Omega Force S45HP-missing jumper?

[Robb]

Since Robb chewed the fat with Sam Lewis over the phone, maybe he can shed some light on what kind of "reaming" Sam got from the feds.

Yeah, Sam caught some heat. But the RangerUSA crew caught the lion's share of it. That info is available online; although I didn't look up that action as yet. If you find it before I do, please post it up.

They caught grief from the Feds due to some Hams whose nose was out of joint over the ease in which Export radios can be converted. Their defense failed to point out that the Yaesu FT-817 doesn't even require hard-wire mods to access all bands/freqs. All you need to do is hit three buttons on the front when turning on that radio.

Having said that, every new op is going to be getting a Yaesu FT-817 and hook it up to a Texas Star TS-500 or 667v to be a 'Big CB Dog'. To be truly equitable and unbiased in their decision here; the Feds should have made the same ruling against Yaesu. So, there is room for a legal fight yet here. But I'm not gonna go there.

 

[IMD262]

Mr. Lewis should hire Shioda to right this wrong.

 

[Turbo T]

So it looks as if a solder job is in order...if that's all that's needed, well they didn't quite make it "frequency expansion proof".

I finally spoke to GI Joe, they say that the conversion changed and that it is shipped like that to them. I called around to other retailers and they said the same thing. Anybody have a CB shop that they have dealt with and recommend? Because it looks like I am going to be paying to have it converted after all.

I talked to Magnum today. They verified what GI Joe said and they also told me that due to federal gov regulations they could not instruct me over the phone as far as how to convert it myself BUT I did receive a tip on a website that should be able to help me out. Currently I am at work so I plan on working on this later on today.

Thanks Eddie for the heads up. I sent Magnum an email (was on the road all day today) and they still have yet to email me back on this.

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/rflimited/magnum_257hp/graphics/Magnum_257HP_Freq_Conv.pdf

Robb-that is the same website that I was directed to. Not sure if I will attempt to solder it myself though, I have never soldered a circuit board and don't want to screw it up.

Soldering is easy, but great care must be taken while doing such. Big things to remember is don't use too much heat on electronical components, and use a heat sink on components to draw off heat; heat is the #1 killer of electronics. Also keep terminals and soldering iron clean, don't touch hot soldering iron with bare skin, wear eye protection when soldering, etc.

 

[9C1Driver]

I finally spoke to GI Joe, they say that the conversion changed and that it is shipped like that to them. I called around to other retailers and they said the same thing. Anybody have a CB shop that they have dealt with and recommend? Because it looks like I am going to be paying to have it converted after all.

There are two good techs on the forum here. DTB and Loosecannon
.

 

[2RT307]

I finally spoke to GI Joe, they say that the conversion changed and that it is shipped like that to them. I called around to other retailers and they said the same thing. Anybody have a CB shop that they have dealt with and recommend? Because it looks like I am going to be paying to have it converted after all.

If that's the case, they sure as heck aren't good salesmen. Any knucklehead that knew that information should have informed you, and directed you to have them do the conversion for you for a low low price of.... $$

They must not be on commission!

73,
RT307

 

[Zulu_Lima]

Just a quick question. Can these boards be ordered from the factory? Or online? There is not one internet site that sells magnum parts. Factory probably molested the stock. You have to be extermely careful when soldering these. The epoxy is cheap. Thankfully I only lifted trace on Con 4. I put the pins back in, and a new swithing diode. But Con 4 is gone. Thats band E channels only. No big loss. Its easier to take solder wick to Con 1 and Con 4, then bridge Con 3. A switching diode must be used between Con 1 and Con3 in expanded mode. Or you wont have 28.0000 or higher. They cut this too. So anyone know where to get an OEM part while they last let me know. Warranty will be tough on some of these units. I don't know why they have to do this. I'm not buying another RF Limited product again.

 

[AudioShockwav]

I don't know why they have to do this.

The reason they are doing this to to get around the US FCC definition of "easy to modify".
The Jumpers now require the use of tools and very careful soldering work as opposed to just moving a Jumper.
I think you will find that Stryker Radio`s will be shipping with the jumpers/pins removed as well now because of a case not long ago involving one of the Ranger radios.
Basically during the case The court held the FCC to its definition in the public notice. It is easy to modify if you can just cut a wire, throw a switch, or move a jumper.

73
Jeff

 

[Turbo T]

Perhaps I am in the dark, but when did this whole deal of "easy to modify" and "so and so recently got in trouble by the feds" go down?

I've only found a few articles dating back to the mid to late 90's concerning Magnum radios and their brush with the FCC.

 

[AudioShockwav]

This has been brewing for a while now.
This thread would be good reading.

http://www.worldwidedx.com/cb-band-cb-radios/50249-galaxy-949-illegal-1.html

They try to say that the so called "export radios" are not legal because they are easily modded for CB frequency's, but allow the sale of "amateur radios" that are just as easy ( if not even easier ) to Mod that will cover CB frequency's.
You can not have it both ways...... wrong or right, it should apply to all equipment.
The case I was referring to was a Ham who attempted to sell a Ranger 10/12 meter radio on E-bay and they kept jerking his chain over it.
They pulled, allowed him to re list it, they pulled it again and allowed him to re-list it again.....stupid.
As you will see in the above thread, when it went to court, the judge held the FCC to it own definition of "easy to modify".....the details were not spelled out to the public.....but the radio was allowed to be sold because it was indeed legal.

Shoida, who is a Member here, has experiences in court regarding the FCC and the very vague rules that they try to enforce, he is the lawyer that brought the case against E-Bay and won.
He is also the lawyer that got the FCC to drop enforcement actions against several retailers as well.
If the FCC is going to make rules they have to apply to everyone....not just a select few.
Instead they wrote rules that even there own internal field agents were confused about. This is old stuff that goes back a long time.
I think the removal of jumper`s is just a step to help avoid more legal hassles caused by the FCC`s failure to write clear and fair rules regarding radio equipment.
Look at it like this:
Under the rules, one "could say" that any transmitter is illegal to sale.
Why?
Because a person with the proper skill and knowledge could take just about any transmitter and tear it down and rebuild it to work on what ever frequency they desire.
Be it a Ham radio, a CB radio, a export or a commercial rig.
They choose to try to blame the Mfg`s of radio equipment that are not breaking the law, instead of individuals that choose to transmit out of band.
I guess they thought that since they do not have the man power to go after every single citizen that transmits out of band, that they could just write some vague and obscure law and go after the Mfg`s.


73
Jeff

 

[Zulu_Lima]

Where can i get a replacement board? It seems sam is the only person at RF Limited.

 

[AudioShockwav]

That is about it, Sam or Eric.



73
Jeff

 

[dirtyjob]

Just a quick question. Can these boards be ordered from the factory? Or online? There is not one internet site that sells magnum parts. Factory probably molested the stock. You have to be extermely careful when soldering these. The epoxy is cheap. Thankfully I only lifted trace on Con 4. I put the pins back in, and a new swithing diode. But Con 4 is gone. Thats band E channels only. No big loss. Its easier to take solder wick to Con 1 and Con 4, then bridge Con 3. A switching diode must be used between Con 1 and Con3 in expanded mode. Or you wont have 28.0000 or higher. They cut this too. So anyone know where to get an OEM part while they last let me know. Warranty will be tough on some of these units. I don't know why they have to do this. I'm not buying another RF Limited product again.

I just received my s45hp and yes while the jumper pins are gone the switching diode between con1 and con3 was fine, i simply bridged con3 with solder and i get full coverage from 25.165 - 29.699 MHz

 

[Markjewell]

S45hp diode

I just picked up one of these units. My old HR-2510 was getting tired.

I had them bridge Conn #3 prior to my buying the unit.
I pulled the cover before I even plugged it in and I noted that the switching diode was not there on the CPU Reset Board.
The solder job on the connectors looked fine.

I plugged the unit in and it has the full range of freq. (25.165-29.695), at least receiving...

How critical is this diode at this point, and what is or was its function on the frequency conversion board?

Thanks!

Mark

 

[Mudfoot]

RPT and SHIFT

Help me understand...

In the stock CON 1 position the radio will be in 10 meter mode only and the shift and repeater functions will work.

In CON 3 and 4, the repeater and shift functions will not work.

NOW, will the repeater and shift function work in CON 2? I figured that since it turns on by default to 10 meters and 11 meters must be accessed by pressing function and call. i was hoping that the repeater and shift will still work on 10 in this configuration.

 

[Turbo T]

Help me understand...

In the stock CON 1 position the radio will be in 10 meter mode only and the shift and repeater functions will work.

In CON 3 and 4, the repeater and shift functions will not work.

NOW, will the repeater and shift function work in CON 2? I figured that since it turns on by default to 10 meters and 11 meters must be accessed by pressing function and call. i was hoping that the repeater and shift will still work on 10 in this configuration.

I believe the repeater function and shift do indeed still work on CON 2. That's how I have mine configured, however I do not have any 10 meter repeaters in my area to test with.

Otherwise, yes, CON 2 turns on to 10 M until you "bypass" by pushing a few buttons, to get to 11 M. Once the radio is turned off though, it resets back to 10 M and you have to repeat the whole process again to get to 11 M.