alot of great information on this board and one day I will probably understand most of it  .
I just got interested in playing with CB's radios. I want to be able to tune my radio's and also my friends radios (strickly for fun). I have a Cobra 25 Classic NWLTD that I use daily for my job, but I get tired of getting walked over all the time (it was tuned at a CB shop). I don't want the biggest radio out there, just enough power to compete with about 60% of them. The only tool I currently have is a SWR meter and some electrical knowledge. I just recieved a couple of books called "CB tune-up manual master edition" Volumes I, II, and III.
So I am completely green to all of this stuff, but I am a fast learner, I need to learn alot and I have a couple of old crappy radios to play with...
So here are the random questions:
1) I am wondering what kind of meter (and tools) I need to buy to be able to test and tune the radios? (I don't need the most expensive, just for hobbie and best bang for my buck).
2) Can hand held radios be turned up (Cobra Road Trip)?
3) Where do I buy the items needed and tools from???
Thanks in advance, and I hope to be hanging out here for a while...
Asher |
Nobodyknows
Intermediate Member
Username: Nobodyknows
Post Number: 147
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 9:07 pm: |
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First off, welcome to the board Asher!
Since you said that the cobra 25 had already been tuned up, then their isn't much more tuning and tweaking to do that'll make it thump much more than it is now. The next step would be a better antenna and a small amp.
You didn't mention what kind of antenna you're running?? Thats a big big part of getting out there in radio land. Check out some of the reviews on antennas and see how your wallet feels and go with what sounds good to you.
A DOSY meter will work for you for what you want to do, I'd say get a 1000 or 2000 watt, peak reading meter. It'll do SWR and Modulation and cost about 80 to 100 bucks or so.
I got my dosy from here, it's a Libra 631 (Dosy) Good meter, and it reads peak, mod, swr and cost $79. i think.
Tools.. I use the solder remover soldering gun, it has the vacuum bulb on and will heat then suck the solder off the board. Also you'll want a adjustable temp soldering gun. A plastic tuning tool. (i've always just used those jewelers screwdriver sets that cost a buck.)
Lets see, i've heard people asking before if you can tweak those handheld cobras and i havent heard of anything you can do to them to tweak them up. someone might know.
Oh if your going to test and tune radios then you need more stuff like a oscilloscope, multimeter, signal generator.. and money
If you just want to squeeze a couple of more watts out of a radio and increase its modulation then just a peakreading watt meter and a dummyload will due. |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1470
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 9:33 pm: |
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If you want extra power to keep yourself
from getting walked on i suggest you
purchase a amp or a radio that is capable
of more than 4 watts.
You will not get many extra watts out of a Cobra
or any other regular cb radio or hand-held.
It's great that you want to learn to repair
cb radios! But, turning up wattage on a regular cb radio will only add stress to the components.
Same with removing modulation limiters in a Cb.
Check aution sites for used equipment involved
in cb repair. I'm not familar with equipment used.
You may need a Frequency counter, signal generator, Sprectum analyzer, oscilloscope and
maybe other items. Somebody more familar can fill you in better on these items. Check websites for used equipment also. Goog Luck! |
Allan
Intermediate Member
Username: Allan
Post Number: 152
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 10:01 pm: |
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Hey, homie.
1)A Watt/SWR meter. Also, non conductive alignment tools. (cute little screwdrivers that aren't metal) Ratshack has 'em....
2)......(yawn)
3)@ Copper Electronics.
I got by for 30 years with a (decent) SWR/Watt meter. As long as you don't want to give your radio tinkeritis, you'll do fine. Research electronic fundamentals before you open it up. It is pretty basic stuff. It's the water flow principal!! LOL.....
Ask any of 'em. Your junk box will consume the house before you know it, if you're not careful.. |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1228
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 9:15 am: |
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Step one - Throw away those horrible books.
Step two - Buy this book:
http://www.copperelectronics.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?catalogSTORE:CKIE:prodBKS-00020+
Step three - Read above book and learn more about CB than 99% of CBers. |
Therealporkchop
Advanced Member
Username: Therealporkchop
Post Number: 719
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:54 am: |
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Yeah, I'll have to agree on that book.
I'll have to agree on the Dosy meter, the 1000 is a fairly nice meter with a large display. Plus it's portable and fairly cheap for what it is. Not the best, but you did say you didn't need the best.
Forget the scope, I've got two and I hardly ever use mine. They are nice to have and take a coax T and make a capacitive pick-point to view the carrier and modulation envelope, but for what you want to do it would be uselss. If you plan to try to align a radio that isn't receiving properly then yes, buy yourself a good signal generator. Of course at that point you will end up deeper in this 'hobby' than you are saying you want to get right now. Cause it's like drugs, you start out with something 'light' and then you need something 'harder' to get you up.
Yes Lord buy plastic tuning sticks, cause those little metal screwdrivers can and have ruined a many a slug. Of course there will be times when you say "those guys are stupid, you gotta use one of these" cause you will.
Buy the largest dummy load you can afford. Nothing squirts in my cornflakes any more than some jerk on the air whistling and "aaaaahhhhhh"..."aaaaaaahhhhdddddddddeeeeeooooo" I always crank the juice wide open and yell into the mic to get a dummy load. Or I'll say some idiots don't know what a dummy load is for. So for Gods sake please buy one of those first.
Oh and welcome to 'gang'!! |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1473
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 12:42 pm: |
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Hey thanks Hollowpoint445: I may order this
book myself just to read and learn. But, i've
never tinkered inside radios and probably
never will, but, who knows... |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 2870
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 2:03 pm: |
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i'm on my 3rd copy & really need a 4th...before i lose all the loose pages. it IS worth its weight in gold |
Nobodyknows
Intermediate Member
Username: Nobodyknows
Post Number: 149
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 6:26 pm: |
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ohhh ohhh I want that book!!! I have Masters Edition 1 thru 5 and yeah it helps a little on popular chip mods and other junk that i dont need for radios that i dont have... That copper book looks like it has actual useful information in it!!
Oh and you know those chrome cans on the board in a cb, dont turn them unless you know what they do. LOL been there and done that. |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 2872
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 6:44 pm: |
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actually, nobodyknows, THAT BOOK tells you ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE SINGLE THING ABOUT MODIFYING A RADIO!!! yet, as i said, 'worth its weight in gold'!!! just the little refresher things, while you are in the middle of doing something & forget....the answer is probably in there. i've used the copies i've had more times then i can count!!! |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1232
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 9:50 pm: |
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It does give info about the more popular PLL modifications, clarifier mods, and basic info about peaking a radio.
What it doesn't do is make all kinds of funky claims about turning your 4 watt radio into a 20 watt radio by turning a pot or spreading a coil. That's what I like most about Lou Franklin, he's truthful.
It also has a good deal of solid information about antennas, tells you how to wire nearly any microphone to any radio, and basic radio theory.
It doesn't have a bunch of modifications like NPC-RC, swing or limiter modifications. So if you're looking for that sort of thing you'll have to look elsewhere.
It's a good book. |
Therealporkchop
Advanced Member
Username: Therealporkchop
Post Number: 726
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 10:33 pm: |
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Yeah, you can look here for that stuff and best of all it's all free.
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Nobodyknows
Intermediate Member
Username: Nobodyknows
Post Number: 150
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:03 pm: |
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Naaaa.. I'm not into superwhacking a CB (thats the amps job) but i could go for some basic theory which is what i noticed about this book. And like the chopman said, Lots of info on the web for whacking out your radio. |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1642
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:08 pm: |
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hello asher and welcome!
GOOD NEW GUY INFO!!!!
read on:
1. getting the "screwdriver experts guide" as suggested above is your NUMBER 1 priority.
do not buy anything else unless the order includes this book, as it will probably change your mind on a few purchases.
its the best thing you can do for yourself.
2. buy your stuff from copper.
i've been a customer since '89 and i wouldnt go anywhere else. best prices too!
3.here's the deal; one of the most enjoyable parts of this hobby for a lot of people (me included) is getting inside a radio and tinkering with it. you need to if you want to learn.
that being said, understand that you are probably going to throw the first 10 radios you mess with out the window within a week.
some out of frustration, some because they have given up the ghost.
just trust me on this one.
einstein himself would have a junk pile.
so my advice to you is to start hitting the garage sales, and auction sites, and see if you can pick up an old radio for under 10 dollars, shipping included.
do not pay more than this, because these radios really will probably end up being junked.
do not open the radio you talk on until you have a good ammount of experience.
it also helps oyu get over the initial "ive got to try turning everything" mentality that we all start with.
i am going to give you a link, but i do not want you to do the alignment that is layed out. i just want you to read it, and read it, and read it again.
hopefully it will spark some questions that will expedite your learning process.
here it is, dont do the alignment, its not for your radio:
http://www.copperelectronics.com/cgi-bin/discus4/show.cgi?tpc=34&post=113535#POST113535
now, you need to understand that no ammount of tweaking inside a radio will keep you from getting "walked on".
some guys get so fed up with getting keyed on that they will spend over 1,000 dollars on their mobile setup.
trying to run 1200+ watts just to try and get heard over the base stations.
why doesnt it work?
antennas!
see those big bases have big antennas that are way up in the air.
there is just no way to compete with that in a mobile. so dont try.
i understand that your radio isnt doing it for you, and you need some oomph.
best thing for that is an amp.
no need to get anything over 300 watts.
here's how it works:
if your radio puts out 4 watts, and the guy listening on the other end has you at S-5 on hi meter, then doubling the power to 8 watts will produce a S-5.5.
thats right, doubling the output power only gets a 1/2 S unit increase, and that goes for 1 watt or 1,000,000 watts.
you will never be able to do enough inside a radio to do more than double its output, and even that is rare.
so if you buy an amp, and that 4 watts beocmes 120 watts, then instead of S-5, he has you at 7.5.
also, the most important part of any radio setup is the antenna.
this is where to spend your money, and foget about looking stealthy.
good antennas are obnoxious looking. thats the rule.
ok, good luck, and there are no stupid questions,
matt
PS. the things we are saying and that you will be learning will fly in the face of what most locals will tell you. trust us, and the books, not the locals.
myths abound around here! |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1481
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 12:19 am: |
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We have a gentleman about 25 miles from me
whos cb handle is Cannonball. Some of you from
PA may have talked with him.
He ordered 2 RCI 2995dx bases off of some
shop in Texas. These things came hacked and
whacked out of that shop. He ordered the second one for a friend of his. Both had to be sent back
for repairs to Ranger already. Mod limiter was clipped out, lowest wattage it would go down to was a 30 watt dead key. Radios got super-hot even with the fan kit...So, learn the correct way
to repair and work on radios. |
Milkman21218
Junior Member
Username: Milkman21218
Post Number: 32
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 1:01 am: |
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Very,Very well said and very true Matt. |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1653
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 11:03 pm: |
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thanks for the flowers!
i actually only typed that out so that i wouldnt forget it by next year. LOL J/K!
later,
matt |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 2890
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 8:48 am: |
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'...spend over 1,000 dollars on their mobile setup.
trying to run 1200+ watts just to try and get heard over the base stations.
why doesnt it work?
antennas!
who you talkin' 'bout, kid? i've been known to mix it up with the big boys & their big base stations from time to time. of course 5KW AND a big base antenna CAN be a worthy opponent, or impenetrable roadblock |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1664
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 5:57 pm: |
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were your ears burning pat?LOL
i was actually speaking about a certain gentleman in my fair city. (and i use both those terms lightly!)
kinda funny story actually.
one night im at the YL's house watching a movie with her and her mom, and while the movie was paused, i heard a tiny voice in the background on the TV.
listening closer, it was a voice i recognized.
went outside, only antenna i saw was two blocks away.
had to be him.
i went to the truck to the 2950 and told him to knock it off. (he was trying to cause problems with his KLV1000 because his enemies were on the air.)
next thing i know, there is no antenna there, and he professes that he now runs a sweet 16 and pred. 10K in his truck.
he drove around all day for months trying to key on the bases that drove him crazy, and just like anyone else with less power, he had to get a block from their house to plug their ears.
remember the saying, "proximity's a @#$*^@"
matt |
Asher
New member
Username: Asher
Post Number: 3
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 12:14 am: |
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Wow I lost (the forum) where I posted this message and you guys really stepped up. Thank you. I already have the book your talking about on it's way to my house. I also know what you mean about wanting to play with every setting on the radio when you have it opened... I know I jumped the gun on modifications, but I popped open one of my garage sale specials... I adjusted the settings and it bumped up the out put a little, then I switched out one resister and clipped two others (per the instructions) and the power output really jumped up. I live about 3 miles from HWY 70 and before (using a really shotty 36" mag mount antenna on the floor of the deck) I couldn't reach the hwy, now (after those mods) I can reach out there from my kitchen floor inside the house...
I am sure I have done something that isn't correct, but so far the radio responded very well to these mods. The radio is an old Realistic TRC-422A ($5.00 garage sale jobbie)... I currently have a cheapy radioshack power / SWR meter that I am using, but I plan on upgrading that.
You guys are great, thanks for the worm welcomes and fantastic advice.
So far I have 3 more Radios to play with:
President AR-7
Realistic
Cobra 25 NW LTD Classic
but first I will take your advice and not touch any more until I read my new book...
What is a dummy load and where do I find them?
Thanks again,
Asher |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1699
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 12:55 am: |
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if you read the link i gave you, in there it will tell you how to make your own.
if you want to buy one, just do a google search for "dummy load".
first thing's first.
you need an antenna.
we would love to help you choose one.
the top one is only 50.00, and if mounted on a 20' pole, would kick serious butt.
thats one idea.
if you MUST run that mobile antenna, (whats the SWR, it cant be good for the radio to be using a mobile antenna without a groundplane)
can you find a place to stick that antenna that is metal and has a cross section similar to a 4x8 sheet of wood?
maybe up on the air conditioner?
you really shouldnt be using it like that, but im sure you already know this, and hey, i made my first five contacts with a CB mag mount stuck in the rain gutter.
good luck,
matt |
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1410
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 11:16 am: |
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Just recently purchased the Screwdriver Experts Guide from Copper! By far the best book I have ever read on cb radio! No technical jargon just super easy to comprehend! Lou Franklin has covered everything and its 100% bullcrud free! To all cbers new and old I say you need this book! Before anyone ever buys a radio and antenna it should be a requirement to read this book! BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY!
Hotwire
CEF491
Indiana
P.S. BUY THE BOOK!
P.S.S. HAVE YOU ORDERED THE BOOK YET? |
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