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Bought two Magnum s45HP new and one has issues

hacksaw

hacksaw

Active Member
Jan 25, 2009
191
11
28
So I bought two brand new Magnum s45HP and they arrived yesterday. One for a buddy and one for myself. I did the channel mod on my friends, hooked it up on my base antenna (Sirio gain master at 40') and this thing rocked right put of the box! Using a Kenwood SW-2000 it hassle PEP reading of 79 watts AM and slightly over 80 watts ssb. When I turned the TOP GUN on it will do a dead key on am of 2 watts and swing to 85 watts and ssb does 99 watts. Clean loud audio reports, though not as natural sounding as my Kenwood TS 440s, it should be a sweet mobile for him and his K40 Mag.

Now for mine! Results are 70 watts AM and 65 watts ssb. With TOP GUN is 2 watt key and swing to 80 am and 80 ssb. Why so much difference? Also, my mechanical meter sticks all the way to right when you are modulating and you have to tap it to fall back to the left. And both radios the metal sticker inlay in the face will not stick down on the far upper right! Anyway, that's the least of my worries. Should I send mine back due to the meter and lower output? My radio talks great, but lower power readings.

Oh! I forgot! The echo on mine works awesome, but my friends has squeal when I turn the echo volume up over level 2 even with the talk back turned down. WTH??? Quality control issues? What to do? Anyone have the VR numbers on these radios? Thanks guys:)
Shawn
 

The Top Gun Modulator doesn't even work in SSB mode; the TGM takes the AM Regulator path in AM mode only.
The Top Gun Compressor works in all modes - BTW.
So I have no idea how you got a different reading at all . . .
 
I did not buy them tuned or aligned. Why would I need a brand new radio aligned? Not being a smart a__ either just wondering. And I have no idea why my meter showed consistent recorded readings like I mentioned.
 
hacksaw said:
I did not buy them tuned or aligned. Why would I need a brand new radio aligned? Not being a smart a__ either just wondering. And I have no idea why my meter showed consistent recorded readings like I mentioned.
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Because they are generally set up but not precision tuned and aligned. My Galaxy DX-959 was choked back to meet FCC regulations. That is probably different in your case but none the less, you need that done for your radios to function at their best.
 
hacksaw said:
I did not buy them tuned or aligned. Why would I need a brand new radio aligned? Not being a smart a__ either just wondering. And I have no idea why my meter showed consistent recorded readings like I mentioned.
Click to expand...

Well, yes - alignment can be the only reason there is a difference between the two radios. But my point was that the TGM should show no difference at all in SSB mode - is all.
 
Robb said:
Well, yes - alignment can be the only reason there is a difference between the two radios. But my point was that the TGM should show no difference at all in SSB mode - is all.
Click to expand...

Yes. I'm not sure why. But I recorded the videos with my iPhone of the one radio that was doing good power with the TGM on so I could prove I wasent crazy;)
 
I have a DVOM, and I can solder to make it look like a machine did the job. I had Electronics for two years in vo-tech back in the day and know my components well. Just no scope, freq gen, or directions to get me started.
 
It doesn't sound like there is an actual defect in either radio but more likely just how they were adjusted from the factory.

The feedback with the echo on your friends should go away if you lower the talkback level, if it doesn't you might need to turn down the gain level on the actual echo board inside the radio which is a fairly simple procedure.

As for the output difference personally I would probably just leave it alone and run it as is. If your radio is putting out slightly less wattage it probably means it's running cooler and long term that's a good thing. I found I could get some strong output out of the 45HP but it did get hot when run full tilt and I found that the RFX75's tend to run cooler around the 70 watt mark.

The mechanical meter sounds like it may need adjustment or replacement if it's actually sticking.
 
cbradiomagazine.com said:
It doesn't sound like there is an actual defect in either radio but more likely just how they were adjusted from the factory.

The feedback with the echo on your friends should go away if you lower the talkback level, if it doesn't you might need to turn down the gain level on the actual echo board inside the radio which is a fairly simple procedure.

As for the output difference personally I would probably just leave it alone and run it as is. If your radio is putting out slightly less wattage it probably means it's running cooler and long term that's a good thing. I found I could get some strong output out of the 45HP but it did get hot when run full tilt and I found that the RFX75's tend to run cooler around the 70 watt mark.

The mechanical meter sounds like it may need adjustment or replacement if it's actually sticking.
Click to expand...

Yes. The meter is sticking. Is this something I could just change myself instead if sending the radio off for repair since I just got it? I mean, will another meter of same size fit the bill? Maybe something with some color to it like the old cobras green and red? And what about the blue led? Would I be able to swap that into another meter? I have followed you quite a bit on your reviews. Very good job you do! Thanks a lot;). BTW, what's the VR adjustments? Thanks man
 
hacksaw said:
Yes. The meter is sticking. Is this something I could just change myself instead if sending the radio off for repair since I just got it? I mean, will another meter of same size fit the bill? Maybe something with some color to it like the old cobras green and red? And what about the blue led? Would I be able to swap that into another meter? I have followed you quite a bit on your reviews. Very good job you do! Thanks a lot;). BTW, what's the VR adjustments? Thanks man
Click to expand...

The bigger problem you will have if you replace the meter is re-adjusting it for RX/TX. You said yourself that you don't have the gear. Warranty from Magnum is xlnt; think I would strongly consider that route. Ask them to give it a full alignment as you saw discrepancies that need to be dealt with. Won't cost you a dime - either.
 
I assume however, since I opened the bottom cover, desoldered con1 location, soldered jumped con3, and pushed the reset button that this has void my warrantee?
 

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