Magnum S9 Cb Radio Manual
Magnum S-9 175 10 Meter Export AM / FM / SSB ReviewThe Magnum S-9 175 is the latest big radio to visit our shack. Sincethe Magnum S-9 has always been a favorite of mine I was interested to seehow I would like it paired with the attached SX-175 amplifier system. Thisradio is essentially a Magnum S-9 but the bottom cover (and speaker) havebeen replaced with the SX-175 amplifier system and heat sink. The radio Ireviewed also had a newer style of amplifier circuit in the SX-175 whichused 2 x 7530ERF transistors.When unpacking the box the first thing you'll notice about this radio isthat it's heavy.
The heat sink on the SX-175 is one of the mostsubstantial pieces of metal you'll see on any radio and it has some heftto it. The radio comes with a heavy duty mounting bracket and I'd suggestmaking sure that where ever you decide to mount it that you use some goodstrong screws/bolts to secure the bracket. While the radio may be heavy,its size is still very reasonable and the actual radio measurements arealmost identical to a regular S-9 with the exception of the height whichis increased by the heat sink.The radio comes with a stock 4-pin microphone which we found adequate andclear but we ditched it in favor of a SRA-158 which yielded better on-airreports. I personally don't suggest usingpower microphones with the S-9 in any version. I find the loud clearaudio of the Magnum series is very good stock and even better with a veryslight adjustment to the AMC. Adding power microphones to these radiosjust isn't necessary and I've heard many people pushing the modulation toohard with power microphones causing distortion, which is a pity.
Is itpossible to run a power microphone? Yes, but you'll want to back off themicrophone gain and be aware of your modulation levels.The radio comes with good sized power wire with a quick disconnect and for best results I'd suggest makingsure you have 25 amps available for the power supply. For testing in abase install I chose to use my 36 amppower supply and it was more than adequate to run this radio.One of the features that Magnum has included on their S-3, S-6 and S-9version is the large round meter which is easy to read and is illuminatedwith the matching blue lights.
Nowwhile the scale itself is still fairly small, the overall size of the metermakes it easy to get a general idea of signal strength, etc. The meter isblue on receive, red on transmit and if you have high SWR it will flashred intermittently.10 meter or 'export' radios such as this model come with a bandselector which switches between different frequency ranges. The modeselector just to the right is for picking a mode of operation - LSB (lowerside band), USB (upper side band), AM (amplitude modulation), FM(frequency modulation), PA (public address).To the right of the mode selector is your 6 digit frequency counter. Thisis an active frequency counter unlike many other radios that only have a 6digit frequency display which doesn't show the actual frequency.
Few SSBexport radios offer the 6 digit counter and it's a nice feature. To the rightof that is your standard channel display.On the second level are the switches (2 and 3 function switches).
First isthe ANL/NB switch which has an off, on, and a third position which turnsoff the frequency counter. Next is a Roger Beep on/off switch andfollowing that is the Top Gun Modulation switch.
The Top Gun Modulatorfunctions only in AM mode however this radio also has the Top GunCompressor which functions in both AM/FM/SSB modes. To the right is thedimmer for the display with Lo/Med/Hi options.
Last is the +10kHz switchwhich allows the radio to jump up 10kHz.On the bottom row are your control knobs, all of which are dual functionwith inner and outer controls - Volume, Squelch, Microphone Gain, RF Gain,Variable Power, All Mode Talkback, Echo Volume, Echo Delay, FineClarifier, Coarse Clarifier. Last is the largest knob which isthe channel/frequency changing knob.At the back of the radio you'll find a heat sink to help dissipate heatfrom the 2 x ERF2030 transistors in the main radio.
There is a smallon/off switch which is for radios with Nitro knobs and also turns the SWRwarning indicator on/off. The antenna SO-239connector is on the back along with the PA speaker jack and the Extspeaker jack. The power cord is a bit different than most standard radiosas you don't plug the connector into the radio, instead the wires come outof the radio and there is a quick disconnect for plugging/unplugging theradio to the power source. The power cord is 12 gauge wire which is largerthan the standard power wires sold for most CB radios.From the top view you can see the size of the radio and get an idea of thesize of the heat sink on the back of the radio.A neat feature on the Magnum S9 radios is that they have dual microphonejacks, one on each side of the radio. Both jacks are 4 pin (standardCobra, Galaxy 4 pin wiring) and you can plug into either side or even bothsides with two different microphones. This gives you more options formounting.Looking at the bottom of the radio you'll see the large heat sink and itsridges.
Since this radio has an amplifier section built into the bottom, getting rid of heat is very important and this large heat sinkdoes an excellent job. It also is pretty trick looking as Magnum was ableto have their name machined as part of the heat sink to display at thefront of the radio.Looking inside the radio you'll find it looks very similar to the standardMagnum S9 and the echo, talkback, and frequency counter boards arevisible. At the back of the radio is where the radio will look differentwith the wiring running out from the main board and connecting to theamplifier section.The amplifier section is housed on the bottom cover/heat sink and has acover over it. For most people there should never be any reason to removethis cover.
Magnum S9 Cb Tricks
Since the location of the amplifier section is in the middleof the bottom cover you'll notice the lack of an internal speaker. Some ofthe other manufacturers solved this problem by using a smaller speaker inthe cover but Magnum decided to include an with thismodel so you don't have to compromise sound quality.Once you remove the amplifier cover you'll see the small amplifier circuitboard with two ERF-7530 transistors mounted. The benefit of this systemover the multi-transistor setups is that the circuit is simpler and thetransistors are larger and more rugged than the smaller ERF-2030's. With2290 and 2879 transistors getting more expensive and harder to find,manufacturers are having to choose different methods to build amplifiersections for their radios. I have to say I prefer the 2 transistorsetup compared to the 4 transistor or even 8 transistor setups we've seenon some radios.FEATURES WORTH MENTIONING.Variable Talkback - The all mode talkback in the Magnum S-3, S-6,and S-9 series is about as close to perfect as you'll see on an exportradio.
Many CBer's like to adjust their audio or echo and having the allmode talkback makes it simple and easy. It's completely variable and youcan shut it off when not needed.Variable Power - A radio that can do 100+ watts is great, but a lotof the time you won't need to run the radio at full power so it's nice tobe able to turn down the output and set the dead key where ever you want.For those of you who intend to use this radio as a driver for your amp thevariable power is a necessity. Note: Variable power works on AM butdoesn't effect SSB peak output.Magnum Echo - The Turbo echo on Magnum radios is one of the best inthe business and if you're someone who likes echo on your radio you can'tgo wrong with the effects and adjustability you'll find on this model.Top Gun Modulator & Compressor - The Magnum S9 series have both theModulator circuit and the Compressor. Together they give the Magnum S9some of the best punchy audio you'll find on an export radio.TESTING & OUTPUTDX had been quiet for a while when I first got this radio and so I had theopportunity to try to make some contacts during less than idealconditions.
I also decided to run this radio in its stock form to gaugewhat kind of tuning I might want to do after the initial testing.In stock form the radio was dead keying around 25 watts AM and swinging toaround 130 watts on AM. On SSB the radio was peaking around 130 watts.With average SSB peak around 110-120 watts.I was running the radio with a Wilson 5000 magnet mount as I wanted to see how it would do in a very simple no-hassle setup. Themajority of my testing was on SSB and the 100+ watts made contacting DXstations easy. When we discuss ideal wattage for making DX contacts 100watts is really the starting point (most Ham HF radios are 100 wattversions these days). On AM the wattage did allow me tomake some contacts on channel 17 and 19 and I did get my handle called on the superbowl (ch 6) one afternoon, but it was decidedly more difficult than SSB.
Magnum Radio S9 175
With all the big stations running 500+ watts on AM these daysshooting skip on the AM side in less than perfect conditions requires a little more juice to get heard inmany cases.Locally I got great feedback on the audio and had no trouble contactingany of the locals. The stock audio quality on the Magnum radios is veryclear, clean and punchy.After about a month I was greeted with the noticeable up-tick in DX thatwe've been enjoying for the last month or so now. This is where I reallyput the Magnum S9-175 to work. I've been talking daily on the radio forthe last month making contacts from Ireland to Australia and everywherein-between (all from the mobile).
While I had been running a barefoot CBin my other vehicle and had been able to make contacts after a lot ofcalling I found switching cars and running the 130+ watts of the S9-175made all the difference. On air reports again were excellent and the heatsink of the radio only got mildly warm even during heavy use.
Once againthis is the un-tuned, unmodified, stock radio.The SSB stability of the S9 series is good, rating higher than many of the otherexports on the market but still coming in below the Magnum Omegaforce,257, and 2950DX series. While the radio doesn't experience any huge driftissues during operation I found that in a vehicle install where the tempdrops overnight that when I turned on the radio in the morning it would be1-2 cycles off from where it was when warm the day before. I would get inthe vehicle in the morning to find the frequency counter reading 27.3851and would make the minor adjustment back to 27.3850.One other thing worth mentioning about this model is that the variablepower has no effect on SSB output.
I could turn it to low and the SSBoutput will still be peaking at its maximum.Lastly - while this radio is marketed as a 10 and 12 meter radio I assumemost people are performing modifications and are using this as an exportradio. I did actually venture into the 10 meter band (as a licensed hamradio operator) and made DX contacts with this radio, but because of thetuning steps on the radio being channelized it isn't the easiest place tooperate. Possible, yes, but if you are looking for a dual use export radioI might suggest you look at the Magnum 257, Yeticom Optima, orRCI-2950DX. While many ham radio operators have a negative view of exporttype radios I did have two different contacts on 10 meters specificallytell me that this radio sounded fantastic on the air.CONVERSION FOR 11 METERS (CB)From the factory these radios are set up to work on 10 meter ham radiofrequencies. To use the radio on CB channels requires moving a jumperinside the radio for the conversion.
You'll have to remove the bottomcover (be careful as the bottom cover has the amplifier section and wiresrunning to the back of the radio). For full instructions clickAFTER INTERNAL ADJUSTMENTSI did perform a very mild tune on the radio adjusting the SSB peak outputpot from a 9:30am position to a 10:30am position. This yielded an increasein wattage of roughly 10-20 watts with peaks around the 140-160 wattrange. I alsoadjusted the AMC up slightly which increased the audio but only saw asmall increase in wattage as the Top Gun already allows for a lot of swing. Once again these were very mildadjustments and did not result in increased distortion or excessive heatduring long DX QSO's.From the factory the frequency counter was reading a hair high so I didadjust the counter as well while the radio was open and it has remainedtrue for my testing since.SUMMARYThe Magnum S-9 175 is a highly capable export radio and its Magnumexclusive features such as AMT, Turbo Echo, and Top Gun components reallymake it a desirable all around export radio. The added wattage over thestandard S9 means you don't need an external amp to feel like you can makesome contacts on the air.
When combined with a quality antenna you reallyhave a deadly combo.For you AMer's this radio offers great audio (stock or with someadjustments to the AMC you can make it even louder). For the SSBer'sthey'll appreciate its punchy audio and warm natural receive. For the hardcore SSBer is it themost stable export on the market? No, a few models have it beatbut relative to the rest of the market it definitely is in the top tier.I will recap a couple of points - although radio has good frequencystability I still found some small adjustment to the coarse clarifiernecessary at times.
Secondly, the lack of a SWR meter on the display may be atalking point for some people but truthfully if you're going to run thistype of model putting out 100+ watts you really should own/use an externalmeter. Lastly, I would have liked to see the variable power control the peak outputon SSB as there are cases where I might want to drop the SSB output down to the more typical 35 watts.Overall the Magnum S-9 is still at the top of the game for the exportmarket. I can recall my excitement years ago when I saw the first photo ofthe S-9 and each time I've had the chance to operate one of these radiosit's been a blast. They really are fun radios and there are enoughfeatures to keep just about every CBer out there happy.
The SX-175 withthe larger 2 transistor setup seems like good replacement in lieu of themore traditional 2290's that were discontinued and the 100+ watt output isthe perfect level for talking DX.To finish off this review I'll give a quote from a DX contact I madeyesterday. I told WT500 (TX) I was testing out the Magnum S9-175 for areview and he said, 'If I had to rate the sound of that radio on a 1-5scale I'd give it a 4.5. It's one great sounding radio'. Copyright © 2012 - All rights reserved. Any and all articles, reviews, products, pictures, writings or any other material published on this website are to be used for entertainment purposes only. All written statements on this website are personal opinion. Information presented here is not expert advice, if you attempt to reproduce or repeat anything shown or discussed on this website you do so at your own risk.
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Magnum S9, Magnum S-9NX Service ManualMagnumS9, Magnum S-9NXDocumentation ProjectCBTricks.comReceiverAlignmentSeeSETTINGSCONNECTIONADJUSTADJUST FORAM/FMRF & IF SENSITIVITY:Frequency to center bandMode AMClarifier controls at center detent.RF GAIN fully clockwise.SQUELCH fully counter clockwiseNB/ANL to OFFVOLUME to comfortable level.RF Generator output to center band at 1uV modulated 30% with 1 KHz audiotone.ConnectAF VTVM or scope across speaker terminals.RF Generator to ANT Jack(in order)L6, L7L8, L10L11, L12L3, L4Adjustfor max. Output reading on AF VTVM or Scope.SSBIF SENSITIVITY:Set mode to USB.RF Generator output to center band.Adjust Coarse & Fine Clarifier 1uV, modulation off.Adjust fine clarifier for peak reading on S-meter.Same as aboveL13,L14Adjust L13, L14 for maximum as inStep 1.Setmode to AM.Set frequency to Ch.1 lowest band, then Ch.40 highest band as required.Sameas aboveL6, L7Rechecksensitivity across full radio bandwidth.