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Few question on my Optima MK3..

M

mroneeyedboh

Active Member
Mar 9, 2014
130
3
28
So I finally received my Optima from RCdistrubiting on ebay ( took over 1 mth ), but thats another story..

I set my the Wilson 1000 up grounded the radio to a bolt into the floor close but. I also made up a 12ga power wire from the battery to the radio, both the pos. and neg. go to the battery.

This is what Im wondering... I have the receive power all the way up, mic gain up, and I mess with the squelch and rf-g as I see fit. What Im kinda confused about is, the distance this thing can do in AM on CB channels. It doesnt seem to get out far at all. I seems to go from good to falling on its face and then I completely loose the other person.

My cousins General Lee does great, But this doesnt seem to be any better. PLus hes on two fiberglass sticks on his mirrors ( I know I know )..

I thought my using the Wilson 1000, on the roof it would reach further... Any ideas?

Im going to take it to DTB radio for an overlook/tune and see what he thinks. Anything specific I should ask him to do while its there?

Im also using an HM-31 I bought from Tucker and that thing sounds way better than the one that came with it.


BTW my SWRs was 1.1-1.2 on channel 1 and Channel 40 was 1.4. I thought that was pretty good.
 

To start I would dump the grounding of the radio (bolt) as it may create a grounding loop as you have it grounded from the battery. I find that if you drop the power level some mine seems to do the AM a bit better.
 
binrat said:
To start I would dump the grounding of the radio (bolt) as it may create a grounding loop as you have it grounded from the battery. I find that if you drop the power level some mine seems to do the AM a bit better.
Click to expand...

if its kept short 1-3 inches dont think it would.jmo. keep am carrier down 2-4 watts . mic gain set up to max . rf gain max . this will give radio all it can do
 
something has to be messed with your setup DTB is a good place to go to get him to check it out. That place you bought it from is slower than Maple Syrup in January, I had had the same deal like 3 weeks for me. Tell Dave at DTB Tom from NJ said hi, he's a great guy
 
DOA and had to send it back? He probably sent it in for repair huh? Man, I I send something that's DOA and can't take care of it the next day, a new one gets sent out and I worry about getting the one back from service.

I've owned both the 257hp and the optima. I like both a lot. I don't like the rfx75 on the 257 because they get too hot and blow up. A fan can be installed but, well, you have to install it. The optima NEVER gets hit with that big fan. Plus it has a heat sinc on the regulator.

In AM, I'm ok with the wave not being so pretty on the scope so I do like to run it loud. They're right...a 4-5 watt dead key is the sweet spot for the Optima. When I want to be loud, I'll run it at 1 watt with Amp.

MICROPHONE MOD: I opened the stock mic and changed the value of the resistor that is setting in place of what should be a pot. I believe I increased it from 1k or whatever it was to about 10k. Can't remember for sure. The AM modulation increased nicely.

257 vs Optima microphones. The 257 has an excellent microphone. I've never heard anything sound better on that radio than the stock mic. The optima is much more Versatel. Even though it too is a power mic with 8 or 9 volts going to it, modulation doesn't drop off when using a ASTATIC 636 or road king. (Ps: new road kings sound bad). I'm a noise canceling mic kinda guy in the mobile. I love the ranger sra198. It is VERY natural sounding. The ASTATIC 636 is really nice sounding as well. Right now I am using the Cobra BlueTooth all in one head set that works with CB radios and cell phones. It is surprisingly nice and loud...and very clear. Anyway, my point is, the optima likes many different types of mics so chances are, you're favorite mic will work nicely.

I like echo on AM. Installed an LT2N echo. Replaced the control knob with a dual pot from a bb3. Plugs right in place of where the knob plugs into the board. Preset the echo inside an have a simple on/off switch. Still haven't figured out talkback.
 

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