Clarifier Question

[bob85]

first time i came across anybody that did not want an open clarifier was when i joined this forum,

in my experience the guys who don't like unlocked clarifiers don't have much experience on ssb,
don't have an accurate counter to see that no cb is stable on frequency,
wrongly believe their radio is on frequency because their tech aligned it,

imho all clarifiers should be unlocked , that's the first thing people ask for with an alignment of ssb sets,
if the owner did not want it done ( that's never happened in 30+ years ) i would tell them to diy,

unlocking helps teach newbies and faulty ears how ssb should sound,
it also saves a lot of arguing n twisting knobs whenever there is more than two stations talking in a net,

helps like rob said when you are dxing, dial them in and fire back where they are listening, it does not matter if they are off frequency just dial them in and talk,

opening a clarifier makes no difference at all to frequency drift,
increasing slide with series inductors and bypassing resistors like you see on the www mods can cause an increase in drift,

i can't think of one good point to a locked clarifier other than the legal issue.

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

Maybe that's why the FCC stresses that it's up to the operator to keep their rig in good working order. Now if only we had more techs that could be trusted to dail them in right. Then everyone could just adjust their rx only clarifier to dail someone in. But of course 11 meters is a mess enforcement wise. Everyone's doing what seems right in their own eyes.

 

[bob85]

Lil'yeshua, its not as simple as finding a tech you can trust, there are many out there with good intentions,

most techs just throw it on the bench and tune it,
very few use the radio to fully warm it up before frequency alignment
very few have accurate counters
most align to the manual and that's not the best way to align ssb tranceivers for best sounding audio,

i can warm up and align your set to within a few hz on my bench, it won't stay there once its back at your house/car, in fact it won't stay there if i leave it on the bench,

i would never tell a customer i can put him dead balls on, its impossible,
any tech that claims they can either don't know what they are doing or are lifting your leg to make a dollar.

 

[Robb]

first time i came across anybody that did not want an open clarifier was when i joined this forum,

in my experience the guys who don't like unlocked clarifiers don't have much experience on ssb,
don't have an accurate counter to see that no cb is stable on frequency,
wrongly believe their radio is on frequency because their tech aligned it,

imho all clarifiers should be unlocked , that's the first thing people ask for with an alignment of ssb sets,
if the owner did not want it done ( that's never happened in 30+ years ) i would tell them to diy,

unlocking helps teach newbies and faulty ears how ssb should sound,
it also saves a lot of arguing n twisting knobs whenever there is more than two stations talking in a net,

helps like rob said when you are dxing, dial them in and fire back where they are listening, it does not matter if they are off frequency just dial them in and talk,

opening a clarifier makes no difference at all to frequency drift,
increasing slide with series inductors and bypassing resistors like you see on the www mods can cause an increase in drift,

i can't think of one good point to a locked clarifier other than the legal issue.

Xlnt bob85; that is right on!

 

[Robb]

Lil'yeshua, its not as simple as finding a tech you can trust, there are many out there with good intentions,

most techs just throw it on the bench and tune it,
very few use the radio to fully warm it up before frequency alignment
very few have accurate counters
most align to the manual and that's not the best way to align ssb tranceivers for best sounding audio,

i can warm up and align your set to within a few hz on my bench, it won't stay there once its back at your house/car, in fact it won't stay there if i leave it on the bench,

i would never tell a customer i can put him dead balls on, its impossible,
any tech that claims they can either don't know what they are doing or are lifting your leg to make a dollar.

I'm intrigued. What would you do differently? I do it BTB and have had success. But always willing to learn another tip if you are willing to part with it . . .

 

[9C1Driver]

first time i came across anybody that did not want an open clarifier was when i joined this forum,

in my experience the guys who don't like unlocked clarifiers don't have much experience on ssb,
don't have an accurate counter to see that no cb is stable on frequency,
wrongly believe their radio is on frequency because their tech aligned it,

imho all clarifiers should be unlocked , that's the first thing people ask for with an alignment of ssb sets,
if the owner did not want it done ( that's never happened in 30+ years ) i would tell them to diy,

unlocking helps teach newbies and faulty ears how ssb should sound,
it also saves a lot of arguing n twisting knobs whenever there is more than two stations talking in a net,

helps like rob said when you are dxing, dial them in and fire back where they are listening, it does not matter if they are off frequency just dial them in and talk,

opening a clarifier makes no difference at all to frequency drift,
increasing slide with series inductors and bypassing resistors like you see on the www mods can cause an increase in drift,

i can't think of one good point to a locked clarifier other than the legal issue.

So in your vast experience you would prefer say a 2950 be unlocked?

 

[bob85]

I'm intrigued. What would you do differently? I do it BTB and have had success. But always willing to learn another tip if you are willing to part with it . . .

aligning the offsets to the lou's manual supposes that the crystal filter is on frequency and symetrical, they very rarely are anymore than a crystal is dead on frequency,

if you look at an old yaesu manual it will tell you to adjust rx shift for equal noise tone, on tx they have you inject audio and adjust for equal output on usb & lsb,

i prefer to fine tune using my ears to determine the best frequency response for the guy using the radio then align the frequency to compensate the different offset,
neither setting will be to the manual but it often sounds better,

i have an ft102 to do for a local ham buddy today or in the very near future, it sounds too thin with both of his mics.

 

[bob85]

So in your vast experience you would prefer say a 2950 be unlocked?

yes i unlocked my first 2950 before it went on air, i would not own a radio with a locked clarifier.

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

A VFO on a radio would solve a lot of issues but that would mean getting a ham ticket and a exceptional radio performance wise just to be legal unless we can vote in people who can update the FCC's antiquated laws especially the ones that pertain to 11 meters. It's good though to have laws to keep the lawless ones in check.

 

[Yankee]

It's good though to have laws to keep the lawless ones in check.

In check how? Isn't the refusal or the inability of the government to enforce the laws that are on books, sort of a tacit admission that they really don't care?

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

In check how? Isn't the refusal or the inability of the government to enforce the laws that are on books, sort of a tacit admission that they really don't care?

Enforcement. Like others have commented. Spectrum Enforcement is going after major violators. But then again,what people are doing with 11 Meters should be done on other bands along with being licensed.

 

[Yankee]

Licensing is just a form of taxation, the worlds people are already taxed to death. It will just drive more people underground.

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

Licensing is just a form of taxation, the worlds people are already taxed to death. It will just drive more people underground.

Licensing and enforcement. But if everyone on 11 meters went by the book then I might of never heard of John Denver,MMM, and others. The Super Bowl on 6 would be a dust bowl. A even playing field is what I'm thinking of. I think our government has bigger fish to fry in going after domestic terrorists than some local yokel splattering twenty states.

 

[Yankee]

As you said above, go after the outrageous offenders, but not make everyone that doesn't offend like the few, pay the price. You do know registration and licensing means they can come in the middle of the night and shut you down any time they want?

The world has been there, done that, it ain't pretty and we don't need it.

 

[AudioShockwav]

But explain the concept of why unlock it?

This is a debate that will never end, to unlock or leave locked. The idea behind unlocking the clarifier is that when you fine tune a station in you will be right on his frequency when you call him. Some people will slide a KHz or two or three off from "center". With an unlocked clarifier you will be way off frequency when you call him. he then retunes to you and calls you back. You know have to retune to his new frequency and everybody is happy. If the clarifier is unlocked and the radio PROPERLY set up he will hear you fine on frequency the first time you call. Both sides of this debate strongly support their own point of view and the debate will never end. I am sure this thread will now soon see several opinions.

As far as CB is concerned, this started back in the 23 channel days, when the early 23 channel rigs first came out the clarifier DID slide both TX and RX, and as Captain said

The idea behind unlocking the clarifier is that when you fine tune a station in you will be right on his frequency when you call him. Some people will slide a KHz or two or three off from "center"

if the rig was stable and properly aligned it was not a big deal. It was not a big concern to the FCC, that was how the manufacturer built them, and they were approved that way.

As the popularity of CB grew, the channels became crowded and suddenly it was a problem to find a clear channel to talk on.
People found that if you increased the slide of the varactor diode in the clarifier you could move off to the then little known Alpha channels.
If you look at a frequency chart for CB radios there are 5, 10 Khz skips in the channel coverage in between channel`s 3 & 4, 7 & 8, 11 & 12, 15 & 16 and 19 and 20.

Suddenly, there were 5 extra channels to be used that were less crowded and not everyone had. These were designed to be RC channels, or Radio Control channels for 27Mhz radio control devices like RC cars, garage door openers and such.
In fact wayyyy back when channel 16 was considered The SSB channel, you would often find guys with SSB rigs working 26.695 on LSB.
FCC seen what was going on and changed the rules so that TX had to be locked , but would still allow you to shift RX.

It did not take long for everyone to figure out you just had to tie the TX/RX back together and you could still do the same thing.
40 channels radios came out, they still had the 5 RC or Alpha channels, plus CB was in the boom days and freeband was rocking and rolling.

For me, to answer the question, Unlock or no.
My answer, it depends of the radio.
In the past i favored the uniden HR series of radios that allow fine tuning of steps with the main VFO knob and left the RIT alone and Yes I favor SSB work.
It is My preference.
I have both the 2950 and 2950 DX.
Both have Stock Clarifier in them.
It is My preference.
Standard CB radios, I unlocked to be able to move around.
As has already been said, I move up or down with the VFO, find them, make initial contact, let him talk and use the RIT to touch up the rx and talk.

I am not, and have never been a Frequency Cop, I think it is so stupid to hear guys working SSB that go on and on about:
Hey your off frequency 3 Khz....No You are too high.....Naw both of you guys are 2 Khz low.... Well I am not moving MY frequency because you guys are off...total bullshit.

As Bob 85 already said, No one single CB is Nuts on under every condition.

Even Yaesu that uses Temp compensated VFO`s state in the Manual that frequency stability is after a warm up period.

73
Jeff