Questions for 98vhp owners

[Robb]

Galaxy radios will drift in SSB mode - like a boat. Yet I've used them in my mobile for years in SSB. The trick is to adjust the SSB freq tuning 'coils' only after the radio has been on for at least 30 min or more so that the chassis is properly warmed up. I always unlock the fine clarifier control first. You will need it, as it will still have drift that will need attention when operating in SSB mode.

They can still be some of the best AM performers if the swing mod is taken out (thereby restoring SSB modulation to clean) - so long as the TX coils are peaked and the driver/final bias settings are set to specs. I have several Galaxy radios and all of the are outstanding performers on both AM and SSB w/o any swing or modulation mod whatsoever.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

No, this isn't drift. This is straight up you can't adjust the transmit offset while doing an alignment. No matter if you crank that potentiometer all the way out or in, nothing changes and it's off according to the frequency counter connected to the test point. Flip out of USB or LSB onto AM and you can adjust it dead on frequency. So I don't know, like I said, I bought this used and there's no telling what had been done to it. And not that I consider myself a tech cause I'm not but you never know what golden screwdriver jockey has been in a radio before you buy it unless you buy it new.

I was always a Galaxy fan until I bought a Magnum S9, that did it for me. Maybe they aren't for some people but they float my boat, I still like Galaxy but my favorite is my S9. And I'm not a fan of the diode mod or clipping things or anything of the sort. I got this radio done this way, possibly done wrong, possibly more wrong than I realize as this point, we'll see. Unhooking that diode and still seeing it swing like that, odd. And in my mind, a radio doing 20 watts average with all those mosfets, something is just wrong. I'd like to swap it over to 2879's.

I had a 77 one time that I really loved, it was a great talking radio and after a lot of tinkering and changing one thing and another, it was a great receiver too. I bought that one new and untouched and the only person besides myself to ever take the covers off was Richard. I hate I got rid of that radio...

 

[Robb]

If you cannot adjust the TX offset, it is because the clarifier mod has already been done to it (that mod bypasses the TX offset pot). That will happen when that is done to it. I've dealt with issue that you see; that the TX freq isn't the same as the RX freq. First check to see that the fine clarifier has been unlocked properly:
http://www.galaxyradios.com/clarifiermods.html
I'd make sure that the voltage feed goes straight to the 8v regulator, and no where else.

The next problem area is the loop osc xtal; it may need replacing.

The Magnums use a CPU instead of a PLL for freq synthesis, so I guess makes it a bit more stable.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

I was wrong, it is TX Carrier Oscillators that I can not adjust.

L23 is for AM and is supposed to be 10.6950 and I can adjust this and it's dead on by my frequency counter.

L24 is for USB and should be set to 10.6925 and I can not adjust this. Regardless of receive or transmit, the counter reads 10.6970 and fluctuates to 10.7025 no matter what I try adjusting it to.

L25 is LSB and should be set to 10.6975 and I also can not adjust this. Regardless of receive or transmit thencounter reads 10.69850 and fluctuates to 10.70001 and it can not be adjusted.

Could this be a capacitor or inductor issue, C140 or C141 along with L26 and L27? Or could it be L24 & L25 themselves?

I really need a capacitor tester...

 

[KD8HMO]

The service manual says 65w carrier. This radio should swing at least 250w PEP (not average).

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

And it does.