MCKINLEY RF GAIN

Hi all,
problem is in TX MODE  I can't  INCREASE/DECREASE the RF GAIN on my Mckinley. The handbook  is telling me press and hold PTT switch then press F which on this Mckinley  is marked MIC/RF GAIN.  All this does is bring up "TALKBACK" I can INCREASE/DECREASE this but when I turn TALKBACK...OFF and confirm it with the channel button. When I use PTT button and press the F, all that happens is TALKBACK comes up again, and NOT RF GAIN. The problem is that RF gain is on FULL, and I want to get a LINEAR amp maybe 50 or a 100 watts but because I cannot adjust the RF down to 4 watts or so i,m going to be putting a lot more than 4 watts into any LINEAR amp which will overload the INPUT.

This Mckinley has been expanded so will probably be putting out around 8 watts FM and maybe 20 watts SSB........any advice appreciated.

redsprite

Hi Stephan,

You mentioned "RF GAIN" but then mentioned using linears so I'm assuming you're actually after the "RF POWER" settings?

If so, (according to the manual no less), you press the PTT mic key & the "." button & the "MENU/PUSH" or "CH" channel selector knob altogether then you've entered the RF POWER setting menu. (Should display this.)

Use the CH channel selector knob to adjust the power.

Press and hold the "MENU/PUSH" or "CH" button for 1 second to confirm the setting.


I know....PITA!
Simple once you know how I suppose.

Hope that helps,
Victor

CB Magazine on youtube explains this radio functions and setting RF power all way down to 1w

Victor, thank you, yes I did in fact mean RF "POWER" INCREASE/DECREASE.
I did exactly as YOU and the manual said.  channel CH  and "." plus PTT, I was getting it mixed up RF gain. Thanks to your help,and reading the manual properly, I have now sorted it out. I am a complete "newbie" wasn't into it in the 80's, so you,ll have to cut me some slack  

Thanks for your help.

Stephan.

Well that is a PITA isn’t it. Seems very outdated.

Stephan,

No worries mate, glad you got it sussed

Remember, we're all newbies when it comes to anything 'new'. No matter how old we get, how experienced, how used to technology we are, when we're faced with something 'new' it's definitely head-scratching time! 

I'm just glad I was able to offer help even if in a little way. It's often difficult with a text based forum, pictorial or video based, (monkey-see, monkey-do), examples are better. Plus stuff gets lost in translation, "you say tomato, I say tomato" for example doesn't work in pure written form!

Saying that, never let that put you off from asking questions. It's how we learn, it's how we get stuff done and luckily here on Charlie Tango there are plenty of helpful people.

You never know, next time you may be able to help someone with their McKinley question

All the best,
Victor


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Hi Paddy,

It looks like a very good radio from what reviews I've seen and the technical gaff I've browsed. 
Menu item radios often are a PITA anyway until you've sussed the button push/menu selection process!
I suppose it's hard enough for the designers to select which functions are often required, what order to put them in, let alone how to represent them on a limited LCD screen. Ha, I wouldn't want the job of doing that!

Luckily some of the settings are usually a one-off personalisation sort of thing and when set can be forgotten about.

All the best,
Victor

RF POWER is adjusted as follows:
Hold PTT.
Press the dot button once.
Press the channel selector.
RF POWER will now be adjustable via the channel selector by rotating clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Press and hold channel selector for three seconds to confirm the new power setting.
Release PTT.
Done.
-
MICROPHONE GAIN is done by:
Hold PTT.
Press dot button.
Press F button.
Rotate channel selector to adjust.
Press channel selector for three seconds to confirm.
Release PTT
Done.
-
RF GAIN is done by:
Press dot button.
Press F button.
Rotate channel selector to adjust.
Hold down channel selector for three seconds to confirm.
Done
-
Once expanded, the channel selector can be pressed to shift by 5khz (the old Soviet “Zeros” channels, which are mid band minus 5khz).
Switching the span feature on (in menu accessed by holding down the channel selector) removes this 5khz shift feature but changes the channel selector into a VFO. Pressing the channel selector now selects the steps (1mhz, 100khz, 100hz etc).

I really like the radio. It is very well made.
I find the inbuilt SWR meter to be accurate.

Some further information about the President Trump once expanded:
https://radioaficion.com/news/president-mckinley-eu-expanded/

Hi I have an expanded McKinley thru a kl 213 your rf (gain) is fine on full it,s rf power that needs to be turned down to 2 notches as each counts as 4 watts being an expanded box ,you can get away with 3 notches on fm I do it with no problems, if you see the word TalkBack on the screen then your in the wrong place you don't want to see the word TalkBack Press the ptt and then the button next to the F button with the dot on it and then push the channel button in while still holding in the Prt you will see the rf power bar start to flash ,use the channel selector to turn it down to 3 notches then push channel selector to set it at 3 notches remember do all this while pressing in the ptt once it,s set let go the ptt, that's it ready for a kl 213 , good luck.