Just to add a little extra here...remember a factor CB comes from the assembly line at about 70-80% of the FCC legal parameters, reason for this is to ensure all radios coming off the line are within legal limits...This is where most new CB'ers believe that a Peak and Tune will bring you modulation back up to 100% and your final adjusted for a 4W carrier. ***Most CB shops will exceed these limits to the point where components will fail prematurely, your radio will most likely leave the shop sounding loud and proud, but after a while of good road chewing you'll be left with a blown final and a fancy night light for your vehicle...Beware of Peak and Tunes...you can properly Peak and Tune your rig to maximize your legal limits just to correct any under adjustments from the factory but the difference will be nominal at best, unless you make the choice to cross over the line so ofter spoken here in this forum between CB'ers and Hams...A correct Peak and Tune would constitute upgrading finals and other components to handle what the radio was never intended to handle in the first place. I am not a Ham operator but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night! Understand that Ham equipment was designed with higher quality components and intended to operate and great power ranges unlike our CB's...Most CB's will not be shipped from the factory with high quality finals and components because they were never intended to operate outside of 4w, so they can afford to utilized lesser quality components due to the FCC limits restricted to CB radio's. So I hope this helps you some what...I operate a "Barefoot" Cobra 29 LTD with a Wilson 5k antenna mounted center on my roof and have no issues talking to the big boys on the road or to friends in town. Best thing to do is read all you can about antenna's and how HF works and use that to figure out what equipment you want to get and how and were to place it for maximum performance.
-
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.
How to peak and tune ?
- Thread starter Fury853
- Start date
- Status
Just to add a little extra here...remember a factor CB comes from the assembly line at about 70-80% of the FCC legal parameters, reason for this is to ensure all radios coming off the line are within legal limits...This is where most new CB'ers believe that a Peak and Tune will bring you modulation back up to 100% and your final adjusted for a 4W carrier. ***Most CB shops will exceed these limits to the point where components will fail prematurely, your radio will most likely leave the shop sounding loud and proud, but after a while of good road chewing you'll be left with a blown final and a fancy night light for your vehicle...Beware of Peak and Tunes...you can properly Peak and Tune your rig to maximize your legal limits just to correct any under adjustments from the factory but the difference will be nominal at best, unless you make the choice to cross over the line so ofter spoken here in this forum between CB'ers and Hams...A correct Peak and Tune would constitute upgrading finals and other components to handle what the radio was never intended to handle in the first place. I am not a Ham operator but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night! Understand that Ham equipment was designed with higher quality components and intended to operate and great power ranges unlike our CB's...Most CB's will not be shipped from the factory with high quality finals and components because they were never intended to operate outside of 4w, so they can afford to utilized lesser quality components due to the FCC limits restricted to CB radio's. So I hope this helps you some what...I operate a "Barefoot" Cobra 29 LTD with a Wilson 5k antenna mounted center on my roof and have no issues talking to the big boys on the road or to friends in town. Best thing to do is read all you can about antenna's and how HF works and use that to figure out what equipment you want to get and how and were to place it for maximum performance.
newkid313NJ
Member
like I always say IF YOU DON'T KNOW GO TO THE PROS it's easy to pay a little more then to buy a new radio !! I'm 10-10
fischlerpromo
Member
While you are having all these other things done, I would also suggest to have them lock the clarifier.
Some radio's are modified to talk between the frequencies where it is quieter.. especially on SSB Radios that have been altered to go above channel 40, where back in the 70's they were unassigned freqs.
Some radio's are modified to talk between the frequencies where it is quieter.. especially on SSB Radios that have been altered to go above channel 40, where back in the 70's they were unassigned freqs.
Test equipment
.
As for tuning the radio to "Factory Specs", isn't this thread about exceeding so called Factory Specs?
If you worked on "after burners" (RF pwr amps) then you needed a 100 watt lo-band slug as well as a 5 watt lo-band slug. I also did some installs for a local fuel oil delivery company (hi-band 30 watt mobiles) so I needed a 100 watt hi-band slug. I actually had 4 slugs, a 100 watt UHF slug, and I still have all of them as well as the Bird model 43 meter.
.
A service monitor isn't needed to work on 2 way radios. They are everything you need to service radios rolled into one very expensive package. They are a convenience for a field tech, he only has one box to carry up to the base station instead of three. But they aren't the be-all, end-all for a bench tech.
As for tuning the radio to "Factory Specs", isn't this thread about exceeding so called Factory Specs?
Again... How were you tuning them??? No mention of that...
This thread was never about EXCEEDING the factory specs... The original question was how to peak and tune. To peak a radio does not HAVE to mean that they went beyond the 4 watts and to tune it explains itself.
Ive seen factory radios roll brand new out of the box at 2 watts.. 4 watts would surely be peaked so to speak. Not that the 2 watts would make much difference.
fischlerpromo
Member
I''m done
SurgePGH, I don't think you know what you are talking about. Either that or you just like to argue. I have NEVER seen a factory fresh radio only put out 2 watts. A manufacturer wouldn't sell many radios if that were the case.
You obviously don't understand what "peek and tune" means and it isn't my job to educate you. I'm done..bye!!
SurgePGH, I don't think you know what you are talking about. Either that or you just like to argue. I have NEVER seen a factory fresh radio only put out 2 watts. A manufacturer wouldn't sell many radios if that were the case.
You obviously don't understand what "peek and tune" means and it isn't my job to educate you. I'm done..bye!!
fischlerpromo
Member
Really, why not... Factory specs are just that.. FACTORY SPECS.
Exceed those specs and have fun..
That's what CBing is all about .. FUN!
reedeb
Member
LOL.... Right.
peak and tune
Hello,
I had one my friends look at my "Cobra 18 WXSTII " radio but we have come to conclusion that the Cobra 18 WXSTII " can not be peak and tune, does anyone know if the radio can be done, if so how because we tried looking up infomation but nothing to be found
THanks!
Cperkinson
Hello,
I had one my friends look at my "Cobra 18 WXSTII " radio but we have come to conclusion that the Cobra 18 WXSTII " can not be peak and tune, does anyone know if the radio can be done, if so how because we tried looking up infomation but nothing to be found
THanks!
Cperkinson
I just talked to an AM broadcast engineer the other day who said they were running 125% positive and 90% negative. You can have more than 100% of something.
Choosing CB over HAM makes you lazy and cheap? Interesting.
Hey Ohio_359, what happens when the FCC catches a commercial radio station breaking their rules? The radio station's license is pulled and that means that they can't broadcast anymore, that's what. That usually happens along with some VERY hefty fines. The Chief Engineer will also be subjected to fines. So either you are full of s--t or your engineer is blowing smoke up your skirt. Any AM station that goes over 100% modulation is going to be transmitting a very distorted signal and will loose listeners, not to mention their license. If you are a broadcaster who can't broadcast, you can't make any money.
Distortion only happens on clips, doesn't matter if it's on the positive or negative peaks. 125% modulation does not mean that anything is being clipped. And 125% is the legal limit for commercial broadcast.
BTW, compression is intentional distortion and it happens everyday in commercial broadcast.
Last edited:
- Status
