Considering a new radio

[Captain Kilowatt]

Note that I said OFTEN and not ALWAYS . . . Please read what I say and not what you "expect" me to say.

If I had said "ALL Hams" or "Hams ALWAYS", your argument(s) would have been valid, but that is NOT what I said !

Perhaps valid on your second statement but not the first where you stated "hams".....no most....no some....just "hams" therefore the implication is ALL.

As for the engineering reports, they would be generalized and not for the way a specific radio unit was aligned / tuned / adjusted / modified, etc. A "golden screwdriver" could turn an $8000 Ham rig into CRAP with a few "adjustments / mods" . . . Fair enough ?

Of course a golden screwdriver can render the best of the best into a piece of crap but we are not talking about that. We are talking the exact OPPOSITE. No screwdriver regardless of the atomic structure can turn a poorly designed piece of crap into a wonderful piece of gear when it comes to emissions OUTSIDE the band of interest. It might make it "loud and proud" on the air but it will still be generating IMD elsewhere. THAT is what we are talking about when screwdrivering an export radio. It has NOTHING to do with degrading an already good radio.

Unless one is highly trained in Electronics, how many Hams "tinker" ( internally ) with their high-dollar rigs ? Not many, I bet . . . They take it to a licensed radio technician . . . Why ? Because he has the gear, experience, knowledge, and skills to do the job right, the first time !

It's the SAME thing with CB . . . The PROBLEM is knowing WHICH Tech to TRUST !

The only techs I just are myself (I did commercial broadcast servicing for 22 years) and if it's too deep for me I send it back to the manufacturer. No bullshit or impressions to be made from them. I work on my own tube gear and my hybrid gear and to a certain extent my newer stuff but once the gear starts to have more chips than discrete passive components I start looking towards the manufacturer. I understand it can be difficult to find a trustworthy tech but that is where some tech knowledge of your own is a BIG advantage. It at least allows you to be able to sort out the bullshit from facts.

 

[543_Dallas]

Something that I had to accept is that everyone is not looking for the same things I look for. There have been times that I have came across as condescending by tying to help someone but it's hard to be the voice of reason when all these guys on YouTube are making videos. It's not worth fighting over.

Ive also been guilty of recommending something that someone isn't able to use effectively. It usually ends in disaster. A friend bought a ts440 for AM use with high hopes and it never worked out. The modification and adjustments that were simple to me and a few others weren't something he was willing to do. Nice radio but it wasn't for him.

As much as I have protested exports in the past and will not use one they are a better choice for some people that aren't able to do their own work. They can either buy an old dinosaur and pay out the nose for a restoration or buy a new export. If they buy a cb that doesn't have the features they want they can spend a fortune having them installed.

One thing I will point out about the fine tune video where the 955 is being used on ssb is how low the power meter on the radio is swinging. He may do good work but the smoke and mirrors YouTube videos are bullshit. Most radios will look pretty clean if you turn the power down enough that the finals have plenty of headroom. Watch more of his videos and you will see the bird slug is usually out of focus. A transistors can only make so much power before the imd goes through the roof. Lowest imd is usually a little over half of their rated power and these mosfets being used in cb gear aren't even intended for rf.

If you can find an honest tech that has the equipment to make sure the spurious emissions are acceptable I don't see an issue with an export. The user still has to accept that the radio may not make the advertised power and be clean.

I believe ice manufacturing used to make a band pass filter for 11 meters. It's a shame that these super techs aren't building and selling band pass filters instead of playing with coax lengths and other shady shit to make them look good on the test bench.

 

[undertaker]

I have the yaesu ft450 d but I like my exports better...

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I believe ice manufacturing used to make a band pass filter for 11 meters. It's a shame that these super techs aren't building and selling band pass filters instead of playing with coax lengths and other shady shit to make them look good on the test bench.

Bandpass filters are good only for harmonics and will do NOTHING for in-band IMD.

 

[543_Dallas]

Bandpass filters are good only for harmonics and will do NOTHING for in-band IMD.

Yes, that's correct. Harmonics AND spurs. Some of these radios have problems with spurs outside of the 11 meter band. A good band pass filter would help with that. The hams that have heard cbers on the amateur bands are often hearing a spur.

I say custom bandpass filter because some of the older exports would transmit a spur in the cw portion of the 10 meter band if they were operating above ch 15 or so. All low pass filters on the market start around 30 mhz so they are only going to help with harmonics, not spurs. After my experience with the Stryker 955 I had and hearing the guy that was operating on 27.025 on 12m. I really think a bandpass filter for 11 meters is a good idea.

A lot of the imd issue could be resolved if people wouldn't run their equipment so hard. A decent amp helps but if you put a dirty radio in front of it and over drive it all bets are off. I use adaptive predistortion to keep my imd down. It seems to work. Even with wide band audio and a couple of kw I bleed less than anyone it town. Running 14k wide AM a guy that lives about 2 miles away can move 1 channel away and hear just a little hash. He says it sounds like distant lightning. Two channels away and his receiver is silent.