No it won't peak the radio a way a shop will. Turning up the modulation pots WILL NOT do anything but IMPROVE the radios audio. It won't wreck the radio at all.
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Galaxy DX959 user's review
- Thread starter loosecannon
- Start date
I disagree with that statement.
Turning VR`s full open or defeating AMC controls CAN damage the radio, and result in them sounding like shit.
Do not believe me?
Ask Ranger, the company that builds most of the boards in the radios you see today:
73
Jeff
I didn't say anything about clipping the limiter. Turning the pot will only increase the modulation to 100%. CB radio magazine has a article just for beginners tuning their radios and he recommends it. Thousands of shops and people do it every day. Turning the modulation pot will not wreck the radio, clipping the limiter will. Don't want to max it out? Just turn it all the way up and then back off a little. That way your modulation is at 80-95. You really want 100% though.
turning up the modulation pot all the way will cause the modulation to go over 100%.
the radio must be designed this way because each radio will require a different setting of that pot.
if each radio were exactly the same in this regard, there would be no need for a variable adjustment. they would put a fixed resistor (cheaper) in there instead.
if cbradiomagazine stated that turning the pot all the way up will only put the modulation at 100% then he misspoke because he knows better.
LC
the radio must be designed this way because each radio will require a different setting of that pot.
if each radio were exactly the same in this regard, there would be no need for a variable adjustment. they would put a fixed resistor (cheaper) in there instead.
if cbradiomagazine stated that turning the pot all the way up will only put the modulation at 100% then he misspoke because he knows better.
LC
Most radios come from the factory in an overall poor state of tune - true.
But how do you know where 100% modulation is? By using a meter? They aren't accurate enough to do that. The O-scope is the only way to gauge that, and even then it is a close approximation.
Because 1000's have done it and shop sell it doesn't mean that it is done correctly. Shops also spread the 54mhz trap coils to impress their customers with false watt readings - too. Neither modifications reach the desired results, but people don't care and don't know any better. After all, they just paid the 'expert' to make his radio 'a real talker'. Hoo-boy. If that radio has SSB, clipping the limiter will bugger it. Maxxing the modulation is best done by peaking the TX coils and then adjusting the modulation on the O-scope. Turning VR's will just throw out the fine balance of modulation vs distortion.
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So you are saying that if you have factory radio and have no shop in town or money to send it to a shop that turning the pot up then back it off a little is a horrible thing to do and it will wreck the radio?
Turning up the modulation pot all of the way and/or defeating the AM Limiter sends a clipped/distorted audio wave to the AM Regulator to amplify. Transistors don't like signals that are too distorted and end up amplifying all of the distortion harmonics down the chain to the final transistors and out into the air. These transistors can heat up and that is a formula for failure. AM Regulator failure due to excessive modulation is commonplace.
Any amp that is connected will also amplify the primary signal along with all of the harmonics generated by modding the radio as such. Puking out spurious signals and getting neighbors, the FCC, and Ham radio operators noses out of joint. These spurious signals end up all over the entire radio spectrum. When you have 1000's of radios doing this, it creates an enormous mess. Just because the modder had no idea how far it all goes downstream and what it ultimately does.
AudioShockwav's last post pointed out that Ranger engineers have isolated the cause.
These mods can/do create conditions that can lead to failure of parts in that chain.
Will tweaking the modulation pot 'just a tad' cause the radio to fail? Probably not; but my first choice to make a radio transmit better would be to peak the transmit coils. Makes for clear, clean, and somewhat stronger modulation. It is also legal to do, so long as the radio is at 100% modulation or less . . .
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you should also have a backup radio that is away from you and you can listen to what your radio sounds like also.I have one about 30 feet from my repair area so I can also listen to how it sounds. .a guy brought me a radio and amp awhile back he had a shop peak them and said it was matched together and when you turned the amp on it was hard to understand what you were saying. had to realign the radio to get the output where it sounded clean and clear also.
what all the guys are telling you is right. do not just peak every thing to a meter . you have to listen to what you are transmitting and see what the signal looks like on the scope. a meter will show peak but not the actual sound. the meter does not know what it sounds like.
what all the guys are telling you is right. do not just peak every thing to a meter . you have to listen to what you are transmitting and see what the signal looks like on the scope. a meter will show peak but not the actual sound. the meter does not know what it sounds like.
Okay stop assuming guys. I never said squat about clipping limiters or peaking everything in the radio to a power meter.
What I am trying to point out is... Settings from the factory are piss poor. Turning up the modulation pot and then backing it down to a clear level is just fine. Some people don't have scopes or bird meters or a whole testing bench.
What I am trying to point out is... Settings from the factory are piss poor. Turning up the modulation pot and then backing it down to a clear level is just fine. Some people don't have scopes or bird meters or a whole testing bench.
If you want me to say that it is OK to twiddle some VR's and guess, I will not.
You can either try to understand why or are quite free to do what you want to your own radio.
You can either try to understand why or are quite free to do what you want to your own radio.
I now have a little bit of a collection of radio's lets say doing a bit more than they did. No matter how fads change the one thing I want is loud but clean audio so I can be heard even when I can't move their S meter and let me tell you this radio is loud as it should be as one of a few mods I had done but with a flick of a switch it modulates right back to stock. I like how my extra channel switches are installed on the right bottom cover the 2 can barely be seen but are as sturdy as can be. My 148GTL will be done soon with a frequency read out VFO bolted to the bottom front cover.
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Lets try again.
This is written by the engineers that design the radio.
You said:
This is where the 87% comes from.
You said:
This is why a qualified person with the proper test equipment should be in the radio.
Yes a radio should be set to 100% modulation if you want to fully modulate the carrier on a AM radio.
Lots of these radios built today are using borderline parts ( read cheap ) that are working hard already and increasing stress levels on the parts even more.
If you search through this forum you will find people with knowledge that are running modulation levels of over 100% on positive peaks, but they are reducing the carrier and changing parts in the radio to do this.
It has become a standard thing for shops to sell a radio at a point where they are making their profit margin on the radio, and then make another 35 or 40 bucks peaking and tweaking the radio.
We are not bagging on you, but we want everyone to learn that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
Sometimes it is necessary to have the proper test equipment to do things, just like working on cars.
73
Jeff
This is written by the engineers that design the radio.
You said:
This is where the 87% comes from.
You said:
This is why a qualified person with the proper test equipment should be in the radio.
Yes a radio should be set to 100% modulation if you want to fully modulate the carrier on a AM radio.
Lots of these radios built today are using borderline parts ( read cheap ) that are working hard already and increasing stress levels on the parts even more.
If you search through this forum you will find people with knowledge that are running modulation levels of over 100% on positive peaks, but they are reducing the carrier and changing parts in the radio to do this.
It has become a standard thing for shops to sell a radio at a point where they are making their profit margin on the radio, and then make another 35 or 40 bucks peaking and tweaking the radio.
We are not bagging on you, but we want everyone to learn that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
Sometimes it is necessary to have the proper test equipment to do things, just like working on cars.
73
Jeff
thats why i won't touch my radio with a screwdriver.. I just wanted to know if turning the pots up would help me get more power out out of my radio and how hard it is to do it right. I keep reading that these radios can Easily do 25-30 watts with minor adjustments.
I won't even let loocals work on my radio who claim to be able to "peak and tune". I'm done with stock radios and have learned my lesson. If these companies can't give me a quality product working at 100% out of the box, i will just buy my next radio from a tech shop like Bells.
I won't even let loocals work on my radio who claim to be able to "peak and tune". I'm done with stock radios and have learned my lesson. If these companies can't give me a quality product working at 100% out of the box, i will just buy my next radio from a tech shop like Bells.