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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2001 - 9:20 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What's a voice lock control ?


A lot of CB radio's that are coming out in this day and age are having more and more features on them . Almost all Sideband radios have what they call a "voice lock" . Some companies call this control different names such as "Slider" by Pierce-Simpson , "Voice-lock" by Cobra , "Slide-tune" by Pace , Clarifier , Super-Slide , Delta-Tune and Voice-Control are most of the names I can think of that CB manufactures use for the control that basically does the same thing in all CB radios . When you are in the Sideband mode , you will notice that the people out there that you are listening to all have a different type of pitch to them . If everyone's radio was tuned using a standard such as a Cesium standard or an Atomic standard , it is a good chance that a voice-lock would not be used . But these type standards require a great deal of money . Typical Atomic standards cost between 150 to 200 thousand dollars .The reason that you need a clarifier in the sideband mode is because no 2 radios are aligned the exact same way . When you turn the voice-lock one way the pitch of the person you are talking to will increase and if you turn it the other way the pitch will decrease . In most cases you can turn the voice-lock to a spot where the person you are talking to sounds just like he is sitting right next to you .But if a third person comes in to join the conversation , chances are that he will have a harder time tuning you and your friend in because he can only tune in one person at a time , This is why when you take your sideband radio in to a CB shop for alignment , look to see if a proper frequency counter such as a Hewlett-Packard is being used along with a stable synthesized frequency generator . These generators cost a lot of money and most CB shops won't buy one . My generator cost a little more than 6,000 dollars . Most CB shops will use another radio to set up your CB but who's to say that the radio they are using is on frequency ?
Voice-locks and similar controls actually move the frequency up or down and in most cases you will notice it on the frequency counter if you have one built in to your radio . This also works well with tuning in off frequency AM stations that you may be trying to communicate with . In either case the Voice-lock is a necessary if you are a constant Sideband'er. Most CB radio's if they are lined up correctly will put the Fine and Course tune exactly at the 12:00 o'clock position on your radio and you should not have to move them as long as the other party that you are communicating with has his radio lined up correctly.