Got my Galaxy DX-929.. thing kicks.. maybe too much.

[MrClean]

So I was on the fence for a new CB. My last was a Cobra 25 back in 2002.. which got tossed in trunk of car and got wet/rusty..

I was tossing around AM or SSB/AM radios because a co-worked wanted a CB again..

My co-worker wanted a Galaxy DX-949 with SSB.. but me on a budget opted for the DX-929..

I ordered both from CB World with peak/tune option.

Chad from CB world sent me an email later in the day saying the numbers were 'as well or better than any other 929 we've ever tuned'...

I just got it today.. its a beast.. I got an Astatic 636 mic as well..

Dead key is about 5w with power knob DOWN.. then modulates VERY nicely..

I am using a 10-12 AMP power supply here in house.. and a simple 4' Firestik NGP antenna on the roof (I'm in a mobile home, so ground plane isn't really an option).. I tuned the antenna SWR to 1.3 on channel 1 and 1.1 on channel 40.. (that was fun up/down on ladder)..

First contact was 17 miles away said I was loud and clear..

Um.. Question.. where should I set the POWER knob at?? half way, 3/4 or ??

When I turn the power up to 1/2 way, lets just say the meter is hitting 18+ w quick (when set to watt setting)..
I don't know how accurate that it is though..

 

[Robb]

Setting the power knob past 5-6 watt dead key (no modulation) is starting to push the envelope for what a single MOSFET final transistor will handle before it goes into meltdown with 100% modulation. Just because the RF Output setting can go higher, it doesn't mean the radio will continue to produce more power on the same scale. If that radio was peaked properly, it will get a best of ~25w peak envelope power before the final will snap/break. Which translates to no more than 6w dead key power, since 4x peak envelope power should be no more than ~24w (typically). To me, it sounds like this radio wasn't adjusted/aligned properly.

No one is going to tell the difference on their station that you turned it up. A 5w dead key as opposed to an 8w dead key is nearly meaningless in the real world. Usually, the RF Output knob is adjustable from 1w to 4w from the factory, as the 1w setting is used to power a small 2 pill amp w/o over-driving its input power requirement.

I would have gotten the SSB radio, as the Galaxy 949/959/979 radios work as well on AM as they do in SSB mode, except for freq drift issue on SSB mode. Not to mention, that one can generally talk a bit farther with SSB when conditions are favorable. Generally speaking, the SSB crowd isn't as interested in loud modulation, echo, or keyup toys as the SSB crowd. Many serious SSBers simply like SSB for what it offers them over AM mode, which is lower receiver noise and better transmit qualities . . .

 

[MrClean]

So how accurate is the power meter on Galaxy radios?

I'm getting this at lowest DK on built in meter.. which looks like a 5-6w.

An with the power knob 2/3 way up I'm getting this for a DK..

I don't get much power swing with the higher number..

In modulation mode I hit 70-100 modulation on the 'swing' with power up or down..

I sent CB world (wearecb) an email with pics of low and hi deadkey as well to see what they say..

Again I don't have a good external meter for testing.. I do have a $20 PDC swr/power that will do 10/100w.. maybe I will try that later today..

I set it to lowest power for now to be safe..

 

[MrClean]

Follow up..

I hooked up my PDC1 external meter. Got 3 1/2 w on low power and 9-10 w when turned up.Thinking the NGP antenna on my house may be giving me faulty built in meter errors. Tested in truck with normal antenna.

 

[MrClean]

Tested again.

I used the external PDC1 swr/pwr meter. I set radio at 6-7w key using that meter. Knob is at 1/4 way up.

At 1/2 turn the external meter says hair below 10 w on deadkey.

I'll stick with 6-7 watt DK.

The internal meter on watt/power setting seems off.

It says on low power 6w and high 18w as noted above. At 12w on internal meter I know I'm at 6-7w.

Was there something CB world should/could have done to sync the meter to read correctly??

 

[Robb]

Generally when radio work is done to assess power output, a 50 ohm dummy load is used on the meter. Not an antenna. Antennas are a reactive load, but a dummy load is a resistive load, as it uses a 50 ohm resistor. It measures a nearly perfect 1:1 SWR reading. This will change the output reading somewhat; but it is most accurate to do it this way.

 

[9C1Driver]

Always use an external watt meter for more accurate readings, radio meters are ballpark at best. If your numbers are correct I'm thinking they really tweeked that radio out and I don't mean that in a good way. Wide open a 9-10 watt carrier is way way too much. If that were my radio I would want the variable dead key range to be 1-7 watts. Sure hope it will last for you, mis-tune or abuse is not covered under the warranty.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd0zPwotQ2U

 

[9C1Driver]

Nice stuff but that video gives ya a headache lol.

 

[BigKahuna]

Was there something CB world should/could have done to sync the meter to read correctly??

# 1 - It's possible your antenna/coax system isn't ideal and you've got some other issues going on. As mentioned the first step to really know would be to test using a dummy load and a known good meter.

# 2 - If there's nothing wrong with your setup, yeah - there is something they should have done - not try to tune your radio. That radio should not be putting out those deadkey numbers. If you run your radio with a high deadkey like that CB World is going to owe you a radio real quick.

Run it on low until you can either figure out if the issue is with your antenna setup/swr meter or the radio itself. Personally max deadkey I'd run with that radio would be 5 watts and should swing 15-18 watts max with modulation if I wanted it to last. On low I'd want a deadkey of 1 watt so I could run it with a amp later on.

 

[MrClean]

I updated in the other section.. Figured I would put this up in case someone else trips over this post and not the other with a similar problem..

Adjusted VR9 to match my output numbers I got off my external meter..

3.5-4W on lowest power and 9.5-10w on highest power.. I am running 5-6w DK setting.. its really nice to have the built-in meter match up now..