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magnum s980/80 watt version
- Thread starter doctor
- Start date
I have a magnum S980
This is what i think of it .
Receive is very good
Nosie blanker works very good
Transmit is close to what they clame
Transmit Audio sound's ( AMC in tact ) very nice on AM with a D104M6B and a RK56 on ssb and with the topgun on
Echo works as it should ( but i don't use it )
not much ssb around here only when dx is rolling but have had good reports with it
The thing i don't care for is the channel selector seam's to be on the cheap side (very touchy )
All in all the radio does whats it's made to do
hope this helped ya
This is what i think of it .
Receive is very good
Nosie blanker works very good
Transmit is close to what they clame
Transmit Audio sound's ( AMC in tact ) very nice on AM with a D104M6B and a RK56 on ssb and with the topgun on
Echo works as it should ( but i don't use it )
not much ssb around here only when dx is rolling but have had good reports with it
The thing i don't care for is the channel selector seam's to be on the cheap side (very touchy )
All in all the radio does whats it's made to do
hope this helped ya
`
The thing i don't care for is the channel selector seam's to be on the cheap side (very touchy )
-well, yes & no....it is NOT a MECHANICAL channel selector as most are used to, but actually an electronic switch. if you notice, you don't have to turn it, so much as put pressure on it to the side & channels will change. good, bad, indifferent? well.....if you aren't or can't get used to it, it does feel a bit wierd. i have spoken to 2 of the biggest magnum warranty centers regarding that switch, replacing them has been SURPRISINGLY low! they really don't 'break' unless YOU break 'em. i've worked on a few dozen magnums with that channel selector & have never seen one broken.
adding to fatdudes comments, i am hard pressed to find any current export radio that 'hears' any better then any of my PLL controlled magnums. 'white noise' is practically non-existant on the S-series, whereas the CPU controlled magnums are a bit 'noisier'. noise blanker works excellent in base situations, mobile seems to be hit or miss....though i don't personally use 1 mobile anymore, i've had people comment the same, but have not explored the reasons or solutions. while most have needed a few tweaks to get max output, the 40 & 80 watters get fairly close without major surgery. AM audio is ALWAYS fantastic, SSB is hit & miss, especially 'local'. some appear to have either some carrier on SSB or a bit of 'rf' introduced into the signal. some radios will clean up with adjustments to mic gain, internal AM carrier, and echo/talkback switched completely off. on DX, or LONG DISTANCE local, the imperfections on SSB usually aren't even noticed. (heck, it's EXTREMELY RARE for DX to tell me my non-delayed, 'C' biased amp sounds anything but good, even locally, over 40 miles, the complaining stops). as for the topgun.....i'd MUCH rather have the SP1A. in fact, had bob actually remove a topgun setup & replace it with the speech processor in an S9-40, much like the ar3500. FABULOUS. a WORLD of difference. i wish magnum would do that factory. with regards to the topgun.....just a toy. it actually works very well, switched on, if you DON'T subscribe to the 1 watt carrier/40-50-80-whatever swing theory. get the carrier on the early ones to near 10 & let it swing to 40 whatever....the S9-80's, carrier as high as it will go, near 15 or so, & let it swing 60-70+. it is more pleasing to the ear.
i wish sam lewis listened as much as other 'techs' profess he does. eleiminate the topgun in favor of the SP1A. the noise toys-beeps, echoes, talkbacks-i certainly could do without in favor of SOMETHING more useful. and, on ALL MAGNUM RADIOS......WHY CAN'T WE HAVE 12 METERS INSTEAD OF 25.165 ALL THE WAY INTO THE 30'S?????? WHO USES FREQS BEYOND THE UPPER LIMITS OF 10 METERS???? HECK, WHO USES FREQS IN THE 30+ MHZ RANGE???? GET US INTO THE 24.8 RANGE LIKE THE 3500'S DID!!!!
sorry for getting carried away
oh yeah, buy an S9, S9-80 or wait for the S9-175/200 or whatever they come out with....i think they are FINE radios.....
The thing i don't care for is the channel selector seam's to be on the cheap side (very touchy )
-well, yes & no....it is NOT a MECHANICAL channel selector as most are used to, but actually an electronic switch. if you notice, you don't have to turn it, so much as put pressure on it to the side & channels will change. good, bad, indifferent? well.....if you aren't or can't get used to it, it does feel a bit wierd. i have spoken to 2 of the biggest magnum warranty centers regarding that switch, replacing them has been SURPRISINGLY low! they really don't 'break' unless YOU break 'em. i've worked on a few dozen magnums with that channel selector & have never seen one broken.
adding to fatdudes comments, i am hard pressed to find any current export radio that 'hears' any better then any of my PLL controlled magnums. 'white noise' is practically non-existant on the S-series, whereas the CPU controlled magnums are a bit 'noisier'. noise blanker works excellent in base situations, mobile seems to be hit or miss....though i don't personally use 1 mobile anymore, i've had people comment the same, but have not explored the reasons or solutions. while most have needed a few tweaks to get max output, the 40 & 80 watters get fairly close without major surgery. AM audio is ALWAYS fantastic, SSB is hit & miss, especially 'local'. some appear to have either some carrier on SSB or a bit of 'rf' introduced into the signal. some radios will clean up with adjustments to mic gain, internal AM carrier, and echo/talkback switched completely off. on DX, or LONG DISTANCE local, the imperfections on SSB usually aren't even noticed. (heck, it's EXTREMELY RARE for DX to tell me my non-delayed, 'C' biased amp sounds anything but good, even locally, over 40 miles, the complaining stops). as for the topgun.....i'd MUCH rather have the SP1A. in fact, had bob actually remove a topgun setup & replace it with the speech processor in an S9-40, much like the ar3500. FABULOUS. a WORLD of difference. i wish magnum would do that factory. with regards to the topgun.....just a toy. it actually works very well, switched on, if you DON'T subscribe to the 1 watt carrier/40-50-80-whatever swing theory. get the carrier on the early ones to near 10 & let it swing to 40 whatever....the S9-80's, carrier as high as it will go, near 15 or so, & let it swing 60-70+. it is more pleasing to the ear.
i wish sam lewis listened as much as other 'techs' profess he does. eleiminate the topgun in favor of the SP1A. the noise toys-beeps, echoes, talkbacks-i certainly could do without in favor of SOMETHING more useful. and, on ALL MAGNUM RADIOS......WHY CAN'T WE HAVE 12 METERS INSTEAD OF 25.165 ALL THE WAY INTO THE 30'S?????? WHO USES FREQS BEYOND THE UPPER LIMITS OF 10 METERS???? HECK, WHO USES FREQS IN THE 30+ MHZ RANGE???? GET US INTO THE 24.8 RANGE LIKE THE 3500'S DID!!!!
sorry for getting carried away
oh yeah, buy an S9, S9-80 or wait for the S9-175/200 or whatever they come out with....i think they are FINE radios.....
i like the channel selector........
25W Carrier AM and just @ or under 100WPEP for both AM & SSB modes with proper alignment/amc adjust and top gun engaged @ max rf out. 25W Carrier and 75WPEP (3:1) with top gun disengaged. amplified microphones are completely unnecessary and undesirable.
"some appear to have either some carrier on SSB or a bit of 'rf' introduced into the signal."
carrier balance control is not properly "nulled".
25W Carrier AM and just @ or under 100WPEP for both AM & SSB modes with proper alignment/amc adjust and top gun engaged @ max rf out. 25W Carrier and 75WPEP (3:1) with top gun disengaged. amplified microphones are completely unnecessary and undesirable.
"some appear to have either some carrier on SSB or a bit of 'rf' introduced into the signal."
carrier balance control is not properly "nulled".
freecell said:
I hate the channel selector. I got rid of my S-9 for that reason. If you drive a big rig for a living like I do, it's really hard to scan the band bumping down the road.
I'd get an S-9 again if they changed that crappy shafted encoder to a traditional selector.
They also need to pad the resistance on those mega-bright blue LED's.
rumor has it sam lewis has REDESIGNED the S9-80 to make it more appealing to AMATEURS. could it possibly be an answer to my question.....'GET US INTO THE 24.8 RANGE LIKE THE 3500'S DID!!!!
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i have to agree on the blue leds they sure are bright at night even the dim dont do justice
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