I have two radios. I bought a DX2547 base back in 2006 and a DX979 mobile in 2011. I had both "peaked and tuned" Nothing clipped or bent. Just had a shop read them with a scope and bird meters to make sure they work and to make sure they weren't splatter boxes.
Well I've had the base radio in storage for a long time in my house. Just too busy working to use it. I got it out, because I'm off work due to the whole Covid 19 situation.
Here's the issue. My DX979 mobile radio really reaches, and my base station does not. My power meter really swings when I talk on the 979 and it doesn't move one bit when I read it on the base.
Had my girlfriend talk to me while I drove over five miles away. She could hear me like I was close, but I could only hear her when I was less than two miles away. Both radios have roger beeps, which those seem to punch through, but not her voice.
Same results if I switch radios in the house on the antenna on my roof... or if I switch radios in the car. So if I take my radios out and talk to someone on my mobile, they hear me great. If I swap for the base radio in my car with the same mic and antenna, it's like nobody can hear me. If I do the same test in the house... my mobile radio reaches for a little over 5 miles. There's a guy in my area with another base setup and I was checking with him. As the crow flies, we are almost 9 miles apart, but there is almost no obstruction between us. If memory serves, he uses an Antron 99 with ground plane kit that fits it.
I checked my variable resistors. My modulation is maxed (I double checked with a hand held Uniden radio to see which way is up and down on the pots). My AM low and high power pots are good. It's just like this 2547 isn't really working and isn't even hitting 4 watts. That's really annoying, because I paid over $300 for the base radio, but I can only talk for a mile before the signal fades.
Here are my setups.
For the house: 100' of RG8x coax. I temporarily have a wilson 2000 series antenna with a ground plane on my roof. I get less than 1.5:1 SWR. I have an Antron 99 antenna on back order. I used to have one, but must have lost it when I moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania.
For my car: Magnet mount Stryker SR10A antenna with RG8X coax. Same SWR readings. Super low.
If I put my DX979 on either setup, it really reaches. One local guy asked if I was using an amp, which I do not. I also use Ranger SRA 198 microphones. They're clear and passive noise cancelling.
I hope this info makes sense and hopefully I can gain understanding as to why a base radio with all this extra crap in it seems useless. It's basically a DX959 in a base case. Maybe I got unlucky and got a hunk of crap for hundreds of dollars?
Side note: I have a 20 amp 12 volt power supply. I might just buy another 979 for my car and use my old one as a base and get rid of the 2547.
Any suggestions would help. Has anyone else had trouble with a 2547? Has anyone had positive experiences with a 2547?
Well I've had the base radio in storage for a long time in my house. Just too busy working to use it. I got it out, because I'm off work due to the whole Covid 19 situation.
Here's the issue. My DX979 mobile radio really reaches, and my base station does not. My power meter really swings when I talk on the 979 and it doesn't move one bit when I read it on the base.
Had my girlfriend talk to me while I drove over five miles away. She could hear me like I was close, but I could only hear her when I was less than two miles away. Both radios have roger beeps, which those seem to punch through, but not her voice.
Same results if I switch radios in the house on the antenna on my roof... or if I switch radios in the car. So if I take my radios out and talk to someone on my mobile, they hear me great. If I swap for the base radio in my car with the same mic and antenna, it's like nobody can hear me. If I do the same test in the house... my mobile radio reaches for a little over 5 miles. There's a guy in my area with another base setup and I was checking with him. As the crow flies, we are almost 9 miles apart, but there is almost no obstruction between us. If memory serves, he uses an Antron 99 with ground plane kit that fits it.
I checked my variable resistors. My modulation is maxed (I double checked with a hand held Uniden radio to see which way is up and down on the pots). My AM low and high power pots are good. It's just like this 2547 isn't really working and isn't even hitting 4 watts. That's really annoying, because I paid over $300 for the base radio, but I can only talk for a mile before the signal fades.
Here are my setups.
For the house: 100' of RG8x coax. I temporarily have a wilson 2000 series antenna with a ground plane on my roof. I get less than 1.5:1 SWR. I have an Antron 99 antenna on back order. I used to have one, but must have lost it when I moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania.
For my car: Magnet mount Stryker SR10A antenna with RG8X coax. Same SWR readings. Super low.
If I put my DX979 on either setup, it really reaches. One local guy asked if I was using an amp, which I do not. I also use Ranger SRA 198 microphones. They're clear and passive noise cancelling.
I hope this info makes sense and hopefully I can gain understanding as to why a base radio with all this extra crap in it seems useless. It's basically a DX959 in a base case. Maybe I got unlucky and got a hunk of crap for hundreds of dollars?
Side note: I have a 20 amp 12 volt power supply. I might just buy another 979 for my car and use my old one as a base and get rid of the 2547.
Any suggestions would help. Has anyone else had trouble with a 2547? Has anyone had positive experiences with a 2547?