Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
That is very interesting. I am fascinated by RF power and always thought that the gain produced the watts. But like you said, if there is no current, then nothing is happening. I am slowly getting equipment together to be able to do my own alignments, and learning as I go. I always enjoy your posts, and like to follow along to see what the fix is.The "Truck Stop Tunes" actually takes gain away from the radio, in exchange for watt's. The watts are useless without the gain.
Think of gain of watts the same as you would think of amps of AC volts.
What good is 120v AC with 0 (zero) amps?
What good is the voltage if no amps are present?
Stick two fingers in an 120v AC outlet that has 0 amps, you'll get a shock, but it won't kill you.
Now stick two fingers in that same 120v AC outlet and apply 3 amps to that 120v, it'll knock you across the room and could kill you.
Now, with that being stated, what good is 50w without the gain to back it up?
The gain is the goal when tuning a radio, we've learned a lot throughout the years. The gain comes from the sensitivity, the sensitivity comes from the alignment.
Yes, hacking, jacking, molesting these radios, and removing the limiters will result in higher watt meter readings, but at the cost of the gain.
The synthesizer oscillators, carrier oscillators, VCO voltage and buffer(s) all play a major role in the gain of a radio. No special "secret" tricks to it.
Just my 2 cents on the situation with truck stop tunes.
Thanks,
Chris