ABOUT FIRE COMMUNICATIONS With one of the best equipped shops in the western united states, we currently cater to a customer client base of some 5600 professional radio operators around the globe, providing experienced technical service and superior bench testing and alignment of all export class radio equipment. We recognize that there is a growing number of "chop shops" cropping up all over the country espousing a certain type of "parts changing mentality", and these individuals are passing them- selves off as people who know more than the college educated and degreed individuals who were initially involved in the design and manufacture of the bulk of the export equipment currently available on the market. If you are a gambling sort of person, these "chop shops" look particuliarly attractive to most, promising spectacular perfor- mance after you have certain "modifications" performed on your newly purchased export radio. After surfing a large number of these web sites, as well as listening to a great number of "horror stories" told by disgruntled customers over the course of the last 25 years, I have reached several conclusions.... #1 The majority of these "chop shops" are run by individuals who have absolutely no background in electronics but instead acquire their technical misinformation from some "book" or "web site" authored by someone equally as "unknowledgeable" as themselves! #2 The "recommended" modifications usually involved require removal and replacement of key components with inferior devices such as "generic replacement parts" manufactured by ECG, NTE, etc.. #3 Beware of the infamous "closed shop setup", where the tech dis- appears into a back room and 10 - 15 minutes later reappears with your radio making comments like this: ..."the transmitter is doin' 50 watts"! ...she's talkin' now!...etc. Since you weren't allowed into the shop area for some absurd reason, like insurance liability or some other equally lame excuse, how do you know that these purported claims have any truth to them? Answer: you don't! The point of all this? Here at Fire Communications the customer has always been welcome into the shop area, so that they are able to see and otherwise experience the work being performed on their equipment while they wait. My premise here is simple: Believe nothing you hear, half of what you read and everything that you see! The eyes don't lie! We are also more than happy to explain the process to you as well as answering any questions that you might have. This is an "OPEN SHOP". It stands to reason that if the tech doesn't know what he's doing or doesn't have the necessary test equipment to properly service your radio that he wouldn't want anyone back in the shop area, and this is usually the reason! #4 If you are lucky enough to find yourself in an open shop, take this opportunity to "look around" and see if you can spot anything that would tell you something about the tech working on your radio! Is there a valid amateur license displayed openly in the shop area? How about any other valid certification such as a 1st, 2nd or third class radio- telephone operators license? Certified Electronic Technicians license? Any of these or a combination of them should make you feel more con- fident about the shop that you are in as well as the technical com- petence of the individuals servicing your equipment! #5 Test equipment: Any competent shop will have at least these pieces of test equipment at their disposal: Radio frequency signal generator, calibrated peakreading wattmeter, digital or analog volt-ohm meter, calibrated frequency counter, radio frequency oscilloscope, 50 ohm resistor dummy load and a generous assortment of precision hand tools as well, including a variety of CERAMIC alignment tools! I stress this last point because at MOST of the chop shops they will use jewelers tools made from metal, and these tools will crack and break the slugs in the cans on the board necessitating their replacement to afford proper alignment! In addition, the use of metal alters the inductance of the coil in the can making accurate adjustment impossible! Note: If the shop does not have a calibrated rf signal generator they are unable to effect the proper alignment of the receiver section of your radio! I mention this for two reasons: #1 This piece of equipment is generally pretty expensive, on the order of several thousands of dollars and: #2 The old adage goes like this: If you can't hear 'em, then you can't work 'em!....(talk to them)! None of what I have written is meant to take anything away from 2- way radio as a hobby, but only to afford you, the end user, some insight into what you can expect when you take your radio into the majority of the shops around the country! As you will find out for yourself, there is a sizeable discrepancy between radio as a hobby and as a science, and there is a SCIENCE to doing it properly! From a business standpoint, servicing 2-way radio equipment is either a science or a con game, and the majority of shops fall into the latter category. I sincerely hope that the guidelines listed above are valuable in assisting you to gain more effective performance from your equipment, more enjoyment, and at the same time saving you some of your hard-earned dollars as you navigate your way through the SERVICE JUNGLE! As for myself, I will continue to take a certain amount of pride in a job well done, Doing it RIGHT the first time, or not doing it at all! 73, Jack Thurston NAO911/228 For those of you who would like to contact me directly: email me: http://www.firecommunications.com/site/contact.cgi phone me: 641-985-5700 / PIN# 8644463 radio me: 27.385 LSB/27.205 AM messg me: instant messenger: screen name: Radio292