I made sure not to make the final bias
Nick, im not quite sure what you mean by this, as there is no bias control for the driver or final in an AM only radio.
also, you did not answer my question about L11.
if L11 has been touched AT ALL, then there is a good chance that your amp will not work right with that radio no matter what you do.
i do agree with 91Cdriver that having a good tech do the work inside the radio for you is the best, surest route to getting the radio to do what you want it to.
i also understand the die-hard DIY mentality, and i dont think that we should just leave you in the lurch just because you've never done it before.
heck, i did my first radio mods with only a book, a soldering iron, and a pair of diagonal cutters!
(i do not recommend this method as it eventually led to the demise of a 142GTL :blushing: )
with that said, here is the disclaimer:
i have no idea how good you are with soldering, tuning, working with tools, having steady hands, or correctly interpreting a set of instructions, so if you smoke your radio, and it could happen, that is on you.
if you were working on a classic CB that is no longer made, then i would discourage you from doing the work yourself, but you are working on a hundred dollar radio that you can go out and buy again if need be.
oh, and as for whether or not to get another radio, once you are in this hobby for a while, that will be a moot point, as you will stop looking for reasons to buy radios, and will buy them just "because".
that lil wil is a piece of crap antenna. junk it.
the predator 10K is obviously a good antenna, but might be a bit cumbersome to leave on the car all the time.
i would suggest a wilson 1000 or a wilson 5000 or a K40. there are plenty of other good antennas, those are just some well known ones that are good.
just ask here if you are thinking of a different one.
the inside of your radio is just like the inside of a cobra 29LTD.
here is an article that describes exactly how to lower your deadkey while maintaining the full modulation capabilities of the radio.
Cobra 29 LTD super modulation modification
read through the whole article a couple of times and then come back here and ask about anything you dont understand.
you want to give the radio a tune up before you do the mod, so that the deadkey that you select will stay the same.
hopefully you havent messed with L19, L23, L20, and L21.
if you have, then it might be time to send the radio to a shop and have it re tuned, and have the deadkey mod done there.
set the radio to channel 20, dynamike all the way up (clockwise). wattmeter connected between radio and antenna.
key the mic, and while saying "ahhhh" into the mic in a steady voice, tune L14 for maximum output.
now turn the dynamike to about half way, and again while saying "ahhhh" into the mic, turn VR4 all the way one way, then all the way the other way.
set it at whichever end gives you the most watts out on your meter.
this assumes that you havent clipped D11. if you have, put it back to stock before doing this.
never whistle into your mic to get wattage readings. they will be somewhat misleading. well, unless your natural voice sounds like a high pitched whistle, in which case you should be very popular on the CB radio! LOL
after doing this little tune up, then do the mod i linked you to.
as for the amp, we can get further into it when you get it, but for now, know that you will need to run an 8 gauge wire right to the battery positive terminal.
WARNING!!!!!!!!
you MUST put a fuse (say 40 amps) right at the battery terminal end of the wire for fire safety.
failure to do this could cause bodily harm to you and your passengers.
run this "positive" wire through the firewall to where you will have the amp mounted.
the ground wire from the amp needs to be connected to the vehicle body, and also to the frame. this wire should be kept to about a foot long if at all possible. two feet is ok, but i wouldnt want to go more than that.
in my truck, i drilled a hole in the floor of the cab behind the seat, ran a bolt through that hole, connected the ground wire of the amp to the top side of the bolt inside the truck, and then connected a 1" wide braided ground strap to the underside of the bolt. the other end of the ground strap was bolted to the frame of the vehicle.
you see, we need a DC ground for the amp to turn on, but we also want a good RF ground, and they are not the same thing.
a piece of copper wire is fine for a DC ground but makes a lousy RF ground.
RF travels on the surface of a conductor, and as such, surface area is all important when it comes to proper RF grounding.
you will also need to get a good quality coax cable jumper to connect the radio to the amp.
good quality means stay as far as you can from Radio shack, and be very careful in truck stops.
people will tell you that you need certain lengths of coax cable for it to all work, but thats a myth.
there are certain specific lengths that can cause less than accurate SWR readings, but for the most part length shouldnt matter.
i would make the jumper between the radio and the amp 3 feet or longer though. just trust me on that one and dont make me explain it all. LOL
ok, this should be enough to keep you busy for a while, and hopefully you will come up with some specific questions for us to answer while you are planning your attack.
good luck,
LC
