Connex 3300hp. couple questions from the new guy.

[Dirty Duck]

I have a connex 3300hp.

Ive been told this is a “high output radio” and need a “high output amp”. I’m don’t remember the reason why but, apparently any other normal amp will not work with it.

What should I look for? I don’t want anything crazy but, currently the locals can barely hear me.

 

[Justme]

If locals can't hear you I suppose you better check your antenna system and put up a good antenna as high you can get it and coax to improve the range.
You can always add an amplifier after that if you need more power.

 

[BC Coyote]

If locals can't hear you I suppose you better check your antenna system

Nailed it! If your locals can't hear you on a barefoot 3300hp something is wrong, and it's not the lack of an amp. That's a 50 watt radio and you should be getting at least 15 to 20 miles of good coverage barefoot.

 

[Dirty Duck]

I currently run a Shakespeare big stick on a 30 foot tower.

Radio swings 30 watts.

The locals can hear me but I’m just a bit quiet. I was thinking a tiny amp to get me out there.

I don’t wanna be overly loud.

I live in the thumb of Michigan so everyone roughly 50 miles out or less.

 

[BC Coyote]

I would think about maybe replacing that Big Stick with an aluminum 5/8 wave of some kind and getting it up another 10 or 20 feet at least. For DX you want the antenna at least 36 feet to the base of the antenna above ground. For working local it really is the higher the mightier. A 5/8 wave at 60 feet would make a HUGE difference over what you have right now as far as local communication goes.

 

[nomadradio]

I’m just a bit quiet.

Is this radio still stock out-of-the-box?

If so, they may be complaining that your modulation level on transmit isn't cranked beyond the factory setting like their radios have been.

Just what they see on their S-meters when you transmit would be worth knowing. That has more to do with your antenna elevation and power level. How loud they say you are may have more to do with that adjustment in the radio.

The factory setting is chosen to keep the transmitter's signal clean, both the audio quality and the potential for creating interference. And hobbyists like to "hot-rod" their radios to exceed normal factory settings.

73

 

[Dirty Duck]

I will agree on clean. I don’t really care for some folks on the radio thats blurred through 4 channels and sound like crap.

Ive actually been thinking on a maco V58. I have in storage an Antron 99 with a fire stick on top. However I don’t have a way to set the standard wave for the antenna yet.

I have a friend I see every once in awhile that has an antenna setter that helped me on the big stick. I don’t really get to see him often.

 

[loosecannon]

you are getting good advice here, but just to answer your initial question; you have a dual final radio, meaning that out of the box the deadkey on AM would be around 8 watts.

That's too much for a 2 pill amp and depending on how a particular 4 pill is set up, it could be too much deadkey for that too.

you are looking for an amp that is intended to take that much deadkey. for example, a texas star TS500 is set up to handle a 4 watt deadkey.

if you had a 6 or 8 pill, your radio would make a great match for those amps.

if however, you want to run a two pill or a four pill, you can lower the deadkey of your radio with a couple of trimmer resistor adjustments in your radio.

if you have a good wattmeter, we can walk you through how to lower the deadkey on your radio. yes, without modding the radio, it will also lower the PEP swing a bit.

This is exactly why the NPC mod (negative peak compression) became so popular years back.
if this mod was done correctly using an oscilloscope, you could lower your deadkey to 2 watts to match your two pill/4 pill amp, and keep the PEP swing as high as the radio will go at max settings, all while keeping the waveform clean.
LC

 

[Dirty Duck]

That makes more sense amp wise. I’ll probably keep the connex around but amp my uniden Grant xl because I don’t need a crazy amount of watts. The Grant can swing 15 watts but I can turn it down to a quarter watt for a small amp.

Still totally agree with the antenna upgrade.

I just didn’t really understand until now, what was so different about the Connex and why it needed certain amps.

I was thinking like a 100 watt boost. Don’t want to be blurring through the channels or just sound awful.

Anyway I will absolutely upgrade my antenna first and see how that goes before doing anything extra.

Has anyone had good success with the Maco V58?

 

[9C1Driver]

So is this the new version of this radio (mosfet) or the old school? If new it should do around 45 watts peak, if old school 1969 finals then 30-35 watts. This radio has a hi lo power switch. On AM the lo side should have a dead key of say 2 watts and on hi 8, this way for amplifier use run it on lo.

The purpose of an amplifier would be to boost your signal not your audio. If locals that are say 10 miles or closer are saying your really quiet you might have an audio problem. Try a nice desk mic and check to see your radio can produce 100% modulation.

If you have nice loud clean audio but stations 10-25 miles away say you are down on signal (S units) then a boost in power will help. This is all assuming your antenna system is functioning properly. An omni on 30 foot of tower plus some mast pipe should work just fine.