Browning Golden Eagle Mark 4 and 4A receiver thoughts. White is Bad. Black is Good.
CB Radio History Channel and CB Museum
772 views
Slow as usual, but shipping this Mark 4 receiver away for a trade. Since I had it out, I made this video comparing the early Mark 4 receiver to the later version. With the Mark 4 transmitters, the early Mark 4 TX PLL was a nightmare. The factory fix for the Mark 4 TX was the Mark 4A with the updated PLL. The Mark 4 and 4a receivers are almost identical. Both the Mark 4 and 4A receivers power the Mark 4(A) transmitters. However, the updated Mark 4A TX PLL didn't need the -5 volts that the 4's PLL did, so the -5 was dropped from the receiver's power supply. The other difference between the 4 and 4a was the 4's used a white Molex type connector to connect the TX and RX. It failed....a lot. Browning updated the connection in the 4A's to a Black Cinch Jones type connection. The pins were a lot heftier and it did not fail.
Though the Mark 3 and Mark 4(a)'s receiver have similar circuitry, I have said a couple of times, I prefer the Mark 4 receive over the 3. IMHO, the 4 is a tad quieter. It has a slightly lower noise floor. I also think the 4's AGC circuit is slightly better. I believe the noise floor is lower because the front end of the receiver is in a cage, Take the cage off, and the noise floor of the 4(A) is worse than the 3. Also, the 4's use a circuit board mounted crystal switching mini PCB near the mixer to switch the mixing crystals. On the 3, they just used a rotary switch and then a long run of wire (for a crystal) thru the switch and then out to the mixer. This long wire run degrades the signal and picks up noise. Yes, I generally like the tubes mounted to the steel chassis in the Mark 3, and I don't generally like the tubes mounted to the circuit boards in the Mark 4, but performance wise, I slightly prefer the Mark 4(a) receive with the black Cinch Jones connector of course. Though they are very close, I do still prefer the Mark 3 TX over the 4's TX. However, I like the looks of the 4 and that the 4's have 40 channels. All in all, the Mark 4A is my favorite Browning and in the very top of my all time favorite CB radio list.
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Browning Golden Eagle Mark 4 and 4A receiver thoughts. White is Bad. Black is Good.
CB Radio History Channel and CB Museum
772 views
Slow as usual, but shipping this Mark 4 receiver away for a trade. Since I had it out, I made this video comparing the early Mark 4 receiver to the later version. With the Mark 4 transmitters, the early Mark 4 TX PLL was a nightmare. The factory fix for the Mark 4 TX was the Mark 4A with the updated PLL. The Mark 4 and 4a receivers are almost identical. Both the Mark 4 and 4A receivers power the Mark 4(A) transmitters. However, the updated Mark 4A TX PLL didn't need the -5 volts that the 4's PLL did, so the -5 was dropped from the receiver's power supply. The other difference between the 4 and 4a was the 4's used a white Molex type connector to connect the TX and RX. It failed....a lot. Browning updated the connection in the 4A's to a Black Cinch Jones type connection. The pins were a lot heftier and it did not fail.
Though the Mark 3 and Mark 4(a)'s receiver have similar circuitry, I have said a couple of times, I prefer the Mark 4 receive over the 3. IMHO, the 4 is a tad quieter. It has a slightly lower noise floor. I also think the 4's AGC circuit is slightly better. I believe the noise floor is lower because the front end of the receiver is in a cage, Take the cage off, and the noise floor of the 4(A) is worse than the 3. Also, the 4's use a circuit board mounted crystal switching mini PCB near the mixer to switch the mixing crystals. On the 3, they just used a rotary switch and then a long run of wire (for a crystal) thru the switch and then out to the mixer. This long wire run degrades the signal and picks up noise. Yes, I generally like the tubes mounted to the steel chassis in the Mark 3, and I don't generally like the tubes mounted to the circuit boards in the Mark 4, but performance wise, I slightly prefer the Mark 4(a) receive with the black Cinch Jones connector of course. Though they are very close, I do still prefer the Mark 3 TX over the 4's TX. However, I like the looks of the 4 and that the 4's have 40 channels. All in all, the Mark 4A is my favorite Browning and in the very top of my all time favorite CB radio list.