Which would you chose, and why?

[TheJerk]

I have recently set up a base antenna...horizontal dipole. Seeing around 1.5: SWR, which I read is typically normal.

I have two choices for the "radio":

The first is the newer version of the President Washington (this is the model that is essentially the same as the "Uniden" Washington). This radio is mostly unmolested, but definitely needs an alignment, which I will have done next week. Currently, it shows around 5 watts swinging to around 12. It appears unclipped and the only modification, that I can determine, is upper and lower channels. I will have the extra channels removed when it gets looked at next week since I have no desire to be on them.

The other alternative is a newer Uniden Grant XL on a power supply. I already have the power supply, 10A @ 14.1VDC. This radio is tuned and aligned...seeing around 3.5 watts swinging to around 10. This radio is completely unclipped, and unmodified.

Which would you chose and why?

[Secret Squirrel]

SWR or 1.5 is fine, it can be fine tuned lower. If you are going to run a stock radio then leave it alone. The horizional dipole will perform better for you at longer distance than local talking. Some guys set up a verticle dipole also and then have a switch box between them. Just use the verticle for local and the horizonal for DX. The horizonal will also be directional off the center of the dipole. The CB choice will be the Uniden Grant. They have a reputation to be clear talkers with good receive. They tune up well, but will not be rule the channel radio. They SSB communication of the Uniden Grant has a great following. The Uniden Grant is a sought after SSB CB.

[TheJerk]

The 1.5:1 SWR is pretty much the best I will see with 75/50 ohm mismatch...typical of a horizontal dipole.

[TheJerk]

I just read the President Washington and the Uniden Grant share the same PCB? Is that correct? If so, then why is one any better than the other?

Keep in mind, I own both setups...so this isn't a "which should I buy?", but rather a "which should I use?" thread...

[drdx]

Doesn't the Grant have the dual conversion receive, like a 148 or 2000, and the Washington have the single conversion receive, like a 142? That's a notable difference, although the washington is in a nicer package. Why not hook both up on a switch and see for yourself?

-drdx

[TheJerk]

Doesn't the Grant have the dual conversion receive, like a 148 or 2000, and the Washington have the single conversion receive, like a 142? That's a notable difference, although the washington is in a nicer package.
-drdx

Please explain the single vs dual conversion?? Never heard of that before...what does it do for me?

Why not hook both up on a switch and see for yourself?
-drdx

I have, and the Grant is definitely lower on power, but I'm not sure 1.5 watts is enough make a difference...although I did seem to have more difficulty making contacts (maybe condition related?). The Grant is aligned and tuned...its doing the most it will do at this point (without getting distorted). I almost wonder if the Grant was run hard before I owned it (I know it was supposed to "scream" as noted by the PO, but I had it tuned before I ever powered it)...maybe the final is weak.

The Washington is doing more watts, before even having a screwdriver placed in it...so it might do as much or more after the alignment and tune...and, as far as I can tell, it was never modded for more power.

[TheJerk]

A side note, the Grant was "one of the worst" this guy had seen...it was horribly out of alignment. It was doing well on AM, but SSB was bad...

[De_Wildfire]

I have recently set up a base antenna...horizontal dipole. Seeing around 1.5: SWR, which I read is typically normal.

I have two choices for the "radio":

The first is the newer version of the President Washington (this is the model that is essentially the same as the "Uniden" Washington). This radio is mostly unmolested, but definitely needs an alignment, which I will have done next week. Currently, it shows around 5 watts swinging to around 12. It appears unclipped and the only modification, that I can determine, is upper and lower channels. I will have the extra channels removed when it gets looked at next week since I have no desire to be on them.

The other alternative is a newer Uniden Grant XL on a power supply. I already have the power supply, 10A @ 14.1VDC. This radio is tuned and aligned...seeing around 3.5 watts swinging to around 10. This radio is completely unclipped, and unmodified.

Which would you chose and why?

1.5 is ok. I have an all band dipole and that gave me a 1.5 swr when tuned with a tuner on 10 meters. I cut it a little and the tuner tunes it now to 1.1 swr. You will also change your res. frequency way down the bands slightly but you should be able to run direct on your res. frequency without a tuner. I don't think it's worth the hassle over 1.5. Leave it alone.

[TheJerk]

I'm probably going to pull the trigger next week and buy a MFJ-259B or Palstar ZM30...I need a new toy, and building that antenna (although very simple) was kinda fun.

[TwentyTwo-Zero]

Doesn't the Grant have the dual conversion receive, like a 148 or 2000, and the Washington have the single conversion receive, like a 142? That's a notable difference, although the washington is in a nicer package. Why not hook both up on a switch and see for yourself?

-drdx

Yep - The Grant uses dual conversion on AM and single conversion on SSB. The Washington uses single conversion for both AM and SSB.

Single conversion means that the receiver has a single IF (intermediate frequency) stage and dual conversion means the receiver uses two IF stages. The dual conversion radio receiver will reject nearby interference better then a single conversion radio.

[De_Wildfire]

I'm probably going to pull the trigger next week and buy a MFJ-259B or Palstar ZM30...I need a new toy, and building that antenna (although very simple) was kinda fun.

That MFJ-259B is nice. I borrowed one from a friend and loved it. Without transmitting on the bands to see where the swr was flat, that little box saved me a lot of trouble.

[Pioneer621]

I own the “OLDER” President Washington with 858 board with the 2 push buttons on the front. I also own the Uniden Grant XL. I got my Washington for parts a few years back & it was missing some power supply parts & way out of alignment, would not even receive or transmit, fixed the power supply & re-aligned the radio & got it going again, it played great & I got good reports, a nice performing radio for a while, I don’t use it very often, although the last time I used it the TX audio sounded different, just not as clear and natural sounding as it should be, & I was told it did not sound right, I think some of the electrolytic caps are drying up in the MIC audio circuit, I’ll have to check it out one of these days, but before that it sounded good & when tuned up it puts out a little more power then my Grant XL. Your Washington is probably the 8719 chassis, so the above info is probably useless when comparing.

My Grant XL plays fantastic! I always get excellent reports when on that radio, it is not a powerhouse, but the difference is so minimal no one will ever probably notice the difference on there S-Meter, I would not worry about the output power difference. Great Modulation & super clear, the receive is great, & is pretty darn good on SSB too. Since I have never used the type of Washington you have I can’t compare them equally to the Grant XL, however, you can’t go wrong with the Grant XL as it does perform well. I say talk to some local operators one day & compare both & see what they think sounds better. I have a set of wattmeters with a headphone jack & volume control on it that samples the Audio from the RF & it gives me a pretty good idea of what my TX audio sounds like. I use that to monitor my audio while talking.

I have used my Grant XL for base & mobile & it has always served me well, I had one problem with it that I had to repair, but that was the only one. It was a couple years ago when I repaired it, but the AM Power Regulator transistor went out, it started to not transmit on AM every once in a while, then finally stopped transmitting at all, SSB still worked fine. Checked the AM Power regulator & it was bad, so I replaced it with a similar part from my junk box & have not had a problem since. I actually used it as just a skip shooting SSB radio until I finally got around to looking at it!

Again, you will have to take a day or two & test out & compare your two radios & pick the one you like the best, after all, you will be the one using it. I would have to pick the Grant XL, unless the Washington you have has equally as good or close receive, & equal transmit “audio” quality, I would prefer using a base radio at home, but a good playing mobile with a power supply is fine too.

That MFJ-259B looks like a nice piece or gear to have, I need one myself; I was looking at one in my radio catalog the other day. It would sure come in handy!

[jwalker48]

The dipole is an excellent antenna. However, I would consider having a vertical as well. Polarity plays a part in this and a dipole vs the verticals (mobiles and bases) close in is going to experience some reduction in signal strength if not a LOT of noticable attenuation! When you use the dipole out at a distance (long haul), it doesn't matter, and RF signals tend to "tumble" over the long haul; iow, you won't notice the difference. This is what I am doing. I have an A99 cut for 10 Meters and a multi-band dipole for other HF. Just a thot.................................



jwalker