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Stryker SR-497 HPC Review

Jdb0367

Member
Apr 8, 2016
31
6
18
57
Mifflintown, PA
Well folks, my Stryker SR-497 HPC arrived a few days ago.
This radio has certainly raised my eyebrows on more that one occasion so far. I thought I would share a few photos as well as some info that may help anyone who may have questions about this unit.

One of the first things that led me to the purchase of this radio was the simplicity of the controls. All of the pot switches are double and combined with a well thought out companion control.


image.jpeg
Pretty basic!
I'm also a fan of large, easy to read meters. (The eyes certainly aren't seeing as clearly these days)

The mic wiring is labeled right on the face plate.
Although I do fined it rather crowded to thread the mic nut on.

The color button allows you a choice of seven different colors as well as dimming and TX meter colors. Even the channel digits correspond with your preferred choice.

The inside of this radio will most likely pose difficulty to the amateur do it yourselfer!
With the exception of the tuning coils. The capacitors and the VR pots, the surface mount components are not going to be easy without the proper soldering equipment, along will soldering skills.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

One nice feature about the board is that all of the VR pots are clearly labeled as to their adjustments.
Alignment info on this radio is very scarce as of now.
The good news is..... This thing is pretty much blowing smoke, right out of the box. (More on that later)

image.jpeg

Tired of thin foil traces that seperate from the board with only one or two desolderings??
Me too! I don't think that will be the case here. (If you find the courage to start altering this board)

image.jpeg

Again... Pretty plain and simple layout.

The radio comes fitted with 4 mosfets that truly live up to there output capabilities.
They are also completely shielded so there should be any unwanted RF floating around the board.

The heat seems to be managed very affectively with the 1/4in thick aluminum heatsink on the inside, and a very generous finned sink on the outside.
The radio also features a fully automatic fan, blowing directly on the finals every time the key is dropped.
It also cycles after shutdown and I must say......you cannot here this fan running.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

This particular radio came out of the box, went to the bench and was put thru some tests, just to see how well the factory did their part.
I was NOT disappointed.

Low power was set at 3w and high power was at 60w.
Frequency was spot on and the conversion is a 3 second snap. (Lift JP104 off of its single post, and slide it back down over the double posts. DONE!

I carefully marked the VR pots with a fine tipped pen just for caution and this is what I found.
Modulation was already maxed even tho the pot had more travel. The slightest touch caused the mod to flat top instantly on high power with the mic gain turned up full.

Of course I had my eye on the high output pot, but I soon remembered, this wasn't the purpose here.
Max pep from a 60 watt dead key was just over 110 watts.
I know there are guys thinking that the percentage is way off from the 4:1 here.
Those guys are correct. My only thinking is this radio would most likely drive virtually any amp out there with this range of setting.
Anyways...... I had to try the high power pot! I just had to!

Moving the pot the thickness of my reference mark yielded 130w pep.
Looking at the modulation on the scope still showed no sign of clipping or flat topping.

I'm sure that VR has quite a few more watts hiding behind it. (Just guessing, I'd say probably pushing close to 200.
Even tho heat was never an issue for me, as I kept a close eye on it, remember.....4 mosfets at 25w ea = 100 SAFE watts.
I left mine at the 130 mark and set my dead key at 30.

It would be nice to have the alignment info, just to see what else may be hiding in this unit. But for now, I'm very pleased with all aspects of the radio. Just as it came to me. YMMV.

So there ya have it my friends.
Just a little insight to share along with some photos that may help someone at one point or another.

I'll post the thumbs at the bottom here so they will be easy access to anyone who needs.
Stryker was also kind enough to include a full scale schematic as well as a full scale board layout in the box also. (y)(y)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Joel

image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
 

Cool!
I've heard some of these radios and have talked to them. So long as they haven't been jimmied with, the sound pretty good as far as I can tell. The ones that have messed with; not so much . . .
I hear ya Robb.
I've had this thing for a few days now and am really liking it.
Tinkering with radios is something I enjoy as much as the next guy, but ya know.....I honestly can't think of anything yet that would possibly need done to this thing.

I'd say if you're looking for huge wattage......add an external amp to it. Simple.
The radio itself has a large enough power swing to drive just about any.

Have a great dat Robb, and take care
Joel
 
Great write up on the Stryker 497 SMT board and MOSFET final PA version! The added internal fan is a nice touch.

I prefer the older Stryker 497's with the genuine Toshiba 2sc2290 for the final PA, but I understand they have gone the way of the Dodo bird. These radios are perfect for driving a HD (4) pill 2879 competition style amp. Always good AM audio from the Stryker brand. I run one regularly on the base station and have one in the truck. I don't even have to look at it to adjust stuff anymore as the face plate layout is so clean and simple. BEEP-BEEP (y)
 
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Great write up on the Stryker 497 SMT board and MOSFET final PA version! The added internal fan is a nice touch.

I prefer the older Stryker 497's with the genuine Toshiba 2sc2290 for the final PA, but I understand they have gone the way of the Dodo bird. These radios are perfect for driving a HD (4) pill 2879 competition style amp. Always good AM audio from the Stryker brand. I run one regularly on the base station and have one in the truck. I don't even have to look at it to adjust stuff anymore as the face plate layout is so clean and simple. BEEP-BEEP (y)
Roger on the clean and simple!
The more I use this radio, the more I love it.
Squelch wide open and RF Gain at about 3/4 open.....just sits there whispering. Even the far off contacts come thru crystal clear.
Can't compare it to the old 497's BBB, as this is the first one I've owned.
I do know I wouldn't hesitate buying more of them.(y)
 
I'll chime in with my thoughts. I liked the original 497 a lot better than this new version, for one main reason - the AMC control POT is unbelievably hard to set just right. Its almost as if the proper POT value was multiplied by twenty, leaving a tiny little window the size of half a hair (seems like) where the AMC is just right. Aide from that gripe, the current 497 is a great radio.
 
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I'll chime in with my thoughts. I liked the original 497 a lot better than this new version, for one main reason - the AMC control POT is unbelievably hard to set just right. Its almost as if the proper POT value was multiplied by twenty, leaving a tiny little window the size of half a hair (seems like) where the AMC is just right. Aide from that gripe, the current 497 is a great radio.
Thanks for chiming in DTB.
Seeing how I'm only about an hour away from you..... If I brought the radio in, are there any/many improvements to be made??
I've heard many great things about your services and would enjoy a visit to your shop
 
Maybe widen out the audio chain a bit more or set it up for direct audio inject. Haven't seen any write-ups on those mods for this radio yet. The earlier 497 and 490 transceivers appear to be copies of a Magnum main board so maybe I missed something.
 
Well folks, my Stryker SR-497 HPC arrived a few days ago.
This radio has certainly raised my eyebrows on more that one occasion so far. I thought I would share a few photos as well as some info that may help anyone who may have questions about this unit.

One of the first things that led me to the purchase of this radio was the simplicity of the controls. All of the pot switches are double and combined with a well thought out companion control.


View attachment 18083
Pretty basic!
I'm also a fan of large, easy to read meters. (The eyes certainly aren't seeing as clearly these days)

The mic wiring is labeled right on the face plate.
Although I do fined it rather crowded to thread the mic nut on.

The color button allows you a choice of seven different colors as well as dimming and TX meter colors. Even the channel digits correspond with your preferred choice.

The inside of this radio will most likely pose difficulty to the amateur do it yourselfer!
With the exception of the tuning coils. The capacitors and the VR pots, the surface mount components are not going to be easy without the proper soldering equipment, along will soldering skills.

View attachment 18084

View attachment 18085

One nice feature about the board is that all of the VR pots are clearly labeled as to their adjustments.
Alignment info on this radio is very scarce as of now.
The good news is..... This thing is pretty much blowing smoke, right out of the box. (More on that later)

View attachment 18086

Tired of thin foil traces that seperate from the board with only one or two desolderings??
Me too! I don't think that will be the case here. (If you find the courage to start altering this board)

View attachment 18087

Again... Pretty plain and simple layout.

The radio comes fitted with 4 mosfets that truly live up to there output capabilities.
They are also completely shielded so there should be any unwanted RF floating around the board.

The heat seems to be managed very affectively with the 1/4in thick aluminum heatsink on the inside, and a very generous finned sink on the outside.
The radio also features a fully automatic fan, blowing directly on the finals every time the key is dropped.
It also cycles after shutdown and I must say......you cannot here this fan running.

View attachment 18088

View attachment 18089

View attachment 18090

This particular radio came out of the box, went to the bench and was put thru some tests, just to see how well the factory did their part.
I was NOT disappointed.

Low power was set at 3w and high power was at 60w.
Frequency was spot on and the conversion is a 3 second snap. (Lift JP104 off of its single post, and slide it back down over the double posts. DONE!

I carefully marked the VR pots with a fine tipped pen just for caution and this is what I found.
Modulation was already maxed even tho the pot had more travel. The slightest touch caused the mod to flat top instantly on high power with the mic gain turned up full.

Of course I had my eye on the high output pot, but I soon remembered, this wasn't the purpose here.
Max pep from a 60 watt dead key was just over 110 watts.
I know there are guys thinking that the percentage is way off from the 4:1 here.
Those guys are correct. My only thinking is this radio would most likely drive virtually any amp out there with this range of setting.
Anyways...... I had to try the high power pot! I just had to!

Moving the pot the thickness of my reference mark yielded 130w pep.
Looking at the modulation on the scope still showed no sign of clipping or flat topping.

I'm sure that VR has quite a few more watts hiding behind it. (Just guessing, I'd say probably pushing close to 200.
Even tho heat was never an issue for me, as I kept a close eye on it, remember.....4 mosfets at 25w ea = 100 SAFE watts.
I left mine at the 130 mark and set my dead key at 30.

It would be nice to have the alignment info, just to see what else may be hiding in this unit. But for now, I'm very pleased with all aspects of the radio. Just as it came to me. YMMV.

So there ya have it my friends.
Just a little insight to share along with some photos that may help someone at one point or another.

I'll post the thumbs at the bottom here so they will be easy access to anyone who needs.
Stryker was also kind enough to include a full scale schematic as well as a full scale board layout in the box also. (y)(y)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Joel

View attachment 18083 View attachment 18084 View attachment 18085 View attachment 18086 View attachment 18087 View attachment 18088 View attachment 18089 View attachment 18090 View attachment 18091 View attachment 18092
I have the 497 also with multiple finals my question is what pot adjusts your deadkey? Can you explain how the high low pots effect what the radio does? I have a bird meter dummy load that is showing a deadkey of 50 watts on high but no swing when talking into the microphone, the radio does work but is not any louder than my mirage 36. Can anyone give me feedback on what might be going on thanks
 
I have the 497 also with multiple finals my question is what pot adjusts your deadkey? Can you explain how the high low pots effect what the radio does? I have a bird meter dummy load that is showing a deadkey of 50 watts on high but no swing when talking into the microphone, the radio does work but is not any louder than my mirage 36. Can anyone give me feedback on what might be going on thanks
If you are referring to the new version of the 497......
The high and low power adjustments are located on the front right side of the board. They should be clearly labeled. Low power adjusts the dead key output when the rf power knob is set all the way counter clockwise. The high power adjustment is for setting the dead key output when the rf power knob is fully clockwise.
Have you tried adjusting your mic gain?
If you are at a 50w dead key, you should be seeing around 100 watts when talking.
Are any of the finals bad?
Have you tried a different mic?

With my rf power all the way down, I am at about a 3w key.
All the way up gives me a 60w key and swings about 110.
When running it barefoot, I usually keep it set for around a 30w dead key.

I'm no expert on radio repair by any means, so maybe a few others will chime in also.
 
I bought the radio new and told stryker about it they said to send it back for repair. I hated to do that since it is new. I don't know if any of the finals are bad. Thanks for your help.
 
50 watts DK is way to high to get any good modulation out of that radio. Those final mosfets will not last long at that level. You will be sending it back anyways so to stop the bleeding and think of it as a 70 max watt radio, divide by (4) to get the proper 1:4 ratio equals 15-17 watts DK for optimum modulation. Set it there...You can do it!

I'm consistently getting HiFi audio reports with just the Stryker 497 set with with a pinch of reverb running at 5-7 watts DK pushing a HD (4) 2sc2879 box and a good Turner +2 desk mic. Now the secret is out :censored:
 
Last edited:
If you are referring to the new version of the 497......
The high and low power adjustments are located on the front right side of the board. They should be clearly labeled. Low power adjusts the dead key output when the rf power knob is set all the way counter clockwise. The high power adjustment is for setting the dead key output when the rf power knob is fully clockwise.
Have you tried adjusting your mic gain?
If you are at a 50w dead key, you should be seeing around 100 watts when talking.
Are any of the finals bad?
Have you tried a different mic?

With my rf power all the way down, I am at about a 3w key.
All the way up gives me a 60w key and swings about 110.
When running it barefoot, I usually keep it set for around a 30w dead key.

I'm no expert on radio repair by any means, so maybe a few others will chime in also.
Would the radio still have aud I out with one of the finals burnt? The radio sounds good but not as loud is I would imagine. I have a hand held walkie-talkie and my wife talks on the radio so I can hear it first hand. The bird meters are pretty reliable right? Thanx for any input.
 

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