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Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 10
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 4:57 pm: | 
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I am the owner of a new DX-949. Not sure if this will be used in the mobile or as a base. Did a lot of research and found out that the ssb performance maybe in question. Seems people either love or hate these radios.
What mods would you recommend? Will probably use a small 2 or 4 pill low drive with it. So low dk with a nice swing would be nice. I have some equipment such as a soldering station, dvm, oscilloscope. I'm comfortable with doing some mods myself however I don't have a frequency counter or tone to do alignments my self.
949/959 owners what have you done that you would/would not do again.
I think I'm relay getting the radio bug...
Thanks |
Caledonia
Junior Member
Username: Caledonia
Post Number: 49
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 7:07 pm: |
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The only mods I would do would be the channel mod and modify the clarifier to change TX and RX simultaneously. Set the AMC for 100% modulation, and your done.
These radios are excellent sideband talkers. If people have had issues with SSB on these, it is probably because of bad modifications done by unqualified techs. |
Ronin
Member
Username: Ronin
Post Number: 53
Registered: 8-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 8:53 pm: |
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There is a receiver mod that can be done and works fantastic. You can find the mod kits on internet auction sites or the parts lists on the internet. It is pretty simply 4 diodes and a transistor that are changed. It took about 1 hour to make the mod and the end results were very impressive.
The mod not only makes for a quieter more sensitive receive, but also makes the noise blanker much more effective without effecting the receive quality of the incoming signals. As I type this, I have an S-4 of noise with just the ANL on. With the NB on, it drops to zero.
I bought mine on an internet auction site (just to save the effort of going to the electronics store) for $10. You could probably buy the individual parts from an electronics supply place for under $5.
You do not need to realign anything and the transmitter section is untouched. The parts that get changed out are in the clear on the board for the most part. The diodes are easy to access. The transistor is in with a few other components, but not that bad to get at. I am very impressed with the end results. Just a shame that Galaxy (and other companies) don't do this from the start.
Jim
CEF-813
K3ZOR
OT-235
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Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 11
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:10 am: |
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Should I mod it from the beginning or run it until the warranty goes out? Is the mods you are speaking of on the CB tricks site? I have a electronics parts house that should have everything in stock. I only need the values of the components. Also just got a sweet desoldering station that sucks out the solder so I don't roast the board trying to remove the old parts. It would be great to someday make a contact on ch13/lsb. |
Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 12
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 10:23 am: |
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Any more specific info on these mods, "modify the clarifier to change TX and RX simultaneously" and "receiver mod that can be done and works fantastic. You can find the mod kits on internet auction sites or the parts lists on the internet. It is pretty simply 4 diodes and a transistor that are changed. It took about 1 hour to make the mod and the end results were very impressive" |
Fusebreaker
Intermediate Member
Username: Fusebreaker
Post Number: 258
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 6:37 pm: |
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i will look for it again but i have seen a mod that will give you 5kc slide up and down |
Dxgalaxy
New member
Username: Dxgalaxy
Post Number: 8
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 12:36 am: |
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http://www.geocities.com/y40002000/plowboy39.html
This website has swing mods for different radios, but be careful because these could have a bad effect on ssb and I wouldn't remove the limiter, galaxy radios have plenty of modulation, my old 88hl has plenty of modulation with the stock microphone but of course a noise canceling mike would work much better as far as any back ground noise you may encounter. I'm not into volting finals by any means, that's just my opinion. |
Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 13
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 4:20 am: |
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Is the "5kc" 5 kilo hertz up/down? What does the "c" stand for, clarifier? How will I know this is I dont have the hz counter on the radio?
Sorry I'm a rookie that is very interested in the hobby and trying to soak up as much as I can.
It all started when I heard chat from almost 10k miles away to our islands.
Now I wish I bought a TS DX-400 instead of my yet to arrive KL-500. Hope it has juice to talk when the conditions is right. Or at least on ssb, hopefully.
Aloha |
Fusebreaker
Intermediate Member
Username: Fusebreaker
Post Number: 261
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 2:51 pm: |
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change q54 to a 2sb817 it will help the power out and reduce dimming when you talk.
PS..dont fall for the swing stuff adjust your deadkey for 25% of your peak power there has to be enough deadkey for the other guys radio to detect you or you will sound garbled but at the same time you cant have so much deadkey that it swings backwards when you talk ex..
4 watt dead swing to 16
5 to 20
6 to 24
on that radio 3 swing to 12 is just perfect if you are running an amp then adjust it so the amp keys 25% of its max power |
Patzerozero
Senior Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 3466
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 10:28 am: |
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flush-yes, they're the same-5 kHz(or kilo Hertz) equals 5 thousand cycles per second(or kc). 'c' is for 'cycle', though more correctly, it should be 'cps' or 'cycles per second'. 'Hz' was a mr hertz, who lent his name with the discovery & later it was decided that he should be honored by replacing 'cycles per second' with 'hertz'. |
Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 14
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 4:51 am: |
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Well I ended up doing the following mods. Power Amp Improvement (2SB754) - Q54 Changed Q54 to 2SB817, AM AF Amplifier Improvement - Q55, Receive Improvement - D30 & D31, Noise Blanker Improvement - D1 & D2, Did all the mods but the opening of the L29 coil seemed to make the most difference in swing??? At the low side it has a dk 3 swing 10, @ high it's dk 6 swing to about 15. Transmits much louder and clearer at the low setting. This should be perfect with a KL-xxx amp. Should I be getting more for what I did? Will do some radio checks later as no one was on air when the mods was completed. |
2ir473
Intermediate Member
Username: 2ir473
Post Number: 101
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 11:26 am: |
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I would recommend you do NOT do the 5kc modification, as I have read of a number of PLL failures in attempting the mod.
As for your output power, keep in mind the final transistor is a 2SC1969, so 18-20 watts is about the most you would want to see, without stressing the component.
Also, I have had, and heard, several Galaxy 40 channel DX series CB radios, and they were all great on SSB. I could not say the same about many of the 10 meter Galaxy radios that I have heard on SSB, and think the bad reputation of sideband performance may come from the export galaxies, rather than the 40 channel, FCC certified radios. As stated previously, perhaps the fault lies with the person setting up the radio, more than the manufacturer.
I also performed the Schottky diode mod recommended above, and found it to be quite worthwhile.
Paul
2IR473
CEF-218
CDX8412
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Flush
Junior Member
Username: Flush
Post Number: 15
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 12:18 pm: |
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Also did the "method 2" mod for the clarifier. Still not sure how undoing the coil made any difference but it did. Verified with the radio and inline meter. Hope tweeking the coil don't cause static or tvi it has to be for something? If there is negative effects it could be put back to a reasonable state or I could install a new one or jump it  .
Also could I use a 40mhz Oscope to set modulation/power? Would I see the wave clip on the peaks meaning distortion/over driven?
This radio is just what I wanted as far as learning and tinkering with. Picked mods that seemed to be most trusted and tried to shy away from the less popular ones. May do the ch mod later, will these additional channels travel a longer distance than the regular 40?
Anyone know when the next big skip is going to start? I guess the next thing for me to try and learn is the solar cycle, fields... lol
Aloha |
Caledonia
Member
Username: Caledonia
Post Number: 51
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 7:35 pm: |
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2ir473, you are correct that the bad SSB transmisions you have heard from the Galaxy Exports is the fault of the tech who tuned them, not the radio. My Galaxy was tuned by one of the best techs around, and I get accused of being on a Kenwood/Yaesu/Icom rig. Most people are astonished at how good it sounds. Heck, if you just leave them stock, they sound great. |
Fusebreaker
Intermediate Member
Username: Fusebreaker
Post Number: 272
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 3:47 pm: |
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this is defenently a radio that should be used with an amp i had the first batch 959 it never would blow the doors off my 148`s the 959 is a great radio just not a power machine i worked jamaica on the 959 with a kl-203 with a 60 watt deaD KEY REST IN AUDIO |
