Fine Tune CB

[rabbiporkchop]

Mark Sherman has posted a video recently of a radio that came in hacked up by Brian Smith down south. Nasty waveform lots of harmonics. Check it out on Facebook if you can find mark Sherman

Brian Smith at Truck CB Sales seems to be a good tech also. Hes in Kentucky.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

Watch "They call this "Truckerized"." on YouTube

Mark Sherman has posted a video recently of a radio that came in hacked up by Brian Smith down south. Nasty waveform lots of harmonics. Check it out on Facebook if you can find mark Sherman

 

[rabbiporkchop]

Brian Smith at Truck CB Sales seems to be a good tech also. Hes in Kentucky.

Here is another radio tuned by "Trucks CB Sales"
I wouldn't want to use it with a waveform like that.


Notice the uncut sticker on the side of the rig at the beginning of the video which proves Brian Smith was the last "technician" to make "adjustments"

 

[Beetle]

The number of times he has moved his shop is a big honkin' red flag to me.

But this is America, and you're free to pick whichever tech you like. Even if he moves every 6 months to a year. Caveat emptor.

73,
Brett

Where is "Emptor"? And what about that cave?

 

[space cowboy]

Where is "Emptor"? And what about that cave?

it's latin. translates to something along the lines of may your cave never fill up with useless junk .

 

[rabbiporkchop]

DEFINITION of 'Caveat Emptor' A Latin phrase for "let the buyer beware." The term is primarily used in real property transactions. Essentially it proclaims that the buyer must perform their due diligence when purchasing an item or service.

Where is "Emptor"? And what about that cave?

 

[Robb]

After seeing a few of this guys videos, I think he is just a little proud of his gear setup and his ability to use it. The benefits for radio ops who need a guy to 'do it right' and 'clean is mean' for their equipment is the bestt step forward. I'd like to have a spectrum analyzer too; but I don't repair radios for money nor do I do it for the general public, as he does. I think he is doing a fine job JMHO . . . keep it up . . .

 

[rabbiporkchop]

After seeing a few of this guys videos, I think he is just a little proud of his gear setup and his ability to use it. The benefits for radio ops who need a guy to 'do it right' and 'clean is mean' for their equipment is the bestt step forward. I'd like to have a spectrum analyzer too; but I don't repair radios for money nor do I do it for the general public, as he does. I think he is doing a fine job JMHO . . . keep it up . . .

Watch "STRINGBEAN LAST STATION SOUTHWEST" on YouTube

that's another one of his customers who is fairly well-known

 

[Galaxy 959]

Yea he does fine work for sure. Brian Smith on the other hand not so good.

 

[543_Dallas]

A cb shop can never be right. The customer doesn't know what they want and if you tell them anything you can bet another "tech" will tell them you're a crook. How many posts have you saw where people want a screaming loud radio but want it clean. The guy keying 2 watts swinging to 30 that thinks he has 100% modulation.

If they tune a radio properly people think they were ripped off when the next shop does some super power mods and makes the watt meter swing.

If the guy doing super power mods gets the radio first. Its loud, shows a lot of watts and the customer is happy for now. Then the customer takes it to a second shop with a different philosophy and are convinced the first guy screwed them.

The truth is the customer is probably getting sscrewed by both shops. The one with a better sales pitch usually makes them happy.

 

[Tallman]

I have had to fix radios that were "SOUPED UP" and felt like turning them in to door stops. I have seen radios that were so screwed up it took me days to fix them back into compliance. There is one photo in my album that shows a frequency meter indicating just one Hertz from perfect. That radio had the pots tweaked and the PLL was way off. I can't understand why that area was tweaked to begin with. Maybe a receive boosting adjustment? The SSB was nonfunctional and deaf as a stone. I also check all output signals for harmonic suppression and it has to meet specification or better.

 

[543_Dallas]

That's a good example of someone hacking up a radio because they don't know what the hell they are doing. The problem is some of these guys have bullshit down to a science and are able to stay in business. It's much easier than running a crooked automotive repair shop.

 

[AA1QD]

Met the Guy in Amarillo. He will insult you and he has to be the biggest narcissists I have ever encountered.

He actually believes the reason there are not many CB shops left like there were years ago is because his quality work has put them all out of business. That's pretty much a direct quote! This guy claims to be an ex-truck driver having driven more miles than I have, yet we are about the same age and I know for a fact he has been off the road doing his CB shop business for over 10 years so that is a lie. I do believe he did drive over the road but his years of service and mileage is doubtful.

Now he is self proclaimed CB engineering specialist? CB radios isn't rocket science. That's the equivalent of a tech school student working on lawn mower engines as opposed to a AES certified mechanic working on Industrial diesel engines.

The real reasons for the declining number of CB shops is because at one time, Truck drivers were some of the biggest users of CB's and many if not all CB shops were located at or near truck stops.That's a fact I can attest to from driving trucks over 30 years myself. Now they are few and far between.

Now a days, Many drivers don't own one or hardly ever turn it on if they do. Today's trucks are mostly speed governed so no need to watch for "smokey bear" (except for those 55 MPH communist states), and most trucks have electronic logs so no need to ask if the " chicken coops are open" more drivers use GPS so no need to ask "break 19 for local info".

The company I drive for has over 150 trucks based in Phoenix and I can easily count 40 or more trucks without a CB. Other forms of entertainment has succeeded the CB with today's drivers. The others I asked why they don't turn it on and the most common answer is they are sick of all the idiot base stations shooting skip blaring across what should be the calling frequency that is Channel 19 jamming the frequency up. That's pretty much a direct quote. That should make plenty of you guys out there proud who do exactly that.

Then there is the influx, if not taking over the trucking industry, all the foreigners from Europe, India, and Asia driving trucks who can careless about what a CB is. Then one day soon NAFTA will be fully implemented but at least I have seen many Mexican trucks using CB radios. Don't believe me? look at the reefer trucks with california and British Columbia plates, Majority of them drivers are Sikh's from India, no they are not arabs just because they wear turbans! Look at the trucks with plates from Illinois, New York, New Jersey, those drivers are from all over former Soviet block countries like Bosnia, Ukraine, Armenia, etc. hardly the CB radio truck driving stereo -type from years gone by.

But This guy at Fine tune (goes by "hard drive" on the CB ) believes otherwise along with his white list CB shop buddies that the decline of CB shops is because they have successfully put those other CB shops out of business.

To answer the OP's question, I only stopped in to buy a part not have a radio serviced. You have to wonder why he moves around a lot. I remember him being in Arizona, then Gallup NM and then to Milan NM before he went to Amarillo, now he is in North Carolina? Amarillo should have been the best market for him since it is located ideally to catch all the East to West coast running trucks and even though Amarillo might be a small town , it has always been a mecca for drivers with multiple truckstops, plenty of drug dealers, lot lizzards, titty bars, and yes, CB shops!

If you are just looking to fine tune your radio without adding parts and no repair, learn how to do it yourself. There is no magic to it. There are many knowledgeable people on this forum who you can ask for advice.

Checkout CB tricks.com. You can look up your radio and most of them have service manuals along with diagrams of the board showing which pots will adjust what.

My advice, If you want "big" modulation, don't clip the modulation limiter like most people do, Just turn up the AMC pot inside the radio all the way then use your mic gain for adjustment. Most newly purchased in the box radios have this pot turned too far down. Cb tricks will show where this pot is on your Galaxy 959 assuming that's your radio.

Get a better mic. CB base stations prefer D104 mics, Mobile radios prefer either Astatic or Road king noise canceling mics.

Check peak output power by turning RF power knob fully up with a good watt meter, then divide the peak reading by 4 and adjust your deadkey with the RF power knob at that value. (ie. if your radio peaks 12 watts, set deadkey at 3 watts.)

If you want more power, leave the radio alone and get an amplifier. Nothing is more ridiculous than gutting a radio up or adding circuity that wasn't intended to be there just to get a few more watts that really doesn't make one bit of difference on the other end.

Other than that, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!

Hmmn, I would a expect extra class ticket holder would know there is a little more than looking at a watt meter and turning a couple pots to achieve a linear signal. SMH
I have never had any radio work done by the Man, but I have heard many many of his customers radio's. They are always the most clear and receivable radios on the air, short of HF rigs being run illegally on 11 meter. Some times I think folks confuse confidence for arrogance. Just my 2 cents, 73's

 

[fourstringburn]

Hmmn, I would a expect extra class ticket holder would know there is a little more than looking at a watt meter and turning a couple pots to achieve a linear signal. SMH
I have never had any radio work done by the Man, but I have heard many many of his customers radio's. They are always the most clear and receivable radios on the air, short of HF rigs being run illegally on 11 meter. Some times I think folks confuse confidence for arrogance. Just my 2 cents, 73's

I would of expected an extra class ticket holder to know better not to say "73's" .

Tuning a CB radio isn't rocket science, that's one of the points I was making. I only made the easy tune suggestions for people with little experience and minimal equipment, but it does work however.

Over confidence is arrogance. Until you meet the man in person, then I will be
interested in what your real opinion is of him.

73

 

[543_Dallas]

Narcissists seems accurate.

I don't expect much of anyone just because they hold a ticket of any class. Hams and cbers are all people. Some are smart, some are average and some are just stupid.