www.cbradiomagazine.com reviews the Dosy FC 50 frequency counter

[BOOTY MONSTER]

Dosy FC50 Frequency Counter Review

looks like he did his typical good and helpful review . ive been kinda interested in it for a while and ive seen others asking about it also . this quote from the review kinda killed my intrest in it though ........

"Before we go further I'd like to make an important point. If you are an operator who runs SSB, an external frequency counter is not going to give you a steady frequency readout of where your are transmitting. Because of the way single side band works the frequency display on an external frequency counter will jump around all over the place as you talk and the frequency shown will change with the pitch of your voice. The only way to get a steady reading is with a tone generator which is not what most CB operators would be looking to do. If you are looking for a frequency counter specifically to track your TX location while in a SSB mode you'll need to buy one that can be hard wired (soldered) to the radio. If you have a SSB radio and are using it in AM mode in conjunction with this counter the Dosy FC-50 will work perfectly."

my main intrest for a FC would be to check my tx frequency when freebanding or just generally talking on SSB since being on frequency on ssb is much much more important than AM . some wont find it an issue though and it seems that AM use is its intended or primary-
use .

now a question ..... in the comment ...

"If you are an operator who runs SSB, an external frequency counter is not going to give you a steady frequency readout of where your are transmitting. Because of the way single side band works the frequency display on an external frequency counter will jump around all over the place as you talk and the frequency shown will change with the pitch of your voice."

is that true for all frequency counters attached thoough the coax ? even the MFJ units like this ?
MFJ Enterprises Inc.
(img)http://www.mfjenterprises.com/pictures/MFJ-826B.jpg(/img)

 

[bob85]

booty, every external counter i have owned has jumped around on ssb, the one i use right now with an external frequency standard allows me to measure to .1hz with zero drift so i can see how radios and cheap counters drift with temperature and time,
you cannot measure frequency accurately with any cb and many none cb frequency counters, if it does not have at least 8 digits and a good internal oven thats in calibration its not worth a crap,
cheap counters drift as much as the cb you are trying to measure.

 

[packrat]

A freq counter is not needed on ssb anyway, as you have to tune to the other persons transmit anyway. Doesn't matter what the freq is. A freq counter will cause you more problems than it will solve.

PR

 

[mackmobile43]

A freq counter is not needed on ssb anyway, as you have to tune to the other persons transmit anyway. Doesn't matter what the freq is. A freq counter will cause you more problems than it will solve.

PR

They're a must if you like to gloat about how far off frequency the other guy is.

 

[Mike Gain]

I thought a freak counter was used to help a bad operator keep up with his friends.

 

[Switch Kit]

well , they sure come in handy when you got a cb radio with alot of extra freq's . They may not be perfect , but they still put you in the ballpark with a decent alighnment on given radio. A step up from reaching in the glove box to find that old worn out freq map and fiddling around with that.

They may not be perfect , but nether is a S-Meter on given radios , far from it ! just gives users something to go by for the most part. As far SSB goes and millions of users out there , I often wonder if there's truly a center slot to begin with ? (I know there is though)

With thousands of tech's through out the world , I think test equipment used can differ from others and there calobrations , once again it becomes a ballparked world. What a mess SSB would be without open clarifiers on RX/TX )-:

I like the FC-347/390 freq counters , they are solid on SSB and do not move around when modulation is applied and alighn up very nicely with given radios....

 

[LOX]

They're a must if you like to gloat about how far off frequency the other guy is.

Good one!

 

[Moleculo]

A true frequency counter is useless on SSB while you're operating the voice modes. It doesn't really matter how expensive the counter is; it won't work.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

thanks for the heads up on external/coax attached F/C's not working on SSB .
sounds like it should do fine for AM folks wanting to know where they're at though

 

[Mongoose]

So if I read the review correctly this freq counter only shows frequency when the mic is keyed. if so is there a external freq counter that shows frequency all the time?

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

So if I read the review correctly this freq counter only shows frequency when the mic is keyed. if so is there a external freq counter that shows frequency all the time?

if you get one that's wired or plugged into the radios circuitry there is . the ones in the coax line have to have a signal being transmitted through the coax so there is something to read .

 

[Chop]

i've never used a freq counter that didn't jump around while modulating, either on am or ssb.

 

[Mongoose]

OK, thanks for the info. Would it be difficult to wire one for a Cobra 142 with extra channels?

 

[packrat]

I thought a freak counter was used to help a bad operator keep up with his friends.

No, a FREAK counter is a census taker!

 

[Carl]

if you looking for one to wire to your 142 you should find a galaxy fc390/ fc347