ss9900 ssb power not variable

Hello can anyone tell me if they can actually turn down the ssb output with the power knob. I asked a friend to check his radio and his is also not variable on ssb mode, we both have newish radios v4 bought within the last few months.
thanks.

Hi John,

For a bit more information that may help us help you, does the variable power work all OK in FM and AM modes?

It's just that in SSB modes you have no carrier and cannot simply key up the mic to check output. 
Talking in SSB modes will see the power go up and down with your voice but obviously difficult to assess or read the power output. Without having specialist test gear you can simply blow a long continuous whistle into the keyed mic whilst checking power output.

Hope that helps you and please let us know how you get on with it.

Any further questions, you know where to ask
(Nudge, nudge, Charlie Tango )


All the best,
Victor

Hello Victor 
Yes the variable power works on fm and am as normal, if I whistle on ssb the output peaks at around 40 watts measured on a zetagi swr power meter, and turning the power knob makes no difference.

Hi John,

OK, always worth checking the obvious or basics out first as sometimes that often helps.

Seeing as I don't own the radio I can only go by the specifications and/or manual which obviously state that the power is variable in all modes. Perhaps someone else here who owns the radio in the same version may be able to confirm or help you further. Maybe someone even knows if there is a problem with recent versions of this radio or even firmware updates. (Quite a few members have this radio listed in their 'equipment used' on their profiles so here's hoping.)

Hope you get to the bottom of it.


All the best,
Victor

http://www.cbradio.nl/crt/crt_ss9900.htm

This might help full info of the CRT9900  inc PDF files

Thewww wrote:

Hello can anyone tell me if they can actually turn down the ssb output with the power knob. I asked a friend to check his radio and his is also not variable on ssb mode, we both have newish radios v4 bought within the last few months.
thanks.

That's normal in SSB mode.....there is no carrier without audio input. See link below.

https://hamradioschool.com/hey-why-is-there-no-transmit-power-when-i-key-the-mic/

Hi Phil,

Yeah, we already touched base on that one earlier. (First thing I thought of as it's a common thing.)

It's not a problem I've ever heard of but John (Thewww) did have an earlier post regarding .dat files. Did at first think of a programming problem but dismissed that as he knows someone else with the same problem (?)

Hopefully he gets to the bottom of it all.


All the best,
Victor

The Zetagi SWR/POWER meter probably isn't a peak hold meter so I very much doubt you're getting an accurate reflection of the output capability of the radio more just a indication only of that particular voice peak. 

I can't answer your question about the RF gain being variable or not with that particular radio but if you're getting around 40 Watts that sounds okay to me, the extra 20 Watts you think are missing will make very little if any difference to the receiving station. I would turn my attention to your antenna system and make sure it's the best it can be.

73's Gary.

https://youtu.be/zaCCjg7LejQ  LINK TO VIDEO 
OK this person is testing power on the 9900v4 and by the looks of it the radio does have variable on SSB because if you listen to him he actually says on minimum power SSB then says  max power on SSB
I know someone who had one of these and they variable wattage on all modes well put it this way his was .

Was the radio brand new to you.

A proper peak hold meter such as a Diawa NS660P or 801HP requires power because it has to use an active circuit using op amps to measure the power. You get some that claim they do, trying to use a capacitor/resistor circuit to hold the needle but they do not measure peak power on SSB properly.

If you don't have a proper peak hold meter to measure SSB power you need to find a way of generating constant audio into the mic. The easiest way to do this is to get a tone generator app for your mobile phone, generate a tone around 2kHz at normal speaking volume and play that back a couple of inches away from your mic. 

Mic gain can have an impact on SSB and as you lower it you can limit the maximum output power, it's the method I used to get my 100W radios to below one watt when I was experimenting with QRP. In fact the way to set mic gain for SSB properly is to use a peak hold meter or the method I said with the tone generator, start with the mic gain at zero then increase it until you're getting the maximum power output. Anything above that is a waste as all that will happen is the ALC circuit will limit the input audio to try to prevent overdriving, distortion and a splattering signal. I rarely ever need to run the mic gain above 25% to 30% on amateur radio gear.

Alan Pilot wrote:

Was the radio brand new to you.

yes brand new bought in july

Maybe I should put it this way, if I key the microphone on fm with the tx power control knob set to max I get around 40 watts indicated on my zetagi meter, if I turn the tx power to minimum I get around 2 watts. If I key the microphone and whistle on ssb i get about 50 watts peak and turning the tx power knob to any setting it still gives the same peak output it does not change.
I spoke to another person who was using the same radio on the radio yesterday and he says his is the same. I just wondered if its how they are programmed at the factory.

Did you look at the video I posted because the the person who posted the video seem to have variable wattage on all modes plus I also posted PDF files and info about these radios and it does say variable wattage did you look at these at all.
EDIT UPDATE TO THIS POST I have just been on the CRT website and the 9900 does have variable watts on all mode,if you go to the post I put up with info on these radio and click there website in the pdf section of the info you can check for yourself .

NUBSTER wrote:

Did you look at the video I posted because the the person who posted the video seem to have variable wattage on all modes plus I also posted PDF files and info about these radios and it does say variable wattage did you look at these at all.
EDIT UPDATE TO THIS POST I have just been on the CRT website and the 9900 does have variable watts on all mode,if you go to the post I put up with info on these radio and click there website in the pdf section of the info you can check for yourself .

 Hello thanks for your help
 I did click the link you posted but it says page not found.
 I know that the power is supposed to be variable on all modes it states it on all the places that have the radio for sale but I have come across a few people with the same problem now so I just wondered if it is a batch that have been programmed wrong from new.
thanks

You dont program the power outputs via computer you adjust the power out puts by the the tuning pots on the circuit board so TBH I recon even though it's new someone has been inside it ,who did you buy it from new what company?.
Here is Fred in Shed unboxing his 9900 when he got it  
https://youtu.be/iD5umuC6WJc

Hi John,

I noticed that you mention the radio you have is a revision 4

Online, it says revision 4 radios can be wide banded using the front controls without modifying the internals.

CRT SS 9900 Export version 4
You do not need software anymore with this export version
Switch from HF band to CB band on CRT SS 9900  Press and hold MENU key and BAND key while turn on the radio . 
The radio display HF BAND 28-29.7 MHz, turn the channel rotatory control to display CB BAND 24.880-30.105 MHz. 
Press and hold MENU key to valid your choice.

Is it worth trying this modification or un-modification if that be the case and re-checking your SSB power variability?

I do not have the 9900, only the 7900 and this model does indeed have variable power output on SSB.
Regards
Graeme.

NUBSTER wrote:

You dont program the power outputs via computer you adjust the power out puts by the the tuning pots on the circuit board so TBH I recon even though it's new someone has been inside it ,who did you buy it from new what company?.
Here is Fred in Shed unboxing his 9900 when he got it  
https://youtu.be/iD5umuC6WJc

I bought it from Lamco .
The pots inside will just set the maximum power output for each mode, the knob on the front is what the normal user should use to adjust tx output.

I know that mate ,I was wondering if the seller had been inside of the radio themselves and turned up the SSB pot and somehow disconnected the adjustable power some companies have been known to do things like that for some reason of there own or failing that its actually came from factory like that ,me personally would send it back to Lamco questioning why is it doing it when it's not supposed to

hi i have a new crt ss 6900n i want to turn down the ssb power to drive a spectrum 70 mhz transverter without cooking the transverter thanks for looking stay safe stay warm do radio 73s paul m0kbd

Hi Paul,

I answered your original query here :-

https://charlietangodxgroup.forumotion.com/t2643-rf-output-power#19305


73s
Victor