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Cobra 142 keys a ham linear without a foot switch.

nomadradio

Analog Retentive
Apr 3, 2005
7,360
12,050
698
Louisville, KY
www.nomadradio.com
This Cobra 142GTL continues to get tricked out. This time it's a relay and a rear-panel RCA jack for keying a "foot-switch" or ham-type amplifier.

We sell this widget on fleabay (shameless plug). It's built to control two separate sockets on the rear of the radio. So you can key the driver and big box both, right.

This one has only one amplifier socket, so both yellow wires for the keying output are wired to the center pin of the one jack in this radio. If somebody wants to punch a hole and wire up a second socket, the wire is here.

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The green wire is the common ground for both yellow wires.

It can be mounted where you wish, the wires are sufficiently long. I prefer a spot close to the sockets. This spare hole in the deck has to be drilled out to 5/32" for the #6-32 screw that holds it in place.

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Reaming an existing hole is easier than poking a new one.

A plastic snap bushing for a 5/16" hole might be a tough one to track down, but all six wires fit through it. A single wire passing loosely through a hole in the deck probably doesn't call for a bushing or grommet, but a bundle of six wires does.

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The mount screw will now fit through the hole from under the deck. I always include a tooth washer between the mounting post and the chassis deck. Keeps the pillar from rotating.

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The red and black wire from the KeyBoard power the relay. The tie strip has a black wire coming from the very rear of the chassis. That's where our black wire goes. The red wire disappearing out the right side of the pic goes to the center pins of the AC/DC switch on the radio's rear panel.

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The last link in this chain is the orange wire. It serves to activate the relay and connects to the 8 Volt DC source that is hot only while transmitting. This is the trace in a PC-385 based radio, whatever its brand and model might be.

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Some folks can install one of these from just the generic description of what each of six wires is for. Showing particular details probably makes it easier.

73
 
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