VX-129CN S/RF AN L N B C B TONE C H9 TX/RX SWR 129 C AL OFF OFF PA LOW N OR MAL AN T MIC GAIN VOL SQ RF GAIN SWR CAL CLARIFY OFF SOLID STATE 40 CHANNEL AM MOBILE CB RADIO OWNERS MANUAL Printed In Malaysia PD010704 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Specifications . . CHAPTER 2 Installation . Location . Mounting The Radio . Ignition Noise Interference . Antenna . Tuning The Antenna for Optimum SWR . External Speaker . Public Address . CHAPTER 3 Operation . Front Panel . Rear Panel . Frequency Chart . Procedure to Receive And Transmit . Alternate Microphone And Installation . Maintenance And Adjustment . A Few Rules That Should Be Obeyed . How Your CB Can Serve You . Use CH 9 For Emergency Messages Only . PAGE 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 7 9 10 11 12 15 16 16 17
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CHAPTER 1 SPECIFICATIONS CHAPTER 2 INSTALLATION GENERAL Model Channels Frequency Range Emission Frequency Control Frequency Stability Temperature Range Antenna Impedance Antenna Connectors Input Voltage Size Weight TRANSMITTER RF Power Output Spurious Emission Audio Distortion Frequency Response Microphone VX-129CN 40 26.965 ~ 27.405 MHz AM Phase-Lock-loop (PLL) Synthesizer 0.001%
-30C to +50C 50 Ohms Standard SO-239 type 13.8V DC 7 7/8 (W) x 9 1/4 (D) x 2 3/8 (H) 5.0 lbs. AM : 4W
-55 dB 10%
300 to 2500 Hz Dynamic RECEIVER Sensitivity for 10 dB (S+N)/N Squelch Sensitivity Image Rejection AGC Figure of Merit Audio Power Output Audio Response
< 1.0 uV (AM)
< 0.5 uV More than 65 dB 100 mV for 10dB Change in Audio Output 2.5W @ 10% Distortion 300 to 2500 Hz
(SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE) LOCATION Plan the location of the transceiver and microphone bracket before starting the installation. Select a location that is convenient for operation and does not interfere with the driver or passengers in the automobiles, the transceiver is usually mounted the dash panel with the microphone bracket beside it. MOUNTING THE RADIO The transceiver is supplied with a universal mounting bracket. When mounting the bracket and radio to your car, make sure it is mechanically strong. Also provide a good electrical connection to the chassis of the vehicle. Proceed as follows to mount the transceiver:
1. After you have determined the most convenient location in your vehicle, hold the transceiver with mounting bracket in the exact location desired. If nothing will interfere with mounting it in the desired position remove the mounting bolts. Before drilling the holes, make sure nothing will interfere with the installation of the mounting bolts. 2. Connect the antenna cable plug to the standard receptacle on the rear panel. Most transceiver antennas are terminated with a type PL-259 plug and mate with the receptacle. 3. Connect the red DC power input wire (with the fuse) to +13.8V DC. This wire extends from the rear panel. In automobile installation, +13.8V DC is usually obtained from the accessory contact on the ignition switch. This prevent the set being left on accidentally when the driver leaves the car and also permits operating the unit without the engine running. Locate the accessory contact on most ignition switches by tracing the power wire from the AM broadcast receiver in the car. 4. Connect the black lead to 13.8V DC. This is usually the chassis of the car. Any convenient location with good electrical contact (remove paint) may be used. 5. Mount the microphone bracket on the right side of the transceiver, using two screws supplied. When mounting in an automobile, place the bracket under the dash so that microphone is readily accessible.
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IGNITION NOISE INTERFERENCE Use of a mobile receiver at low signal levels is normally limited by the presence of electrical noise. The primary source of noise in automobile installation is from the generator and ignition system in the vehicle. Under most operating conditions, when signal level is adequate, the background noise does not present a serious problem. Also, when extremely low level signals are being received, the transceiver may be operated with vehicles engine turned off. The unit requires very little current and therefore will not significantly discharge the vehicle battery. Even though the transceiver has ANL and NB controls, in some installation ignition interference may be high enough to make good communications impossible. The electrical noise may come from several sources. Many possibilities exist, as variations between vehicles require different solutions to reduce the noise. ANTENNA A vertically polarized, quarter-wavelength whip antenna provides the most reliable operation and greatest range. Shorter, loaded-type whip antennas are more attractive, compact and adequate for applications where the maximum possible distance is not required. Also, loaded whips do not present the problems of high wind resistant imposed by a full quarter-wavelength whip. Mobile whip antennas utilize the metal body of the vehicle as a ground plane. When mounted at a corner of the vehicle they are slightly directional, in the direction of the body of the vehicle. For all practical purpose, however, the radiation pattern is nondirectional. The slight directional characteristic will be observed only at extreme distances. A standard antenna connector
(type SO-239) is provided on the transceiver for easy connection to a standard PL-259 cable termination. If the transceiver is not mounted on a metal surface, it is necessary to run a separate ground wire from the unit to good metal electrical ground in the vehicle. When installed in a boat, the transceiver will not operate at maximum efficiency without a ground plate, unless the vessel has a steel hull. Before installing the transceiver in a boat, consult your dealer for information regarding an adequate grounding system and prevention of electrolysis between fittings in the hull and water. TUNING THE ANTENNA FOR OPTIMUM S.W.R Since there is such a wide variety of base and mobile antennas, this section will strictly concern itself to the various types of mobile adjustable antennas. Because the antenna length is directly related to the channel frequency, it must be tuned to resonate optimally on all channels of the transceiver. Channel 1 requires a longer antenna than Channel 40 because it is lower in its frequency of operation. Due to the various methods of adjusting antennas for proper S.W.R. we have chosen what we think is the optimum method:
A. Antenna with adjustment screws (set screws). 1. Starts with the antenna extended and tighten the set screw lightly enough so that the antenna can be lightly tapped with your finger for easy adjustment. 2. Set your transceiver to Channel 20. Press the PTT (push-to-talk) switch, and tap the antenna (making it shorter). The S.W.R meter will show a lower reading each time the antenna is tapped. By continuing to shorten the antenna, you will notice the S.W.R reading will reach a low point and then start rising again. This means that you have passed the optimum point for Channel 20. Extend the antenna a short distance and again follow the procedure above. When the lowest point has been reached, switch to Channel 1 and then to Channel 40 and compare S.W.R readings. They should be almost equal. NOTE The proper setting is achieved when the SWR is 1.5 or below, and when it has the same reading for channels 1 and 40. B. Antennas which must be cut to proper length 1. Follow the same procedure as above but adjust the length by cutting in 1/8 increments until a good match is obtained. 2. Be very careful not to cut too much at one time, as once it is cut, it can no longer be lengthed. 3. The whip is easily cut by filing a notch all the way around and breaking the piece off with pliers.
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If youre having difficulties in adjusting your antenna, check the following:
a. All doors must be closed when adjusting the antenna b. Make sure the antenna base is grounded. c. Check your coaxial cable routing (it may be pinched when routed into the car) d. Try a different location in your car (keeping in mind the radiation pattern you wish.) Is the antenna perfectly vertical?
e. f. Try a different location in your neighborhood. Stay away from large metal objects when adjusting (metal telephone polls or light post, fences, etc.) NOTE The transceiver will operate into an SWR of 2 to 1 indefinitely and sustain an SWR of 20 : 1 for a maximum of 5 minutes at rated operating conditions. EXTERNAL SPEAKER The external speaker jack (EXT SP.) on the rear panel is used for remote receiver monitoring. The external speaker should have 8 ohms impedance and be able to handle at least 4 watts. When the external speaker is plugged in, the internal speaker is disconnected. PUBLIC ADDRESS To use the transceiver as a public address system, connect an external 8 ohms speaker (4 watts minimum) to the PA. SP. jack located on the rear panel. Direct speaker away from the microphone to prevent acoustic feedback. Physical separation or isolation of the microphone and speaker is important when operating the PA at high output levels. CHAPTER 3 OPERATION FRONT PANEL 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 S/RF ANL NB CB TONE CH9 TX/RX SWR 129 CAL OFF OFF PA LOW NORMAL ANT MIC G AIN VOL SQ RF GAIN SWR CAL CLARIFY OFF
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. MICROPHONE JACK : Used to connect microphone for voice source. 2. MIC GAIN CONTROL : Adjust the microphone gain in the transmit and PA modes. This controls the gain to the extent that full talk power is available several inches away from the microphone. In the Public Address (PA) mode, the control function as the volume control. 3. ON/OFF VOLUME CONTROL : This knob controls the volume and power to the radio. To turn radio on, rotate the knob clockwise. Turning the knob further will increase the volume of the receiver. 4. SQUELCH CONTROL : This switch is used to eliminate background noise being heard through the receiver which can be disturbing when no transmission are being heard through the received. To use this feature, turn the switch fully counterclockwise and then turn clockwise slowly until the background noise is just eliminated. Further clockwise rotation will increase the threshold level which a signal must overcome in order to be heard. Only strong signal will be heard at a maximum clockwise setting. 5. RF GAIN CONTROL : This control is used to reduce the gain of the RF amplifier under strong signal conditions.
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6. SWR CAL CONTROL : This SWR CAL control allows the user to 18. CHANNEL DISPLAY : The channel display indicates the current calibrate the SWR meter. selected channel. 7. CLARIFY CONTROL : Allows tuning of the receive frequency above 19. ILLUMINATION : Face plate will illuminate when turn on the radio. or below the channel frequency. 8. CHANNEL SELECTOR : This control is used to select a desired transmit and receive channel. 9. FRONT PANEL METER : The Front Panel Meter allows the user to monitor signal strength, RF output power and SWR level. 10. S-RF/CAL/SWR SWITCH : In the S-RF position, the meter will indicate the strength of the signal being received, as well as the relative RF output of transmission. When calibrating the SWR meter, you need to put this switch in the CAL position. To use the meter to measure the standing wave ratio, turn the switch to the SWR position. 11. ANL/OFF SWITCH : In the ANL position, the Automatic Noise Limiter (ANL) in the audio circuits is activated. 12. NB/OFF SWITCH : In the NB position, the Noise Blanker (NB) is activated. The NB is very effective in eliminating repetitive impulse noise such as ignition interference. 13. PA/CB SWITCH : Select the mode of operation. In the PA position, the radio acts as public address amplifier. Your voice will come out of the speaker that is plugged into the PA. SP. jack on the rear panel. The radio does not operate when you are in the PA mode. In the CB position, the PA function is disabled and the radio will transmit and receive on the speaker that is connected. 14. TONE SWITCH HI/LO : This switch changes tone quality in receive only. In LO position, bass is increased and in HI position, treble is increased. 15. CH9/NORMAL SWITCH : Channel 9 switch is used for instant selection of an emergency channel. 16. TX/RX LED : The red LED indicates the unit is in the transmit mode. The green LED indicates the unit is in the receive mode. 17. ANT LED : This LED lights orange when your SWR is higher than about 3:1. This is not an exact indicator of 3:1 SWR, but it is an indication that you should check your SWR reading. REAR PANEL
: 129
100001 15
. 4 3
2
. 1 1. ANTENNA : This jack accepts 50 ohms coaxial cable with a PL-259 type plug. 2. DC POWER : This accepts 13.8V DC power cable with built-in fuse. The power cord provided with the radio has a black and red wire. The black goes to negative and red goes to positive. 3. PA SP. : This jack is for PA operation. Before operating, you must first connect a PA speaker (8 ohms, 4W) to this jack. 4. EXT. SP : This jack accepts 4 to 8 ohms, 5 watts external speaker. When the external speaker is connected to this jack, the built-in speaker will be disabled.
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FREQUENCY CHART PROCEDURE TO RECEIVE AND TRANSMIT Channel Channel Frequency Channel Channel Frequency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 26.965 MHz 26.975 MHz 26.985 MHz 27.005 MHz 27.015 MHz 27.025 MHz 27.035 MHz 27.055 MHz 27.065 MHz 27.075 MHz 27.085 MHz 27.105 MHz 27.115 MHz 27.125 MHz 27.135 MHz 27.155 MHz 27.165 MHz 27.175 MHz 27.185 MHz 27.205 MHz 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 27.215 MHz 27.225 MHz 27.255 MHz 27.235 MHz 27.245 MHz 27.265 MHz 27.275 MHz 27.285 MHz 27.295 MHz 27.305 MHz 27.315 MHz 27.325 MHz 27.335 MHz 27.345 MHz 27.355 MHz 27.365 MHz 27.375 MHz 27.385 MHz 27.395 MHz 27.405 MHz A. MICROPHONE The receiver and transmitter are controlled by the push-to-talk switch on the microphone. Press the switch and the transmitter is activated, release switch to receive. When transmitting, hold the microphone two inches from the mouth and speak clearly in a normal voice. This transceiver comes complete with a low impedance dynamic microphone. B. PROCEDURE TO RECEIVE 1. Be sure that power source, microphone and antenna are connected to the proper connectors before going to the next step. 2. Turn VOL knob clockwise to apply power to the radio. 3. Set the VOL for a comfortable listening level. 4. Set the MODE switch to the desired mode. 5. Listen to the background noise from the speaker. Turn the SQ knob slowly clockwise until the noise just disappears. The SQ is now properly adjusted. The receiver will remain quiet until a signal is actually received. Do not advance the control too far or some of weaker signals will not be heard. 6. Set the CHANNEL selector switch to the desired channel. 7. Set the RF GAIN control fully clockwise for maximum RF gain. 8. Adjust the CLARIFY control to optimize AM signals. C. PROCEDURE TO TRANSMIT 1. Select the desired channel of transmission 2. Set the MIC GAIN control fully clockwise. 3. If the channel is clear, depress the push-to-talk switch on the microphone and speak in a normal voice.
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ALTERNATE MICROPHONES AND INSTALLATION For best results, the user should select a low-impedance dynamic type microphone or a transistorized microphone. Transistorized type microphones have low output impedance characteristics. The microphones must be provided with a four-lead cable. The audio conductor and its shielded lead comprise two of the leads. The third lead is for transmit control and fourth is for receiving control. The microphone should provide the functions shown in schematic below. 4 WIRE MIC CABLE Pin Number Mic Cable Lead 1 2 3 4 Audio Shield Audio Lead Transmit Control Receive Control Fig. 1 Your transceiver microphone schematic. If the microphone to be used is provided with precut leads, they must be revised as follows. 1. Cut leads so that they extend 7/16" beyond the plastic insulating jacket of the microphone cable. 2. All leads should be cut to the same length. Strip the ends of each wire 1/8" and tin the exposed wire. Before beginning the actual wiring, read carefully the circuit and wiring information provided with the microphone you select. Use the minimum heat required in soldering the connections. Keep the exposed wire lengths to a minimum to avoid shorting when the microphone plug is reassembled. Fig. 2 Microphone plug wiring To wire the microphone cable to the plug provided, proceed as follows :
1. Remove the retaining screw. 2. Unscrew the housing from the pin receptacle body. 3. Loosen the two cable clamp retainer screws. 4. Feed the microphone cable through the housing, knurled ring and washer as shown Figure 2.
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9. The two cable clamp retainer screws should now be tightened to secure the housing to the microphone cord. If the cutting directions have been carefully followed, the cable clamp should secure to the insulation jacket of the microphone cable. 10. Upon completion of the microphone plug wiring, connect and secure the microphone plug in the transceiver. MAINTENANCE AND ADJUSTMENT This transceiver is specifically designed for the environment encountered in base installations. The use of all solid state circuitry and its light weight result in high reliability. Should a failure occur, however, replace parts only with identical parts. Do not substitute. NOTE If the performance described in the OPERATION and MAINTENANCE AND ADJUSTMENT sections is not obtained, review the operating instructions to insure that proper procedures were followed. FCC WARNING This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the condition that this device does not cause harmful interference. All transmitter adjustments other than those provided on front panel by the manufacturer must be made by or under the supervision of the holder of an FCC issued general radio telephone operators license. 5. The wires must now be soldered to the pins as indicated in the above wiring tables. If a vise or clamping tool is available it should be used to hold the pin receptacle body during the soldering operation, so that both hands are free to perform the soldering. If a vise or clamping tool is not available, the pin receptacle body can be held in a stationary position by inserting it into the microphone jack on the front panel. The numbers of the microphone plug are shown in Fig. 3, as viewed from the back of the plug. Before soldering the wire to the pins, pre-tin the wire receptacle of each pin of the plug. Fig. 3 Microphone plug pin numbers viewed from rear of pin receptacle. 6. Be sure that the housing and the knurled ring of Figure 2 are pushed back onto the microphone cable before starting to solder. If the washer is not captive to the pin receptacle body, make sure that it is placed on the threaded portion of the pin receptacle body before soldering. 7. If the microphone jack is used to hold the pin receptacle during soldering operation, best results are obtained when the connections to pin 1 and 3 are made first and then the connections to pins 2 and 4. Use a minimum amount of soldering and be careful to prevent excessive solder accumulation on pins, which could cause a short between the pin and the microphone plug housing. 8. When all soldering connections to the pins of the microphone are completed, push the knurled ring and the housing forward and screw the housing onto the threaded portion of the pin receptacle body. Note the location of the screw clearance hole in the plug housing with respect to the threaded hole in the pin receptacle body. When the housing is completely threaded into the pin receptacle body, a final fraction of a turn either clockwise or counterclockwise may be required to align the screw hole with the threaded hole in the pin receptacle body. When these are aligned, the retaining screw is then screwed into place to secure the housing to the pin receptacle body.
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A FEW RULES THAT SHOULD BE OBEYED USE CH 9 FOR EMERGENCY MESSAGES ONLY 1. You are not allowed to carry on a conversation with another station for more than five minutes at a time without taking a one-minute break, to give others a chance to use the channel. 2. You are not allowed to blast others off the air by over-powering them with illegally amplified transmitter power, or illegally high antennas. 3. You cant use the transceiver to promote illegal activities. 4. You are not allowed to use profanity. 5. You may not play music in your transceiver. 6. You may not use your transceiver to sell merchandised or professional service. HOW YOUR CB CAN SERVE YOU 1. Warn of traffic tie ups ahead. 2. Provide weather and road information. 3. Provide help fast in event of emergency or breakdown. 4. Suggest good spots to eat and sleep. 5. Make long trips more interesting, and help keep you awake. 6. Provide direct contact with your office or home. 7. Make friends for you as you travel. 8. Provide local information to find your destination. 9. Help law enforcement officers by reporting drunk and reckless drivers. The FCC gives the following examples of permitted and prohibited types of communications for use in an emergency. These are guidelines and are not intended to be all inclusive. Permitted YES Example Message A tornado sighted six miles north of town. NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO This is observation post number 10. No tornado sighted. I am out of gas on interstate 95 I am out of gas in my driveway There is a four-car collision at exit 10 on the Beltway, send police and ambulance. traffic is moving smoothly on the Beltway Base to Unit 1, the weather Bureau has just issued a thunder storm warning. Bring the sailboat into port. Attention all motorists. The weather Bureau advises that the snow tomorrow will accumulate 4 to 6 inches. There is a fire in the building on the corner of 6th and Main Streets. This is Halloween patrol unit number 3. Everything is quiet here.
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