off freq

[wild_card]

Hey guys mud duck city here. I have 3 radio's and have been told when using all 3 that im off freq. all 3 radio's generate good replys on am. Can something in a base setup cause radios to be off freq on ssb only ? i live in mn so i have some snow and ice on the antenna im sure but nothing serious that is visible to the eye from the ground. all the reports were from different people one person i know locally and he couldnt tune me in with his 959 . i have an amp but took it out of the line up to see if that was part of the problem and it did Not change the results. So with that said my radio's are a Cobra 148 , sears 23 channel ssb and a Galaxy 2547. Thanks for your time . LIke i said i could be the problem forgetting something from not being in the hobby for very long .

['Doc]

You can be slightly off frequency with AM and never know it, AM is a pretty wide type mode. The same amount of being off frequency can be very noticeable on SSB. SSB is half the width of a normal AM signal. One reason why there's a 'clarifier' on most SSB radios is because it's not unusual for radios to be a little off frequency. And since everybody's radio is seldom the same amount of that 'off frequency' thing, having to re-tune people with that clarifier is just normal.
So what can you do about it? Have someone with the knowledge of how to do it, and the equipment to do it with, 'zero' your radio's transmitting and receive frequency, and both of them to a set standard. To do that right requires more than just another radio!
Good luck.
- 'Doc

[TheCBDoctor]

Hi wild_card

It is not unusual for the Galaxy 2547 to be off frequency; they all are off frequency out of the box. The 23 channel Sears probably uses a crystal matrix, so no two channels will be on frequency anyway. If the Cobra 148 GTL is off frequency, then it was either modified or is made in Malaysia.

As Doc mention, SSB is critical and no two radios will be exactly on frequency. You can not use one CB to tune another. They must be done with precise equipment for SSB. The HR 2510 is the best when it comes to SSB. If your Cobra 148 was made in the Philippines and was never touched then it should be the closest to being on frequency.

Here is a link to aligning the Galaxy http://thecbdoctor.net/_mgxro ... 10811.html

Respectfully,

[wild_card]

Well guys thanks for the input . i'll try that tuneing thing if i ever pick up all that equipment. = never . The 148 is just your average run of the mill from God knows where i havent looked. Well that sum's it up i guess i'll try unlocking the clairifyer and seeing what kinda trouble that will bring me.

[ksphotoguy]

I wouldn't get too rattled by it. I have heard some guys on 38 LSB tell everyone they are off frequency, I think it is their way of yanking peoples chains. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be hams playing games with us "chicken banders" as they like to call us.

['Doc]

...Yeah, blame it on hams, that's an easy excuse.
'Course, someone may actually be off of the frequency of the one doing the telling. You then have a 50/50 chance of being at fault, the reporting party may also be off frequency.
Sound like I may have taken offense at that gibe? You're right, I did/do. That CB'er versus ham thing is really, really old, and only true part of the time. I get tired of hearing that crap on the ham bands too.
- 'Doc

[ksphotoguy]

[quote="'Doc"]...Yeah, blame it on hams, that's an easy excuse.
'Course, someone may actually be off of the frequency of the one doing the telling. You then have a 50/50 chance of being at fault, the reporting party may also be off frequency.
Sound like I may have taken offense at that gibe? You're right, I did/do. That CB'er versus ham thing is really, really old, and only true part of the time. I get tired of hearing that crap on the ham bands too.
- 'Doc[/quote]


if you took offense at it, thats your problem, wasn't meant to offend. it's just a fact, thats all. if it makes any difference to you, I am also a ham operator and am tired of the jerks in both services (Karol Madera ring a bell for anyone?). what it all boils down to is if someone thinks you are off frequency and they want to talk to you, they need to turn the clarifier/voice lock knob to tune you in and have a conversation and not just point out that you must be off frequency because they in all their perfection are dead on and the world must revolve around them. a true cb'r would just tune in and talk

[721HACKSAW]

If they could tell what you were saying then you weren't that far off freq. LOL Temperature can also play a big part in a radios freq. stability. That Galaxy will be off freq. in a cold enviroment.
I agree Doc, the old HAM vs. CB thing is soo overdone.

[wild_card]

Fair enough its just a base radio and i let it run for awhile and talk i'll figure it out eventually when i can get for time with some contacts. Just trying to enjoy a hobby and keep it alive. i dont have time for the arguments just constructive critizim GAME ON !

[genesbro]

This is the reason why it is better to have the receiver and the transmitter tied together. You go to where there is a conversation going on and tune them in and then you are on freq. It only takes a couple of cylcles difference between radios for the voice to sound off, that is why there is a clarifier on ssb radios. Don't know why they didn't build them with them paired up in the first place. Guess they never figured they would be used the way they are for group conversations. If you were just one on one then it would be ok but with a group you need to be able to move both tx and rx together to keep from the see saw action.
When I get on a channel and there is some snob telling everyone they are off freq to him I just move mine off a little on purpose, that person is just showing how little he really knows when he tells someone that they are off freq.
It isn't your fault if you are running a stock radio and can't move your tx to match his receive, the receive side of the conversation is the job of the person doing the receiving not the person doing the transmitting according to the FCC. This is what the FCC allows for a cb radio to be considered on freq on channel 38, 27.383630-27.386369 MHZ, that is a pretty good range. Luckily most radios are much closer than that.
Get out there and have fun sidebanding.

[WV 545]

Everybody's off frequency... except me.

[Night Crawler]

This is the reason why it is better to have the receiver and the transmitter tied together. Don't know why they didn't build them with them paired up in the first place.

I agree it would make things easier if the transmit and receive were locked together an Amateur Transceiver has an RIT control that allows you the option of having the receive and transmit frequency tracking together or by using the receive incremental tune control the receive frequency can varied seperately from the transmit by about 2kc.

The reason why on a Citizens Band Transceiver the transmit can not be changed with the use of the clarifier according to FCC part 95 is because a VFO (variable frequency oscillator) or VXO (variable crystal oscillator) is not allowed to control the transmitters frequency so the manufacturer abides by that ruling to get the radio certfied.

[Pistol_Pete]

You calling me a CHICKEN BANDER? Well I resemble that remark.

[Chazman321]

I had some nice locals around me tell me over the air how to get on frequency. I wasn't off by much, but they walked me through it and got me dead on over the air... Didn't know that was even possible... lol Pays to have locals with a freq counter... lol


-Chaz