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help. mobile setup. want a good setup whats your opinion

Feb 13, 2014
20
1
13
anderson, indiana
I really like talking skip. I have one truck setup with a done up cobra 29 and a old turbo mod two thirds kilowatt twxas star 667. Looking to set my 05 chevy duramax up. 1st thought was a galaxy 93t into a davemade 6 or 8 pill. 2nd is just do up another cobra 29 and do a davemade 6 or 8 pill. 3rd the 93t and a sweet sixteen. What is your thoughts. I already have 2 battery and a 250 amp alternator.
 

How would you "do up" a cobra 29? Curious caus I want to pair a new 29lx to a davemade or xforce 4 pill. Trying to decide on want I am going to do to it.
 
Start with the antenna and don't worry about the amp till you get the antenna as good as it can be. Power does NOT over come a piss poor antenna installation.

Antenna? Start looking at the 102" whip. Nothing, I mean nothing will top it in performance as long as you mount it correctly. Everything shorter is a compromise and performance will suffer. Some will come close but there will still be a hit on performance. You want metal UNDER the antenna not along side it so a ball mount on the side of the car/truck is a poor choice. Now the only place a shorter antenna will best the 102 is when its mounted incorrectly. If a proper mount is not possible then look at the shorter ones like the Sirio's.

A hard mounted antenna is better than a magnet one but if all else fails a mag mount will work.

Remember mother nature controls "skip", all the power and best antennas will never over come conditions when the band shuts down.

Here is a good link to a ton of info about mobile antennas and how to make them work.

I will let the rest on here tell you about what to do with the amps as I really don't think they are needed under good DX conditions.

Good luck with your setup.
 
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I'm a Uniden/Cobra AM fan. If ya like ssb go for the Galaxy. I am going to peak/tune variable power and a rfx 75 to my new 29lx.
 
Which to use? I think that's more personal preference than differences in ability. So which method would be 'best' for you is a question you will have to answer. That includes all the 'aspects' of it, availability, suitability, ease of use, ease of installation and adjustment, and then co$t.
Here are some basic 'truths' that aren't very palatable.
Most radios don't require, or benefit, from a 'peak & tune', they are already that way from the factory (except for the occasional lemon). If a manufacturer doesn't do that peaking and tuning before a radio leaves it's factory I think it would be a very good idea to look for another manufacturer, wouldn't you? There are no 'mysteries' in that contrary to popular belief. No manufacturer 'over-builds' a product and 'under-tunes' them. That just doesn't make sense (economically = bad 'bidnez'!). There are standards they have to go by and they do (if they wanna stay in business). If someone says they can make a radio 'do' twice as much as it originally did, you'd better take a very close look at what they are talking about. It would require lots of modification to the original circuit and that's not easy/cheap. In most cases, it's just a scam that's been around for ever.
All of the components of a radio set up are important, not just the antenna. Don't misunderstand, that antenna certainly is important, but so are the rest of the system. You also have to keep in mind that there are limits to what you can do. As in your particular situation. I wish I could get a huge antenna up on a tall tower! But that's just not very practical here. Neither is running huge amounts of power, will the electrical service to your house/vehicle support that without a huge amount of expense? Mine won't. Relatively speaking, doubling your power doesn't do much. Just depends on where you start from, you know?
And this thing is getting way too long so I'll quit.
Don't get caught up in the 'mystique' thingy, it'll bite you every time...
- 'Doc
 
Do up I mean just peak and tune add echo and add variable power

You do not want echo for DX.

To give you an idea of just how important the antenna is in the scheme of things, I managed to do a 4155 mile contact with a stock President Lincoln running just 21W and he had plenty of stations calling him. Apart from mother nature, it was the antenna doing the work and not running hundreds of watts.
 

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