New SS9900 owner looking for hello/advice

Sorry for the long post. Wanting to get back on the air after almost 30 years, so I've just bought a CRT SS9900. Not set my aerial up yet so can't use it, but spent time playing with it yesterday to familiarize myself with the functions/menus etc. I've watched all the videos on YouTube and read the manual (which is pretty useless to be honest). One thing I didn't realise is that if I am on say band K, channel 12 and I then change to frequency mode and manually change the frequency, it then overwrites band K channel 12 with the last frequency I was on! I thought I could just mess about with the frequencies then go back to the band and it would all be fine and dandy... What I ended up with was a couple of bands messed up . Thing is, it's not only the frequency that has changed, but the mode too. So for example it will go ch1 27'.865 USB, ch 2 29.755 FM, ch 3 27'885 USB. I have been through frequency lists on Delboy's site and manually reprogrammed correctly, but the mode still remains on those channels. i.e. If I correct that rogue channel 2 back to USB it stays on USB even when I change the mode to AM, FM, LSB whatever.

Also, some of the rogue channels have unique settings; I can have the Hicut setting on (which surely sets it for the whole radio?) but it is off on certain channels. One channel has CTC on and I never messed with that setting at all!

I hope I've explained all of this so you can understand (it would be easier to video it and show what I mean.

I spoke to Knights where I bought it from and they weren't much help (suggested I could send it back for a reprogramme) so I'm turning to you guys and hopefully someone with experience of this radio will be able to sort me out :-) Is there any easy way to sort these setting issues out other than full reset? And is there a way of messing with the frequencies without it overwriting the channels? I have seen some YouTube videos of people operating 9900s without a band letter showing on the screen and 'freewheeling' up and down the frequencies.

Thanks in advance.

I was exactly the same as you but it was 26 years for me.
Bought the exact same radio and did the same as you did whilst having the new toy play.
I bought the programming cable put it back to how it should be then sold it.
Bought an older radio that i knew how to operate lol a Ranger 2950.
The ss9900 has far too many buttons and functions for my old head.
If you get the cable then have a look on here for the file to reprogram it is the simple answer well to me it is and then remember to put the numbers back where they where before changing channel next time.

Reset may be the answer then. I'm not really worried about getting my head around the settings, I'm quite tech savvy. Just wish the manual was more explanatory, the pre programmed bands stayed where they should and it had freewheeling VFO style mode that didn't mess everything up :-)

If you do a factory reset you will lose the 11m band it will go back to the 10m band it was made with.
There has been a few discussions on this type of radio including the 6900 9900 and some with different names ?555 i can't remember them as i got rid and eventually got a HF set and now got the ft991a HF/VHF/UHF.

Yeah, I know I'll have to reopen it up and add the UK 40. Hopefully someone will be able to advise a way to fix the little issues before I do the full reset (if possible).

I've had a couple of SS9900 and used them VFO tuning only. Works a treat

Paul.

Sgt Bilko wrote:

I've had a couple of SS9900 and used them VFO tuning only. Works a treat

Paul.

Did you just choose a band that you didn't care about messing up to VFO on or is there a way of getting out of the bands completely?

I only really use Mid and Hi for DX. UK40 for local and 10m / 12m for amateur use. I programmed frequencies in to the memory channels from each of the bands i used except UK40 where i would leave it and used the 10kc step and VFO to change " channels ".

Paul.

I have a 9900 myself and reading this reminds me of when it was new to me also, I picked mine up second-hand at a slightly reduced rate and the channels were all over the place.
With the help of Delboys frequency charts I was soon able to get them back as they should be, one niggle I has was when I changed the KC shift to RX/TX twelve o clock wasn't on frequency the rotary control needed to be positioned at around the ten past twelve position to be bang on but you can hear it when you listen to incoming stations but at first I was concerned as the first report I got locally on T5 told me I was off frequency.

It gets better as you familiarise yourself with the various functions and features, as you have already mentioned the manual is of little use.
It is one of these things if you persevere with it, it grows on you but I can understand how less techy people aren't so keen on it.

This was very much like myself just last year, bursting enthusiasm, desperate to get a twig up and get back on air it has turned out to be a great technical hobby and I have connected with some of the best folk you could wish for!

73's

Alan

I have figured out that if I enter memory mode then that is how I get out of the bands (i.e. have no band letter showing) and if I then manually enter frequencies there and VFO alloy it shouldn't overwrite any channels :-)

I will have a play about with it like this when I set up the aerial and see how I get on before I consider a reset.

Right, got my aerial up on the 27th and made DX contacts straight away :-) Now that I've been able to use it in anger and have a proper play, I've got the rig all figured out and even managed to find out how to sort all the little niggles I mentioned above; such as the Hicut and CTC issues on some channels.

So no need for a reset; I have just manually reprogrammed all of the channels and settings back to how they should be apart from band L - I can't find a full frequency list online for all 40 channels. Could someone who has the rig from Knights please give me the full frequency list for how band L should be programmed.

Good to hear you hit the ground running with your new radio once you get a little more familiar with it it's a great little set.
Mine is from Knights but I picked it up second hand the L band is a little all over the place it starts at 25.1650 but the last few channels on the block of 40 drop down to 24mhz so I can only imagine the previous owner had a tinker around, maybe saving frequencies they used. It falls below the listing of super super low I have never had call to use it if honest and its only taking a closer look just now I realised it seemed a bit out. It may be worth creating a frequency list for a SSS Low, just a block of 40 set out in the same way the other bands are but that will have to be another day I have guests coming later and the place is upside down.

Thanks for the reply. My band L also drops to 24, so maybe that is the way it comes programmed from Knights?

I just tend to drop onto memory mode and feedbacks around so it doesn't mess up the band channels :-)

No, Knights don't programme it like that, best not to fiddle if your not sure what you are doing, you need the software and cable, without it you will struggle if you set it up correctly at all....  I have the software....  you need to contact me via email I guess so I could get the software to you...  Cheers  
PS  you will need to buy the cable... it is specific although from memory it looks like a normal USB cable, it isn't as far as I remember.

@Speed Harris.

If it's any help to you or to anyone else, I'll tell you the way Knights programmed the SS9900 for me. I paid the extra few quid for the cable and choose the option "Configuration: Pre-programmed (10m +12m + CB)" before the checkout.

So now I have coverage between 24.8800 and 30.1050, divided up into 12 bands, A to L, with 40 channels on each. Now the good thing for me is that I can change any of the frequencies in any of the channels in any of the bands between those limits. It doesn't make any difference which band I  choose, they will all accept any frequency between those limits - all 6 digits can be changed, with the 6th digit allowing me to put in 40 channels with only 100Hz difference between channels if I really wanted to, just as a theoretical example. In other words, I can make up my own frequency range within that band. I just push the large channel changing knob once, and turn it to a new number. Repeated pushes brings me to any one of the 6 digits - digit 1 to 6 in succession. If I leave it at the new setting, it will hold that frequency until I change it again.

Edit: All modes can be selected later, on all channels in all bands, independently of frequency changes.

Hi, not sure if it's of any use but I got a lot of hints and tips from 'Fred in the Shed' on youtube. He has a few clips on the SS9900. THis is one of them:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7mSZHmczL0&list=UUKgZOmPB_cAPkJtBRPLIlkw&index=269.

Despite all the stuff I have figured out about the SS9900, I can't for the life of me get the hang of the scan function - not even the very basics. I don't know what it is capable of. I have looked at all the YouTube videos, including from Fred in the Shed and Airshow World, but still can't even figure out how to go about getting it to scan.

Ethergoddle wrote:

@Speed Harris.

If it's any help to you or to anyone else, I'll tell you the way Knights programmed the SS9900 for me. I paid the extra few quid for the cable and choose the option "Configuration: Pre-programmed (10m +12m + CB)" before the checkout.

So now I have coverage between 24.8800 and 30.1050, divided up into 12 bands, A to L, with 40 channels on each. Now the good thing for me is that I can change any of the frequencies in any of the channels in any of the bands between those limits. It doesn't make any difference which band I  choose, they will all accept any frequency between those limits - all 6 digits can be changed, with the 6th digit allowing me to put in 40 channels with only 100Hz difference between channels if I really wanted to, just as a theoretical example. In other words, I can make up my own frequency range within that band. I just push the large channel changing knob once, and turn it to a new number. Repeated pushes brings me to any one of the 6 digits - digit 1 to 6 in succession. If I leave it at the new setting, it will hold that frequency until I change it again.

Edit: All modes can be selected later, on all channels in all bands, independently of frequency changes.

Thanks for the response :-) Mine is widebanded, so has the full range of frequencies like yours. I have the rig fully figured out now and know that I can change any channel on any band to any frequency; I just didn't realise when I first got it that it would hold the frequency I changed it to and mess up the programmed blocks of 40. I have manually reprogrammed all the channels to how they should be and if I want to travel up and down the bands to any frequency outside (in between) the programmed channels, I just knock it to memory mode and freewheel about there, leaving the blocks of channels intact :-)

Ethergoddle wrote:

Despite all the stuff I have figured out about the SS9900, I can't for the life of me get the hang of the scan function - not even the very basics. I don't know what it is capable of. I have looked at all the YouTube videos, including from Fred in the Shed and Airshow World, but still can't even figure out how to go about getting it to scan.

Short pressing the scan button will scan through all 40 channels of the band and mode you are on (e.g. Band A FM). However, you have to have the squelch on for it to work; the scan stops momentarily on a channel when the squelch is broken until it reactivates, so if you have no squelch (i.e. Constant noise) the scan won't move off that channel to the next one.

For a channel to be included in the scan, you have to have the 'SC' icon in the bottom left corner. You can select/deselect this by long pressing the scan button when you are on the desired channel. So for example, I think the radio comes with all 40 channels on each block set up to be included in the scan ('SC' in the corner) so hitting scan will cycle through all 40 channels and back round. Let's say you only wanted to scan channels 1, 9, 14 & 19 you would deselect the scan function individually on all other channels on that block (tune to each channel and long press scan button til 'SC' disappears). Now when you short press scan button on that band it will only cycle through channels 1, 9, 14 & 19.

Hope this makes sense...

@ Speed Harris.

Thanks for all that, Dean, It's a very comprehensive explanation - just what I wanted. Who would ever have thought that the squelch has a bearing on it? Cheers. Max.

I want to correct an inaccuracy in my original answer to Speed Harris. Only 5 of the 6 digits can be changed by repeated pushes of the channel knob. The first digit is not changeable on any band.

Ethergoddle wrote:

@ Speed Harris.

Thanks for all that, Dean, It's a very comprehensive explanation - just what I wanted. Who would ever have thought that the squelch has a bearing on it? Cheers. Max.

Having a further play with the settings, I have just figured out that you can set the scan criteria to time, rather than squelch; so you can indeed use the scan function with the squelch off (on USB for example). The scan will stay on each channel for 5 seconds before moving to the next, regardless of what is being received/heard.