PL259 vs Type N connectors

Excuse my lack of knowledge. If you have a Type N connector on the end of your coax, do you have to replace the hardwired PL259 on your Cobra or use an adapter to connect the type end to the PL259?

 

so let's be insane then....every thing matters. if you can't experiment what's the fun in it !!! and if ya can't afford the new connectors and try them out...think you need a better job $$$$$$$$$

 

Peaking receiver sensitivity does help, but you do reach a limit.

OK, so you have your receiver tuned up so you can copy an S1 signal, 0.2 μV. Connect it to an antenna where you have an S5 noise level (3.2 μV), and there's no way you're going to copy that signal. I don't care how many receive amps you stack in front of your receiver, they aren't going to help.

 

Its not the point that this is not possible or probable but rather blanket statements of one or another unique individuals can only do these things are rather ... reaching.

As Ms. Jamie pointed out it is useless to have great sensitivity when the band noise (from many sources) can wipe out the effectiveness. As I pointed out the internals of the radio (phase noise, component noise, temp noise - all come into play too) are ignored and the only thing to you and others is this noise floor issue.

Actually the opposite is true.

Antennas are the starting point, the detector is the end of the line. The front end of a common CB is a broad band design, for the purpose of wideband selectivity over 1mhz at the same time it is overly dependent on the IF strip for the filtering in order to make up for that lack of narrow selectivity. The IF strip is a generic design, hoping for the best when tuned while delivering just enough to make it work. The detector has not changed in 80 years so I won't touch that except this is a source of fading with skip.

Export/10meter rigs that are sold for the cb market are the worst offenders of all, the design of the front end is so wide that they can't help but be pure crap - 12 meters to lower 10 meters, really?

A good radio will have a tight front end but not a wide band one. the CB is made for mass production so they are not going to do much more than a simple circuit that can provide gain for the mixer while providing the requirements of simple communications.

 

So let me get this straight, we now have good engineering involved?

I thought these were techs, not engineers?

I have yet seen anyone tech to tighten a front end, it takes more than replacing a front end amp or a mixer. All I've seen and heard for that matter - including here - is no real mods take place but some tuning with a super tech and his super bench.

 

There are some IF mods that can be done to improve selectivity, add extra stages and old school stuff. I'm off the experienced opinion that turning screws can only do so much. You can Polish the hell out of a turd, but it's still a turd.
Unless there are circuit changes you can only do so much with what you have to work with.

These 30 mile contacts from base and beams to each other don't mean squat in my world. Remember that gamma on the Dodge van? That was from a moonraker 6 on a 40ft tower with a DAK Mark 10. Old school.

No amount of screw turning on any modern mass produced chassis is going to produce miracles. Just isn't going to happen in the real world.

I do 20 miles all the time with a 50 buck k40 mounted high on an 18" chunk of all thread using 2 cheap mounts. Don't matter if it's my 29, 98vhp, or the n4 that's on the dash right now. The only advantage the big radios have is more power, and that only matters during the keydown truckstop stupidfests.

A few ohms at the connectors isn't going to make any real differences, no matter how magic the screwdrivers are.