Finally, the explanation I've been waiting for. In about 2005, I bought a Connex CX-4300HP and a Texas Star DX667V which I still have them both today but I never hooked up the amp because I didn't know how to set dead-key. The Connex radio I used shortly but due to vibrations in truck, it began to squeal when transmitting so I sent radio to factory tech in Erie PA for repairs. I placed back in truck and didn't notice any improvements so I pulled it and put on shelf with the Texas Star and they've been there ever since. I do not possess the testing equipment and meters to check and set up properly so in 2023/24 I have an interest to place both in service but not without first having both checked and verified. The Connex is a single SC2290 PLL, the Texas Star has four SC2879 PLL's. I'm in the process now of trying to locate a radio shop around Middle Tennessee who can check both due to age, make any necessary repairs or upgrades, and pair these two together so I can put them in my Kenworth. Also being a fan of Astatic mic's, not entirely sure which model mic would work good with this radio in a noisy truck. This video has given me renewed interest in placing both pieces of equipment into service. I'm currently running paired Wilson 2000 whips adjusted to 1.3 SWR across all 40 on a Uniden PC78 radio with poor receive.
I power my 500v with my 955 at around 2 watts and I get a 60w dk and swings to over 500. Figure I can talk like this all day long and should be just fine. Thanks for the video
I'm not sure what the Texas Star 500's are selling for now as they seem to be sold out everywhere. People usually say 100 amps to run a 4 pill amp, however I've never seen one pull that much. It's always better to have more power supply than you need though. A 75 amp power supply should be plenty. I probably wouldn't go any lower.
No way! I'm very easy on all of my CB amps. If you're easy on them, they will last forever. I increase the audio from the radio to it's maximum level without getting too obnoxious and always start with a low dead key and allow it to swing up. This keeps the heat to a minimum and it will actually increase your audio. There's a reason that some guys burn up their equipment on a weekly basis.
I wouldn't say the pre amp or receiving amp is useless cuz I've used em on my Pallmars and XForce amps and they really increased my ears at longer ranges by far huge difference I think on SSB modes it was great to have
Yeah, but they also amplify all the static as well. I can see a pre amp working at a remote location without much interference, otherwise they are pretty much worthless IMO.
@@vegasfordguy well with a good noise blanker on and squelched out just right I'd leave mine on all day and night and especially at night when it was calm and quiet I'd get people in my radio from 30+ miles away easily which I'd squelch mine just enough to clear the white noise out and man it really boosted there audio coming in and on SSB mode it really helped me tune in people that was way out there
Great video, very informative! I appreciate the work and time you put into this. I have a Stryker 955 that’s tuned and peaked. What amp do you recommend if I’m looking for about 500 watts. I run it as a base station and I use a three element yagi.
Thank you, for an off the shelf amp I'd probably look at a Texas star 500v high drive amp. If you're looking to have a custom amp built then a straight 4 pill should work well behind that 955. You definitely want a straight 4 pill, nothing with a driver in it since a tuned Stryker is probably doing in the neighborhood of 80-100 watts give or take. You can always use the Strykers RF power to dial the amp in where it needs to be.
Presuming the radio is correctly set to maximum AM audio and minimum acceptable carrier (~.5w - 1w) then you simply set the output to maximum with audio (saying, "Ahhhhhhh") and at maximum minus maybe 3% - 5% under the peak, you're done. You never want the carrier to be more than 25% of the total modulated AM output - but that's for only 100% modulation. -For a real radio with Negative Peak Compression (NPC) allowing up to a clean 141% - you should set it as I originally mentioned; Max it, back it off 3% - 5% and lock it there.
The right way to set your radio’s deadkey is with an RMS reading watt meter. You set the deadkey so that the RMS meter is not swinging backwards. That than is the perfect setting for your system.
I have noticed when it comes to radio drive that coax and antenna tune can make a difference. Good informative video for those who needed to know this. So many guys over drive them trying to squeeze every last watt out.
Yep, any differences in equipment can definitely cause the carrier to change. I've learned that when you run the carrier too high it just causes the amp to run hotter and your audio becomes less loud and pinched sounding. Now I'm all.for the loudest audio I can get and I don't mind running a radio that's a bit over modulated, however IMO raising the deal key or carrier just causes problems all around. The 1 to 4 rule just doesn't work in the real world for loud CB audio. My opinion anyways.
@@vegasfordguy i completely agree. I run a 2 pill into an 8 pill and my radio needs 1.5 watts to have a 200 watt dead key out of the 8 pill and i get roughly 1750 peak out of it. Definitely more than a 4 to 1 ratio. On ssb it will do 1800 wide open but i run an icom 7300 into the 8 pill with out the driver and get around 1200. For ssb that's more than enough. No need to run it so hard on ssb. Most builders don't show how to run amp drive on ssb. I wish they would cover ssb more. But most don't even show ssb on there performance videos. The other thing that i haven't seen anyone cover is how to run/drive an amp on fm. I haven't even keyed my amp on fm out of fear that i will burn it up by mistake. I would be very interested to watch a video on how to drive fm and one on ssb wouldn't hurt either.
@@Tinman386wisconsin Don't run a driver on FM or you'll have full output! No modulation of FM, just carrier. Jim of 307 amps and Morgan of 350 radio did a very good video about how to run an amp on FM.
Just keep the dead key coming out of your amplifier low like I showed and you should be just fine. 25 watts per transistor output. 2 pill-50 watts, 4 pill-100 watts, etc. If you have a 1x2, 1x4, 2x6, 2x8, etc don't worry about the driver, just the final output transistors. What exactly don't you understand? I'll try to answer it.
Hi , watched older video of Nathan Jones . Thank you for sharing . BTW am curious about your mature friend who bought comp Cobra 25 LTD Chrome . It sounded great on the videogame . 307 sounds like a maybe for me. Like your common sense in the hobby . Thank you ,Bill
Question I have is my amp is 45 year old digital sports 2 transistor can't read the values and can't find the model just brand on line have used as low as .5+ dead key and as high as 10 + in at 10+ in distorts notebly at under 5watt some distortion but only as cold and as near end of verbal stopps
I wonder if it would be worth it for me to send you my Texas Star 350 to repair. I could ship to you and pay for the repair and then pay for the cost to ship back
No sir, I'm not the one for repairs. I'd recommend Jim at 307 amps. He's in Wyoming. Not sure what part of the country you're in as there might be someone closer to you. Donkey stomper is in Tennessee I believe he's a stand up guy and good amp builder as well.
@@vegasfordguy Yes and that is why no techs here, lol. When I lived near Vancouver moons ago I had a tech I would take my radios too. Here we have to get a ferry off of the island and it is a long ay to Vancouver. We are tucked up against the southern end of Vancouver Island so I need to find a tech guy there in Victoria
Good video, Im a newbie also, I just got a older Pride 150 amp (unsure of how many pill it is) and will take the following steps to get it working correctly
Thanks for making this video cause I was going to put 6 watts dead key into a Texas Star Dx 500… I’m a newbie….I also have a question about power …Should I run the Texas Star at 12v or should I buy a power supply that puts out 13.8 or even higher? Like14.5 volts? How many amps do I need to run my Texas star dx 500
Count on at least 10amps of supply for every 100W. Then add in some breathing room. 75amp supply would probably suffice but if you can squeeze out a 100amp supply then go for it, especially if you're running a Texas Star with Toshiba pills....they can be thirsty. For example, my TS 667 (same as the 500 but with a one pill driver) has Toshiba pills and pulls 91 amps at full tilt. For voltage somewhere in the 13.5V - 15.5V range. I run everything in my station on 14.8V. Good luck!
I sent my 2x8 box to 307 after 2 other builders couldn't get it right. 307 took care of it and here it is 3 plus years later and it's still working great! Jim is the best!
Usually a "high drive" amp won't have a driver section built in. Not always though. There can also be added padding to allow more drive. Usually, but not always a high drive won't have a driver transistor(s)
What is the advantage of having a lower dead key or lower average power vs having a higher dead key and higher average power? Aside from using less actual power and less stress on the amp??
Shouldn’t a HD amps have 4-5 watt dk into it to drive it? Rule of thumb was dk into low drive was 1/2-2 watt dk max pep to 20-25 watts Hd 2 1/2-5 watt DK pep swing to 35 At least that is what I was told back in the 90’s
On my Cobra 29 I run a 2W DK swinging to 35W @ 14.5V into my 1 x 2 gives me better than 350W almost 400W. But I run it at 300W into my 8 Pill and get around 2000W out. Works great. Now I'm looking for a tech to work on my 148 GTL ST.
Use an rf meter that can read RMS watts (average watts,) With the meter on RMS you want to set your deadkey so that when you talk into the microphone, the needle is not swinging backwards. If it is, lower the deadkey until the meter is not swinging backwards anymore. And that is the perfect setting for that set up.
Honestly, whatever size I need to reach it, usually in 3 ft increments. There are so many different opinions on coax length, I've tried the velocity factor method and all the others. To be honest I've never seen a dramatic difference so I just stick with the 3 foot rule whether it's correct or not.
@@clydeb8865 I'm not saying it's the best method, so I'd do what works best for you. Sometimes an amplifier may need a longer piece of coax do to the tuning of the amp itself. There are a couple of videos showing this.on UA-cam, I'm not sure, but think that Donkey stomper and bbi may have shown this at some point in a video.
@@vegasfordguy Donkey Stomper has a good video about the coax jumpers. He is correct in my opinion that the coax should be zeroed out so your equipment doesn't see it. Less reflect if any at all. :)
Finally, the explanation I've been waiting for. In about 2005, I bought a Connex CX-4300HP and a Texas Star DX667V which I still have them both today but I never hooked up the amp because I didn't know how to set dead-key. The Connex radio I used shortly but due to vibrations in truck, it began to squeal when transmitting so I sent radio to factory tech in Erie PA for repairs. I placed back in truck and didn't notice any improvements so I pulled it and put on shelf with the Texas Star and they've been there ever since. I do not possess the testing equipment and meters to check and set up properly so in 2023/24 I have an interest to place both in service but not without first having both checked and verified. The Connex is a single SC2290 PLL, the Texas Star has four SC2879 PLL's. I'm in the process now of trying to locate a radio shop around Middle Tennessee who can check both due to age, make any necessary repairs or upgrades, and pair these two together so I can put them in my Kenworth. Also being a fan of Astatic mic's, not entirely sure which model mic would work good with this radio in a noisy truck. This video has given me renewed interest in placing both pieces of equipment into service. I'm currently running paired Wilson 2000 whips adjusted to 1.3 SWR across all 40 on a Uniden PC78 radio with poor receive.
Rooster CB might be close to ya, I know his shop is in Tennessee, he’s good. He’s also got a UA-cam channel too, hope this helps.
👍🏻
Good video , good rule of thumb .. I knew this but I forgot . I just stored it to memory 👍
I power my 500v with my 955 at around 2 watts and I get a 60w dk and swings to over 500. Figure I can talk like this all day long and should be just fine. Thanks for the video
I agree, good video, very educational. May I ask, how much does the first amp cost and what's the appropriate power supply rating? Thanks very much.
I'm not sure what the Texas Star 500's are selling for now as they seem to be sold out everywhere. People usually say 100 amps to run a 4 pill amp, however I've never seen one pull that much. It's always better to have more power supply than you need though. A 75 amp power supply should be plenty. I probably wouldn't go any lower.
I run a Rm 703 always on highest output it takes 50 amps to run it.
Couldn’t thank you enough exactly what I was looking for
Wow, someone that doesn’t drive the piss out of it.
No way! I'm very easy on all of my CB amps. If you're easy on them, they will last forever. I increase the audio from the radio to it's maximum level without getting too obnoxious and always start with a low dead key and allow it to swing up. This keeps the heat to a minimum and it will actually increase your audio. There's a reason that some guys burn up their equipment on a weekly basis.
I wouldn't say the pre amp or receiving amp is useless cuz I've used em on my Pallmars and XForce amps and they really increased my ears at longer ranges by far huge difference I think on SSB modes it was great to have
Yeah, but they also amplify all the static as well. I can see a pre amp working at a remote location without much interference, otherwise they are pretty much worthless IMO.
@@vegasfordguy well with a good noise blanker on and squelched out just right I'd leave mine on all day and night and especially at night when it was calm and quiet I'd get people in my radio from 30+ miles away easily which I'd squelch mine just enough to clear the white noise out and man it really boosted there audio coming in and on SSB mode it really helped me tune in people that was way out there
Which I do live out in the sticks in north west Alabama
Great video, very informative! I appreciate the work and time you put into this.
I have a Stryker 955 that’s tuned and peaked. What amp do you recommend if I’m looking for about 500 watts. I run it as a base station and I use a three element yagi.
Thank you, for an off the shelf amp I'd probably look at a Texas star 500v high drive amp. If you're looking to have a custom amp built then a straight 4 pill should work well behind that 955. You definitely want a straight 4 pill, nothing with a driver in it since a tuned Stryker is probably doing in the neighborhood of 80-100 watts give or take. You can always use the Strykers RF power to dial the amp in where it needs to be.
What about a 2 pill Amp?
Great 👍🏼 information
Is that spec sheet watt rating specified as dead key and not peak?
Very well done.
Tell us about the radio and amp does before
Can you do a video on the 667 please , would really appreciate a lesson on that amp
Thank you so much
The recommended dead key is always in peak power?
I like that 667
Presuming the radio is correctly set to maximum AM audio and minimum acceptable carrier (~.5w - 1w) then you simply set the output to maximum with audio (saying, "Ahhhhhhh") and at maximum minus maybe 3% - 5% under the peak, you're done.
You never want the carrier to be more than 25% of the total modulated AM output - but that's for only 100% modulation. -For a real radio with Negative Peak Compression (NPC) allowing up to a clean 141% - you should set it as I originally mentioned; Max it, back it off 3% - 5% and lock it there.
The right way to set your radio’s deadkey is with an RMS reading watt meter. You set the deadkey so that the RMS meter is not swinging backwards. That than is the perfect setting for your system.
RMS or PEP is identical at dead key. Makes no difference.
Great video
Thanks
Good info 302
Good cb don't need no amp I had one it got stolen
LOL, if you wanna talk then you definitely need an amp! Otherwise you're just a mud duck!
What do u think a dead key would be on a cheap 203p rm italy amp from cobra 29 thanks
4 Watts
@@ianpereira3119lol about 1and a half
1 and a half
Do you want to sell that Silver Eagle 350 ?
Yeah, I'd sell it for $275 shipped.
Merry Christmas ! Do you have a video on this amp ? And how do I purchase it ?
@@matthewyoung1056 I'll have a video, just look through my CB radio playlist. Email me at vegasfordguy@gmail.com.
P.S. I meant 29 sorry.
Looking for a 300 power supply
I have noticed when it comes to radio drive that coax and antenna tune can make a difference.
Good informative video for those who needed to know this.
So many guys over drive them trying to squeeze every last watt out.
Yep, any differences in equipment can definitely cause the carrier to change. I've learned that when you run the carrier too high it just causes the amp to run hotter and your audio becomes less loud and pinched sounding. Now I'm all.for the loudest audio I can get and I don't mind running a radio that's a bit over modulated, however IMO raising the deal key or carrier just causes problems all around. The 1 to 4 rule just doesn't work in the real world for loud CB audio. My opinion anyways.
@@vegasfordguy i completely agree.
I run a 2 pill into an 8 pill and my radio needs 1.5 watts to have a 200 watt dead key out of the 8 pill and i get roughly 1750 peak out of it. Definitely more than a 4 to 1 ratio.
On ssb it will do 1800 wide open but i run an icom 7300 into the 8 pill with out the driver and get around 1200. For ssb that's more than enough. No need to run it so hard on ssb. Most builders don't show how to run amp drive on ssb. I wish they would cover ssb more. But most don't even show ssb on there performance videos.
The other thing that i haven't seen anyone cover is how to run/drive an amp on fm. I haven't even keyed my amp on fm out of fear that i will burn it up by mistake. I would be very interested to watch a video on how to drive fm and one on ssb wouldn't hurt either.
@@Tinman386wisconsin Don't run a driver on FM or you'll have full output! No modulation of FM, just carrier. Jim of 307 amps and Morgan of 350 radio did a very good video about how to run an amp on FM.
@@vegasfordguy thank you for the info.
I will go look for the videos now and check them out.
@@vegasfordguy Where's that video? I would like to watch it!
Very informative. Cleared up some questions I had regarding dead key. Still don’t fully grasp but it’s clearer. Keep the videos coming!
Just keep the dead key coming out of your amplifier low like I showed and you should be just fine. 25 watts per transistor output. 2 pill-50 watts, 4 pill-100 watts, etc. If you have a 1x2, 1x4, 2x6, 2x8, etc don't worry about the driver, just the final output transistors. What exactly don't you understand? I'll try to answer it.
Very enlightening , I didnt know any of this ! Well taught too !
Hi , watched older video of Nathan Jones . Thank you for sharing . BTW am curious about your mature friend who bought comp Cobra 25 LTD Chrome . It sounded great on the videogame . 307 sounds like a maybe for me. Like your common sense in the hobby . Thank you ,Bill
Great video. Thank you
Question I have is my amp is 45 year old digital sports 2 transistor can't read the values and can't find the model just brand on line have used as low as .5+ dead key and as high as 10 + in at 10+ in distorts notebly at under 5watt some distortion but only as cold and as near end of verbal stopps
I wonder if it would be worth it for me to send you my Texas Star 350 to repair. I could ship to you and pay for the repair and then pay for the cost to ship back
No sir, I'm not the one for repairs. I'd recommend Jim at 307 amps. He's in Wyoming. Not sure what part of the country you're in as there might be someone closer to you. Donkey stomper is in Tennessee I believe he's a stand up guy and good amp builder as well.
@@vegasfordguy I live on a small island in the North pacific off of the south west coast of Canada
@@BananaJSSI Gotcha, kinda far out there.
@@vegasfordguy Yes and that is why no techs here, lol. When I lived near Vancouver moons ago I had a tech I would take my radios too. Here we have to get a ferry off of the island and it is a long ay to Vancouver. We are tucked up against the southern end of Vancouver Island so I need to find a tech guy there in Victoria
Nice video , just wondering with all the SWR/POWER meters you have , why not put one before AND another after the AMP ?
😊
Good video, Im a newbie also, I just got a older Pride 150 amp (unsure of how many pill it is) and will take the following steps to get it working correctly
Very well done. Great information : subscribed
What about MOSFETS? I have 8 and 1 I think...
Half a white day a key and let the thanks swing it will last forever
Thanks for making this video cause I was going to put 6 watts dead key into a Texas Star Dx 500… I’m a newbie….I also have a question about power …Should I run the Texas Star at 12v or should I buy a power supply that puts out 13.8 or even higher? Like14.5 volts? How many amps do I need to run my Texas star dx 500
Count on at least 10amps of supply for every 100W. Then add in some breathing room. 75amp supply would probably suffice but if you can squeeze out a 100amp supply then go for it, especially if you're running a Texas Star with Toshiba pills....they can be thirsty. For example, my TS 667 (same as the 500 but with a one pill driver) has Toshiba pills and pulls 91 amps at full tilt. For voltage somewhere in the 13.5V - 15.5V range. I run everything in my station on 14.8V. Good luck!
I have a galaxy base and a 200 watt comet and dont want to spend more cash on a supply when i have a 16 amp,,will that work?Im scared to try it.
No
I set mine to RMS NOT PEP. PEP is feel good watts.
No sir, both RMS and PEP have their place and are both extremely useful.
I wish I could like this video twice lol
I bought a Texas Star 250 without the variable nob.
When i keyed up it would make the blinker in my car speed up.
That's RFI. If your system is correctly set up then it shouldn't do that, but it's still possible.
Got my 307 amp 2 pill c-box 2 years ago now. Damn fine built amp. Love it still
I sent my 2x8 box to 307 after 2 other builders couldn't get it right. 307 took care of it and here it is 3 plus years later and it's still working great! Jim is the best!
I have a dx 250. ?
Agreed 100%
Thank you 👍
What makes it hi drive? Transistors?
Circuitry?
Usually a "high drive" amp won't have a driver section built in. Not always though. There can also be added padding to allow more drive. Usually, but not always a high drive won't have a driver transistor(s)
We are looking for a 300 power supply
How much are you looking to spend?
What is the advantage of having a lower dead key or lower average power vs having a higher dead key and higher average power? Aside from using less actual power and less stress on the amp??
Shouldn’t a HD amps have 4-5 watt dk into it to drive it?
Rule of thumb was dk into low drive was 1/2-2 watt dk max pep to 20-25 watts
Hd 2 1/2-5 watt DK pep swing to 35
At least that is what I was told back in the 90’s
dear god , on behalf of us rookies, THANK YOU ! Maine307 waiving!
On my Cobra 29 I run a 2W DK swinging to 35W @ 14.5V into my 1 x 2 gives me better than 350W almost 400W. But I run it at 300W into my 8 Pill and get around 2000W out. Works great. Now I'm looking for a tech to work on my 148 GTL ST.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
EXCELLENT THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
So what if you got a 1 driving 4 1446
G👀D Stuff Nice Work 👍👍
Great video learned from it
Top work mate. 73 London.
I had a dx667 Texas star that was a nasty kicker i could talk though pa systems car phones car stereos i pissed off a lot of people lol
What goes into an amp is what comes out. Texas Star amps are actually very clean amps.
thanks
Do you happen to know what the setting would be for a dx 400 with 4 Toshiba 2290's ?
Use an rf meter that can read RMS watts (average watts,) With the meter on RMS you want to set your deadkey so that when you talk into the microphone, the needle is not swinging backwards. If it is, lower the deadkey until the meter is not swinging backwards anymore. And that is the perfect setting for that set up.
How would you do it for a tube amp? Let say a 1 driving 3... 6lq6's
I honestly don't know anything about tube amps. Sorry.
Most tube amps are low drive. 1-2watt dk from the radio.
How about SSB?
There is no dead key on SSB.
What cable length do you run between your radio and amp? Just curious.
Honestly, whatever size I need to reach it, usually in 3 ft increments. There are so many different opinions on coax length, I've tried the velocity factor method and all the others. To be honest I've never seen a dramatic difference so I just stick with the 3 foot rule whether it's correct or not.
@@vegasfordguy thanks..
@@clydeb8865 I'm not saying it's the best method, so I'd do what works best for you. Sometimes an amplifier may need a longer piece of coax do to the tuning of the amp itself. There are a couple of videos showing this.on UA-cam, I'm not sure, but think that Donkey stomper and bbi may have shown this at some point in a video.
@@vegasfordguy Donkey Stomper has a good video about the coax jumpers. He is correct in my opinion that the coax should be zeroed out so your equipment doesn't see it. Less reflect if any at all. :)
What would be a dead key for a 2 pill 2290?? Is it the like the 2879, 25 watts per pill?
Do yu hav a email
vegasfordguy@gmail.com