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Cobra GR 29 LTD ST only 3 watts
- Thread starter MisterMiyagi91
- Start date
1w more will do absolutely nothing, it will never be heard or seen on the receiving end and you wont "get out" any further.
leave it how it is and have fun.
leave it how it is and have fun.
Hello dear groundwire, thank you very much for your answer. Yes, I believe that 1w does not matter much. But I would be interested to know why it doesn't have the 4 watts it should have. can you turn the watt number back to 4 watts or do you have to do more with this radio to have 4-6 watts. I would be very happy if you could explain that to me.
Mfg
There are a handful of adjustments that get set for a "peak", or max power. A non-metallic tool with a tip around 1.3 mm wide will fit the adjustment slot in the smaller tuning slugs. A metal jeweler's screwdriver will be magnetic, and will disrupt the adjustment. Can't use those. Typical method is to modulate the radio and peak L14, L17, L20 and L21. Simply adjusting for max carrier power alone is less effective than peaking for modulated power.
Of course, you'll need a dummy load and wattmeter to do this, along with that non-metallic tuning tool.
It's possible that one or more of those adjustments is not set exactly to its peak setting.
Or maybe that radio was made on a Monday morning. Or a Friday afternoon.
Just be gentle and don't fracture the brittle tuning slugs. The fragments can jam the slug in place, such that it won't turn.
73
If you were to buy 10 new cb radio's most will dead key 2-3.5 watts. Just because the legal AM dead key is 4 watts that does not mean every one is set to that when built. They are "ballparked" in on the assembly line, as long as it's less then 4 watts down the line it goes.
Your best bet would be to find a decent cb tech that can do a basic peak/tune/alignment if needed. During this process they will make sure the radio is on frequency, is set to 100% modulation, and has max peak swing. From the factory most new cb sets only do 60-70% modulation.
What is your power supply voltage?
That's the German Sound Tracker version correct?
That radio is rated 4 watts FM, 1 watt AM if I read it right.
So more questions....
What meter?
AM mode or FM mode?
Going to a antenna or a dummy load?
All of these things can effect readings.
See if you can identify the output transistor....
Have you looked online for a service manual/schematic ?
73
Jeff
That radio is rated 4 watts FM, 1 watt AM if I read it right.
So more questions....
What meter?
AM mode or FM mode?
Going to a antenna or a dummy load?
All of these things can effect readings.
See if you can identify the output transistor....
Have you looked online for a service manual/schematic ?
73
Jeff
Last edited:
You really can't do much within the realm you're asking
Because of that limitation, there are things in there that - even if modded, can't provide you much more powah' enhancements - this radio was manufactured when Midland 77-120 and 79-290 (just to name a couple) were very popular and in your photo - you'll see the Sanyo chip the one that makes the front panel LCD display possible - that Cobra went back to in their LX series - only without Sanyo.
In the upper left corner of your shot is one of many reasons that the radio seems "duck-ish" ...
that is what I call a "vertical board"
that is the BPF for the RF amp to IF conversion
mixer for the receiver side
These radios were also similar in construction to the Maxxon radio line - the components are right angle and or in-line branches from each other in line to follow to a board ground layout similar to a digital design used for TTL - large ground plane areas and thin traces - works ok, and is a board that if they just put in better components - would have less "white noise" hash and not be subjected to noise pickup.
Considering the technology behind this and the radio still works, it is a keeper - the PLL chip itself was one of the last that used a ROM internal to the CPU chip so it is specific and not exactly modifiable (per se) so the addressing it has used the external pins to "boot from" on power up, Done in such a way so the radio performed to the code programmed for that region.
To be honest, if you keep this radio - you can easily throw an amp on the back of it with little worry - for the reduced power and swing the tighter design offered, gives the amp the proper input dynamics - ironically, this radio will sound good even with the amp and limiters kept in place - it's a simple put together radio for any sort of low-input power amp you can put behind it.
Because of that limitation, there are things in there that - even if modded, can't provide you much more powah' enhancements - this radio was manufactured when Midland 77-120 and 79-290 (just to name a couple) were very popular and in your photo - you'll see the Sanyo chip the one that makes the front panel LCD display possible - that Cobra went back to in their LX series - only without Sanyo.
In the upper left corner of your shot is one of many reasons that the radio seems "duck-ish" ...
that is what I call a "vertical board"
that is the BPF for the RF amp to IF conversion
mixer for the receiver side
Considering the technology behind this and the radio still works, it is a keeper - the PLL chip itself was one of the last that used a ROM internal to the CPU chip so it is specific and not exactly modifiable (per se) so the addressing it has used the external pins to "boot from" on power up, Done in such a way so the radio performed to the code programmed for that region.
To be honest, if you keep this radio - you can easily throw an amp on the back of it with little worry - for the reduced power and swing the tighter design offered, gives the amp the proper input dynamics - ironically, this radio will sound good even with the amp and limiters kept in place - it's a simple put together radio for any sort of low-input power amp you can put behind it.
i cant believe this thread is still going to gain 1w from a cb radio. hahaha, just key the thing down with the 3w and be happy. he wont be steppin with one more watt.
Hello, thank you for your tips and help. I bought this Cobra GR LTD ST Nightwatch used, and unfortunately a lot of things were defective, I had to replace the IC 7217AP, then the ext spk socket was defective, capacitors, etc. I adjusted it perfectly, and now it's working again. And I have to think again about the Watt, I've never done that before, according to my information I have to adjust L301, L302, L303. But I'm not sure how accurate that is on my model. I think I'll leave it. But I have another question: is the green light foil defective on my two Cobras, is there a component that is responsible for the fact that I can exchange it and it works again, or is it the foil that is defective. Kind regards
Hello Groundwire. I can understand you, from 3 watts to 4 watts doesn't make a big difference. but it's not about me, I'm just learning and I'm interested in it. everyone starts small, and then, like you, you can eventually help others who don't know their way around so well. I've often ordered and repaired defective things and thanks to you I always learn something new, which is really great. Kind regards
Hello Jeff.
Yes, that's the German version, I'm from Germany and you can't ask such questions here.
They're happy if you only have 3 instead of 4 watts from the factory, at 4.5 watts they cry and at 5 watts they call the police.
I have one of the best wattmeters from Germany Funke on FM with an antenna with 13.2 - 14 volts.
I installed the C1969 transistor.
I found this post here in the forum, but I'm not sure if it just works without further modification.
Attachments
why cant he ask questions here?Hello Jeff.
Yes, that's the German version, I'm from Germany and you can't ask such questions here.
They're happy if you only have 3 instead of 4 watts from the factory, at 4.5 watts they cry and at 5 watts they call the police.
I have one of the best wattmeters from Germany Funke on FM with an antenna with 13.2 - 14 volts.
I installed the C1969 transistor.
I found this post here in the forum, but I'm not sure if it just works without further modification.
you can't ask that in germany because the people there aren't as cool as yours. Sorry if you don't understand me correctly.