Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
  • You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Retevis is giving away Radios for the New Year and Every Member is Eligible. Click Here to see the details!

Uniden Amplifier Hookup Question

I cannot do the super modulation mod (I don't have any soldering gear). Think I will just get a new radio and have it tuned for an amp setup. As for the antenna, I don't have the $$$ for a radio, amp and new antenna. Suggestions on radios? I was thinking about the General Lee or a Stryker. When I was on the Xforce amp website I saw a "competition cobra 29" looked interesting. Suggestions on radios guys?

73
Nick
 
If you are really interested in this hobby I suggest a Radio that has SSB capability.
I would stay away from the "Comp tuned Cobra"
That is going to be " tuned" ( i use that term very loosely) for the Keydown crowd.


73
Jeff
 
Thank you so much for your help loose cannon. I am staring a new job right now and also starting a new car payment. I don't have a lot of $ to spend, but I should have some to get a radio and amp within 10-20 days. Think I like the price tag on the Xforce amps, any suggestions on a radio would be much appreciated.

I'll let everyone know what I finally decide on.
Thanks
Nick
 
Suggestions for a radio with ssb?
Click to expand...

Personally I like the 2950DX series of radios for a couple of reasons:
Frequency coverage, with the radio expanded will cover 10/11/12 meters, this way if you want to go forward in the radio hobby you can study, go take the test and even with the entry level Lic you can work voice on the 10 meter band from 28.300 to 28.500.
If you want to continue you can study a bit more and get your Gen ticket, this will get you 10 and 12 meters.
Most good Cb antennas can be adjusted to work these bands as well, and the 2950 has the offsets so you can work repeaters on FM at the Top of Ten meters.
The radios are solid and offer good performance.
One more comment, if you decide you want to get a SSB radio, I would look at the TnT line of Amps by X-Force or Texas star.
The X Force amps are primarily Class C and it is well advised to run a Amp with The transistors Biased.
As L/C has said, study and read and as you learn, you will understand why.
Stay away from amps that have built in "driver sections" .
Above all, have fun and enjoy the hobby.


73
Jeff
 
i do understand about the budget.

some say that our hobby stands for Constantly Buying. :)

im guessing that you are looking to buy new, which is a good idea if you are just getting in to the hobby.

just so you know, that lil wil will handle 100-150 watts peak, it just doesnt get out very far.

also know that magnet mount antennas and linear amplifiers dont get along too well sometimes.
a hard mount is much better.

for a radio recommendation i think the Galaxy DX979 is a solid performer.
one nice thing about this radio is that it has a variable RF power control stock from the factory.
this means that you will be able to set the deadkey where you want it with no mods to the radio.
also very easy to walk you through a quick little tune up of the radio.
it will only involve turning a few pots.

as for where to get one, bellscb is a reputable place, but there are lots of other places you can also go.

for the amp, i like the TNT T250. for 220 bucks, it will perform well for you.

you could get both for under 400 bucks if you shop around.

if it were me, and the budget was a big concern, i would get the amp first, and find someone in your area to do the swing mod to the radio you have now.

depending on where you live, i might know of someone. PM me if you are interested in that.


also, you'll need to make sure that your alternator can handle the draw of the amp.
at full modulation, it could draw in excess of 40 amps, and if you have your AC and headlights on, and only have an 80 amp alternator, you could be in danger of over working it.

here is a piece of information that will help you keep your "powerhungryness" in check.

to gain 1 additional S unit on someone's receiver, you have to increase your transmit power by 4X.

that means that if you are putting out 100 watts, and you are hitting a certain station at S-5, you will have to put out 400 watts to get to S-6.
this is true no matter how much power you are using.

10,000 watts? yep, you'll need 40,000 watts to get another S unit.

the biggest bang for your buck is the jump from no amp to amp.
after that, the money required for small increases starts to get crazy.

good luck,
LC
 
I love the features of the 979, just not the drift on SSB. Now you have me worried about the hard mount and the alternator. I'm switching vehicles from a truck to a car soon, don't know if the car alternator can handle that. (I'll get back to you on that after I read the specs on the new car) I really don't/cant drill holes in my vehicle at this point and time. First I don't want to be putting any holes in my car and also I don't think I have the tools for it.

P.S every one thinks I am a newbie to this hobby, maybe because I said so about amateur radios when I first started putting threads out there. I am new to amplifiers NOT CB radios. Have had CBs for quite awhile, just have never had a need/want for an amplifier.

73
Nick
 
really no need to spend more than the DX979 costs.

99% of radios made today are the same in the inside, so the only difference is in the bells and whistles.
do you want a freq counter?
echo?
more frequencies than just the regular 40 channels? (they are cool, but there's not too many people using them anymore)

you will probably be fine with the 80 amp alternator, but if there was a 100 amp model offered, that would provide you with all the "extra room" you would need.

LC
 
LC, I feel like I'm wasting your time, sorry I had no idea about the alternator requirements. Also, with no hard mount I have my doubts about this getting off the ground. What about radios with internal amps? Also, is there a way to fix the drift problems on the 979?

Thanks for your help
Nick
 
if you are learning something then you are not wasting my time at all.

i actually think that a high powered mobile might be just the thing for you.

something that does about 100 watts PEP, or at least less than 150 watts PEP, and you should be fine with your stock alternator.

who knows, you may have one of those installs where everything just works right the first time.

i only mentioned all the possibilities so you would be making an informed decision.

as for the drift of the DX979, it is no more of an issue than with any other SSB radio made by galaxy, ranger, magnum, or the other companies that use the same PC board design.

yes, they are not as "solid" as the great radios of the late 70's and 80's when CB garnered some respect in the electronics world, but they will work ok nonetheless.

yes, you could find a good used radio like a 148GTL (side mic only!) or a uniden grant XL, or something like that, but the radios are old, and old radios are like old cars.
problems do crop up.
thats why im suggesting to you to buy new.

i think this radio would be perfect for you:
DX 94 HP

have them do the frequency conversion/ tune up, and the receiver mod and you are still at about 400 bucks.

i believe you would be very happy with this radio and your predator 10K.

you can deal with the mag mount for now, it should work fine, but i would look into doing a hard mount to the roof of the vehicle at some point in the future, if you find yourself getting hard core into the hobby.

good luck,
please feel free to ask anything here, or PM me.
LC
 
Thanks LC I was just looking at the Galaxy 99v2 last night, the 94 looks even better. Explain the me what you would need for a hard mount.
 
in the most basic sense, you just need to be able to remove the headliner from the vehicle, drill a 5/8-3/4" hole in the center of the roof (depending on which mount you choose) and be able to route the coax from the mount down to the radio.

some vehicles are really easy to do this on, others are complete pains in the butt.

LC
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.


      Top Bottom