RCI 2970 Dual Final Mod Is it worth it??

[w4bss]

I have a old orange display RCI 2970 that has the single driver and single final. I have been thinking about doing the dual final mod to the output section off the radio.

Is it worth it?????? What will I gain besides a few extra watts???
Will this be to much drive for the "2" 2sc2290's in the amp section????


I thought I would ask if anyone has performed this mod before.

Thanks!

 

[mr_fx]

don't bother, PLEASE don't bother, that amp section just will not like the extra drive

 

[w4bss]

Thanks mr fix! I figured there was a reason why RCI never put dual finals in the older 2970s.

Thanks again!

 

[mr_fx]

Thanks mr fix! I figured there was a reason why RCI never put dual finals in the older 2970s.

Thanks again!

It's just MR_FX, not FIX, FX like 'effects'.

If they had built them with 4 2290s it would be a different story for sure

 

[Mudfoot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoYsfbq3vMc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[w4bss]

It's just MR_FX, not FIX, FX like 'effects'.

LOL!! Sorry for the typo MR_FX it was early and I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

What kind of watts should I see with just only the single driver and final without the internal amp? I have a switch inline to turn the amp section off and i'm seeing about 15 watts pep out of just the radio.

With the switch on i'm seeing 185 watts out of the amp section.

Does that seem ok?

 

[mr_fx]

It's just MR_FX, not FIX, FX like 'effects'.

LOL!! Sorry for the typo MR_FX it was early and I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

What kind of watts should I see with just only the single driver and final without the internal amp? I have a switch inline to turn the amp section off and i'm seeing about 15 watts pep out of just the radio.

With the switch on i'm seeing 185 watts out of the amp section.

Does that seem ok?

that seems fine, keep in mind a 2sc2290 is rated for 60 watts, might get a bit more here and there, so 185 seems good to me, maybe even a little high... some people will claim 200-250, but that's just the 'work of the Golden Screw Driver' and a big bad Dosy meter

 

[w4bss]

[/QUOTE]some people will claim 200-250, but that's just the 'work of the Golden Screw Driver' and a big bad Dosy meter[/QUOTE]

AMEN to that last statement! I'm using a Bird 43 with the PEP kit so no Dosy in my shack.

I think I will back it back down to 150 since nobody will know the difference between 150 or 180. This is a great talking radio but it gets really hot and that higher wattage is probably half my problem.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[TonyV225]

I wouldnt run the radio that hard Ide stay around 125 watts out it will cruise along there allday. That little power you would be missing by throttling back on the RF power nobody is ever gonna miss on the recieving end. The other plus is you will keep your signal alot clearer and most importantly CLEANER and not splatter allover the band or bands if you are a licensed 10 meter user.

All in all its your equipment and you can run it as you the owner want to I just figured Ide share some worthy advice my friend. I have repaired a few of these 2970's that were ran hard and got hot resulting in meltdown of transistors and other components

Ive seen @$$clowns that cranked there HF rigs up after I told them to stop reading these internet mods and having their gears in their heads turning and their eyeballs lighting up while their thinking "YES YES YES MORE POWER!!!! They melt the HF rigs down because they fail to realize that these radios are setup and rated for power levels in safe margains for overhead and breathing room.

The easiest way to explain in is I say it like this "If you own a Corvette and it is capable of 160 MPH and every day you drove it at 160 MPH how long do you think that corvettes gonna last or hold up?" Things would certainly start or begin to fail in a short time :angry:

 

[w4bss]

Very well said Tony!

 

[Shockwave]

If you put the second final in, you'll need more current than the internal supply can make. If you upgrade the power supply, you'll need to upgrade the 2SC2290's as well. If done perfectly correct, you'll spend more than it's worth and might gain a half S-unit that no one will notice. If done wrong, you'll let the smoke out of the radio. I hear that's best left trapped inside the radio.

 

[mr_fx]

If you put the second final in, you'll need more current than the internal supply can make. If you upgrade the power supply, you'll need to upgrade the 2SC2290's as well. If done perfectly correct, you'll spend more than it's worth and might gain a half S-unit that no one will notice. If done wrong, you'll let the smoke out of the radio. I hear that's best left trapped inside the radio.

bwhahaha!!

 

[w4bss]

LOL!! I turned the power down below 150 and i'm going to leave it alone. I've been messing with CB's and Ham Radio for over 30 years and I have learned nobody can tell the difference between 100 watts or 200 watts.

Also in my 30 years of radio, I have let the smoke out of a few radios. You never forget that smell!!

Thanks again for the help & support!

 

[TonyV225]

No problem bud thats what were here for. Ive seen so many people burn these high power radios up due to trying to squeeze every last watt they could out of them when they failed to realize what they were doing wasnt helping a damn thing and actually turning there radio into a timebomb. 150 should be fine and thats where most people run these older RCI 2970 radios but most dont run it that hard 100% of the time anyways and only turn it up from 100 watts when they think its needed.

People have to remember that all we need as far as power is the amount it takes to make the contact we are trying to accomplish and anymore power than that is a waste. The other thing to look at is the fact that 98% of all HF Rigs no matter what brand are sold as 100 watts radios and are certainly capable of more but are set at 100 watts to keeep the radio reliable and trouble free without beating the pi$$ out of them and you can talk allover the world on 100 watts which Ive done and it all starts with your antenna anyways.