Where is RF gain set on 'cheap' radio with no control knob?

[Jeffro115]

I am curious to know where the gain is set by the factory, on a radio that doesn't actually have any control knobs on the face.


That is, if I bought a radio with a vol. and squelch knob only, what would be comperable settings on a radio with a RF gain and mic gain knobs?



Is it factory tuned so that the gain is all the way up? Or is it set somewhere in the middle?

[LostSoulCA]

It is typically an amplifier designed to acheive the stated sensitivity. (Read: all the way up)

[Jeffro115]

If they set it all the way up, then why would I ever want to turn the gain down on a radio that has the capability to do so?

[LostSoulCA]

If there is a lot of noise and you were talking to someone close you can turn the RF gain down to eliminate some of the noise. Remember, CB isn't like real radios. Ham radios have controls like RF gain to make fine adjustments for the purpose of improving receive quality on small signals. CBs have RF gain and adjustments like that because at one point somebody saw one on a ham radio and said, "I want one of those".

[Rat]

I have cobra and Uniden radios with the RF gain control knob and I have unhook the wires from them and soldered the wires together (sets the gain at max) and used the RF gain control for variable talkback or other things such as variable power.