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ajw2685
Guest
I am trying to get the most out of my Uniden 520XL and for modulation it says cut d14. I haven't even taken the cover off yet but if it is a resistor or something, do I just cut one leg? Or what do I do?
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Dont cut it.. 'cutting' things only makes your radio swing more on the meter...in reality...its not helping how it sounds. Too much modulation is Not a Good thing.
Uniden didnt put 'extra' parts in there to hinder its performance -
I'm sure somebody will be along to help ya with the RIGHT way to peak & tune that radio..
Uniden didnt put 'extra' parts in there to hinder its performance -
I'm sure somebody will be along to help ya with the RIGHT way to peak & tune that radio..
lords
Active Member
ajw2685 said:
that D for D14 is a diode its better if your going to clip something clip an am resistor(R??) and reset the output and bias
KyPoohCDX618 said:
I mean no harm, but like the man said, if the builder (Uniden) knows anything at all about designing and making these things, WHY do we think WE can do it better by clipping and snipping things?
These guys, likely, are RF engineers that went to school to learn to build electronic devices, and we feel that their efforts are all in vain because we know MORE than they do about what needs to be in there ! More than likely, when we start making like a hedgetrimmer and clip this and snip that, that radio will sound absolutely HORRIBLE! Is the objective to pass intelligence over the airwaves OR just be LOUD and muffled? It will SOUND like a hedge trimmer was in there!! :twisted: 73
CWM
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ajw2685
Guest
I am just trying to get 100% modulation and get it to deadkey 2-3 swatts and swing its little heart out. I am building a project setup with a stinger board. I have heard you can get 12-15 watts out of this thing cleanly. This is an experiment to teach myself how to solder and teach myself how to tune/peak.
lords
Active Member
if that is the AD-203 stinger board you can get a low keyup and swing 100+ watts out of it...and if you want good mod without clipping just change a resistor or readjust a VR!ajw2685 said:
ya good one C W Morse RF engineers....right!
a lot of radios can be clipped and or parts changed and tamed for a nice swing with no muffled sound ....
now why in gods earth would an RF engineer tell you this...
ajw2685 said:
It will do that swing, but it will be dirty as hell. I had one, it was clipped and it would splatter a channel on either side of it.
The finals can run like that all day without burning up, but they won't be anything near to clean. If you want clean, don't clip that radio.
Also if you are tweaking that radio, you will need to re-align it so the voltages are back in spec again or it will sound like garbage.
Uniden 520 ? ......."Much ado about nothing" comes to mind here. If it's one with D-14 in it ? use the radio with it's mic as is , get radio checks from somebody you know , then clip D-14 and let them be the judge of it.If they don't like it or they sound like they do ? then do your thing. You want 100% modualtion ? You got the meters you need to tell you this ? You can also put a resistor inline with the diode to bring it to 100% if that's what your truly looking for. All that has been said above is true , but it's also not a perfect cb world. Some like what they like weather or not it's perfect or not. I've been through many of these radios in my time and very few of them went that much over 100% after clipping the diode , but IM also a fan of swing kits as well , so there went that idea from the get go. You can also put a small switch inline with the diode to turn it on and off , (that would be the best way to get a honest radio check from one of your home boys) Now that you got your scalding on why you shouldn't clip the diode , maybe now you can have a little fun and figure it out some things yourself ? Those little back pocket radios will work just fine out of there boxes and sound very good on there little 1000 ohm stock mic's that come with them. All's I can say after all of this is that I hope you have a decent well tuned antenna to go with everything else. Have fun !
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ajw2685
Guest
I keep reading about swing kits and you can get parts at Radio Shack for pennies. How do I build one? Or can I buy one?
you can go through the mod's section of this Forum and pretty much get all the answers you need.
ajw2685 said:
Don't bother with swing kits unless your planning on running an amp. Sorry Switchkit... I know you really like swingkits.... on't take it personal.
Anyhow, a swing kit does keep all the carrier power an increase the swing. It works backwards.... it will give you more swing.... but it does it by DECREASING the carrier power.
If your not running an amp, and you use a swing kit, the only thing that will happen is make your signal overmodulated and lessen the tx power of the radio ( low carrier).
Carrier gives you range.... swing makes you loud ( to a point). You will get best performance if your putting out around 100% ( or a bit over if you want) modulated signal ( right amount of swing) and as much carrier power as the radio can put out.
The radio will work best if the modulation is around 100% and the radio is putting out max carrier power (deadkey).
That will make your radio put out max power and range.
If you want to check out swing kits and play around with them for fun or for the sake of checking them out....... go for it. But a swing kit is better used for driving an amp.
Try things out and experiment.... but just don't decrease tx range just so you can increase audio distortion.
You can put a swing kit in that radio if you wanted.... and if you feel like doing it and experimenting.... I say try it out.
Same thing goes with clipping the radio...... realistically, if your going to be using the stock mike you won't be overmodulating to bad. I doubt anyone will notice any distortion since even if you do go over 100% mod., it won't be by much. Normally, the human ear percieves the distortion from overmod. as an increase in loudness. Usually you have to overmodulate quite a bit before anyone starts to pick up the distortion. You won't be able to get to that point with the stock mic.
Try it out.... ask guys how the radio sounds with the diode out... turn on a second radio and listen to it yourself. You can alway solder the diode back in. Overmodulating a bit is fine if your in a mobile. The only way you will put out alot of distortion by clipping is if you use a power mic, increase your swing, or lower your carrier. But if you have a stock mic and stock power.... try clipping it if you want.
Experiment and enjoy.
I personally see no other reason for them other then for amplifier use. Over modulation is one thing concerning scopes , as any clipped radio or swing kitted radio can still be turned down and depending on the microphone used , will still sound very good to the naked ear when set right. IM not going to get into the do's and don'ts here or why this is that way or this is another way or why or why not this should be that way.I don't talk to machines , I talk to people, and no matter what I use at any given time , if I should sound like shit , IM very sure that one would let me know if I did. It surely doesn't matter what I care about the way somebody else might sound , some folks ain't happy if there not overly modulated and bleeding every which way but loose......not my problem. whatever the case may be ? Clipped diode or swing kitted , you can still make those radios sound very nice . There is truly a happy medium within what is wrong and what is right. You either sound like shit or you sound good. The choice is yours and or whomever it is your talking to.
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ajw2685
Guest
My goal with this radio was to experiment with it. In the end, I just want to be able to drive a little stinger board with it. This purpose of this radio is close distance communication, nothing more, nothing less. It is simply for talking to my brother and friends when I am around home. If I get 5 miles out of this thinkg I would be happy. I just want to experiment with the stinger board. The AD203 likes 2-4 watts input. My goal is to get a low deadkey, around 3 watts and get as much out up top as I can. Apparently you can get 15 watts out of this little thing. I am shooting for 12. According to everything I have read, this should be good for a 10 watt deadkey and a 30-35 watt swing, perfect for what I want. My next project after this one is modding a 29 from start to finish.
There you go dude ! Live and learn and try and have some fun while your at it. Bushy knows his stuff fairly well , nothing wrong with doing it by the numbers. With a (GOOD ANTENNA) and some good open air , IM very sure that 520 would make a fine 5 mile trip out of the box as long as DX wasn't breaking your meter.
Switch Kit said:There you go dude ! Live and learn and try and have some fun while your at it. Bushy knows his stuff fairly well , nothing wrong with doing it by the numbers. With a (GOOD ANTENNA) and some good open air , IM very sure that 520 would make a fine 5 mile trip out of the box as long as DX wasn't breaking your meter.
You put out alot of pretty good advice yourself..... and your not afraid to experiment and try things out.
You've done alot with swing kits and stuff... I just didn't want you getting the wrong idea.