[turbogus]

I've been running the Uniden Pro 538XLW (weather band) for 10 years now and I've found that the transmitter seems more powerful than the 510, that we ran in our buses, although it does have a larger footprint

[Jerry Bransford]

The Pro538 and Pro510 both have the identical 4 watt output which is the maximum legal output.

And Rallykid, to have a CB "peaked and tuned" means, for those who don't know this, that it is being modified to produce more power than the legal 4 watt output. We don't allow the recommendation of illegal things like that here in JF so I edited that out of your post.

[YJake]

I'm happy with what I ordered regardless.

I'm also excited about seting it up next week when it arrives. I'll need to run my hard top more now, don't want anybody stealing the only thing worth stealing on my rig!

Any mount idead for the actual CB?

I'm not sure what I'm doing about that yet.

[dvbum]

MosinMe;

Go to

http://www.stu-offroad.com/misc.asp


to assist you in the installation of your CB

[YJake]

Wow that explains everything!

Thanks!

[rustywrangler]

Originally Posted by MosinMe

Wow that explains everything!

Thanks!

The CB does come with a bracket. Hangs very nicely from the YJ lower dash support.

[rallykid]

Originally Posted by Jerry Bransford

The Pro538 and Pro510 both have the identical 4 watt output which is the maximum legal output.

And Rallykid, to have a CB "peaked and tuned" means, for those who don't know this, that it is being modified to produce more power than the legal 4 watt output. We don't allow the recommendation of illegal things like that here in JF so I edited that out of your post.

Not necessarily unless you are asking them to illegally up the wattage to the maximum, which would not only be obviously illegal but also pointless for what most of us use our radios for in our Jeeps. I am talking about getting the maximum performance out of a properly tuned yest still within legal limits setup.

I have had radios from the factory that were putting out 2.4-3.4 watts which were less than the 4 watt legal maximum. After changing the mic to replace the cheap mic that came with the 510 and having it peaked it was reading exactly 4 watts which is the legal limit. I am not condoning breaking the law, I am saying make sure you actually get what you are paying for so you can use it to it's maximum efficiency. That is one of the reasons to change the mic as it cannot handle audio over about 2.5 watts.

You don't need a huge (and illegal) 500 watt amp but the difference between the 2 watts that you may be getting out stock and the 4 watts that you should be getting (and will after having everything calibrated) can make a huge difference when the terrain is not flat.

[GlennA]

Originally Posted by rallykid

Not necessarily unless you are asking them to illegally up the wattage to the maximum, which would not only be obviously illegal but also pointless for what most of us use our radios for in our Jeeps. I am talking about getting the maximum performance out of a properly tuned yest still within legal limits setup.

I have had radios from the factory that were putting out 2.4-3.4 watts which were less than the 4 watt legal maximum. After changing the mic to replace the cheap mic that came with the 510 and having it peaked it was reading exactly 4 watts which is the legal limit. I am not condoning breaking the law, I am saying make sure you actually get what you are paying for so you can use it to it's maximum efficiency. That is one of the reasons to change the mic as it cannot handle audio over about 2.5 watts.
You don't need a huge (and illegal) 500 watt amp but the difference between the 2 watts that you may be getting out stock and the 4 watts that you should be getting (and will after having everything calibrated) can make a huge difference when the terrain is not flat.

While having a quality mic is certainly desirable, it has nothing to do with the RF output. Typically CB AM tramsmitters have between 30 and 60 percent modulation. An amplified mic will enhance modulation until the point that it starts to overmodulate. Using the theory that the mic output (modulation) is adversely effected by and increase RF output power, adding an RF amplier (linear) would make it impossible to modulate the carrier.

Having said that, I would rather have a radio with exceptional modulation that is slightly down on power than a radio that has the proper output power and poor modulation. Neither is worth a **** without a good antenna and proper installation. A cheap radio with a great antenna with outperform a poor antenna with the best radio.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally Posted by rallykid

That is one of the reasons to change the mic as it cannot handle audio over about 2.5 watts.

Baloney. I've been involved on the technical side of amateur, military, and commercial transmitters and receivers since the early sixties and you simply cannot make a blanket like that.

The level of modulation that assures full RF power output has to more to do with the modulator (audio amplifier) circuitry than the microphone. Most microphones are capable of providing 100% modulation when the transmitter's modulator is up to snuff. And you might be able to fool some of the people some of the time with your claim that "peaking and tuning" is only to get it up to the maximum legal 4 watt transmitter output but you're not going to fool me or many others who know what that term really means. Plus peaking and tuning does not affect the modulator which is not much more than an audio amplifier circuit.

And as said above, an amp'd microphone usually creates more problems than it is worth... overmodulation, hollow-sounding audio, unnatural voice, and just generally a crappy sounding signal. I've been using standard microphones since the early sixties, including what came on my Uniden CB, Kenwood TS-850 HF transceiver, Icom ICV8000 2m rig, as well as all the military (ground-ground, air-ground, ground-air) HF, VHF, and UHF rigs I used to handle and they all worked just fine with their non super-duper microphones.

[rallykid]

I guess I should have been more clear with that explanation. No, the mic has nothing to do with the power output, it is a modulation issue as was mentioned. Also I was not referring to a power mic but a standard mic that comes with most full size cbs. The one I am using is from a pc76xl. At 4 watts the small mic that comes with the unit will not modulate properly but the larger mic works fine.I was told by several cb shops that if you tune this unit to make the full 4 watts that it should then the standard mic will have modulation problems. I agree that overmodulation is a problem but it is also an issue when it goes the other way. I will see if I can come up with the test results from where mine was tested when it was peaked with the standard and the upgraded mic. I don't have access to them right now as I am posting this from my blackberry.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally Posted by rallykid

I was told by several cb shops that if you tune this unit to make the full 4 watts that it should then the standard mic will have modulation problems.

There's the problem right there. The times I have walked into a CB shop, which is as little as possible, the guys working there usually simply THINK they know more than they do. I've let them tell me all kinds of stuff that was just plain wrong, and it was clear from what they said that they didn't have a sound technical background... like hobbiests that got hired to work there so they now feel they're an expert.

There's a guy (actually more of a nut) who runs a CB store called The Mud Shack in San Diego who has variously told me he has a PhD in electrical engineering (which is a lot of bull) as well as stuff that would make any second-year EE student (my background is EE) cringe. I just laugh, shake my head, and walk out after making my purchase of some doo-dad he happened to have in stock.

The bottom line is that very few CB shop people know as much about CBs as they want you to think they do. They're usually nothing more than a hobbiest/CB-nut who is maybe one or two steps ahead on CB than the average person is and that's about it. When you get into anything advanced, they're normally lost... though they can often bluff you pretty good.

[GlennA]

Jerry,
I guess people take their radios to the CB shop because most competent techs won't work on a $40 radio. People ask me daily to look at their radios. My standard answer, "It will be less expensive to replace the unit."
GlennA

[rallykid]

Originally Posted by GlennA

Jerry,
I guess people take their radios to the CB shop because most competent techs won't work on a $40 radio. People ask me daily to look at their radios. My standard answer, "It will be less expensive to replace the unit."
GlennA

Can you recommend a small high end unit that will fit in the limited space of a Wrangler that will stand up to the abuse? I have no problem spending money for good equipment but something along the lines of A Uniden 76 that my family ran in our over the road trucks is way too big to stuff in a Jeep.

The reason I went with the 510 to begin with is it would fit in the Honda Prelude I was driving at the time.

[GlennA]

Originally Posted by rallykid

Can you recommend a small high end unit that will fit in the limited space of a Wrangler that will stand up to the abuse? I have no problem spending money for good equipment but something along the lines of A Uniden 76 that my family ran in our over the road trucks is way too big to stuff in a Jeep.

The reason I went with the 510 to begin with is it would fit in the Honda Prelude I was driving at the time.

I'm not saying the 510/520 aren't good radios. They just aren't full featured radios. In my experience, most full featured radio are "set it and forget it". When I put a radio in my JK, it will probably be a 520. The 510/520 have been around for a long time and have proven reliability. When I said it is cheaper to buy a new one, I meant if you cannot repair it yourself, by the time you pay the repair cost, in my case minimum $50, you could buy a new one.

[Jerry Bransford]

Glenn, the only thing a 520 adds over a 510 is the RF Gain control (not a needed control for a trail-use CB) and a PA (public address) function. Other than that, they are identical in performance, size, and how they operate. What do you mean by "set and forget"? I've been using CBs since the sixties and I'm not familiar with what you're decribing there.