CB setup on 2016 prostar help

Read the thread Bearcat 980 tuning( page 2) I use a 980 and it will out talk and receive 100% better than my cobra 20 lx. No significant difference between 18 and 40 pep swing watts but if you want to spend money on new radio and more money to let some hack cb Dr screw it up be my guest, most importantly you should make sure your attenna setup is effecient.

 

If you want to spend some money then buy the Stryker 955 which is 15watts swinging 60 watts which is 4 times more than stock 980 or 29 ( 1 s unit increase on receiving station) and this way you have a radio with 2 year warrenty that is designed to perform at those wattage numbers instead of trying to mod a 29 to get somewhat close to that( probably 10 swinging 40 with mosfet final uprade) and pushing the radio past its design limits and voiding any warrenty which means you are sol when radio starts smoking halfway through a keyup.

 

I dont believe the exports come with weather band which is a feature you are wanting, but I just think it makes more sense to buy a radio designed for high output instead of spending money to mod one that is only designed for 4watts. If your not wanting echo you can buy a Galaxy 29hp for about $170.00 + conversion and tune and have a radio that does 10watts swinging 40 for about $ 200.00. As far as any agency looking for 10meter radios being used on 11 meter, in 20 years Ive never seen it take place the only ones looking for high dollar radios are thiefs.

 

Sorry I wasnt able to give you great advice but if you are set on modifying a cobra 29 the one I would suggest is the mosfet 520 upgrade but if you plan on running a small amp ( which you didnt mention in original post) the why are you planning on modding a radio, jusy have deadkey matched to amp and your good to go, good luck I sincerly mean that.

 

That Bearcat 980 is a good radio to hookup with a small low drive amp, I ran mine into a 450 mosfet low drive in my pickup for a while and it worked great, input requirement for amp is 1 to 5 watts and no more than 15 watt swing with amp on carrier was 75 watts swing was 300+ .

 

You are not going to get 40 watts out of a Cobra 29. Mosfet or not. Anyone who tells you it is possible is at best delusional and at worst a con man. The amount of experience they claim matters not.

Remember, a wattmeter is a simple device. It cannot distinguish between actual on-frequency signal and harmonics caused by distortion due to improper modification (i.e. spread coils, clipped or improperly set limiter, and other crap mods like npc mods and swing kits) and harmonics will cause it to read higher power than is actually being transmitted on-frequency. Even the venerable Bird meters are subject to this phenomenon.

A Cobra 29 that "swings 40 watts" will be outperformed in transmissions by a stock 29. You will be loud up close, but a couple miles down the road you'll fade out, meanwhile I'll hear the people talking on stock radios 10 miles down the road. Compare the two on a spectrum analyzer (a piece of equipment the shop I believe you're talking about does not have, at least I haven't seen one in the many times I've been there) and you will easily understand why with the knowledge that every harmonic spur that is present takes power away from the fundamental frequency - the only one that will reach the receiving radio.

 

Watch out volvo244t you are going to be accused of giving no real advice.