What is Dead Key and Swing?

[Todd]

Will a Ranger RCI 2950 with a handheld D104 that Dead Keys at 2 watts and Swings to 25 watts perform better than my off-the-shelf UNiden 520xl? How much will I notice the difference in transmit and receive between the two units as I have described them? What might my Uniden Dead Ket at and Swing to? Thanks

[Freebird]

Dead key is the Watts a radio puts out when you key the mike, without speaking into the mike. Just how much watts the radio puts out when you press the mike button. Swing is the amount of wattage the radio put out when you whistle, or speak into the mike. You may hear guys whistling into the mike or saying
AAAUUUDDDDIIIIOOO! they are looking at the wattage or Swing on a watt meter as they speak into the mike.


Stock radios dead key 1-2 watts and swing 4 watts max per FCC regulations. A radio swinging 20 watts or more most likely has been modified and will perform a lot better than a stock off the shelf unit.

You will get more distance from a 20 watt radio. 10-15 miles in good flat terrain depending on the antennea you are using. Same antennea with a 4 watt radio will be about 4-6 miles average.

[Todd]

Dead key is the Watts a radio puts out when you key the mike, without speaking into the mike. Just how much watts the radio puts out when you press the mike button. Swing is the amount of wattage the radio put out when you whistle, or speak into the mike. You may hear guys whistling into the mike or saying
AAAUUUDDDDIIIIOOO! they are looking at the wattage or Swing on a watt meter as they speak into the mike.


Stock radios dead key 1-2 watts and swing 4 watts max per FCC regulations. A radio swinging 20 watts or more most likely has been modified and will perform a lot better than a stock off the shelf unit.

You will get more distance from a 20 watt radio. 10-15 miles in good flat terrain depending on the antennea you are using. Same antennea with a 4 watt radio will be about 4-6 miles average.

I'm certainly learning alot here. It's like a cram session on CB's. Will the difference in the distance be seen in both transmit and receive? I am more concerned about receiving a better signal. Is the Ranger CB that I speak of worth $100? Oh yeah, I use a Wilson Little Wil for now. Not as good as a Wilson 1000, but it should suffice? Wilson says that the antenna maxes at 300w, but I think that might burn it up?

I found a Ranger RCI 6300F that is rated:

RF Power Output
AM-FM: 50W RMS
AM: 150W PEAK

The 6300F has more power, huh? Should I read this as "Swings" to 150 watts? This unit is available for $200.

[Freebird]

The performance gain is on the transmit side only. Sometimes they adjust a little more receive when they turn up a radio, but very little difference. Your receive performance is directly related to your antennea quality. Think of it like a television with rabitt ear antennea vrs a large roof mounted antennea. The better the antennea the better the radio will receive.

300 watts rating for the antenne is plenty for a 25 watt radio. If you were running a power booster "linear" rated at higher than 300 watts then a 300 watt max antennea could not handle it.

The 6300F has more power, huh? Should I read this as "Swings" to 150 watts? This unit is available for $200. Yes this radio swings to 150 watts. The max watt of the radio is what it swings to.

[voyager7]

The only thing I would add to this is..
Don't rush through the install and take the time to match (trim) the antenna to the radio.
1:1 or better is what you want.

[Freebird]

The only thing I would add to this is..
Don't rush through the install and take the time to match (trim) the antenna to the radio.
1:1 or better is what you want.

Voyager is talking about getting your antenna SWR readings set to your radio. This can be done by any CB shop for a small fee. This matches the power coming from the radio to the power coming out of the antenna. Without having the SWR's set you can damage your radio.

[Todd]

The only thing I would add to this is..
Don't rush through the install and take the time to match (trim) the antenna to the radio.
1:1 or better is what you want.

Voyager is talking about getting your antenna SWR readings set to your radio. This can be done by any CB shop for a small fee. This matches the power coming from the radio to the power coming out of the antenna. Without having the SWR's set you can damage your radio.

Yes, I understand that the SWR's need to be tuned. I wish I had a Cobra 29 like model that had SWR tuning built in it. My Uniden Pro 520XL doesn't have that option. I have considered buying a SWR meter myself, but Radio Shack doesn't stock them. I talked with a local gut that would tune and peak my radio, including the SWR's, for only $10. I haven't measured my SWR's yet, I just stuck the whip in the Little Wil. Without the proper tools, I can't perform this operation. I know I need to do this in order to maximize the potential of any CB radio. Soon enough

So when another ham operator tells me I am giving him "5 pounds", what does that mean?

And when I read to switch the 2.?? ohm resistor with a .47 resistor (Power Mod), what will that actually do for my unit?

Oh yeah...I got a guy that has a Cobra 29 ltd, which he says he put a 1969 final in it, that he will sell for $120. This CB actually suits my spacial requirement better since I am putting it in my car. Is there any special deal with a 1969 final? What is so special about it?

[chriskohtc]

I have considered buying a SWR meter myself, but Radio Shack doesn't stock them.

Have you considered Fry's Electronics? They have a small, simple SWR meter for about $10.

[Duke]

The correct term is that you are matching the impedance.

Most of the radio equipment sold in the US is designed to work into 50ohms. So the radio is 50ohms, the coax is 50ohms and if the antenna is not 50ohms it will cause some power to be reflected and is referred to as standing waves, and can be measured with an SWR meter. If you can make the antenna 50ohms you should have an SWR of 1:1.

Some antennas are not 50ohm antennas and you do not trim them for the lowest SWR. An example is a full size 1/4 wave whip. Going by memory they will most likely be 35ohms, however you can get fancy and do impedance matching with the coax length so the radio sees 50ohms.

Note: a 1:1 SWR is not an indicator that your antenna system is working well. It only means that the meter is not reading any standing waves. It is possible to have enough loss in the antenna system that your SWR reads good but you can't "get out".

[Duke]

So when another ham operator tells me I am giving him "5 pounds", what does that mean?

Hopefully you're referring to a CBer and not a Ham Radio Operator, two different things. It's been a long while for me but 5 pounds meant 5 s-units.

Oh yeah...I got a guy that has a Cobra 29 ltd, which he says he put a 1969 final in it, that he will sell for $120. This CB actually suits my spacial requirement better since I am putting it in my car. Is there any special deal with a 1969 final? What is so special about it?

Nothing, it's just a 2sc1969 transistor. I don't know why people waste their time doing those kinds of mods though. I would just get myself an amp if you want more power. And buying a radio that someone has been inside of with a soldering iron would make me nervous, especially a used CB for $120. I'd rather spend $150 on a HR2510 if you can still find one.