I need to know what this means

[monde48]

I need to know what this means I see it all the time when radios are for sale. This radio is tuned and peaked it will help me

[dirtyjob]

it means they have gone inside and turned up the wattage and modulation

[monde48]

Thanks for the quick reply know what will that do for me. Or the radio I'm trying to learn

[peterwo2e]

It could also mean that a wannabe radio tech has gone inside the radio with the intention of increasing the power and audio and in the process screw the radio up. Read between the lines my friend.

[monde48]

Thanks again I will eventually get it . I think I know what you are talking about. I will figure it out. It's very hard when you know absolutely nothing about this stuff you have to start somewhere and I'm starting once again thanks very much

['Doc]

Think of it in terms of getting your car tuned to peak performance, it's about the same thing. Unless your car is in really terrible shape a tune up isn't going to result in a super extraordinary increase in performance. Some, sure, but nothing to take to the Indy 500 next year, right? Radio manufacturers don't 'over build' their radios to any appreciable amount, it would be unproductive, cost too much in an already marginal business. And just like expecting a Ford Focus to win at the drag-strip, a radio has to be heavily modified to do much better than it will straight 'out'a'the box'. Unfortunately, most peak-n-tune' jobs are more advertising than fact...
- 'Doc

[monde48]

Thanks Doc for your input very much appreciated. Every little bit helps me to learn

[MDYoungblood]

Unfortunately, most peak-n-tune' jobs are more advertising than fact...- 'Doc

'Doc is right, pull the cover, clip this, turn that, never on test equipment, put the cover back on and call it "Peak & Tune", that is what most shops do.

3's

Greg

[monde48]

Well I don't like the sounds of that

[redlght]

A lot of peak and tune jobs look good on the watt/mod meter all kinds of crazy swing but sound horrible over the air in use. If they say it has been aligned then that would be a better option to look for. There are some good mods to be done but only a few make the radio better most ruin it If you notice radios that are being sold as stock go for more money than most modded radios, now i say most because some mods are wanted and some are not. Channel mods are ok audio set to near 100% is ok npc mod can be good in some radios bad in others receive mod helps some what if done correctly unlocking the voice lock/clarifier if done right and centered after is ok. Volting the finals is never a good option, ssb puts 12 volts to the finals am is 6 or half ssb but volting apllies that 12 volt on AM and really taxes the radio. Power wise it is better to set the radio up for 75 % power out if you need more watts out then get an external amp. All this is my own opinion take it as a guide not law.

[gunner57]

It depends on where it was done. Most shops don't know the proper procedures and they just turn up every adjustment to full and call it a tune. A real tech will use expensive equipment to see how the adjustment is affecting the radio. They tune it to the way it should come from the factory. Wattage output isn't always enough to make a large difference, but it can make a difference. But a good tune can increase audio quality.

Imagine a carbureted automobile. Properly adjusting the air fuel mixture, setting the timing, and changing the spark plugs might not gain much horsepower, but it makes the car run smoother and have cleaner emissions.

[Windwalker]

Looks like we mostly agree on mods but !!
A very common mod is to use a power mic. I have seen guys run a D104 power mic on a 35 dollar radio.
That is also very taxing on the radio.
So here is what I did. When I bought my Galaxy radio I had a problem. So Galaxy sent me to their factory authorized person the next state over.
While the radio was in for repair I had them peak and tune it. 90 percent Modulation with an increase in power too. All from a stock mic. The radio was perfectly lined up ETC. That's the only way I would go is with the factory tech. Further !!
Many of the sponsors here will have the info needed to contact the service center. The downside is that factory authorized service centers may take longer and cost more. But I think its worth it


JMHO

WW1

[Circuit Breaker]

Doc really explained it well. When I first got into the hobby as a teenager in high school, I started with a POS Realistic TRC-421. It sounded okay...but I really wanted a Cobra 148 because everyone kept talking about how great they were (at the time, they were the king of mobiles) and how you could clip the limiter to increase output power on modulation. When done properly, the radios sound very good. But does it make a huge difference in who you can talk to? In most cases - no. But to a high school kid who didn't know much about radio, modulation and power, I thought it would make a night and day difference. When I got a 148 for Christmas a year later that my father had "tuned" and modified through someone he knew where he worked, I thought I was it on the local channel. No longer was I limited to 4 watts dead key with maybe 1 watt of forward swing on modulation peaks. I now had a radio that swung to 12 watts on AM and 15 to 18 on SSB...more than double what I had before. No one would be able to step on me now. After all, if I had double the power, I should have double the signal strength right? *BZZZZ* Wrong...but mainly because, while I had increased my power by a little over 3 dB, it wasn't enough to make my signal increase all that much - maybe 1 s-unit on peaks. Which wasn't enough to make or break a conversation in most cases - or make me the loudest, strongest station in town. The radio did sound a whole heck of a lot better than that stock TRC-421 though.

[015reddog]

Looks like we mostly agree on mods but !!
A very common mod is to use a power mic. I have seen guys run a D104 power mic on a 35 dollar radio.
That is also very taxing on the radio. So here is what I did. When I bought my Galaxy radio I had a problem. So Galaxy sent me to their factory authorized person the next state over.
While the radio was in for repair I had them peak and tune it. 90 percent Modulation with an increase in power too. All from a stock mic. The radio was perfectly lined up ETC. That's the only way I would go is with the factory tech. Further !!
Many of the sponsors here will have the info needed to contact the service center. The downside is that factory authorized service centers may take longer and cost more. But I think its worth it


JMHO

WW1

Could you please explain just how a power mic is "taxing" on a radio?

[De_Wildfire]

You have to take it to someone who knows what they are doing and not hack the radio. I have a friend who is a ham that works at a truck stop. The truckers come in there with bad sounding radios and he has to fix them because another truck stop didn't put any test equipment on the radio and started hacking it up. There are good technicians out there to help increase modulation. It is better to not to peak up the radio and get an amp. The life of the radio will be shortened. Most people don't realize that for every S signal increase or 1 pound difference on the meter, the power has to be doubled. To go from lets say, 100 watts to 130 watts is a waste and not noticable. It is ok to boost up the modulation to a clean level without splattering but get an small amp that you can hold in your hand if you want a little power. When you get an amp though, make sure the power coming out of the radio isn't so strong that it will blow the finals in the amp. A good technician will adjust the radio wattage to prevent this. I've seen truck drivers come into the shop all upset because they spent good money on a radio, only to get someone to hack it up with a peak and tune job and on top of it, they have to spend money again to get someone else to fix the mess. Be cautious.