858 PLL Mods and stuff

[Zman]

" To me, the gen2 Uniden 858SSB was the best mass-produced type-accepted cb ever made."

Yes it was and always will be!!!!!

 

[ExitThirteen]

I have radios that covers both generations of this board. A President Washington that I put a mosfet in, and a NIB Midland 79-893. I use to have a Teaberry Stalker II, but a local wanted it bad, so I let it go to him.

I agree with Unit 399 though, The 2nd gen 858 board is the better of the two, but both gens are awesome compared to the newer stuff. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. Sadly.


(Edit) Just thumbed through those links you had posted..... looks like a buncha trash to me. As Unit 399 mentioned, why on earth would you take the speech processor circuit out of the audio path? Pretty stupid if you ask me. That's one of the BEST features of that board!

As far as that counter goes, and the "continuous tuning"... why hack up a good radio?

Between Unit 399 and myself (and I'm sure there are others that could have knowledge of these boards too), we can get you going in the right direction for mods and such. Got questions? Please ask!

~Cheers~

 

[liquidh8]

I have a washington 858, love it. it had the processor removed and didn't sounds as good. I had a parts radio and promptly put it back in. these guys know thier stuff and helped me out with mine.

As a side note, what gen are the washingtons?

 

[unit_399]

As a side note, what gen are the washingtons?

It's an Gen2 858SSb if it's a PRESIDENT Washington with the 2 push button front panel. Others (President and Uniden) with three pushbuttons are 8719 pll. No gen1 858SSB President radios.

 

[2RT307]

Correct. The 139XLR, TRC 457, 458, etc. is the second generation 858SSB board, and is by far the better of the two. Both had speech clipping circuits, but the AMC on the 139XLR board is light years better. Uniden put the speech clipper in their AM sets too (Cobra 29XLR for instance) but it was a much less sophisticated design and not nearly as effective. This same design was used in the 1st generation 858SSB boards in the Teaberry and Courier rigs, and their audio wasn't even close to that from a 139XLR. There are other subtle differences that improved the gen 2 board's receiver too.

RT307 -
I wouldn't call the 139XLR board "over-engineered." Back then (1977) the CB craze was going full-tilt, and there was a lot of competition between high end manufacturers like SBE, Stoner, CPI, etc. to make the "ultimate" CB. Uniden was the new boy on the block, so to speak, and wanted to strut their stuff. So they updated their existing 858SSB sets which proceeded to kick ass on-the-air, and, at 1/3 of the price of the high end guys' equipment.

The FCC didn't like the direction that the manufacturers were taking, and decided to rein things in. They directed that any new models had to have less expandability and power potential. By this time the CB craze was winding down, and SBE, Stoner, CPI, Teaberry, etal had already closed shop. With CB sales way down, Uniden redesigned their CB line with the emphasis on low cost rather than max performance. So speech processing and other frills were a no-no. This is pretty much where we stand today. To me, the gen2 Uniden 858SSB was the best mass-produced type-accepted cb ever made.

- 399

Sorry this was so long-winded.

I am late back to this thread, sorry! Thanks for the info on this line of rigs. It is good to know more about this family of radios all the way down to the second cousins!

73,
RT307

 

[2RT307]

I have radios that covers both generations of this board. A President Washington that I put a mosfet in, and a NIB Midland 79-893. I use to have a Teaberry Stalker II, but a local wanted it bad, so I let it go to him.

I agree with Unit 399 though, The 2nd gen 858 board is the better of the two, but both gens are awesome compared to the newer stuff. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. Sadly.


(Edit) Just thumbed through those links you had posted..... looks like a buncha trash to me. As Unit 399 mentioned, why on earth would you take the speech processor circuit out of the audio path? Pretty stupid if you ask me. That's one of the BEST features of that board!

As far as that counter goes, and the "continuous tuning"... why hack up a good radio?

Between Unit 399 and myself (and I'm sure there are others that could have knowledge of these boards too), we can get you going in the right direction for mods and such. Got questions? Please ask!

~Cheers~

Thanks for the input, ExitThirteen. I am not a tech, so the stuff on the link looked interesting to me. My 139XLR is about the only rig I have that is completely stock, so I am hesitant to have it modded. However, I would be interested in what tricks you have up your sleeve.

73,
RT307

 

[liquidh8]

It's an Gen2 858SSb if it's a PRESIDENT Washington with the 2 push button front panel. Others (President and Uniden) with three pushbuttons are 8719 pll. No gen1 858SSB President radios.

Ok, thank you for clearing that up. I was aware of the 2 button and 3 button, as I have both.

Thanks again!

 

[357]

Correct. The 139XLR, TRC 457, 458, etc. is the second generation 858SSB board, and is by far the better of the two. Both had speech clipping circuits, but the AMC on the 139XLR board is light years better. Uniden put the speech clipper in their AM sets too (Cobra 29XLR for instance) but it was a much less sophisticated design and not nearly as effective. This same design was used in the 1st generation 858SSB boards in the Teaberry and Courier rigs, and their audio wasn't even close to that from a 139XLR. There are other subtle differences that improved the gen 2 board's receiver too.

I'm finding the centurion board to be better.
Receive is WAY quieter, I can hear weakies now I couldn't before.
Its more broadbanded on RX and TX.
TX audio sounds way better, no clipping "pops" and it puts out 20W without alerting the fire department.

I'm really loving the 40D

Same board as the Simba SSB/2
http://forums.radioreference.com/cb-radio-forum/274162-what-pearce-simpson-simba-ssb-2-a-2.html

 

[Robb]

It's an Gen2 858SSb if it's a PRESIDENT Washington with the 2 push button front panel. Others (President and Uniden) with three pushbuttons are 8719 pll. No gen1 858SSB President radios.

BTW - You have a page dedicated to the 858 pll; but I can't seem to find it now. Lotsa useful info there. Could you re-post that link?

 

[357]

BTW - You have a page dedicated to the 858 pll; but I can't seem to find it now. Lotsa useful info there. Could you re-post that link?

858 SSB CHASSIS

 

[MarkIV]

The clipper filter circuit sounds horrible with a power mic. It's great for a stock mic. I have experimented with some mods and mine has the clearest audio on all modes. This radio doesn't really need a power mic.
But I use a D104 with a 20db pad. Excellent audio.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Correct. The 139XLR, TRC 457, 458, etc. is the second generation 858SSB board, and is by far the better of the two. Both had speech clipping circuits, but the AMC on the 139XLR board is light years better. Uniden put the speech clipper in their AM sets too (Cobra 29XLR for instance) but it was a much less sophisticated design and not nearly as effective. This same design was used in the 1st generation 858SSB boards in the Teaberry and Courier rigs, and their audio wasn't even close to that from a 139XLR. There are other subtle differences that improved the gen 2 board's receiver too.

RT307 -
I wouldn't call the 139XLR board "over-engineered." Back then (1977) the CB craze was going full-tilt, and there was a lot of competition between high end manufacturers like SBE, Stoner, CPI, etc. to make the "ultimate" CB. Uniden was the new boy on the block, so to speak, and wanted to strut their stuff. So they updated their existing 858SSB sets which proceeded to kick ass on-the-air, and, at 1/3 of the price of the high end guys' equipment.

The FCC didn't like the direction that the manufacturers were taking, and decided to rein things in. They directed that any new models had to have less expandability and power potential. By this time the CB craze was winding down, and SBE, Stoner, CPI, Teaberry, etal had already closed shop. With CB sales way down, Uniden redesigned their CB line with the emphasis on low cost rather than max performance. So speech processing and other frills were a no-no. This is pretty much where we stand today. To me, the gen2 Uniden 858SSB was the best mass-produced type-accepted cb ever made.

- 399

Sorry this was so long-winded.

Do you have an updated link to your site? Your old link says it's closed.

 

[unit_399]

Do you have an updated link to your site? Your old link says it's closed.

I shut the site down because it had been up since 2013 and I felt it was getting pretty stale. No plans to do another site right now.

- 399

 

[sonoma]

unit_399 I saved one of your pages as a pdf file. could be the last one you did if you would like to have it if you did not save it. it shows the cap you use to protect your home from a power surge so think it is the last forum you had up. did not know I had saved it until I was just looking for some thing else and there it was.
it is 1.84 meg in size and about 28 items on it.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

I shut the site down because it had been up since 2013 and I felt it was getting pretty stale. No plans to do another site right now.

- 399

I remember checking out your site a long time ago but I didn't have a radio with an 858 at the time. I have since gotten a President Madison and was trying to dig up some information. Then I came across this thread and did not know about the special audio circuit in these radios. They sure don't make them like they used to.