A completely UNHACKED Cobra 2000GTL LOL

[wavrider]

To compare a sales person who is trained in fast sales with little knowledge of what their actually selling, to a radio tech who SHOULD have an excellent knowledge and understanding of what they are working on is quite frankly absurd.

Why would you think a sales person trained in fast sales for after market auto parts would have little knowledge?

Most sales people in the after market automotive market are ASE certified in parts sales, requiring in depth knowledge of parts as well as all functions of the vehicles systems.

What is absurd is an ill informed consumer.

The tech has no obligation to educate the consumer.

If there is an obligation or written law for a tech to inform the consumer please enlighten the board by linking the sight or law requiring this education to be performed.

If you can not provide this written requirement for a tech to educate the consumer then this comment is just your opinion, and everyone knows what opinions are like.

 

[tony950]

tim @ sankeradios

im a previos customer of his . and he does outstanding work , to say the least . tim is a no BS type of guy . he has ton of satified customers . if he makes a mistake , as does everyone from time to time , he will make it right . even if he has to eat the cost of replacing a radio he will . and has done a few times in the past . as far as im concerned , he is one of the better techs out there . and i highly recomend him to anyone

 

[psycho]

Please, ALL refrain from using such comments. And my response is not in defense of all the golden screwdrivers out there or mentioned in this thread.

A little over a year ago I brought my 2000 out of storage and with the help of members here and on CBTricks, I was able to get my machine fully functional and I took things further and really "hacked" it up.

I had a lot of questions and inquiries on a number of things. Many people "in the know" answered my questions and I was never was dissuaded in pursuing any of my projects. My "hacked" radio has turned out to be much more than it ever was. If the help was not there when I needed it, it then truly would have been a "hack" job.

Maybe, I'm one of the few ... but don't paint everyone who wants to mod their radio with a broad stroke as being "criminals"!

My golden rule is..... "If I don't know what I am doing when trying to fix something, I hand it off to someone who does".

 

[Robb]

im a previos customer of his . and he does outstanding work , to say the least . tim is a no BS type of guy . he has ton of satified customers . if he makes a mistake , as does everyone from time to time , he will make it right . even if he has to eat the cost of replacing a radio he will . and has done a few times in the past . as far as im concerned , he is one of the better techs out there . and i highly recomend him to anyone

If he has enough money to buy the customer another radio because he fried it:

1) Then he certainly has enough money to go out and buy a used $100 O-scope.
Using a meter might be what he is doing; but it doesn't show the wave form. This is important distinction. I have seen radios that the waveform coming out of the PLL circuit wasn't a sine wave - as it was supposed to be. You cannot see that on a meter. That circuit needed repair before going on any further with that radio. The output of the radio also needs to be viewed with an scope to ensure that it isn't clipping/distorting severely - and that any modulation adjustment isn't waaay off base either.

2) He (Tim?) should just get over the fact that he needs to learn how to use a scope. Sure, it's a little bit intimidating. But for a beginner, I was also intimidated. But I also knew that I had to go there too. There are literally TONS of videos on YouTube that introduces you to the O-scope and takes you by the hand and walks you through it. There is no excuse - either money or info available - for him not acquiring one and using it for you - the customer. After watching and re-watching it several times, a high-functioning 10 y.o. boy can use one. I am not lying; check it out for yourself if there is any doubt. Please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIfo_-d82Co

3) I hope he doesn't call himself a 'tech' and cannot even basically use a scope for his customers. I don't call myself a tech and I use a scope. Any customer of his should be WARNED that this guy hasn't gotten over his fear of the scope. I cannot imagine anyone calling himself a 'tech' and not know how to use a scope. Unbelievable. Your radio - regardless if you think it is the neatest thing since sliced bread - has not been worked on PROPERLY. You got 2/3 of a job.

4) This isn't about 'hate'. You have the right to think so - if you like. But you are probably the SAME person that had a radio worked on by him. So, you must save face, swallow your common sense and ignorance, and stick up for him.
Makes sense.

5) Hey people; this is a radio f o r u m. That means that we take a subject apart - if need be - and break it down to the bare facts. The reader and the contributors can gather their own conclusions from the info presented. Now I have - along with others - presented the facts that have been vetted. This has been done - even repeated - in the hopes that the readers of this forum stay informed to the facts.

Believe it or not - but it is also in his best interest to go get a scope, watch some YouTube videos/repeat, and then experiment until he feels comfortable enough to apply this knowledge to a radio. He can try it on a junker radio first. Just a cheap $75/50mhz scope will suffice. Just about any one can - if I did too.

Tim; it is a lot easier than you think. Go for it!
You can do it man. You have the courage and enthusiasm to work on radios. It is time to make that all more complete and effective. I know you will be VERY glad that you did.

 

[wavrider]

Robb great points.

a o scope is a must have to perform certain alignments.

I do not consider myself a tech, although I made a good living at it for 23 years working on aircraft communications/navigation systems in the military.

I consider it a hobby, do not work for John Q public, only a few good friends and really enjoy restoring the old tubers.

Even at a hobby level having proper test equipment is a must have requirement if an alignment is going to be performed correctly.

I read in previous post that a volt meter can be used for most alignments.

A good used O scope is about the same price as a good digital VTVM, with the plus side of being able to use the o scope to also read voltages, usually more accurate than most VTVM's

 

[loosecannon]

i have stated in the past that one could use an RF voltmeter to make the PLL adjustments, but also gave warnings about doing so, and only on your own radio.

an RF voltmeter wont show double peaking and things like that.

Tim should also upgrade to a real frequency counter.
the one in his videos is a relic.
How do you know if its accurate Tim?
Has it been calibrated?
With what?

Im not asking to be a smartass, im just curious.
LC

 

[jon666]

re

this is my last comment on this post. his customers are happy
i understand where you guys are cumming from with the scope and stuff.
but he is not working on your radio. just leave the guy alone.
as long as his customers are happy.what is it to you.

 

[TonyV225]

I agree if his customers are happy then thats all that matters besides theres alot of truckstop CB repair guys that have been doing this for years and they also get the business to stay open so its a way of life to put bread and butter on the table and if it works and people keep bringing business to do that then its the bread and butter. You cant have a business without customers and he has those and if their happy and come back its a successful business.

 

[Robb]

this is my last comment on this post. his customers are happy
i understand where you guys are cumming from with the scope and stuff.
but he is not working on your radio. just leave the guy alone.
as long as his customers are happy.what is it to you.

Well jon, someday you might venture out to align your first radio. And you might get away with using just a meter for the PLL portion. To paraphrase what loosecannon said, "it is one thing to use the meter method for your own stuff; it is another thing when doing it for John Q. Citizen". A different standard is involved. If your name is on the final product; then just how careful are you of what goes into it?

When you do that alignment and perhaps got a cheap scope in the mean time, you will look back at this article and say: "I've used this scope on several functions on my radios; how can he claim to be a tech without having or using one?" That logic will become all too apparent.

In that sense, when jazzsinger said about aligning radios not being 'rocket science' and doing it yourself, he was correct. Jazz also said that the customer can be better informed if the tech explains what he had to do - and why, can also be correct. They might not understand it all; but they may have a better understanding of why the bill might have been increased. Integrity and professionalism go a long way in this business. Without it, you take your chances.

As to his customers, I hope they are happy with his work. I hope they go back to him for more. But in that same breath, I hope we have inspired Tim - by using a stick and a carrot - to be better equipped for those same customers.

If I or others said anything that appeared to be harsh, I think it is really in Tim's best interest, and for the best interest of his customers in particular. Keep in mind that he is making money in this situation. Not doing it on his own radios - nor for free.

What happened here is that he got exposed. Potentially a tough position to find oneself in on any forum, any time, and any where.

 

[AudioShockwav]

What happened here is that he got exposed. Potentially a tough position to find oneself in on any forum, any time, and any where.

Very true, this is now a multimedia driven world, and if you put a section of Videos up on You tube, you are posting your work online for the world to see.
You can expect to have your work critiqued, looked over very carefully.
Also, HOW you respond to the feedback that you get from inviting J Q Public into your workshop will say something about you as well.


73
Jeff

 

[522]

How many of you drive a vehicle ??

Have you ever taken your vehicle to get the tires rotated? oil changed? brake pads replaced? rotors re-spun? Maybe you paid for a Tune Up ? Any other simple routine maintenance ?

You paid someone to do it though right ? Whether you knew how to do it, or had no damn clue what-so-ever.

Same concept applies here. I am familiar around a vehicle, and I would never fault or talk down to someone who pays to get their Oil Changed. Whether they dont know the dip stick from the hood latch, it doesnt matter. If they wanna pay for the oil change, thats their deal. Ive paid for oil changes plenty of times. Its not that I dont know how, but its more of a convenience for me at the said time. It didnt make me lazy or dumb or anything else. All it means is I paid someone to do something. The end.

Same damn thing goes for radios. Why would you fault someone who may or may not know something about a radio ?
Me personally? I will honestly admit, I dont know enough about CB radios to do anything worthwhile myself. Does that make me dumb, lazy, or anything else these guys on the forums like to label people ?... no.... Will I pay someone more knowledgeable than me to work on something ? Uhh, ya.


AND ….

On to my point, I have been exclusively using the owner of SnakeRadiosInc for about 5-6 years now. He has done plenty of radios for me, and I have not had an issue with one. He has done a wide variety of radios for me.... Cobra 25's 29's 148's Uniden 68's , Galaxy 959's . . . . He is also in the works of getting me a Uniden Grant.

Ive tried a handful of other “techs” out there. If youre on any of the forums, I guarantee you know their names. Not gonna mention any names, but Ive liked SnakeRadios' work the best.

He is also the most HONEST tech I have ever seen/heard of. Honesty and Customer Service come first for him, and I Appreciate that !!
He has never tried to “sell” me on a particular mod or anything. He just tells me strait up the answer to any questions I ask.

I see some people are “upset” that some of his mods are readily available on the internet.
ARE YOU SERIOUS !! ?? I mean, come on. Really? REALLY ??

What ISNT available on the internet these days ? If you read about numerous ways to do a particular thing, wouldnt you try it and see if it works? AND.... if it did work, why not roll with it ?
Dont try and re-invent the wheel for hecks sakes.

Anyways.... my rant is over. Take it for what its worth. I try not to get excited over posts on forums, but here I am doing what I hate.

Flame Suit On, but I wont be taking the bait. :bdh:

Take my input however youd like. op:

 

[Atlasta]

Has anyone else noticed that many of his custom radios eliminate the RF gain control?

Why?

 

[snakeradiocustoms]

my final rebuttal

What ever any of the critical things people say you cant take away my glowing testimonials nor the fact that I am a growng radio mod shop. Also loosecannon I never read any of your posts on the net. I have gotten most of the mods I do from just looking around not from any one person and never from one of your posts that I recall. Thank you for the muting issue mod works very nice and I am using it on all my 148`s I build now. And once again I tell people all the time that email me to check cb tricks and they say no thats ok I want YOU to do the work No b.s man. As far as the 1674 to 2999 mods I like how the receiver sounds and works after doing it and so do my customers. They state all the time that the radio is so quiet when idle and when some one talks it blows them out of the vehicle, what is wrong with that? I make damn sure the sensetivity is where it needs to be while maintainimg all the gain it should have.People all the time say I can hear things I never heard before or my neighbor cant hear who I hear, not my words their words. Also my variable power mods work 100% like they should lowering the deadkey while maintaining full pep output with less parts and component changes. I dont volt radios nor do I do the npc mod. I think it is bs. I have heard a radio or 2 with it and I think it sounds bad. Just like the top gun mos they make radios sound horrible. And you can absolutly still check the swr by turning up the vp to 5 watts. That is where I set the internal vr to when I use the swr cal control for the vp. Look at my videos it clearly demos how it works. As far as the rf gain goes the blanket statement that was made as to the rf gain If I can do it I allways put the rf gain back in the radio with a dual control mic gain rf gain control and if I cant the gain is set to max or i ask the customer if they want the vp on the squelch control. I know what I am doing I can assure everyone of that and my testimonials on my website prove that fact. Once again study my videos and you will see what I mean. 99% of the mods on the net are garbage and I have tried alot of them beleive you me. My vp mods are less complicated than all the bs vp mods out there and Just because I dont do what everyone else does means nothing. I am innovate with my radio`s and I am all ways striving for perfection. And eventually I will use a scope to do the pll alignments when I am good and ready to do so. You can most definatly peak and entire radio by ear. You can see the peaks on a meter and you can hear it in the receiver If you know what to look for and listen for. I practiced from the time I was around 6 yrs old to 15 yrs old on old tvs and stereos in my dads tv repair shop shop and on am fm radio`s and I am confident that the radios are within specs when I am done. As a matter of fact a few people that I have done radios for have taken the radios to techs with the scopes and the spectrum analyzers and they reported back to me that they were right on the money. A guy I sold an ar 3300 to built collins receivers for 20 yrs and he check out the radio on all his equiptment and he said and I quote It was dead on all aspects of the alingment were within specs Anyone that would like to see the email I got from him let me know by email me and I will show you the email no problem, And robb while you have your oppinion thats fine everyone has one lol, You may not be able to do what I do and thats fine. I am one of the good guys that is un hacking the f`ed up truck stop radio`s all the time, once again look at my video`s and you can see what I am stating is true 100%! trying to turn around and educate my customers of the bull crap that fills the net in the cb world. I am very confident in my abilities and I am only getting better after doing over 500 radios now. Not bragging just pointing out the facts. This will be the last post as I am so busy with radio work I will not have time to respond to anymore posts. 15 jobs are waitng for me and getting I am more work everyday. Thanks to everyone that has responded to my post me. And for christ sake we are talking about cb radio`s not a nuclear bomb lol. It is no one`s business how I conduct my business or how I mod radio`s except for mine and the customer I am servicing period. 73 to all

 

[jazzsinger]

It is no one`s business how I conduct my business or how I mod radio`s except for mine and the customer I am servicing period. 73 to all

I don't know you, i've not made any comment on YOUR work in this thread, just general comments on what a tech should/should not be.

but i tell you one thing, the sentence i quoted above, is one part where you are completely wrong, as soon as you start posting videos on youtube in the public domain, you make it everyones business.

you want to keep it between you and your customers, fine, stick to customer testimonials, for all they are worth, as they generally come from people with hugely less knowledge than who they are praising.


p.s. just for laughs,

i would stick to servicing the radios rather than the customers, some of the birds i've seen on the cb radio were so fugly they were even abusing the privilidge every woman has to be ugly.

 

[WR0220]

...I make damn sure the sensetivity is where it needs to be while maintainimg all the gain it should have...I am innovate with my radio`s and I am all ways striving for perfection...You can most definatly peak and entire radio by ear...You can see the peaks on a meter and you can hear it in the receiver If you know what to look for and listen for...I am confident that the radios are within specs when I am done...you can see what I am stating is true 100%!

:blink:

Anyone else detect major contradiction in the above statements? If you can't dazzle them with brilliance...

:thumbdown: