• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

Fired up my radio base station: Things pretty quiet

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
I put in a lot of work in the last few weeks.
Resurrected my 40-year-old A-99 on a 20-foot mast.
Bought some davis buryflex coax.
buried the cable, punched a hole through the wall.
Fired up my President Washington.
SWRs 1:1 @ channel 1 and >1.3 channel 40

THINGS ARE REAL QUIET on every band, AM, SSB and more....

I don't know.....one thing the middle section of the antenna moves on the hardware that connects the sections, but I did not mess with it.

any ideas?
 

Rt169Radio

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
2,959
Location
CT
How good of condition is the A-99 in? The middle section of the antenna that your talking about might be the Solarcon Twin Ring Adjust-A-Match tuning making it possible to tune the input to the antenna and obtain the optimum S.W.R. over a range of frequencies.

Not sure if you still have the manual for the antenna.

 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
How good of condition is the A-99 in? The middle section of the antenna that your talking about might be the Solarcon Twin Ring Adjust-A-Match tuning making it possible to tune the input to the antenna and obtain the optimum S.W.R. over a range of frequencies.

Not sure if you still have the manual for the antenna.

Thanks, it‘s not that.
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,622
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
any ideas?

Go through and recheck ALL of your connections. Take them apart, check for damage, clean them, reassemble.

Low SWR does not mean that everything with your antenna system is good, it just means most of the power is not making back to the radio. Usually that is a good thing, but low SWR with poor performance can also indicate a number of issues:
Bad connections
Short circuit between shield and center conductor
Water in the connectors
Corrosion
Loose/poor connections
 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
Go through and recheck ALL of your connections. Take them apart, check for damage, clean them, reassemble.

Low SWR does not mean that everything with your antenna system is good, it just means most of the power is not making back to the radio. Usually that is a good thing, but low SWR with poor performance can also indicate a number of issues:
Bad connections
Short circuit between shield and center conductor
Water in the connectors
Corrosion
Loose/poor connections
Brand new coax ( davis buryflex ), checked for continuity, no shorts in the connectors... Newly erected 20ft mast and a99. I have not grounded the antenna. will close proxity to household power circuit do anything?
 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
very quiet, or nothing at all ?
I hear static and what sounds like big ass linear coming from who knows where ....but no local chatter? gain all the way up. RF power says 5watts but i know it isn't putting out that much. Is 19 still the hiway channel?
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,622
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Brand new coax ( davis buryflex ), checked for continuity, no shorts in the connectors... Newly erected 20ft mast and a99. I have not grounded the antenna.



will close proxity to household power circuit do anything?

No. I saw your other post. The power wiring in metallic conduit is fine. If it wasn't metallic conduit, or it was something like Romex, you'd want a few inches separation, but that isn't your problem.

So, stupid question, but we gotta ask:
Do you have your RF gain knob cranked all the way up?
Squelch open?
Are you sure your radio is working correctly? As in, can you take it out in your car with another antenna and get it to work?

You need to start stepping through the system, one piece at a time, and try to sectionalize whatever fault is there. That'll help you start narrowing down the possibilities.
 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
No. I saw your other post. The power wiring in metallic conduit is fine. If it wasn't metallic conduit, or it was something like Romex, you'd want a few inches separation, but that isn't your problem.

So, stupid question, but we gotta ask:
Do you have your RF gain knob cranked all the way up?
Squelch open?
Are you sure your radio is working correctly? As in, can you take it out in your car with another antenna and get it to work?

You need to start stepping through the system, one piece at a time, and try to sectionalize whatever fault is there. That'll help you start narrowing down the possibilities.
questions are part of the troubleshooting.
RF gain up ---check
Squelch off--check
I just got it back from the President Authorized Service in Troutman, NC
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,622
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
questions are part of the troubleshooting.
RF gain up ---check
Squelch off--check
I just got it back from the President Authorized Service in Troutman, NC

OK, good stuff.

You mentioned that part of the antenna was loose. I'd start looking into that, since it's an obvious "stop and fix" sort of thing.

What are you using for a power supply?
 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
OK, good stuff.

You mentioned that part of the antenna was loose. I'd start looking into that, since it's an obvious "stop and fix" sort of thing.

What are you using for a power supply?
base station: President Washington. Could it be that people just aren't talking on the radio around here in the DC METRO? I mean I do not see CBradio antennas on cars....rarely will I see mobile HAM rigs. I talked to someone mobile 5 miles away. And i did talk to another across the Potomac in Maryland, said i sounded good.. WTH... I hope things are better as a HAM operator.

I was setting this thing up until I pass my technician's license just for fun...
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,622
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
base station: President Washington. Could it be that people just aren't talking on the radio around here in the DC METRO? I mean I do not see CBradio antennas on cars....rarely will I see mobile HAM rigs. I talked to someone mobile 5 miles away. And i did talk to another across the Potomac in Maryland, said i sounded good.. WTH... I hope things are better as a HAM operator.

I was setting this thing up until I pass my technician's license just for fun...

With SSB, you should hear the normal ruckus on Channel 6 and those channels up in the 30's.
 

Radiomatrix

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
69
Location
Alexandria, VA
With SSB, you should hear the normal ruckus on Channel 6 and those channels up in the 30's.
COPY!
NICE you mentioned channel 6 as there was some stuff, not a lot there. When I push the NB button, while in SSB, the frequencies change and take me to another section of the band. but there still a whole lot of stuff as I remember 40 years ago...

OK, today around 4-6pm Eastern I heard some skip from Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico and florida.... but again , not a lot.
 

wtp

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
5,917
Location
Port Charlotte FL
if i got it right you would hear them sounding off frequency even though they are not.
and the FM thing is really new so not too many would have it.
and this is not the 1970's or 80's, CB died a bit ago.
even my stepson who drove a big rig just got phone numbers from other drivers at rest stops.
if you can hear anything, you are hearing everything.
 
Top