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Questions

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dodgelover93

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Windsor,On
can I use the Pyramid PS7KX 5 Amp Power Supply on my cobra 18 wxst 2 cb or will i blow a fews ? Also im using the ps3k pyramid power supply now .. if i upgrade to the 7kx pyramid will I be able to transience farther ?

thanks . Also will i get more watts on the swr meeter if i upgrade my power supply as im only getting about 3 watts and I should be getting around 4 watts...
 

mmckenna

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@ Dodgelover93:

Probably should start your own thread, but here ya' go:

You can use the 5 amp power supply if it's 12 volts. It shouldn't blow a fuse if it's wired correctly.

The difference between your 3 amp power supply and your 5 amp power supply is how much current they can supply to the load. It will have zero impact on radio performance.

Seeing 3 watts on your SWR meter isn't an issue. Here's why:
- low end/consumer SWR meters are not super accurate. It's "good enough", but take the readings with a grain or two of salt.
- As the CB radios go down the assembly line, someone tweaks them to get the "good enough". That can mean a lot of different things, 2.5 watts, 3 watts, 3.5 watts, all considered "acceptable". If you tested a bunch of identical radios, you'd likely see all of them running slightly different. Basically the manufacturer is trying to get them working reasonably well but keep them inside the limits of the FCC CB rules.

In the "real world", you won't be able to tell the difference between a 3 watt CB radio and a radio running 4 watts. The wattage doesn't impact radio coverage as much as you might think. The 1 watt difference is tiny.
If you are really concerned about radio coverage, you'd want to focus more on receiver performance, rather than just transmitter numbers. A sensitive receiver will make for a nicer radio. Throwing power at the transmit side doesn't make much of a difference unless you are making really large (read: illegal) steps in RF power.

In other words, I'd much rather have a 2 watt CB with a really good receiver than a 4 watt CB with a crappy receiver.
 

dodgelover93

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Windsor,On
CB RANGE

Thanks for the reply ...

I know I'm getting roughly 3 watts on the swr meter and only people who are close to me can hear me and talk to me ..
How would I be able to transeeve better ... I'm using a indoor 4 foot fire stik antenna thats 1000 watts ...I just ordered the POWER / Tornado ECHO Mic for CB DM1000 ...Will the DM1000 power echo mic send feather distance since its a Power mic ? What does power mics do exactly

I have the antenna by window.. Would you be able give me a few pointer for feather trancieving thanks..

also my brother ordered the PYRAMID PS4KX I have the ps3kx I'll test the PS4kX when my older bro KIDX gets it .. if it works better ill buy one for my self ...

~~~SORRY FOR ALL QUESTIONS~~ I just want the best set up I can get wile im using it indoor..thanks..
 

mmckenna

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You need to get the antenna outside and up high. Putting an antenna inside a structure is going to severely limit it's performance.
Inside your home you have electrical wiring, plumbing, metal heating ducts, foil backed insulation/vapor barrier, metal appliances, etc. All those things will absorb or block RF energy.

The "1000 watt" antenna doesn't really mean anything. It's the manufacturers way of trying to talk up the product. Your CB is still only running 3 watts.

Echo mics won't really improve range. They will boost audio, which can increase modulation levels and audio, but that won't increase the power of your radio, except by increasing the modulation levels. If you crank them up too high, you can actually distort your audio bad enough to make it unintelligible.

I understand you may be unable to get the antenna outdoors. That's going to severely limit what you can do. The best you can do is put the antenna as close to a window as you can, or if possible, out on a balcony.

Other thing you could try, which may not be permitted by the owner, would be to try a wire antenna. Usually they are low profile enough they go unnoticed. Building a simple wire dipole antenna cut to work on the CB band and getting it outside will likely help. Problem is you may still upset the landlord.

If you really want to talk to someone, maybe this might be a good time to get into amateur radio. You can use higher frequencies, like 2 meter VHF or 70 centimeter UHF. Those use much smaller antennas. Utilizing the repeaters that are out there, you can easily talk over a very wide area. In Windsor, you shouldn't have any problem finding others to talk to on the amateur bands.
Check around and see if there is a local amateur radio club you can talk to. Some of them will do licensing classes and help with the training. Might be a better option in your case than the CB.
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
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Windsor,On
cb antenna

Thanks for the info I can buy a out door base antenna cause my parrents own the house and my dad has to set it up outside for me..Whats the best out door antenna and the best price..
 

mmckenna

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I can't answer that. I haven't been on CB in a decade or more.

Good antennas are important, but so is the coaxial cable you use to connect it. Whatever you chose, make sure you look at it as a complete system, antenna + coax cable + radio = the system. If any part of your system is weak, the whole system is weak.

A 3 to 4 watt radio into a good antenna with good coax cable should greatly improve your coverage. Making sure to get the antenna up high and in the clear will be important. This might mean mounting it on or above the roof.
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
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Location
Windsor,On
If I get the antenna thats in the link i posted do I have to buy any more attachments to set it up like connectors for rg8 cable or do I have to buy a role of rg8 cable to reach from my cb to out side?
it comes with ground plane.. I tride looking it up but I dont wanna buy the antenna and find out i gfotta buy more stuff for it..

https://www.amazon.ca/Solarcon-17-F...-1&keywords=base+cb+antenna+with+ground+plane
 

greusome1

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Aug 24, 2016
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23
looks good

looks good to me!.. might have to buy about 50 feet of coax and connectors.. and know how to solder.
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
Messages
48
Location
Windsor,On
Wy Solder I thought i buy the connector that connects two coaxes together and make the cable longer then buy 50 feet of cable then plug it into my cb radio after I set up the fiberglass wip and ground plane?

what would I have to solder?
is there a base antenna i just set up and plug cable into and run it to my cb with out soldering?
 

mmckenna

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They need to be soldered, that's how the connectors are held in place. Not soldering will cause an intermittent connection and likely lead to damage over time.

If you are not comfortable soldering or don't have a 100 to 150 watt soldering iron, don't even attempt to do it yourself. While these connectors are not difficult to install, they do take a hot soldering iron and some skill. Doing it incorrectly will give you no end of headaches.

Spend the extra few bucks and purchase coaxial cable with pre-installed connectors. They'll do it correctly and test it out before sending it. While it's an extra cost, it's worth it in your case.

Here's 50 feet of pre terminated PL-259 connectors on LMR-400. LMR-400 is a higher performance cable than the RG-8. http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/lmr400-50-pl259-6781.html

You can create custom cables here: http://www.theantennafarm.com/catal...r-400-9913-cable-395/low-loss-rg-8-cable-407/

The antenna linked to should work fine. Just pay attention to proper installation guidelines and make sure you properly weather seal your outdoor coax connections. PL-259 connectors are NOT waterproof and getting water inside the connector and/or cable will destroy it quickly.
 

KC4RAF

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Davenport,Fl.- home to me and the gators and the s
What 'mmckenna' posted says it all! Something to remember is this; you can have a cheap transceiver, but the antenna and coax not cheap stuff, will give you the best signal output and receive.
And I totally agree with him also, if you can not solder, then buy it already built in or have them connect it. A poorly installed 259 connector has caused more headaches than just about any other problem.
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
Messages
48
Location
Windsor,On
antennas.

I for got to mention i already got the uniden bct15x scanner and the cobra 18wxst 2 cb radio I'm just looking for the best simple antenna setups i can get for both radios. Thanks for the help..
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
Messages
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Location
Windsor,On
question

I also noticed about 1 and a half weeks after my older brother bought the pyramid ps3kx power suply he gave me it with the cobra 18 wxst2 and the power suply is making a high frequency sound only when I key up the mic..Is it sapoost to do that cause my brother has the ps4kx pyramid power suply it doesnt make any noice..I checked my fuse in power suply looks fine..
 

jonwienke

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VA
With a switching power supply, sometimes the power transistor switching frequency is in the audible range. If so, the inductors in the power circuit may vibrate at the switching frequency. The vibration will be greater under load. You hear the same thing from most cordless electric drills--a high-pitched noise that gets louder when the drill is under load. It's similar to the hum you hear from a large transformer, but at the transistor switching frequency instead of the AC power frequency.

Unless you are overloading the power supply, the noise is probably normal.
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
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Location
Windsor,On
CB QUESTION

Thanks for helping..

.. I'm using a pyramid ps3kx its only a 2.5 amp power suply on my cobra 18 wxst2 cb should I upgrade to the 3 amp power suply pyramid ps4kx .. I'm also getting a hum noice from my cb when I key up but i'm thinking it may be my antenna since I have a mag mount k30 and using it in my house... I bought the Workman B100 base 39'' tall antenna .I just waiting for it to arrive in mail..Could it be my antenna making the cb hum since its not grounded? I'm also getting 3 on my swr with k30 magmount .. is that bad what should Ido wait for the out side 39'' antenna? would my new Workman B100 antenna stop my humming ? i aalso tride using the indoor fire stik antenna and my cb still hums when I key up .. could it be I'm to close to the cb with antenna?
 

K7MEM

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Dec 16, 2013
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422
Location
Swartz Creek, Michigan
With a switching power supply, sometimes the power transistor switching frequency is in the audible range. If so, the inductors in the power circuit may vibrate at the switching frequency. The vibration will be greater under load. You hear the same thing from most cordless electric drills--a high-pitched noise that gets louder when the drill is under load. It's similar to the hum you hear from a large transformer, but at the transistor switching frequency instead of the AC power frequency.

Unless you are overloading the power supply, the noise is probably normal.

That was my thought initially, until I looked up the manual on the power supply. The Pyramid PS3KX and PS3KX power supplies are not switchers. They are linear power supplies.

Linear power supplies can also break into oscillation. Linear supplies use feedback from the output to control the regulator transistors. If the output is not bypassed properly, it can break into oscillation at certain current drains.

The radio only draws 1.4 Amps in transmit, so the 2 Amp continuous (3 Amp peak) output of the power supply should be fine. The power supply already has a 100 uF capacitor across the output terminals. To try and eliminate the oscillation, I would try putting a 220 uF capacitor, in series with a 1 Ohm resistor, across the output terminals. This is a damping circuit that should take care of oscillations up to about 1700 Hz. If the oscillation is higher, as second damping circuit with a 33 uF tantalum capacitor, with a 0.2 Ohm resistor in series, should take care of oscillations up to about 4500 Hz.

Martin - K7MEM
 

dodgelover93

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Aug 23, 2016
Messages
48
Location
Windsor,On
cb topic

oh and i just remembered that Canada post had delivered ,my ps3kx pyramid power supply and they drooped it of my fence in my yard roughly 5 feet above ground .. i noticed a wining noice about a week after using it .. could that be wy its making high frequency hum..
 
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