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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NOTE:<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
<<
There is NOTHING about this modification that can
jeprodize ANY specification in your radio. Do NOT
compromise the mod by leaving out any of the steps. The
most common mistake made is to leave out the red wire on
the bottom. (RWOB) The RWOB is NOT there for the
This trick will apply to most SSB and Export type radios only including the
148 GTL, 2000 GTL, Grant XL & LT, Galaxy, Connex, Superstar, RCI and
more. The mods will be listed by board number, not radio model, so make
sure you make a note of the board number that is stamped on the main
PCBoard of your radio..... The diode is a 1N4001. If for any reason this mod
doesn't do what it should, check the polarity of the diode. Banded end is the
Cathode! You can remove the resistor completely and solder the diode in its
place, but do not recommend this. If you really want to replace the resistor
with the diode, do not run the power completely down (no dead key), this
could cause faults in the AM Modulation Stage. When lifting the end of the
resistor, solder the banded end of diode in its place (where it used to be),
the other end of diode solders to the lifted end of the resistor.
I have done this Swing mod on my 959 and TR696F it is NOT R266 IT IS R264!
and it works Great.
This document will show you how to modify the Voyage 9000 Export radio to include the NPCRC modification as written by Billy Dean Ward. With the help of text and pictures, you will be
shown a step by step method to apply these modifications.
I urge you to read this entire document in it's entirety BEFORE you attempt any modifications
to your radio. Be sure you understand each step before you proceed to the next.
A complete checkout of the radio is essential before performing any modifications to this radio
chassis. Be sure that the radio is working per factory specifications and that all the controls are
in working order.
Verify the stock RF output and modulation levels before you proceed. Modifying a radio with
inherent problems can only worsen matters. These modifications will not cure other problems
that your radio may have.
If you have applied other modifications to your radio, remove them now. Stacking similar
modifications into the same radio can lead to unpredictable results. I have included the original
text prodedure for these modifications, written by Billy Dean Ward, at the conclusion of these
pages.
Please feel free to read his text. I have made slight alterations to the basic procedures that will
most benifit those persons , both novice and advanced, in completing these modifications
based on this radio chassis.
After reading these pages, I will leave the decision to you, as to your own ability to perform
these modifications. It is assumed that you possess the basic electronic skills necessary to
complete these modifications. Those persons with advanced electronic skills may find this basic
approach tedius and may step through the steps at their own pace.
I have outlined the steps in such a way as to further insure the safety to your radio and test
equipment during the modifications and urge you not to jump ahead. I am sure that you will
be very pleased to the results of these modifications.
The net result is a radio that runs cooler, and sounds much cleaner than it's factory
counterpart.
Cheers,
Xcusme
Step 1
Voyage 9000 Modification
Basic Tools Needed:
This is a listing of the basic tools needed to perform the modifications , but is
by no means limited.
25 or 40 Watt Grounded Soldering Iron
60/40 Rosin Core Solder
Small Pair of Needle Nose Pliers
Small Pair of Diagonal Side Cutters or Component Shears
soldering gun. That's way too much heat and the tips are far too large. Too
much heat can lift the circuit pads and circuit traces off of the PCB.
We will begin by removing both the top and bottom radio covers. Remove 4
screws from each side of the radio and 2 screws from the rear. Take care when
removing the bottom cover, be sure to carefully unplug the speaker wire
connector from the right rear PCB .
After you have removed both radio covers , place the radio in front of you,
front panel knobs facing you , with the component side facing up. Now is the
time to OBSERVE.....that's right....just look at the parts layout. Read this
entire document and find the parts described. This is just a dry run, so that
you will be familiar with the part locations when you reach that step in the
modifications. Look at the pictures, turn the radio over to the solder side and
find those places mentioned in the text too. When you are satisfied that you
know where you will be making the changes, then proceed.
You are now ready to begin the modifications.
Step 2
Voyage 9000 Modification
NPC-RC Modification:
Position the radio with the knobs facing you , and with the component side up.
You will start by looking near the rear of the PCB on the right hand side. Locate a large black
transistor, mounted to the side of the case labeled TR-51. It has the markings of 2SB754. We
are looking for a part (capacitor) just in front of TR-51 labeled C189.
The next two pictures are for reference, showing the points explained in the next few steps.
Refer to these pictures for part locations on the solder side of the PCB.
Unsolder capacitor C189 and keep this part handy, we will be re-installing it later.
From our additional parts, find the 1N4001 diode and the 100-ohm resistor.
Clip the wire lead from the banded end of the 1N4001 diode so that about 1/8 to 3/16 of an
inch sticks out past the end of the diode
Clip the wire lead from one end of the 100 ohm resistor (either end) so that about 1/8 to 3/16
of an inch sticks out past the end of the resistor
Position both parts END to END with the 1/8 stubs lying side by side and solder them together.
Bend the remaining resistor wire lead over into a hairpin shape
You can, if you prefer, cut the wire leads a little longer, bend the leads at right angles and place
the diode and the resistor side by side, then solder them together. Electrically speaking, both
options are the same. Here is a picture showing both options. Pick one or the other.
Cover the diode-resistor with a short piece of heat shrink tubing and apply heat to shrink
tubing
Note: The diode wire lead will be LARGER in diameter, the resistor wire lead will be SMALLER in
diameter of the two wires protruding from the heat shrink tubing. Again, yours should look like
one the two shown.
Flip the radio over to the solder side and solder the diode-resistor to the PCB. Clip off the extra
wire leads protruding from the PCB.
Re-install the capacitor, C189 across the same two points where it was originally soldered to...
(they are the same pads you just finished soldering the diode-resistor to) Try to place the
capacitor flat against the PCB so as not to obstruct the top cover. Trim the leads of the
capacitor as needed before you solder it across the pads. Use the small pair of needle nose
pliers to hold the part in place while you solder it to the PCB. This puts capacitor C189 back
into the circuit, it's just on the underside of the radio.
This picture shows what the diode-resistor looks like installed on the component side of the
PCB. As you can see, I used the "Side by Side" option for the diode-resistor . It's a little less
conspicuous because if it's low profile.
This picture shows basically the same thing, except it shows how the diode-resistor relate to
the other parts.
Step 3
Voyage 9000 Modification
Disable On Board Automatic Modulation Control
With the radio component side up, knobs facing you
Look near the center and REAR of PCB
Locate resistor R249 (10K ohms) Color Bands are Brown, Black, Orange
Un-solder one wire leg of the resistor and lift it out of it's mounting hole. This disables the
onboard AMC circuit built into the radio circuit. This does NOT mean that your radio does not
have an active AMC circuit. The NPC-RC modification IS a modulation modification circuit in
itself . It controls both the positive AND negative audio peaks so they don't clip and distort the
waveform while still maintaining a very high level of CLEAN modulation.
Next we will Adjust the Driver Transistor Bias current
Step 4
Voyage 9000 Modification
Adjusting the Driver bias:
WARNING: DO NOT adjust this trim pot without hooking up a meter. This is not guess work!
Too much bias current WILL damage the driver output transistor. Also, too much bias current
can cause the SSB to warble.
Connect a Dummy Load to the radio antenna connector
Connect the Microphone to the radio
Connect radio to 13.8VDC power supply with fused power leads,
DO NOT turn radio ON at this time
Position the radio, knobs facing you, component side up.
Look towards the rear of the radio on the left side and find the "Mirror board" ...some call it the
"Silver board"
You will notice that the Mirror Board is sitting in 3 clips labled TP8, TP7, TP9 reading from left
to right. I use the term "Test Clip", they are also "Test Points (TP)", hence the markings on the
PCB of TP8, TP7, TP9.
The next picture is for reference . This shows the solder side of the PCB , and the locations of
the Test Clips.
Remove the Mirror board, by lifting it straight up. Put the Mirror board aside, we will install it
again later. This picture shows the Mirror board removed .
Connect the DVM -ammeter test leads to the following test points, set meter to the 200milliamp scale
Connect the DVM-Red meter lead to TP9
Connect the DVM-Black meter lead to TP8
Turn the radio ON
Adjust the radio controls to SSB LSB or USB mode, No Modulation
Depress the microphone key
Using a PLASTIC (or other non-metallic) tuning tool
Using a pen, mark the position of the center wiper arm on the edge of the trim pot (VR11) to
mark your setting.
Once this adjustment is made.... Do not change it.
This completes the driver bias adjustment.
Continue to next section: Adjust Final Output Transistors Bias currents
Step 5
Voyage 9000 Modification
Adjust Final Transistor(s) Bias Current:
WARNING: DO NOT adjust either of these two trim pots without hooking up a meter. This is
not guessing work! Too much bias current WILL damage the final output transistors.
Use the same radio and DVM-meter setup as from previous step:
Adjust VR20 and VR10 fully counterclock wise, this sets both trimpots to zero current
Move the DVM-meter Black lead from TP8 to TP7. Leave the Red meter lead connected to TP9
Turn the radio ON
Depress the microphone key
Using PLASTIC (or other non-metallic) tuning tool
Adjust VR20 for 50ma reading
Adjust VR10 for a total reading of 100ma
These last two steps apply 50ma bias current to each of the finals. The final reading of 100ma
is the TOTAL bias current for BOTH of the finals, (50ma for VR20 + 50ma for VR10 = 100ma
TOTAL)
Turn the radio OFF
Disconnect the DVM-Meter from TP7 and TP9
Using a pen, mark the position of the center wiper arms on the edges of the trim pots (VR20,
VR10) to mark your setting.
Once these adjustments are made.... Do not change them.
This completes the final output transistors bias adjustment.
Disconnect the radio power supply cable
Remove the Dummy load
Disconnect the microphone cable
Next we will Volt the Final Output Transistors
Step 6
Voyage 9000 Modification
Volting the Final Output Transistors:
Please study the next picture and use it for reference for the following steps.
Strip about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch of the insulation from the end of the 1-foot piece of 18ga.
Stranded wire.
Pre-tin the end of this wire with solder (heat the end of the wire and apply a small even coat of
solder)
Solder this pre-tinned end of the wire to the REAR hole of where Test Clip 7 at TP7 was
ORIGINALLY installed. Anywhere on that same solder pad will do. Try to keep the wire
reasonably flat against the PCB while you solder it to the pad. Add more solder as needed to
effect a solid shiny connection.
Leave the FRONT hole of the old TP7 Test Clip vacant.
Lay the jumper wire neatly across the PCB, towards the left, and measure enough wire to
make a connection shown in the next picture. This connection is to the 13.8VDC supply rail.
This "Question Mark" shaped PCB circuit trace IS the 13.8VDC source. A connection anywhere
on this circuit trace will do. I soldered the jumper to the place indicated because there were
other parts already soldered there and it's rather easy to just reflow the solder at that junction
for a solid connection. That's why we pre-tinned the end of the wire. Add more solder as
needed to effect a solid shiny connection.
So, to re-cap:
Cut wire to length
Strip about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch of the insulation from the end
Pre-tin the end of this wire with solder (heat the end of the wire and apply a small even coat of
solder)
Solder the wire end to the location shown.
In the next step, you will adjust the RF power levels for both the HIGH and LOW front radio
control knob settings.
Step 7
Voyage 9000 Modification
Set High and Low RF Power Levels:
Position the radio, knobs facing you, component side up.
Connect a coax jumper between the radio antenna connector and the SWR-Power Meter inputradio connector
Set the SWR-Power Meter to read RF watts on 20-Watt Scale
Connect a Dummy Load to SWR-Power Meter antenna connector
Connect the Microphone
Locate VR13 (Located near Center-Rear) this trimpot will adjust the AM RF High Power setting
Locate VR16 (Located near Center-Rear) this trimpot will adjust the AM RF Low Power setting
Turn VR13 fully counterclock-wise. NOTE: Failure to do this step will result in a very high RF
output during the next steps!
Connect radio to 13.8VDC power supply with fused power leads
Turn the radio ON
Adjust the radio controls to AM mode, channel 20
Adjust the radio front RF output control knob to HIGH setting (fully clockwise to the right)
Key the Microphone (no modulation)
Adjust VR13 for a reading of approximately 5 to 7-Watts
UnKey the microphone
Switch the SWR-Power Meter to low range (10 to 20 watts)
Key the Microphone (no modulation)
Adjust VR13 for 7- Watts again to finalize High RF Power setting
UnKey the microphone
Adjust the radio front RF output control knob to LOW setting (fully counterclockwise to the
left)
Key the Microphone (no modulation)
Adjust VR16 for a reading of approximately 1.5 to 2.0- Watts
Turn the radio OFF
This completes the RF Power Output Adjustments
You have now completed the NPC-RC modification to your Voyage 9000 Export radio.
Disconnect all power and antenna connections.
Feel free to replace the covers in the reverse order in which they were removed. Remember to
reconnect the speaker connector to the PCB when you replace the bottom cover.
Closing Comments
Voyage 9000 Modification
I truly hope you find these modifications helpful. As I stated earlier, I have tried to present this
information as clearly as possible. The order of certain steps was presented in such a way as to
minimize any chance of damage to your radio in the final alignment and testing.
Connecting the antenna load BEFORE connecting the power leads makes good sense, so as not
to accidentally transmit into an open circuit is one example. I have slightly modified the
procedures outlined in the original NPC-RC documentation to make the explainations a little
clearer to understand for the novice.
While these instructions are not complicated in themselves, I felt that a useful tool would be a
series of pictures to help clear up any confusion along the way. I hope I have accomplished my
goal to that end. If you have successfully followed the steps outlined herein, I'm sure you will
agree that your radio is running much cooler, has more power and talks cleaner then most
radios on the air.
Sincerely,
Xcusme
Credits:
Billy Dean Ward
Disclaimer: I present this document as educational information only. I can't possibly know your
level of expertise and ability to perform these modifications. Modifications to your radio may
void manufacture warrantees. I will not be held responsible for any damages that result from
these modifications.