+1 on all of this. Also see "golden screwdriver.":lol:If you are referring to the "peak and tune" jobs that get sold, then it really varies depending on who's doing the work.
Some of the guys actually use service monitors and do a decent job. They either bring the radio up to spec, or go a bit beyond to squeeze a few extra watts out of it.
Some guys will just hook up an SWR meter and start tweaking pots, spreading coils until the power level rises, which isn't the way to do it. It usually results in splatter all over the adjacent channels.
It's usually people just looking for more RF power, thinking that's the solution to all of their range/coverage issues. These are often the same people running magnetic mount antennas, physically short antennas, antennas that haven't been properly tuned, etc.
Steer clear of any "peaked and tuned" radios. There is nothing wrong with a factory tuned radio. Unless it is very ancient radio, there is nothing that should require "peaking and tuning" by those tweakers.+1 on all of this. Also see "golden screwdriver."[emoji38]
No as for magnet mount antennas, mine works fine. Actually real good. No one can prove me otherwise.
It was early-'70s to mid-'80s for me and with a couple of notable exceptions I totally agree with you. There was one guy in the area who would work on radios and do it right. They didn't overmodulate or splatter. They just sounded really good when he was done, and received equally well. Sadly, splatter and overmodulation had come to be what many people thought they wanted. The more RF garbage your CB spewed, the better.:roll:I was in and out of CB through the mid 60's ~ late 70's. The best signals/audio came from the newbies that just bought a new CB, took it out of the box, and turned it on! Two weeks later, after all the kitchen-table radio techs got a hold of it, it worked, and sounded like crap!
CB radios from the factory had 5 watts output. Maybe they could be tuned to 10 watts or double your normal output. In ham radio, if you double the effective radiated output, thats only a 1/2 s unit increase. Barely discernible to the human ear. Hardly worth messing with.
Nominal was 5W input, which usually equaled 3.5-4W output.i think was with the 23 channel units.
Nominal was 5W input, which usually equaled 3.5-4W output.
The FCC also has limits on the total power dissipation of the device used, so it would be difficult to get much power from it without burning it out. I think 10 watts is the limit, so given the efficiency, 4 or 5 watts will be it.The FCC changed transmitter measurement to output power back in the 70's or so. And decided that 4 watts was a good number that corresponded to 5 watts DC input to the final RF stage of a CB transmitter.
The FCC IS now very clear on the transmitter RF power output:
§ 95.410 (CB Rule 10) How much power may I use?
(a) Your CB station transmitter power output must not exceed the following values under any conditions:
AM (A3)—4 watts (carrier power), SSB—12 watts (peak envelope power)
Also solid state transmitters were becoming the standard of the industry, and measuring input power was more difficult. FCC changed to show actual transmit RF power output in most categories, sections, of the FCC rules. Made our job as two-way tech's easier. Just read the B1rd watt meter and record that on the service ticket.
The FCC also has limits on the total power dissipation of the device used, so it would be difficult to get much power from it without burning it out. I think 10 watts is the limit, so given the efficiency, 4 or 5 watts will be it.
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So I see nothing wrong with someone tuning or peaking a CB radio if they have adequate test equipment and knowledge to do so.