Careful with that Axe, Eugene

[Robb]

Here's a real conversation starter:

1) What kinds of mods do you have in your radio?
2) What kinds of mods do you like?
3) What kinds of mods that you thought were good - turned out to be bad/undesireable?
4) How many of your radios have mods?
5) Ever get a hacked up radio - and set it right?

 

[ButtFuzz]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The scream in the song!

About the only "mod" I do to any radio is open in up for XMIT @ 11M if necessary. Then, I turn up the MOD pot until 100% modulation is (easily) achieved.

Sometimes, I turn the power DOWN if if the radio is intended for use with a linear.

For "CB's", I buy radios with the "mods" built in... FM/Extended Freq Range/Echo/Roger Beep, etc.) Although I don't have any radios with echo or roger beeps because they are useless.

My favorite thing to "mod" is antenna building, if that counts.

 

[loosecannon]

1. i have mods in my radios that expand the freq response on TX to give them a more hi-fi sound. i always do the schottky diode mods to my radios, and most of the time i do the 2999 mod.
i also modify my SSB radios for more channels. i do not add switches or use roadmaps, i only do EPROM mods and change the two digit channel display to a three digit display so that all channels will read out correctly. for example, my 148GTL goes from channel -79 to 108. (26.175 to 28.085)

2. i like to re-cap old radios with all new electrolytics. i will usually up the value of filter caps just for some additional headroom on modulation peaks.
i like to use a more robust transistor when i realize that the manufacturer has cut corners and used a part barely rated for its job.
i like reduced carrier mods that allow me to get the full PEP swing from the radio while reducing the deadkey to what my linear amp wants to see. AKA "swing mods".
i also like to add external inputs to the audio amps of my CB radios so that i can plug a mixer into the radio and use any broadcast style mic i want, among any other device that suits my mood at any given time such as a CD player, or my electric guitar! LOL (if i play music over the air, its DI not mic'd)


3. removing TR32/TR24 from MB8719 chassis radios. man that makes the audio suck and the radio turns into a TVI powerhouse. LOL
when i was a 12 year old kid and new to this hobby, i thought that mod was the greatest thing ever! LOL i had never actually heard what my radio sounded like!

4. all of them except for the ones that i havent gotten to yet. LOL
i have a MINT condition 89GTL base station that is basically a 29LTD chassis on the inside. that is going to be my big, bad AM monster when i am done with it.

5. that is one of my favorite things to do!
if i mod/repair/align someones radio for them, i have to clean it and spray all the pots and switches before i give it back to them. i guess im a bit ANL retentive in that regard. LOL


good thread Rob! i miss talking about mods.
with all the big bad radios coming out these days, its not a popular as it once was. at least it seems that way around my area.
LC

 

[74IN]

3. removing TR32/TR24 from MB8719 chassis radios. man that makes the audio suck and the radio turns into a TVI powerhouse. LOL

Just clip R131 and regulate AM mod with the mic gain.

I can't run my Kenwood with the mic gain wide open and it's not "clipped". It's called "operating".

 

[loosecannon]

yep, R131 is the one! only affects AM and wont mess up SSB.

on my personal radios, i experiment with lower values of R131 instead of just removing it, but if modding a radio for a friend, i just remove it and explain how a mic gain works LOL.
LC

 

[74IN]

on my personal radios, i experiment with lower values of R131 instead of just removing it

Good idea.

I do get tired of hearing of guys that have the mod VR cranked wide open (usually disabling the AMC) using a power mic and thinking the radio is "clean" just because it's not "clipped".

My Grant XL's are clipped and I have no need for a power mic, I use a NC mic. No problems.

 

[Robb]

Someone had given me an old Realistic TRC-449 that didn't work when I first got it. It was in a car that had seen a great deal of humidity for a long time. I cleaned it up inside and out, then cleaned the pots and the ch selector switch. After doing this a couple of times, I coaxed it back to working once again. Then I went to CBTricks and found the service manual and made some modulation adjustments. That radio really put out some modulation after I carefully trimmed some pots. It was a decent find - unhacked and unmodded.

I like the receive mods. I put them in all of my radios that I use often. I got some of the Sanyo 2999'e' transistors from B&D Enterprises. Look for the Sanyo's and get the 'e' designation; they are the highest quality part for this mod. Pay a little more for them - they are worth the trouble to find and use. Bought 60 of them for ~$15, I think that was money well-spent. Also bought a bunch of the Shottky diodes as well.

Swing mods? Well - only if you intend to use a linear. But a good mod none the less. I've done it to a Cobra 29LTD because I have a 100 watt box to use it with. Clean modulation and lotsa swing.

If a radio is -well- too hacked up - I just pass on it. Don't need the aggrevation. I have a Cobra 142GTL that I had to do a lot of stuff to. Still need some more parts and put a good tune on it before it is a decent radio. I got it for free, so by the time I finish with it - it should be sweet.

I think radios that have roger beeps and echo are OK. I don't use the beep, but I use the echo. So long as I keep the echo level pretty low, it boosts the modulation and makes it clearer - IMO. Too much echo level - and it sounds like garbage. A little dab will do ya...