Palomar 250 amp

I have had a 980 for years and love it, it would match up good with either amp.

 

No. The input specs for the amp are too small for the output of the radio. You need a bigger amp or a smaller radio.

No you can't hook it up and have it perform well. Yes you can hook it up and have it perform awful, but why?
You need to trust somebody if you don't have the skills to make it perform the way you want it to perform. Lowering the DK (aka suppressing the carrier) is not advisable on its own. Distortion will occur. That distortion will be amplified. Your amp could be damaged in the process.

 

There's no bs in purchasing and installing a stock radio. 99% of the time, that's the best performance you'll ever see. Tossing amplifiers into the equation is where the bs starts. It can be done and done correctly. That part is going to cost you a small fortune. Best thing to do is focus on your antenna system. That's where you'll find the most performance for the least amount of money.

 

Didn' t you say you have a stock 29 with a carrier of 4 watts swinging 16 watts? Just hook it up and use it, thats what I have been using for the last couple of years, stock single final radios ( 29,980,mckinley,Texas Ranger) and average 5 to 10 miles.

 

I’ve spent far more than $1k. Results are from very good to “why did I do that?”

This works:

- A 980 or a McKinley hooked up to an RM ITALY KL203.

- (Experiment with microphones to get best reports)

-West Mountain Radio ClearSpeaker (if Radio doesn’t have HAM-quality DSP, then you need it).

- best antenna system you can fit. Co-phase with a pair of Skipshooters up to 13’6” is where I’d start.

- keep working on noise reduction: coax, clean 12V power, etc. (I will get back to what I’ve used elsewhere).

Agreed that amps complicate things. Around 100w might be an ideal as more power changes performance little. 50-70w does the job. Thus the 203. Etc. What’s listed above is easy enough.

Access to a tech with an antenna analyzer is the next step.

The above list is a baseline. Will fit into factory cubby and run off of factory power.

I can’t afford guns women or cars. Throwing away a little money on CB is nothing compared to those. And, really, it ain’t thrown away. Personal car and house need CB also.

Dedicated RADIO toolboxes, foam-lined carrying cases, etc are another avenue. Good tools. Kept in Protective housings (that can also store other trucker electronics). Quality multimeter. Etc.

Two things I’ll get to this year are the larger Amp ANDERSEN POWERPOLE tools & supplies, plus quality crimp/die/cut tools for coax. Etc.

I’ve had the YAESU ft450d I bought early this year riding with me. Still not hooked up, but am slowly getting to the How and Where. So, the basic radio above is also installed.

A broader front. To do it right (as best my understanding is that week). And farther goals (licensure).

Being OTR except a few days per month means less time and more money.

But it’s an honest hobby. Practical. Not just ego.

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I don't believe in buying a new radio or amp and then have a tech "improve" on what the factory sold me.

Neither my KL203P amp nor the radios they are used with have been opened up since they left the factory floor; ever.

Yet they seem to stand up to my everyday needs to keep up with what's happening within 10 or so miles from any given location I may find myself at.

Teamed with a good antenna to take advantage of my 60-or-so Watts and an SWR meter to make sure things haven't changed for the worse, I've never felt wanting compared to the rest of the world.