cobra29 classic & 22sc2290 hook up questions

[itsonlysir]

i have a cobra 29 ltd classic that as far as i know nothing ha been done to it except the limiter ( d-11 ) is cut .. i am using it as a base station and it has been barefoot and working very decent . but im just trying to get out there just a little bit more . i saw this amp for sale for 70 bucks , it says ( super mod) on the front i will add a picture , but the guy i got it from said that its a great little amp and it had 2x22sc2290 pils. but he was selling it , lol . i hooked it up to a battery and turned the switch to the receive preamp from what the guy said and the radio speaker got louder . so i next tested my swr . on channel 20 its 1.8 and on channel 1 its 2.1 , channel 40 its 2.1 ....before installing the amp i had a 1.2 -1.4 across the channels , i am running the starduster antenna from the 70"s so i cant tune the antenna .. when i keyed the mike ( this hole time i have the power dial in the middle ) the antenna warning light came on .. so i let go right away , i then turned the dial all the way down , light still cam on.. so i then turned the power all the way up ..and the light does not come on anymore.

i made a contact a decent ways away and he said i sounded good , but when i turned the amp off he said i sounded better .



i know i have seen some posts about your dead key having to be low to run a amp ( that's why i did not key my down for more then 2 seconds ) . and maybe the radio needs some adjustment ?? anyone have any ideas ???

thanks in advance ,,,

 

[Bionic Chicken]

Are you using an external swr/power meter or the one in the radio? The one in the radio will change the reading as it is seeing the addition of the amp and an extra jumper that it did not see before. You really need to check the swr with an external meter between the amp and antenna. The SWR light coming on reason is the same as above. SWR at the antenna will not change by adding an amplifier.
The amplifier you are talking about sounds like a TNT Super Modulator. Silver faced with rocker switches for power, rcv preamp, and a knob to adjust the dead key. If the key is set too low (1-4 watts) and you are swinging 100 or more it can sound distorted on the other end. Also running the amp off of a battery can cause other problems especially when the voltage starts to drop. A decent 25 amp power supply will provide all it should need.

BC

 

[hotrod]

check voltage on battery make sure its 13.8 [min]if not use a battery charger
otherwise youll have trouble.also if your dead key is too high youll get a muffled
sounded to your audio.id say 3 watts dk is the most ya should use.imho
1 other problem is limiter needs to be fixed and intact.vr5? i believe will adjust
your audio no need to clip

 

[555]

antenna warning light came on radio? when amp is on an keyed up
sounds like a input tuning high swr

1-1/2 to 2 watt deadkey into that amp is great anymore and it tends to overdrive it

 

[linearone]

???? are you kidding me? 1 watt deadkey? you will sound like poopy. put a 4 watt key and swing what ya like, it will sound correct and not be all swingy and whooshy and sound like you have extra noise in the background.

I dont know of any amp with built in drivers that cant use a 4 watt input. 3pills, 5 pills, 2x6, 2x8 all of them can use a 4 watt radio

dont believe the hype.

 

[itsonlysir]

thank you all for the help .. i will answer every question that i can .

B/C .
i have not hooked the external swr meter to the new setup yet because i dont have a jumper wire to go in between the two , i will be getting more 259's tomorrow and will make me another jumper . i just saw the antenna light come on and tested using the radio swr meter . :blushing: . also i do have a trickle charger on the battery ! in till i can afford a power supply ! lol the charger has a car start feature so its a strong charger !

HOTROD.

the battery stays at a good charge do to the charger on it ! i be leave that my dead key is to high because people close say that i sound clearer when i turn the ( box ) off ! but people further away say i sound good ! i dont have a meter to test my dead key . if i fix the limiter will that insure that i am at a 4 watt max ? now if it does what should my dead key be at 4 watt max ?? also i dident clip it , all 4 of my radios already where clipped .


555.
yes when everything is on and hooked up the red light ( antenna warning ) comes on , i know that before the amp i had very good SWR . 1.1 -1.2 .
all i did was add the ( box ) .


like i have said before i am as green as grass , and am trying to learn fast . but also i am on a very very limited budget . im just trying to make sure i have a decent sounding rig and that i can reach out a bit , i dont feel that i need lots and lots of power .

so thank all of you for replying , i guess my next question would be , does anyone have a rough guess what a cobra 29 classic with the limiter cut will dead key at ??? also if i take this radio to to local repair guy and have a swing kit put in it what should i ask him to set the dead key at ??

here is a picture of my set up .. yes very simple but its all i got . my base station took a poop a few days ago ..

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

aymore advice will gladly be accepted :tongue:

 

[itsonlysir]

here are a few pics of the insides of my radio and (box) ...

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]


just thought you guys might can see something i dont know to look for !

p.s. the tape on the one coax is only there so i know witch is my antenna coming in ! i did not want anyone to think it was a shabby repair ! lol

 

[hotrod]

well only reason for linmiter is its there for a reason.without it ya can overmodulate
it.repairing the limiter will not change yor dk carrier at all.biggest thing limiters cli[pped
is usually the leading cause for tvi.its just not the right way to tune a radio.im sure
most people will agree with me on this if nothing else.and those warning lights arent
always right either theres a adjustment in the radio for that.if someone fiddled with
that it might be why its coiming on.