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Can a newbie tune his own radio
- Thread starter crazyhair
- Start date
Many years ago, among other duties, I worked behind the parts counter at a local TV & Appliance store. Often I would be presented with a question similar to this one by someone purchasing parts for a repair at home. Being as careful as one can be, I would often respond with "If you have to ask, you probably can't.".
I now believe if someone has the determination and drive they will find a way. So allow me to say "Go for it, how else are you going to learn? Just have an idea of why, what, & how, before doing it."
I now believe if someone has the determination and drive they will find a way. So allow me to say "Go for it, how else are you going to learn? Just have an idea of why, what, & how, before doing it."
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
Bought a radio that still had his seal on it, the audio chips insulator, heatsink grease, bolt, and nut were no where to be found....:thumbdown:
Would I do that?
Tune the freq; no.
Turn up only the mod pot; maybe.
If you are needing to learn how; I would use a radio that I was willing to waste. Maybe a $5 radio that had some tuning literature from SAM'S. I surely wouldn't want to do it to a nice radio. That is risking a bit much; don't you think so?
Even tuning AM power can throw off a few other settings if you turned it up too much. We are talking about balancing and fine adjusting for better on-freq tune, power output, and modulation. There is only so much give-and-take in these adjustments before it is either on the money or way out in left field. Guys like Sparky have been doing it for years; they know the finer points of each radio and know what to do to each model and make for the optimal result. That isn't something that one can do without risking failure and damage. Think before you jump.
:blink:
The bad thing about it is that since the internet provides so much info on tuning radios many people think there is nothing to it except replace a few parts, cut a few out and turn a few screws. Thus a lot of the radios you hear on the air that sound like d*o d*o, but they say, "Look at all this swing".
It is best to leave the alignment and tuning to a qualified tech. The performance of the radio will be noticeable.
A newbie should be able however to turn a trim pot to get more modulation if it is needed. That is something that shouldn't cause problems as long as the right one is turned. Above all stay out of the shiny metal cans and anything with wax or sealer on it.
BC
It is best to leave the alignment and tuning to a qualified tech. The performance of the radio will be noticeable.
A newbie should be able however to turn a trim pot to get more modulation if it is needed. That is something that shouldn't cause problems as long as the right one is turned. Above all stay out of the shiny metal cans and anything with wax or sealer on it.
BC
While I agree with everyone 100% that a qualified tech is the only one who can properly "tune and align" a radio, I am all for people learning to do stuff themselves.
I believe it's in the best interest of everyone who gets involved in the hobby to learn how to tune and work on their own radios. This has always been one of the ideals of ham radio and I think with CB radio it's no different.
Knowing your equipment intimately and working on it allows you to troubleshoot problems and tune your station so that it is working its best.
Now - it's easy to ruin a radio by doing the wrong things, but that's why I don't suggest people start off the learning curve by doing difficult soldering.
99% of people want to adjust the modulation pot in their radio and although in 99% of cases they'll just turn it to max so they can be as loud as possible I still appreciate that they are doing the adjustment themselves and that's why I always try to provide that info.
Eventually they'll learn that overmodulated and distorted isn't the way to live your life, and if they don't - there was no hope to begin with
Secondly - I've seen shops all across this country charge people money to do work that is not "proper" and are things that most people could do themselves. I can distinctly remember a local shop that used to charge $20 to max out your modulation. $20 to open the radio and turn the pot to max.
I believe people learning to do this stuff themselves helps them learn how to avoid being ripped off, and to recognize when a radio has been hacked up. These bad shops give the good shops a bad name. If you know what you are asking your tech to do, then he can do a better job for you and you'll also feel more comfortable knowing that he's doing a good job.
There have been 20-30 SSB radios I've picked up over the years that were slightly off frequency and with a plastic tuning tool and 5 mins of time I was able to put them back on....and I'm no genius by any means.
So my answer is "yes" a beginner can tune their own radio, they need the proper non-metal tools and a little info, but as long as you aren't trying to swap out a final there are plenty of small modifications and adjustments you can make.
In the end the radio may not be as perfect as one done up by a professional tech, but no one can match the satisfaction of doing something yourself. As mentioned above - it's always best to learn on the $20 radio rather than the $100 radio.
When you decide to spend $400 on a new 2970DX NS2 or a Galaxy 95T, then have it tuned by a professional tech such as Sparky's.
I believe it's in the best interest of everyone who gets involved in the hobby to learn how to tune and work on their own radios. This has always been one of the ideals of ham radio and I think with CB radio it's no different.
Knowing your equipment intimately and working on it allows you to troubleshoot problems and tune your station so that it is working its best.
Now - it's easy to ruin a radio by doing the wrong things, but that's why I don't suggest people start off the learning curve by doing difficult soldering.
99% of people want to adjust the modulation pot in their radio and although in 99% of cases they'll just turn it to max so they can be as loud as possible I still appreciate that they are doing the adjustment themselves and that's why I always try to provide that info.
Eventually they'll learn that overmodulated and distorted isn't the way to live your life, and if they don't - there was no hope to begin with
Secondly - I've seen shops all across this country charge people money to do work that is not "proper" and are things that most people could do themselves. I can distinctly remember a local shop that used to charge $20 to max out your modulation. $20 to open the radio and turn the pot to max.
I believe people learning to do this stuff themselves helps them learn how to avoid being ripped off, and to recognize when a radio has been hacked up. These bad shops give the good shops a bad name. If you know what you are asking your tech to do, then he can do a better job for you and you'll also feel more comfortable knowing that he's doing a good job.
There have been 20-30 SSB radios I've picked up over the years that were slightly off frequency and with a plastic tuning tool and 5 mins of time I was able to put them back on....and I'm no genius by any means.
So my answer is "yes" a beginner can tune their own radio, they need the proper non-metal tools and a little info, but as long as you aren't trying to swap out a final there are plenty of small modifications and adjustments you can make.
In the end the radio may not be as perfect as one done up by a professional tech, but no one can match the satisfaction of doing something yourself. As mentioned above - it's always best to learn on the $20 radio rather than the $100 radio.
When you decide to spend $400 on a new 2970DX NS2 or a Galaxy 95T, then have it tuned by a professional tech such as Sparky's.