This is my first experience with any kind of older rig, and the manual seems to assume that I should know certain things.
It dawned on me that the drive knob isn't some kind of power control, but a tuning control that is used in conjunction with the Final knob. I'm not sure exactly how to use it.
If I wanted to hit the 146.94 local repeater, I think I should tune the final to 146, and then the drive to 900? Or should I try to adjust the drive to 940?
I also do not grasp what the RF Gain knob does. It has some relationship to the S-meter. If the RF Gain is turned fully clockwise, the s-meter decreases. The farther I turn it to counter-clockwise, the farther the s-meter deflects. Is the RF Gain knob attenuating or amplifing the received signals? To complicate my thinking, the s-meter hovers around 3-4 units even while the RF Gain is fully clockwise. Does this mean I am receiving some signal that is causing the s-meter to deflect (random noise)? Is that normal behavior? Or is something malfunctioning? I'm using home built feed lines and antenna, so I could be introducing signal there - first attempt at building either. Should I purchase some retail feedline and antenna to see if that clears up or could that have no bearing on the matter?
Is there any place to source the tone crystals still?
If I managed to calibrate my diamond sx-400 correctly, I'm only putting out 4 watts. Is there a way to bring this back to its 10 watt spec? Or is that all I'm gonna get out of it?
Thanks,
Dave
It dawned on me that the drive knob isn't some kind of power control, but a tuning control that is used in conjunction with the Final knob. I'm not sure exactly how to use it.
If I wanted to hit the 146.94 local repeater, I think I should tune the final to 146, and then the drive to 900? Or should I try to adjust the drive to 940?
I also do not grasp what the RF Gain knob does. It has some relationship to the S-meter. If the RF Gain is turned fully clockwise, the s-meter decreases. The farther I turn it to counter-clockwise, the farther the s-meter deflects. Is the RF Gain knob attenuating or amplifing the received signals? To complicate my thinking, the s-meter hovers around 3-4 units even while the RF Gain is fully clockwise. Does this mean I am receiving some signal that is causing the s-meter to deflect (random noise)? Is that normal behavior? Or is something malfunctioning? I'm using home built feed lines and antenna, so I could be introducing signal there - first attempt at building either. Should I purchase some retail feedline and antenna to see if that clears up or could that have no bearing on the matter?
Is there any place to source the tone crystals still?
If I managed to calibrate my diamond sx-400 correctly, I'm only putting out 4 watts. Is there a way to bring this back to its 10 watt spec? Or is that all I'm gonna get out of it?
Thanks,
Dave