klv 1000 sounding rough on ssb

[cb pirate]

hi every one , i brought a klv 1000 amp new and have never been happy with the modulation on ssb, i have shi!!!! loads of cb s that i have collected over the last 30 years and having tried lots of different radios ,some sound crap like breaking up over driving and others sound harsh scratchy, i aways tune amp with 4 watts dk and run amp with 10 to 15 watts drive on ssb and use stock mics, is there a alc pot or some thing in the amp i can ajust, all the radios i use have clear modulation but with amp on turn to crap, amp is low drive model and puts out about 900 watts pep on high ssb , swr is always low, good coax ect , any ideas on how to get nice clear audio, cheers damo

['Doc]

A low drive amplifier, and you are always driving it with the same input power. Have you thought of dropping that drive just a bit and seeing what happens?
- 'Doc

[TheJerk]

4 watts is probably too much drive if that amp does indeed have a built in driver...try 1 or 2 watts and see if that helps?

[721HACKSAW]

How does it sound on AM? Is this only a SSB problem? I have the same amp, it works great with about a 2 w DK. The design is 1 tube driving 4, and it is prone to failure with too much drive. My local tech is in the process of modifing it to remove the drive section, making it a straight 4 tube with new Svetlana EL-509s.

[cb pirate]

ok guys thanks for the replys, will drop am dk power to 1-2 watts and see how that goes, as for talking am havent realy tried it ,from where i am every one uses ssb, will drop dk and re post how it goes, thanks damo

[TheJerk]

If you only use it on SSB, then you need to lower your total "swing" on SSB...ssb has no dead key.

[cb pirate]

i am not worried about am so if droping the dk am carrier to 1 to 2 watts wont help ssb audio what amount swing should i tune ssb power for, my dosy meter reads about 15 watts pep on current radio i am useing should i back alc off in radio to say 10 to 12 watts pep swing????, cheers damo

['Doc]

If there's anyone handy to do that sort of thing with, try turning things down till the 'roughness' goes away, as far as the listener can tell. How much will that amount to? I have no idea, so what's best is when it doesn't sound 'rough' anymore, right?
- 'Doc

[cb pirate]

HI EVERY ONE, WELL I TURNED DOWN THE SWING ON SSB FROM 15 WATTS TO 10 WATTS PEP AND ITS SOUNDING FINE WITH GOOD ON AIR REPORTS NOW,STILL PEAKING AROUND 900 ON HIGH, THE INSTUCTIONS THAT I GOT WITH THE AMP STATE 1 TO 10 WATTS AM AND 2 TO 20 WATTS DRIVE SSB WHICH SEEMS TO BE WAY TO HIGH, ALSO THE TUNE UP INSTUCTIONS ARE NOT VERY GOOD, I USE A CONSTANT TONE FROM A 12V CAR REVERSING BEEPER, JUST WRAPPED LAYERS OF TAPE AROUND IT SO IT WAS NOT TO LOUD, THANKS GUYS FOR YOUR HELP, NOW FOR THE DX

[linx]

I love these amps. I was going to suggest to lower the input wattage, but it sounds like you did it, lol.

900W is ok. What you need to do is get online (eBay) and find the Svetlana tubes. You'll have to order them from Russia, or somewhere over sea, but you can typically get them cheaper than $50 and it will DOUBLE your power output.

[cb pirate]

hi linx thanks for reply, like your chopper bet its nosy when you open her up, i checked the tubes that are in the amp when i got it and they are svetlana, writting looks like 6n45c,are these the valves to use, on the amp the power meter it swings to over 1200 pep but on my dosy tc-4002-psw-v meter it reads 900 pep on ssb, i think a decent meter like a bird is needed read to read pep readings, do you think i should be getting more out of the amp, the fan in mine was very noisy to and sh-t its self so i but in another fan and its a different brand and its much more quitethan before, cheers damo

[Nagant]

The fans do tend to be noisy in the KLV-1000's especially during TX as they speed up then. If you can find a Whisper brand fan of the same size and volts it would probably be quieter.

[kingcroc]

This is a very late post!. I use my klv-1000 VIP with a GE base station. I get best results with a 2.5 to 3W dead key on AM swinging to 8-9W. Great audio on AM but make sure you don't have to much mic gain (this is essential). On my GE I have the mic gain set to 10 o'clock using the stock mic (I don't reccomend a power mic!) go standard and the audio is powerful and clear!. For SSB I up the mic gain but not to much, get some on air reports from people you trust and no more than 8-10 Watts PEP max. Also don't be tempted to try for sky high wattage that you see on some other forums. You get what you get with these proven inputs.