Hi all. I'm a long haul flatbed driver with about 7 years on the road. I have had CBs all my life, but beyond basic SWR set up and such, I am kind of a newbie. I do have some soldering experience and can make my own coax leads, and have even done a little circuit board soldering. My only radio experience has been with Cobra 29's and an old midland unit my dad had when I was a kid.
I am tired of being screwed by "techs" at truck stops. I do know one I trust (lots of people think he's an a-hole, but he knows his stuff) but it's hard to get by there. I just got a new Galaxy DX959, and am trying to get familiar with all the functions. I have a Radio Shack 21-534 SWR/power meter and have set up my Wilson 2000 Trucker antenna.
My SWR is 1.15 on 1, barely bumps the meter on 20, and is 1.1 on 40. I have the antenna mouted on a Wilson mirror mount with the black base, and have a ground wire run to the mount from the battery (just as close as the frame, and easier). I also bypassed the Peterbilt factory coax and ran my own.
I have an Astatic 636L mike, and an Astatic external speaker also. I did not take the Galaxy mike out of the box yet. I have the power wires run to the factory Peterbilt studs on the overhead panel.
I do have a very slight whine (alternator?) through the external speaker, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was with my 29. I can only hear it while parked if I rev the engine, and only slightly then.
I understand that the output of this radio should be 4 watts max on AM, and 14 on SSB. On my meter, I am showing about a 3 watt dead key on AM, and 40 watts on SSB. Is this normal? I have seen some videos about the internal power adjustments on this radio. If I "tune it up" myself, will any frequency or other adjustments be nessecary?
Also when I first key up, the modulation pegs the meter (sometimes with a little squeal), then drops back to 40-60%. Is this normal, and how is it adjusted?
I'm sure I'll have some more questions, and I apologize for the book. I just want everyone to be familiar with the details of my setup. If I've missed anything, let me know!
I am tired of being screwed by "techs" at truck stops. I do know one I trust (lots of people think he's an a-hole, but he knows his stuff) but it's hard to get by there. I just got a new Galaxy DX959, and am trying to get familiar with all the functions. I have a Radio Shack 21-534 SWR/power meter and have set up my Wilson 2000 Trucker antenna.
My SWR is 1.15 on 1, barely bumps the meter on 20, and is 1.1 on 40. I have the antenna mouted on a Wilson mirror mount with the black base, and have a ground wire run to the mount from the battery (just as close as the frame, and easier). I also bypassed the Peterbilt factory coax and ran my own.
I have an Astatic 636L mike, and an Astatic external speaker also. I did not take the Galaxy mike out of the box yet. I have the power wires run to the factory Peterbilt studs on the overhead panel.
I do have a very slight whine (alternator?) through the external speaker, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was with my 29. I can only hear it while parked if I rev the engine, and only slightly then.
I understand that the output of this radio should be 4 watts max on AM, and 14 on SSB. On my meter, I am showing about a 3 watt dead key on AM, and 40 watts on SSB. Is this normal? I have seen some videos about the internal power adjustments on this radio. If I "tune it up" myself, will any frequency or other adjustments be nessecary?
Also when I first key up, the modulation pegs the meter (sometimes with a little squeal), then drops back to 40-60%. Is this normal, and how is it adjusted?
I'm sure I'll have some more questions, and I apologize for the book. I just want everyone to be familiar with the details of my setup. If I've missed anything, let me know!
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