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Connex Saturn question
- Thread starter Blackbear88
- Start date
Turn the gain on the d104 down all the way then up about 1/8 to 1/4 way up. Adjust mic gain on radio to taste. Depending on what's been done to the radio, this should work fine for you...
^^^agreed
Most bad sounding D104s sound bad because guys want to turn the mic up all the way, put an old sock over the head so it isn't so sensitive then talk into it at arms length. They go through a lot of batteries too.
Most bad sounding D104s sound bad because guys want to turn the mic up all the way, put an old sock over the head so it isn't so sensitive then talk into it at arms length. They go through a lot of batteries too.
personally, I run my mic gains on all my radios 100% and the microphone as low as I can.
my batteries last for years.
my batteries last for years.
Problem with that is, when you turn up ANY gain control all of the way up, it will add a lot of harmonic distortion to the output.
About as welcome as sharks at a shipwreck . . need balance between the two to make it right . . .
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so when you align a radio for no distortion with the mic gain wide open it's still distorting at an audible level?
then why does anyone bother with an oscilloscope if it's going to show a clean signal when there's distortion?
The mic circuit designed in a CB radio isn't exactly audiophile quality. Distortion appears at different points in any radio as well.
Harmonic distortion (THD aka 'total harmonic distortion') and intermodulation distortion ('IMD') in particular. When these signals are amplified/mixed further in the radio circuits chain before it leaves the SO-239, it accumulates other distortions along the way. What you don't want/need to do is add to it either knowingly or unknowingly.
Example: When guys twist the 54mhz trap coils in the output circuit in the final stages to get some more Dosy watts, it is throwing off harmonics on frequencies that aren't even on 27mhz. Some on 54mhz (2nd harmonic) and so on. By the time some 'modders' get finished with their idea of modding, the radio signal has both distorted audio and distorted transmit. As well as weaking the real watts that are actually on 27mz - because the finals have to amp a lot of these other signals and thereby degrades its overall performance.
Personally, I see that a lot of radio ops don't have a clue. In particular, many AMers are guilty of this. The very reason that gets Hams panties all bunched up. Avoid all distortions, even if it means losing a little TX power and audio.
Crap in; crap out . . . $.02 . . .
The cb tuned to factory spec can be ran with the mic gain wide open. Once it's modified or a non linear amp is put in line who knows. The problem is the radio already has a mic preamp and when you crank up an amplified mic it's like driving a 2 pill amplifier with another 2 pill.....of course an audio amp and RF amp have their differences but you get the idea.
The guys that I'm talking about will clip the limiter and keep turning up a d104 until they get every last watt out. They sound like shit, you hear every fan in the room and you might even hear their neighbors dog barking in the background. They call it the old school sound.
The guys that I'm talking about will clip the limiter and keep turning up a d104 until they get every last watt out. They sound like shit, you hear every fan in the room and you might even hear their neighbors dog barking in the background. They call it the old school sound.
Yup; with a stock mic . . . thought we were talking about a D-104 in the OP?The cb tuned to factory spec can be ran with the mic gain wide open. Once it's modified or a non linear amp is put in line who knows. The problem is the radio already has a mic preamp and when you crank up an amplified mic it's like driving a 2 pill amplifier with another 2 pill.....of course an audio amp and RF amp have their differences but you get the idea.
The guys that I'm talking about will clip the limiter and keep turning up a d104 until they get every last watt out. They sound like shit, you hear every fan in the room and you might even hear their neighbors dog barking in the background. They call it the old school sound.
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we were, but no one said anything about a heavily modded radio and you started talking about twisting the 54mhz trap coils despite my first post saying if properly set up and the second mentioning that the microphone is set as low as possible....
Many hack tune-up shops do the AM Limiter removal as well as 54mhz trap twisting as the standard procedure. I don't think I would call them 'heavily modified' - as compared to other methods of modding radios that aren't like the common hacks. More the norm - than the exception. In truth, many of the used radios I have gotten had these mods done to them. Coincidence? I think not. Most of the better shops refuse to do these hack mods and often restore the radio before they do a proper peak and tune.
ALL of the 148's I have gotten in the last seven years have all been hacked, so I returned them all back to stock. Getting a used 2980 means - or any used radio for that matter IMO - means that it is a crapshoot as to whether it has been hacked or not. My money is on it being hacked - or 'modded' - depending on who you are talking to . . . or perhaps it was just the chance of my own draw . . .
Summing it all up, if/when using a power mic with a used radio - while NOT knowing if the radio has been hacked - means that the best route to take is to keep the D-104 gain set less than 1/2 up and keep the mic gain on the radio on a tight leash. Otherwise, the new radio operators experiences may be unsatisfactory because stations calling back may give unfavorable radio reports. Since they would be using two gain stages (one in the power mic and one in the radio), it is only all too easy to over-gain the audio circuit and then distortion is the first order consequence. JMHO.
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I've never had an issue running the mic gain on the radio wide open with a stock mic or any amplified mic. If you can turn the audio completely off with the pot on the mic you can find a happy medium between silence and too loud. I don't see the point of running the mic setting too high and then turning the mic gain on the radio down to attenuate it. I haven't spent much time using a D104 so maybe there's something I'm missing. I talk with the mic a few inches from my lips so my settings just won't work for the guy than wants to lean back and talk at arms length from the mic.
I run my 2527 w a silver k eagle. I set it a hair below 1/4 up. Run the mic gain on radio I little over 3/4. I always get good reports. However I don't talk at arms length. Probably about 2 - 4 inches from the mic. Radio HAS NOT had the limiter removed.
It has been modded from trucks cb sales by Brian Smith not real sure what he's done to the radio but he told me I wouldnt need a d104 problem is I like desk mics I like to sit back at arms length and talk not swallow a Mic while I'm at it so from what I gather I can use the silver eagle just keep Mic gain down on both the radio and Mic