I use a 102" SS whip with mine and have no issues with receiving the weather stations.
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Looking at getting a compact SSB rig for the compact car.
- Thread starter AmericanEagle575
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Not messing with any internals is good advice for someone new at SSB operation. The 980 is a good choice. Just keep in mind that avid SSB users with experience usually want their clarifier unlocked for vary valid reasons. Depending upon your future use of SSB and your associated results of having a locked clarifier, you may want your clarifier unlocked later, possibly after the warranty is gone. IMO, locking the transmit frequency on SSB, as if it was the same as AM, was the worst thing that happened to CB SSB. I won't digress into a detailed debate about clarifiers. That subject has already been addressed with redundancy. My purpose is to inform anyone with a new SSB radio, there's been an ongoing issue with locked clarifiers. Do some research as it may apply to a future problem you may have. In the CB SSB world, that subject is of great significance.
Show me otherwise and prove it. Until then thank you for your opinion.
Thanks for the opinion. Facts outweigh opinions at least in the real world. In my world, identical components yield slightly different results in identical radios due to inconsistencies in their factory installed components. The sonar equipment I worked on in the Navy was a different matter. Tighter tolerances result in a higher cost per unit, but simplified alterations since we can use identical componens to achieve virtually identical results. The civilian world is a different ballgame with 20% tolerance components. To make improvements you can't just slap the same component in and expect identical results. Perhaps you could clue us in as to how your opinion was formed.
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I never understood the unlocked clarifier mod. If I have to move off frequency to dial some else in it can be a pain in the ass when more than 2 people are involved in the QSO and someone is off frequency.
I think cb shops convinced people they needed it so they could charge more for doing sloppy alignments on crappy radios. Make it adjustable and it's the customer's problem.
I think cb shops convinced people they needed it so they could charge more for doing sloppy alignments on crappy radios. Make it adjustable and it's the customer's problem.
I tend to take on the adage that what is good for the goose is good for the gander - a "clarifier mod" affects AM too - so all those Galaxy people doing the "Tokyo Drift" thing into and thru a channel are pretty much the same ones that say unlocked is bad - yet they do it anyways. To the Bane of us all. Unlocked doesn't just mean SSB - it's AM and FM too - I can plow thru someone dead carrier by tuning my carrier to beat with theirs and still have a QSO
I like to be able to fine tune my TX frequency but the rig has to have an accurate frequency counter, and I have to be able to adjust the RX independently. I
like what galaxy did with the 95t. There's a switch on the front to change the clarifiers from locked to unlocked where the fine tune only changes rx and the coarse adjusts rx and tx.
like what galaxy did with the 95t. There's a switch on the front to change the clarifiers from locked to unlocked where the fine tune only changes rx and the coarse adjusts rx and tx.
Do you see where this is going?
For the one reason mentioned about slide and unlocked, another is made for "locking" - even if it is voluntary.
I, myself, only wish to tune the person in so I can talk to them. I'll let the tolerances and error rate of sampling a frequency and all the inherited deviant errors and unattainable perfection (Read:BORG) left where they lay.
I'm in a QSO to chat, not tell someone how far off frequency they are to their own system.
I would think that telling someone how far off they are is a lot like trying to say "got milk?"
One language it's meant as a refreshing drink, in another it is interpreted as an insult.
So I stepped into this for just expression of an opinion based upon my own observations - to exceed that goes beyond the scope of the post and message thread...
And so it goes...
For the one reason mentioned about slide and unlocked, another is made for "locking" - even if it is voluntary.
I, myself, only wish to tune the person in so I can talk to them. I'll let the tolerances and error rate of sampling a frequency and all the inherited deviant errors and unattainable perfection (Read:BORG) left where they lay.
I'm in a QSO to chat, not tell someone how far off frequency they are to their own system.
I would think that telling someone how far off they are is a lot like trying to say "got milk?"
One language it's meant as a refreshing drink, in another it is interpreted as an insult.
So I stepped into this for just expression of an opinion based upon my own observations - to exceed that goes beyond the scope of the post and message thread...
And so it goes...
I'm lost. I guess I just prefer a radio with a VFO, no channels and the clarifier is labeled RIT.
Im also in a qso to chat but hese kinds of mods and badly aligned radios are why I don't use ssb on 11 meters. Someone with a jacked up radio always seems to join in and we end up back on AM. If everyone had a brand new 980 I'd check out 38lsb more often.
Im also in a qso to chat but hese kinds of mods and badly aligned radios are why I don't use ssb on 11 meters. Someone with a jacked up radio always seems to join in and we end up back on AM. If everyone had a brand new 980 I'd check out 38lsb more often.
Personally I don't have unlocked clarifiers on CB radios.
Some of our locals have them, some do not. We manage.
I think if they were all unlocked we would manage better but that's a preference.
Not everyone has frequency counters with a stable timebase nor is interested in having one so for them the simple answer is probably the unlocked clarifier.
Some of our locals have them, some do not. We manage.
I think if they were all unlocked we would manage better but that's a preference.
Not everyone has frequency counters with a stable timebase nor is interested in having one so for them the simple answer is probably the unlocked clarifier.
I'm all for a properly tuned radio - but as with anyone's own use, they will operate their radio as they see fit. Some like a "locked" TX to channel - and others' don't.
And to that pinnacle, there are several forks offshooting from that as to whom may or may not be on EXACT frequency to each other.
In my own experiences, I've gone off the channel to simply talk to a driver to bring them into a place because they can't locate the driveway and we don't want to interfere with the ongoing chat - and talk to drivers waiting for loads in parking lots that wanted to get away and find a quieter frequency just so they can chat.
So to say you want to be locked in, is fine - but there are others in the world that can't work effectively against the flow of traffic on a channel or band so they need to segue off into in-between (dimes) or find the "A" channel gaps so they can - it's their reaction to the experience of having to be "locked" out of a channel because their own radio is off frequency to those that can provide assistance.
What makes my handle what it is; is by the ability to find those that need help and provide it the best I can. I'm not here to argue - just making a post about an observation I see and experience more and more as time goes on.
What people seem to miss is, there are those that have gone thru life a few kC's off center and have had to deal with life's shortcomings. Especially when they are in areas that are strictly "by the book" - not that it's bad, their book is different from the one that everyone else in that area, uses.
I own several radio's I'd love to talk on, but they all have their place. Ever use an HR2510 o 11-meter- you may need to use the RIT a lot because the ones trying to have a QSO with you and a roundtable are busy chasing each other down and when finally tuned in - we forgot what we arrived to talk about.
Even on AM - tight IF aligned receivers can miss out on a guy using a stock radio tuned by factory but not to the frequency we are chatting on...
So back to the 11-Meter radios I - go - getting put back in the vehicle so I can use them - which is the point I was trying to make earlier about simplicity. You don't have the luxury of being a Base operator in a Mobile setup - Small cars make tight turns but have even more tighter living spaces...
I’ll continue to bring this up:
This where the West Mountain DSP Speaker shines. That 980 has a great receiver (maybe better than you think), but it has plenty of noise (my 880 & 885 do).
Digital Signal Processing (variable filtration) allows one to hear others too far back in the static to be heard without it.
(This is in big trucks, with my installation of better-than-factory coax and clean power. Plus taller better antennas and those well tuned. Plus common mode chokes and RFI filtration all over the place).
On sale at $169 with free shipping thru 12/31 at www.DXEngineering.com.
The other radios I’ve used the past few years are 979 and 99V2 Galaxy. The latter has the best receiver for AM. But it’s a genuinely large radio. (And you've already seen discussion of Galaxy “drift”).
With an RM Italy 203 and the ClearSpeaker, it’s a whole other rig.
FWIW, I haven’t turned down the power on either Uniden. 40,000 miles of trouble-free. (70W Forward and 1W Reflected on a co-phased antenna system. That’s not to dispute the advice).
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I totally agree...Clarifier problems were never really an issue in the 23ch days when all the SSB radios were unlocked (same as having a mini VFO). The exception was those newcomers that had trouble comprehending what direction to turn their clarifier, simply by listening to a station that’s either too high pitched sounding or low pitched. Some gave up trying thinking that mode was just too difficult. With everybody being unlocked, frequency accuracy back then, was never a big issue either. Only the rare station had a frequency counter. The first station that initiated "the spot" (whatever frequency that was) automatically forced everyone in the group to tune their clarifiers in unison. Unlocked clarifiers kept everyone on the same page, and there was no need for any frequency counter for the righteous types to make comment about. One big happy family, problem solved. The problem with locked clarifiers arises when there are more than two of them in a group. As you know, most radios that are new, old, or recently so called “aligned” are not dead on frequency. With that fact in mind, your choices are limited regarding locked clarifiers in that situation. Either you constantly fiddle with the clarifier back and forth between stations, or find some compromise placement and consign yourself with hearing some abnormal pitched stations within the group. For me, a locked clarifier is a one on one radio, that's fine in most cases, but I like group conversations, just like VFO users demand on the ham bands. Locked clarifiers created this failure and they should have kept them unlocked...Enough said.
Sometimes i have trouble with the locked vs unlocked terminology. Just when I think I've got it I have doubts.
So, if I have a cobra 148 with a locked clarifier does that mean it is factory and the clarifier only adjusts the receiver. If it were unlocked does that mean the clarifier has been modified and adjusts both tx and rx?
Seems like a stupid question but I'm dead serious. I feel like I've had disagreements about this when I was actually on the same page as the other guy.
So, if I have a cobra 148 with a locked clarifier does that mean it is factory and the clarifier only adjusts the receiver. If it were unlocked does that mean the clarifier has been modified and adjusts both tx and rx?
Seems like a stupid question but I'm dead serious. I feel like I've had disagreements about this when I was actually on the same page as the other guy.
unlocked controls tx+rx.
locked is just rx
That's where you end up with the issue. TX on one frequency and RX on another when it's locked. The TX ends up being controlled usually by a pot inside the radio.
locked is just rx
That's where you end up with the issue. TX on one frequency and RX on another when it's locked. The TX ends up being controlled usually by a pot inside the radio.
Since my 4 year return to cb (after a 28 year sabbatical) I've discovered SSB. From 75-87 I only operated AM.
It still amazes me when listening to several (mostly locals) rag chewing, and what I'm hearing is three out of 4 (sometimes all 4) stations are on different frequency's. Although their not far off from each other their far enough for me to have to keep turning them in in order to hear each one of them 100% on frequency. It's annoying to me and I'm just listening. They go on like nothing's wrong. I can't stand listening to a station that's off frequency. If my clarifier was locked I think I'd loose my mind! I'm guessing so many rigs needing alignment that tx and rx are off. So many golden screwdrivers out there performing (and performed) all types of unnecessary, and poor modifications that many operators are listening on one frequency while transmitting on another. And just not realizing that it's going on. I recall 38 LSB being wide open, and me having to keep my finger on the clarifier knob for just about every contact. So many people are just all over the place. I don't know what decade or year the open clarifier mod became popular, and began being performed, but it certainly would be nice if everyone's, or almost everyone's transceivers were on frequency. Unfortunately it's just not that way. As I mentioned without an unlocked clarifier I'd loose my mind, and probably would never operate SSB. Since my return I have found SSB more enjoyable then my old buddy AM. On AM one would have to be really far off in order for it to be annoying. SSB as we all know just isn't that way. Slightly off, and you're listening 2 something that sounds like an alian. How I hate that! What's the history of the unlocked clarifier? Did it happen upon SSB's inception? Or did it take sometime for operators to begin unlocking they're clarifiers?a transceiver is aligned and on frequency what is the reason for having, or wanting to unlock once clarifier to begin with? I'm not that familiar with the history of SSB. I do recall double SSB being introduced with the (tube) sidewinder, and tram Titan ll. Were those the earliest 11 meter SSB transceiver? And once again is anyone familiar with the time period for the unlocked clarifiers to start showing up. Did it begin on amateur radio? I actually owned a Collins kawsone at one time. It was built in the mid too late 50s (I believe.) Unfortunately I never got it operating properly and sold it for $100 profit. EF Johnson made two ssb transmitters around the same time period (I believe.) It sure would be an SSB Utopia if everyone's clarifier was at 12, and just stayed there.
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