Rci-2950dx-3

[Robb]

123kid:

Do what you want to do.
But here is thought or two.

You can always send the radio you have now - to a reliable shop to reverse the AM mods in it. This would be cheaper than buying another radio. Especially if you like it. Wouldn't cost that much to do - either. Certainly cheaper than buying another radio - that's for sure.

If you get another radio; then you might have to buy it new. Otherwise, you'll never know who may have been in there before and how it was hacked.

The Uniden 980 AM/SSB radio is proving to be a fine radio at a reasonable cost. But nothing wrong with a Superstar radio at a used price - so long that you can know for sure that it hasn't been hacked and in fair shape.

 

[123kid]

Im gonna run the 2950dx as is currently i dont think there is a loss of power because the power seems consistent on the pdc2 i think its just a meter issue.The heat may be to room temperature because now that i have a fan behind it it stays relatively cool.If i buy a edx it will be new and imight do the mod myself as long as i dont have to solder stuff and dont need a bunch of tools i should be alright i dont care for peaking it just want 11 meters

 

[The Mad Scientist]

if you leave that radio the "way it is' do not plan on having it operational for to long. the bottom line is that the so called tech you bought it from squeezed every last milliwatt out of it which was neither smart, nor called for, even if it is only to be used on 11 meters.

this is the kind of thing that is done for watt meter watchers, and has absolutly nothing to do with performance.

there is allot to be learned from the advise given in the prior posts. it is up to you to take it in.

and if not,

you WILL have to learn the hard way.

it is your radio, and your money,

the best of luck to you.

 

[123kid]

i can just bring back the rf power and run less watts which in turn would be like stock so its not hurting anything.The xtra power is there if i need it for a weak contact but if the radio didnt have tunable power then i would send it in.

 

[GI0ZGB]

RCI-2950DX3

I bought four 2950's recently, and every single one needed attention.
The SO-239 retaining nut was barely more than finger tight, and the TRX alignment needed attention too as did the TX output which measured between 5 and 8 watts PEP and 3 and 6w on AM/FM on 10m.
It seems to me that QC is being bypassed at the factory and the guys who once did that job are now packing the rigs onto trucks instead.
Heatsink dimensions are calculated to cope with standard output and when you modify beyond standard spec more heat will be generated, especially if you ragchew on AM or FM. Even rigs with a 100% duty cycle need a breather, typically 3 minutes on three minutes off for the fan cooled variety.
Also with the Ranger you need a good stable PSU as they can take a wobbler if their demands are not met. Set up correctly they are an excellent rig for SSB being pretty stable for what they are, and good performers on AM being high level modulation, which as we all know can be easily enhanced.
With all mods common sense must prevail, there's a line not to be crossed.

 

[jazzsinger]

Sigh...



What makes anyone think that they know better than the engineers that designed the radio, or the factory technicians that tuned it for final quality control?

In fairness there is many a mod for radios that do improve factory shortcomings or deliberate manufacturer corner cutting. which suggest a few guys out there, and on this forum for that matter, do know more/better than factory techs. obviously that doesn't apply to the multitude of want to be solder assasins.

as for techs tuning for final quality control, you'll find many radios aren't aligned anywhere near as accurately as they could be straight out the box and can be anywhere up to 1khz off frequency, the fact they are aligned in one climate and used in another may account for much of the frequency misalignment.the frequency circuits in many modern multimodes are very temperature sensitive.

 

[jazzsinger]

Heatsink dimensions are calculated to cope with standard output and when you modify beyond standard spec more heat will be generated, especially if you ragchew on AM or FM. Even rigs with a 100% duty cycle need a breather, typically 3 minutes on three minutes off for the fan cooled variety.

the biggest cause of mutilated radios, retards running extra power and talking pish for long periods without unkeying, classic recipe for disaster.

its no coincidence that those whose ego won't let them realise they are shite at electronics have the same ego that doesn't let them realise they talk too much pish too.

 

[VA3ES]

In fairness there is many a mod for radios that do improve factory shortcomings or deliberate manufacturer corner cutting. which suggest a few guys out there, and on this forum for that matter, do know more/better than factory techs. obviously that doesn't apply to the multitude of want to be solder assasins.

as for techs tuning for final quality control, you'll find many radios aren't aligned anywhere near as accurately as they could be straight out the box and can be anywhere up to 1khz off frequency, the fact they are aligned in one climate and used in another may account for much of the frequency misalignment.the frequency circuits in many modern multimodes are very temperature sensitive.

All the radios we are discussing, "export" or "10M" are designed and built to a price. Sure, one can perform performance enhancing mods that will improve certain aspects of the radio's performance, but not many. These radio are what they are. If you want better, by an amateur HF radio.

At the factory, today, they use line assemblers who are have a basic training in tuning the radios. As long as they conform to spec, they pass. Some factories have poor quality control, so radios get passed that shouldn't. Magnum suffered from this.

 

[123kid]

Radio

Its still holding up well and its a great skip talker i talk around the world with just a antron 99 30 feet up barefoot and local get out 90 miles at night sideband and 35 to 40 miles am.It had issues but i had it setup by a tech.It needed the ssb power brought up a little and it fixed the issue with the lower power output on lower frequencys.If i still go too low it doesnt swing much but i believe it do to my swr not being good in those ranges 1.5 and up.I have a 1.1 on 19 channel 1 a 1.3 and i can go almost to 28mhz till i hit a 1.5.Im very pleased with the radio paired with a galaxy desk mic and a 14 amp pyramid.I did mount a fan on the back i power off the same supply.Its quiet i took it from a old dvr.

 

[jazzsinger]

All the radios we are discussing, "export" or "10M" are designed and built to a price. Sure, one can perform performance enhancing mods that will improve certain aspects of the radio's performance, but not many. These radio are what they are. If you want better, by an amateur HF radio.

I wasn't reffering to mods that improve performance more mods that fix bad design flaws that the factories due to building to price never deal with,president jackson agc,superstar 158edx having the wrong caps fitted that strangle the audio,president grant coarse shift that only swings a couple of kc's, etc etc.


As for buying an amateur hf set, they are far from free from similar design flaws, yaesu ft 100 was a classic example of a factory fuckup.incidently they also are built to a price with many corners cut (read optional extras and some not so optional internally).that 100 watt keyup spike on the ic706 has taken out many a low drive amp on the unwary user,you can't tell me that's good design.



It would be nice if buying an hf set guaranteed constant service but we all know that ain't true. Like cb's and exports hf sets are what they are too,sure some are special,but then some cb's and exports are special too,trying to kid yourself buying hf avoids pitfalls is very naïve.

 

[Oatmeal]

The 2950dx uses a power supply of 13.8v, 20 amp to run it...and recommends the radio to dk 1 watt and swing 12-13 watts, no more than this.....this radio isn't for person who runs AM most of the time, but for a person who talks on SSB mostly...

I just looked at the review cb magazine did on it, and this is pretty much what he said about the dx model..

According to what I read on the 2950DX-3 the new radio is suppose to have a micropressor control that can be used one 2 ameature bands, instead of one....and this radio dont need much done to it to sound good....

I no these RCI radios are solid on SSB, no drift, ect...and there not a power house radio on AM.......alot of info out there on these radios for sue, most people complained about these radios was there not loud on AM like they thought it should be, that's how I felt about the 2995dx I used to run.....but anyways, I plan on getting me one of the new 2950dx-3 radios sometime myself..

 

[Tucker442]

One question I just have to ask why would you buy such a good SSB radio to talk on AM. There are a ton of AM only radios that kick ass and a lot cheaper too.

 

[space cowboy]

One question I just have to ask why would you buy such a good SSB radio to talk on AM. There are a ton of AM only radios that kick ass and a lot cheaper too.

because it's a bit dicey swapping out radios at 70 mph?