Pitting current techs to old techs...

[guitar_199]

JUST to describe the weird space I am in!!!! I went to DeVry - Dallas in 1975 in the Degree program. Right after I got my ASEET I was hired on at the NASA JSC to work in the Shuttle Mission Simulator facility where the crews trained.

I took off on a path at work that led me to move into their operating systems group about 9 years after I joined. So NOW I was in software! Later hired on with a Real Time Computer company and served as an Operating Systems Internals Analyst for 18 years. Then 15 more years as a Java programmer. Now.... finally retired!

In retirement I am aiming to "get back to my electronics. I always loved it. I chose to set up a fairly well appointed bench and collect CB radio hulks to align/repair as needed JUST as a HOBBY. But I wanted to do it right (IMHO) by studying deep and actually learning how the circuits actually worked. I have become what I consider a "clean spectrum freak" and I DO have a spectrum analyzer (2 actually!) and LEARNED that "maxing the power meter needle" is not anywhere CLOSE to being the best a radio can do! I know that "splatter boxes" LOOK like they have more power....but it is ALL OFF FREQUENCY.

So why am I commenting here?

I actually think it would be nice to just be an employee in somebody's shop and repair these things to the best of my ability. But I have a problem.....

KNOWING that "peak and tune" thinking in the repair business creates "splatter boxes" I would probably be the one who would NOT do mods on radios. Rather... I would align them properly to be on frequency and clean. The bad thing about that is that my mind tells me that I would NOT be very popular. That I would PROBABLY be "run out of town" because I objected to doing what I consider to be "boogering up" radios.... or... butchering them.

So... I have just been one of those that amuses myself at home and dreams of "what might have been"!!!!

So.... here I am..... an OLD GOAT.... who prefers doing it the right way.

Now..... what I need to do is.... remember why it was I posted this!!!!!!!

 

[brandon7861]

KNOWING that "peak and tune" thinking in the repair business creates "splatter boxes" I would probably be the one who would NOT do mods on radios. Rather... I would align them properly to be on frequency and clean. The bad thing about that is that my mind tells me that I would NOT be very popular. That I would PROBABLY be "run out of town" because I objected to doing what I consider to be "boogering up" radios.... or... butchering them.

I think you would be fine. Not everyone who walks into a shop asks for their radio to be butchered. You could be the guy that does it right while the other guys do the bad mods at their bench. It wouldn't take long for the shop (and the customers) to see which way is better. Imagine how many times they run into problems that they have no clue how to solve. You would be busy in a shop like that, not run out of town. "Techs" who butcher radios are only loud because they have to be to stay in business.

I don't work on radios as a source of income, just one here and there for myself or one of 3 friends in the hobby. I don't have near the experience as some of the other people here, probably never will, but as I learn this stuff, I admit there are some beneficial mods that can be done like variable DK's and swing mods done right. The only problem is that most of what would make sense to do would require such significant changes that it involves redesigning entire circuits. No cheap CB is worth that when a better radio is cheaper. I'm not against mods, I'm just against those who do them with only ignorance and bad intentions with nothing but a watt meter for proof.

There will always be Dunning-Kruger Techs with golden screwdrivers. Just like there are countless non-chemist meth cooks following a recipe from the internet, a bad mod posted online becomes the next guy's big opportunity. That will never go away.

 

[Lkaskel]

JUST to describe the weird space I am in!!!! I went to DeVry - Dallas in 1975 in the Degree program. Right after I got my ASEET I was hired on at the NASA JSC to work in the Shuttle Mission Simulator facility where the crews trained.

I took off on a path at work that led me to move into their operating systems group about 9 years after I joined. So NOW I was in software! Later hired on with a Real Time Computer company and served as an Operating Systems Internals Analyst for 18 years. Then 15 more years as a Java programmer. Now.... finally retired!

In retirement I am aiming to "get back to my electronics. I always loved it. I chose to set up a fairly well appointed bench and collect CB radio hulks to align/repair as needed JUST as a HOBBY. But I wanted to do it right (IMHO) by studying deep and actually learning how the circuits actually worked. I have become what I consider a "clean spectrum freak" and I DO have a spectrum analyzer (2 actually!) and LEARNED that "maxing the power meter needle" is not anywhere CLOSE to being the best a radio can do! I know that "splatter boxes" LOOK like they have more power....but it is ALL OFF FREQUENCY.

So why am I commenting here?

I actually think it would be nice to just be an employee in somebody's shop and repair these things to the best of my ability. But I have a problem.....

KNOWING that "peak and tune" thinking in the repair business creates "splatter boxes" I would probably be the one who would NOT do mods on radios. Rather... I would align them properly to be on frequency and clean. The bad thing about that is that my mind tells me that I would NOT be very popular. That I would PROBABLY be "run out of town" because I objected to doing what I consider to be "boogering up" radios.... or... butchering them.

So... I have just been one of those that amuses myself at home and dreams of "what might have been"!!!!

So.... here I am..... an OLD GOAT.... who prefers doing it the right way.

Now..... what I need to do is.... remember why it was I posted this!!!!!!!

Well said!! When I retire in a few years I would also love to work in a shop with other folks fixing radios but mainly for the company. I too started my career in electronics at Bendix Aerospace, went into management, forgot everything I knew and learned and now am trying to remember my name. I think my radio community appreciates me but I still will not mod any radio outside of the clarifier and they now understand that. In fact, the radios with mods are the hardest for me to fix. Is it a problem with the basic radio or is the mod the problem? I do get a kick out of figuring something out and getting a radio back on air. Funny enough, I think what I do better than other folks in my area is solder. Because I was trained to solder to mil spec levels and had the opportunity to do it every day for years earlier in my career I have that advantage. When I get a radio that was worked on by someone else, I think that if they were better with a soldering iron they might have more success.

I will say that without this group here I would never be able to fix many radios that hit my bench. I sincerely appreciate each of you!!

 

[fourstringburn]

So what was the point to this thread?

Another I'm the best CB tech with no real technical training but I can can tweak and peak and solder parts better than anyone?

If the OP can design and build a radio and improve on the design where it's not necessary to do all those mods many users just have to get done, that would be impressive.

Other than that, we heard all this before.

 

[TM86]

So what was the point to this thread?

Pretty sure OP was just trying to blow off some steam.

But I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Hawkeye351]

I was just having a rant about a local drunk comparing me to the old "tech" (had no degree, college education in the field either) which is deceased now, although I'm the one putting all these limiters back in, removing all the junk swing mods from these radios and getting these radios back where they should be that he did. Not sure where it went from there.

Again, I'm no licensed tech (just a General class Amateur license holder), I have no degree or college education in this field, ITS JUST A HOBBY (from over 30+ years in radios) that I like, and I help others out with what I know.

Some claim this thread is about one so called "tech" claiming to be better than another "tech". I never said I was better than anyone in anything, I just ranted about being compared to someone else in my area that does it wrong in my opinion.

 

[doffo]

I can relate to where the OP is coming from....

I am for sure not a tech by definition.... As today I managed to burn an amp.

Couldn't tell you what went wrong, but 100% on me as I was doing my best to follow instructions but something went wrong.

On a good day, I know not to clip limiters and turn the AMC potentiometer all the way up. I actually was able to bring back a Cobra 148 GTL a friend gave me while in Nevada. Though he only said it had a bad final, it turns out that though it was missing, someone connected the radio backwards and burned up some stuff inside. Replaced the diode, put in a new fina, set the driver/final bias, and she was singing once again...

At the end of the day, lets not look into this too far in. My old man was a mechanic for a local cattle lot for the last 30+ years, and barely retired as of last December.... No certificates and nothing to show on pen and paper, but he sure does a hell of a job on repairs on the old farm trucks and equipment. Countless times when stuff was brought in from other ranches to see if he could fix it, and nailed it every time on what was wrong. My favorite one I recall years ago was when they brought in a belly dump to see on why it wasnt opening up... My old man grabbed a multimeter and poked around for a couple minutes, and told them they have a bad ground connection... Cleaned up the connection for it and whala! It works again...

Is he a mechanic? I consider it and whomever knows him, but to the rest of the world he is not.

Lets all enjoy the radio and keep doing what we can to fix them.

 

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I had to cut this post down only to get to the point about a very real arrogant person.

He has the paper?
He actually holds a Technician Class Ham license that he has hung on his wall. Knowing very well that many non-hams are ignorant to whatever he says. When customers visit him he shows his license, and claims to be a tech that can work on there equipment. He can't claim to be a tech if he moves up to and has a General Class license, but then he also claims that he will talk on any ham frequency he wants.

All I can say is learn every part of how a radio works, learn to read schematics, compare schematics with other radios, learn to spell the word "probably' is not "prolly", and most of all be nice to others.

73

 

[TM86]

...and most of all be nice to others.

Seriously? If everybody did that...

Well, it would be really cool, actually.

 

[doffo]

Seriously? If everybody did that...

Well, it would be really cool, actually.

If it wasn't For CB radio, I would of never ever been interested in ham radio...

 

[BC Coyote]

I was just having a rant about a local drunk comparing me to the old "tech"

I think this entire thread is a very good reminder to think before posting. Or at the very least make certain you REALLY want to post something before hitting the "post" button.
I get that we all have a need to blow off steam sometimes; but ranting on a public forum may result in three pages of strong feelings and at the end of the three pages you may need to blow off more steam than you had when you started!

 

[nomadradio]

Now and again I wish for a T-shirt that says "I WAS the future!".

But I'm way too accustomed to a shirt with two pockets. Probably wouldn't wear it.

73

 

[Johnny Waggoner]

I had to cut this post down only to get to the point about a very real arrogant person.

He has the paper?
He actually holds a Technician Class Ham license that he has hung on his wall. Knowing very well that many non-hams are ignorant to whatever he says. When customers visit him he shows his license, and claims to be a tech that can work on there equipment. He can't claim to be a tech if he moves up to and has a General Class license, but then he also claims that he will talk on any ham frequency he wants.

All I can say is learn every part of how a radio works, learn to read schematics, compare schematics with other radios, learn to spell the word "probably' is not "prolly", and most of all be nice to others.

73

I remember those days as a N/C then the tech+ then on to general. That all crashed for me when my Friend and Elmer past away. You did hit the nail on the head with the "Be Nice" I try and live like that now. Take care.

 

[hackindave_2001]

I'll throw my 2 cents in here too. I got my "radio training" in a crash course in the Army as a RTO before being shipped to 'nam. Several years later I got into CB radios. I had extra channels added to my radio and became friends with the guy that did the mod. Since I had some radio knowledge, he let me help him. Couple of years later the landlord jacked up the rent and he moved his shop to his house. Then came a divorce. I bought him out and setup at my house. I never removed limiters, never ran modulation over 100%. Always checked the output on the scope for flat top. And would get max power, then back down at least 2 watts so as not to kill the radio. Also all mods and adjustment's were put on the inside of the radio for the next guy to know what I did. Never had a "tech" license. ust knew what I was doing with common sense