Question on a Grant XL vs DX959

[The Jerk]

Should a Grant XL be able to be tuned to about the same output as a DX959?

My DX959 is a newer (single) mosfet and the Grant is a 1969 final. They are completely different in output numbers (tuned and aligned by the same person), with the Grant being substantially lower.

If I could have a Grant show similar numbers, I'd sell the DX959. As I indicated in a previous post, I'm driving a 4x1446 AB-1...and I'm not sure the Grant is up to the task?

Opinions?

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

i dont know the answer to your question , but id suggest not getting caught up in a few more watts here or there . theres no reason a grant swinging 15 or so watts shouldnt get all the clean power those 1446's can do . my washington (same thing as the grant xl just in a bigger box with a power supply added) pushed my texas star 500v using 4x2879's to 450 watts with 16 watts of swing . put a power meter behind the 4x1446 AB-1 amp and see what kind of pep numbers youre getting . they are rated at 90 watts each on the chicken band so 350-400 MAX is what id want out of them , and if it only did 300 i wouldnt loose any sleep since the difference between 300 and 400 watts wont make a difference on the recieved end .

what amp do you have ? im an ab biased fan myself , but the amp (like all our equipment) is at the mercy of the operator to set it up and run it properly . overdriving a amp will distort the signal and cause bleeding into other electronics , neither are good things .

you cant turn a sows ear into a silk purse .......
but you can turn a silk purse into a sows ear .

 

[The Jerk]

I wish this Grant#2 was getting 15 watts...its not. Keep in mind these are un-modded radios. And if I remember right, its not even close to my DX959.

As for the amp, as noted in my other thread, I don't even think I'm getting 250 watts...its pretty much being loafed. The amp is a custom build...AB-1 on a copper board. And I'm not getting hung up in numbers, but I'm not even sure the Grant#2 would have enough to activate the relay in SSB.

I'm going to hook up all three radios tonight, same cheap meter, same dipole antenna, same coax and see how they compare. I know the one I just took Grant#1 out of the car is tuned for the 350HDV that I had behind it...so it should theoretically be the lowest of the three. The only modded radio is my Uniden Washington, and I have no idea what's been done to it (but it smokes my Grant#2 in watts).

Sorry for the #1/#2 thing....trying to keep radios straight...

 

[slprydk]

This might get a rise out of some people but here it goes...

Mosfet finals notoriously create more harmonics and if it was tuned on a peak reading meter (especially a Dosy) the harmonics tend to be added into your final Peak watts out even though this is not effective RF power at 27Mhz. I would guess if you either used a RMS type meter or put a low pass (TVI) filter between the radio and the Peak reading meter the output figures would be a little closer.

People who use the “Spread the coils” method of tuning for maximum “Peak” power are, in most cases, whether they realize it or not, just messing with the radios built in TVI filter, it looks good on the Dosy but only creates a dirty radio.

Jim

 

[The Jerk]

The radio(s) were tuned using scopes, I'm not even sure this guy has a typical meter? I trust his work, which also explains why the radios are a touch on the low output side of things because he doesn't believe in clipping or wringing every last watt out of a radio...

I have used a Dosy (one of three meters) for my readings, but even if used only as a reference; you can really see a difference. And if what your saying is true, hmm...that would explain some of it.

 

[Highlander_821]

I'd say no, a Grant XL with bi-polar finals will definitely not be able to do the same power as a 959 with mosfets.

I agree with Boot that the Grant will give you all the drive needed to run that amp.

Plus, the Grant has a better RX than the 959. When the band gets rough, listen to both radios. I bet you'll find that the Grant is easier to listen to under those trying band conditions. Better selectivity, too.

Hell, keep both radios and put them on a switch! That way you can really compare the RX for yourself and see why the Grant/148 chassis is the best SSB CB receiver you can get, short of a Stoner. Not that the 959 and it's clones aren't decent, but the Grant/148 platform is better when things get nasty.

 

[davegrantsr]

the dx959 is a 'real' cb, just as the XL is. a hyundai is a car, just as a mercedes is. just as i'd buy a mercedes with a 100 mph speedometer vs a hyundai with a 120 mph speedometer, i'd take an xl over a 959. take that from a man called 'grant'.

daveGRANTsr....if you don't want the XL, send it here.....

 

[The Jerk]

Here are my findings:

Dosy TR-1000
10A power supply at 14V
Channel 3
SWR 1.3:1
Horizontal Dipole with 100 feet of RG8.

Uniden (newer chassis) President 4.5/8.0
Grant#1 1.25(?)/3.0
Grant#2 3.0/7.0
DX959 6.0/12.0
PC76XL 6.0/12.0

Again, not saying these are actual watts, just a comparison...all radios, except the President, were tuned by the same guy.

Is the difference noteworthy?? Again, Grant#1 is tuned for driving a 350HDV (2x2879).

 

[davegrantsr]

i'd find somebody else to verify those findings, assume those 'peak' values are in 'rms' mode, or at the very least, try a decent peak-reading wattmeter.
if somebody were to tune a CB for 6 watts dead key & 12 watts swing, i'd find another tech, same with the 4.5/8, 1.25/3 and 3/7.
or is it just me?
nah.....

 

[The Jerk]

Again, that's just for comparison...I know the swing of the DX959 is significantly higher, by almost double IIRC.

 

[The Jerk]

I asked this once before and nobody really had an answer...do finals "lose" power with age or use?? I guess my question is should finals be replaced in older radios??

 

[Joe S.]

I asked this once before and nobody really had an answer...do finals "lose" power with age or use?? I guess my question is should finals be replaced in older radios??

I do not think they do, much. I think you will get a general degradation due to aging capacitors and resistors (especially electrolytic caps and carbon resistors). My experience with semiconductors is they tend to go away pretty much all at once, whereas tubes lose it a little at a time, faster if overdriven. I will say sometimes transistors get noisier as they age.

 

[Big Dummy 123]

Transister are eather god or bad work or dont work Tanks Ben

 

[Big Dummy 123]

Btw the Grant are a supirior radio have the properly tuned and aligined the shold do around 15 to 18 watts ssb and 12 or alittle better pep am. I have a dx 959 it dont even compair to the recive on the Grants

 

[74IN]

Had both, 959 sucked, Xl's are about the best mobile CB ever.