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Expander Expo 100 kit in uniden PC122
- Thread starter TonyV225
- Start date
There should be 3 pins in the clarifier pot. That takes the N kit correct?? Never could get them to work right on a SSB radio.
The Expo "N" kit has its own clarifier circuit, with a separate varactor diode for each of the two crystals. The green wire is to feed the variable voltage from the clarifier control to the Expo board.
You really need to 'open' the clarifier to use this kit. Not sure how you can use it on SSB without doing that in the first place.
The clarifier range for normal channels 1-40 will not be all that much. Because of the 'slide' range of the new crystals in the Expo kit, you'll get more slide on upper and lower channels than on the normal 40.
The real kicker with this mod on this radio is getting the clarifier 'centered', with the clarifier knob at 12 o'clock. On the main circuit board, you have a separate trimmer coil each for AM, USB and LSB. No big deal to get all 3 modes centered on channel for channels 1-40.
The real fun has to do with choosing WHICH of the 3 modes will be used to set the two trimmer caps on the Expo board.
If you set channel center on the trimmer on AM, you'll find that the channel center on the EXTRA channels is only centered for AM. Channel center for LSB will be to the left of 12 o'clock, and to the right for USB.
This is because you would need six adjustments on the EXPO board to do the same trick done by the three trimmer coils on the main circuit board. To make all 3 modes line up you would need 3 separate trimmers for upper channels and three more for the lowers. The Galaxy "Viagra" board for their 40-channel radios HAS these separate trimmers. The designer of the EXPO kit left these out, so you can get all 3 modes set to 12 o'clock ONLY on the normal channels 1-40. The "offset" from center on upper and lower channels isn't all that much, and won't keep you from tuning in somebody who is more or less on frequency.
Until the clarifier is cut loose from the stock "receive-only" setup, you'll never get it to work correctly on you new, added channels. It's a pain in the neck, requiring you to cut traces on the front-panel control circuit board, best I can remember. Haven't done one of those in years.
The cheaper radios WITH all those channels get, the less reason there is to install a channel mod this quirky.
The EXPO types "A" and "N" kits are different from the simpler "crystals only" types. These two versions contain both the crystal and oscillator for the extra channel coverage. I learned the hard way to hook up a new "A" or "N" kit to a power supply and counter BEFORE putting it in the radio. More often that not, the trimmer caps won't quite set on frequency. Had to change (or add) a disc cap on more than one of these to make it line up on the clarifier. Much easier to do before it's mounted in the radio. It requires a dual-output supply to do this with the "N" kit. One to power it, one to feed clarifier voltage to it.
Now, don't you wish you'd just bought a Superstar 3900 or Voyage VR-9000 in the first place? Bottom line could have come out cheaper that way. And you'd have that "+10" switch, to boot, once you rewired the "CH9" switch. No "Plus ten" on the PC-122, even after the EXPO "N" is installed.
73
You really need to 'open' the clarifier to use this kit. Not sure how you can use it on SSB without doing that in the first place.
The clarifier range for normal channels 1-40 will not be all that much. Because of the 'slide' range of the new crystals in the Expo kit, you'll get more slide on upper and lower channels than on the normal 40.
The real kicker with this mod on this radio is getting the clarifier 'centered', with the clarifier knob at 12 o'clock. On the main circuit board, you have a separate trimmer coil each for AM, USB and LSB. No big deal to get all 3 modes centered on channel for channels 1-40.
The real fun has to do with choosing WHICH of the 3 modes will be used to set the two trimmer caps on the Expo board.
If you set channel center on the trimmer on AM, you'll find that the channel center on the EXTRA channels is only centered for AM. Channel center for LSB will be to the left of 12 o'clock, and to the right for USB.
This is because you would need six adjustments on the EXPO board to do the same trick done by the three trimmer coils on the main circuit board. To make all 3 modes line up you would need 3 separate trimmers for upper channels and three more for the lowers. The Galaxy "Viagra" board for their 40-channel radios HAS these separate trimmers. The designer of the EXPO kit left these out, so you can get all 3 modes set to 12 o'clock ONLY on the normal channels 1-40. The "offset" from center on upper and lower channels isn't all that much, and won't keep you from tuning in somebody who is more or less on frequency.
Until the clarifier is cut loose from the stock "receive-only" setup, you'll never get it to work correctly on you new, added channels. It's a pain in the neck, requiring you to cut traces on the front-panel control circuit board, best I can remember. Haven't done one of those in years.
The cheaper radios WITH all those channels get, the less reason there is to install a channel mod this quirky.
The EXPO types "A" and "N" kits are different from the simpler "crystals only" types. These two versions contain both the crystal and oscillator for the extra channel coverage. I learned the hard way to hook up a new "A" or "N" kit to a power supply and counter BEFORE putting it in the radio. More often that not, the trimmer caps won't quite set on frequency. Had to change (or add) a disc cap on more than one of these to make it line up on the clarifier. Much easier to do before it's mounted in the radio. It requires a dual-output supply to do this with the "N" kit. One to power it, one to feed clarifier voltage to it.
Now, don't you wish you'd just bought a Superstar 3900 or Voyage VR-9000 in the first place? Bottom line could have come out cheaper that way. And you'd have that "+10" switch, to boot, once you rewired the "CH9" switch. No "Plus ten" on the PC-122, even after the EXPO "N" is installed.
73
I have a yaesu a kenwood a 2510 superstar 4900B galaxy 2527 2 rci 2950 rci 2990 2 cobra 2000 and a few more more so its not that im tryin to make a gem out of a throw away radio. I took 2 PC 122 in in trade and clarifiers are done one is getting this expo board that also was part of the deal. Just passing time while dealing with being sick again. I wouldnt buy a 122 outright there not worth much to me.There no different than a realistic TRC-465 same radio if you look at schematics channel led display works half ass as they all do with burning out leds. These were simply projects to mess with and I was actually giving them to family. I have another dilema the black wire on the expo was not attached to the expo board bad solder and it fell off perhaps??? I need to figure out where the hell it attaches to the expo board I know its ground but where they had it is anyones guess I cant tell where it was or came detached from.
Ground wire
Hi Tony,
Forgot that part of your question. Just get a little carried away sometimes.
A ground foil near the PLL chip will do fine. Where the black wire gets attached isn't super-critical, just so it's a ground connection near the PLL chip and VCO circuits.
The instructions would imply that you ground it to a spot in the receiver circuit. That isn't such a good idea.
Most folks won't notice the quirk in the clarifier's center-slot adjustment. Ten or fifteen years ago, cars were getting smaller, and some of my "SSB operator" customers bought these because a larger radio wouldn't fit in their cars. Those were the guys who got annoyed by that 'feature'.
And if you got them cheap, that's definitely "cost effective", compared with tricking one out new.
73
Hi Tony,
Forgot that part of your question. Just get a little carried away sometimes.
A ground foil near the PLL chip will do fine. Where the black wire gets attached isn't super-critical, just so it's a ground connection near the PLL chip and VCO circuits.
The instructions would imply that you ground it to a spot in the receiver circuit. That isn't such a good idea.
Most folks won't notice the quirk in the clarifier's center-slot adjustment. Ten or fifteen years ago, cars were getting smaller, and some of my "SSB operator" customers bought these because a larger radio wouldn't fit in their cars. Those were the guys who got annoyed by that 'feature'.
And if you got them cheap, that's definitely "cost effective", compared with tricking one out new.
73
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