84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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CORDLESS MODIFICATIONS
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Souce: Monitoring Times Sept. 1990
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By: Bob Kay
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Reprinted By: John (Topol) Johnson, KWV8BP
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of The Hotline BBS 304-736-9169
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If you own a Pro-2004 Scanner radio, you're probably an experienced radio
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surgeon. As you poked around the innards of the radio, you were gaining
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valuable experience. Sure, snipping a diode was easy, but it wasn't the only
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modification that required your attention. To add an additional 100 channels,
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you needed a steady hand, a keen eye and a thorough knowledge of soldering
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techniques. Now that you have successfully completed your internship, why not
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use your newly developed talents to extend the operating range of your
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cordless phone? The entire operation will take less than an hour, and it can
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be accomplished on your kitchen table.
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We begin by taking apart the cordless handset. The screws that hold the two
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halves together are usually hidden beneath the front panel. On most handsets,
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a retaining screw is locatted under the plastic holder that displays your
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telephone number. After the two sections have been separated, remove the
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factory antenna and replace it with a 72" telescoping whip antenna, Radio
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Shack part #270-1408. Reconnect the antenna wire, assemble the handset, and
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check you work by making a call to a friend.
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The Base unit modification requires a little more expertise, but it is
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certainly within the skill level of most scanner buffs. After taking the base
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apart, remove the small antenna, and install a BNC chassis mount connector
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into the existing antenna hole. If the connector won't fit into this location,
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the hole can be enlarged, or you can drill a hole and install the connector at
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a more suitable location. Don't forget to solder the antenna wire to the
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center lug of the connector. Should the wire be too sho rt, splice into and
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extend the length as needed. The trick here is to keep the wire as short as
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possible. When the "mods" are complete, reassemble the base and grab your
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ladder.
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For my cordless base antenna, I chose "Cushcrafts" 10 meter, vertical ground
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plane. The height of the antenna's vertical element can be changed by
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adjusting a few screw clamps. I set the height at 10 feet and used 25 feet of
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RG-59 Coax. The Coax was temporarily routed through a window and connected to
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the cordless base by using a solderless male BNC, Radio Shack #278-104.
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You can eliminate the cost and inconvenience of erecting a seperate antenna
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by simply hanging ten feet of wire along an outside wall of your home. Solder
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the RG-59 directly to the wire and weatherproof the connection.
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The performance of my modified Cordless phone was oustanding. The improved
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antenna system increased the operating distance to approximately 3000 feet.
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It was now possible to answer my cordless phone from across the street!
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However there were some disadvantages. The increased transmitting range was
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also accompanied by an increase in the reception range. On many occasions, I
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could hear voices of other cordless phone users. And during several phone
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calls, I could actually talk to a third party! Readers that live in Rural
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areas may not have this problem. But if you live in the city or nearby
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suburbs, don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself talking to a
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complete stranger.
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Scanner Buffs that live nearby will also enjoy the increased range and clarity
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of your cordless signal. It's similar to a "catch 22" situation. If you
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increase the operating range, you also increase the possibility of being
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monitored..
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This file was brought to you by, John Johnson, KWV8BP of The Hotline BBS,
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give us a call, we have many files on Scanner & Radio related subjects..
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THE HOTLINE BBS
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304-736-9169
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2 phone lines, HST-14.4 Modems
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Notes from John:
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I also did these Mod's way back when I first got a cordless phone many years
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back I accomplished a few phone calls from my cordless at ranges of near a
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mile at times.. I wish to also note that this type of modifications can also
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be done on Maxon type Communicators, this will dramatically extend your ranges
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of Transmission and Reception, however it is against the FCC rules to extend
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these types of transmissions.. Have fun and enjoy, any questions can be left
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to me most anywhere..
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