CB'ing and Ham radio in the 21st Century

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by Jon T

I've seen mobile phones and the internet kill radio, both CB and HAM. When I was a member of a local repeater group, the members would text each other to say they were on their way.....and then repeater (non)utilisation would be a topic discussed at the meeting.

Or been driven onto Skype due to the constant abuse and tomfoolery that goes on with these repeaters. Not that it's a new phenomenon as it's the reason GB3MP for example was instructed by the RA to attenuate it's input and drop output many moons ago.

We used to have a really good group net running on 2M SSB with some Irish lads, GMs and a few others up and down the country but the place seems all but abandoned of late apart from the monthly RSGB bitching'n'bickering contest bunfights.

Actually the last couple of QSOs I've had on SSB were in excess of 500KM so it just goes to show who's listening, rather not participating on what is a really good band even when flat.

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by Russ

Ok the power supply is important obviously! I used to have an old Altai, they were really popular back in the day.

Broadly speaking the SWR meter will make sure the antenna is tuned as correctly as possible, this is a good guide.

If the mic you use has a 'power' knob on it make sure it's not up high - usually around 6 or 7 (if it's numbered) is normally about right.

Do any of the devices have what looks like a heat-sync on top?

There's a heat sink on two, the Mic does indeed have a knob, it also has a push to talk then slide to lock feature, it also has a meter on it.

[Russ]

The ones with the heat sinks, they are linear amplifiers - power boosters, and aren't legal to use. You'd need a separate power supply for them too (a standard CB PSU normally runs around 3 amps, not enough for the booster) unless you used it in the car. Which you wouldn't of course as they are illegal to use

The mic meter helps prevent you distorting your speech. Which model is it? If it's Sadelta I'm going to get jealous...

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by Russ

The ones with the heat sinks, they are linear amplifiers - power boosters, and aren't legal to use. You'd need a separate power supply for them too (a standard CB PSU normally runs around 3 amps, not enough for the booster) unless you used it in the car. Which you wouldn't of course as they are illegal to use

The mic meter helps prevent you distorting your speech. Which model is it? If it's Sadelta I'm going to get jealous...

Sadelta's are cheap but OK.. Much prefer my Adonis desk mics as the compression on them are great for equalising out peaks on SSB

[Russ]

For the money Sadelta mics were always really good but I just loved the design and look of the desktop models. I still say I've never heard better quality than on the Astatic Teardrop, just a shame they felt as if they were built with parts from a Kinder Egg toy.

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by Russ

For the money Sadelta mics were always really good but I just loved the design and look of the desktop models. I still say I've never heard better quality than on the Astatic Teardrop, just a shame they felt as if they were built with parts from a Kinder Egg toy.

Appears to be Sadelta, Black with Red button. Can confirm when I get up there and have a good luck. I'll take pictures of the full kit.

[Russ]

Yep I hate you.

[Russ]

In all seriousness does it look like this? If so it's the Sadelta Echomaster Plus, the best desk mic I ever used. As Kimmy said there are better out there but for the money this was hard to beat. If it's the one you have then one of the faders controls the amount of echo you transmit with. Some CB users make a nuisance of themselves by using too much echo (sometimes deliberately), I only ever used a little on SSB (fader set at about 3).

[Kymmy]

Here's the two mics I'm using, the larger one can switch between two radios, the smaller one is especially suited for the old FT80C (commercial version of the FT747). Both microphone produce a nice audio.

As for the sadelta echomaster + as long as you turn the echo either right down or even off as they have no benefit apart from 'cb cred' they do sound nice but give no benefit on SSB as they have no compression setting unless the radio itself has a built in audio compressor.

[Russ]

I can only go on other people's feedback - I'd get much better responses when using the Echomaster rather than standard mics.

[Kymmy]

I used one for years back in the early '90s on a Uniden 2830, great for fm work as the audio has a great frequency range, but SSB relies on audio peaks to produce the power output unlike FM which is a constant power output, the higher peaked all of your voice range is the more power on SSB, no good just having the low tone peaking and the high tone lost (or visa-versa)... Echos can effect it slightly but only if the echo time and duration is kept very, very short...

Go on one of the websdrs and listen round the ham band and you'll notice that no-one (apart from some italians) use echo mics.

http://www.websdr.org/

[Russ]

Ah no, I wasn't really swayed by the echo. For the most part I kept the fader to zero but only used it now and then to justify the price tag to myself

Some voices work better with certain mics and it seemed mine was perfectly compatible with the Echomaster. Again not as good as the Teardrop (which I only really used whilst mobile) output but for the money - IIRC about £50 - I couldn't find better.

[adzii_nufc]

I'm swaying nearer it being the one meter rather than two. Won't be certain till I get up there and dig it all out.

I do remember having cut the wire between the antenna and where the gear used to be. Kinda just looked like an old TV wire to be honest iirc.

Looked at the last page and the pic. That's identical. Not sure about the writing on it till I see it. It has the two faders. What's the difference between the ones with the single meter and dual meters?

[Russ]

Not much really, the single meter model was the early version IIRC. The Echomaster fans wanted something they could measure the level of echo with so they brought out a mark 2. there might be one or two other basic or cosmetic changes but that's about it.

---------- Post added at 09:47 ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 ----------

edit: you'll need to patch up the cut in the antenna with some PL plugs and a double female connector. Using the plugs will have a slight effect on your output but nothing major. Your SWR reading might be slightly out too but again nothing too bad.

Alternatively get some new CB coaxial cable (tv cable won't do).

[Kymmy]

@Russ

http://www.transmission1.eu/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=47241

Sorry you'll need an account to view that, it is though a Sadelta echmaster plus for £15