Phase lock loop problem Ranger RCI 2950

[Jerry]

I borrowed this radio from a ham friend of mine.
Just something to get me on the air until I can find a decent used amateur radio - 100 watts / 160 - 2 meters - such as a Icom 746 pro or Kenwood 2000.

I know that the Ranger is a piece of crap - Import 10 meters radio, but it is all that I have for now.
Too darn hot to get to digging to put in a tower right now - 100* days, and yard too small to use a G5RV - although I did buy one.

Where I live, 10 meters is great, because I can talk most every day - made 100 contacts so far this month.

The problem that I have is that we put it on a service monitor and found that the display is 2 kc low - hence 28.400 reads 28.398.1 Mhz

Second problem was that I can lock it on someone - zero beat, but when the band goes up or down, the PLL cannot stay locked and so I have to chase the people around.

I get excellent signal reports when the bands are open - 25 watts into a Antron 99 - 20' off the ground gets into Florida with a 5/9 most nights.

The other problem is - if it is off two kc's - the radio sounds all garbled to the people on the other end and most people with a professional radio and little intelligence will yell and hollar to get off the bands and to buy a better radio.

I just started my new job last week after being disabled for 4 years with no income. I'm not cheap - but I can't spend $1500 for a used radio right now and I don't want to buy a boat anchor.
The people on Ebay are so crazy right now - you can buy a brand new radio that works with a guarantee / warranty for abotu $150 more then a old crappy radio that probably has issues.

So the question is - is there a economical repair that can be done to the Ranger to get it back in working condition? Less then $50.00 would be nice. Under $100 would be do able.

[KJ3N]

I'm not cheap - but I can't spend $1500 for a used radio right now and I don't want to buy a boat anchor.

Lots of room between those extremes. BTW, $1500 for a used radio is $1500 you've just wasted. You can have a brand new FT-950, TS-2000, or IC-7000 for less.

$150-$300: A few of the old hybrid radios like the TS-520, 530, 820, and 830 are available.

$350-$600: Many good used radios in this price range. TS-50, IC-718, IC-706, FT-857, and IC-751A, just for some examples.

The people on Ebay are so crazy right now - you can buy a brand new radio that works with a guarantee / warranty for abotu $150 more then a old crappy radio that probably has issues.

You're learning.

[KA9MOT]

Did you check to see if the Clarifier has been converted to TX along with RX or other CB Tricks have been done to it?

[Jerry]

When we had it on the service monitor - we checked the Clarifier and the TX did not move when the clarifier was changed.

Where can I find a deal on a new or used radio?
I tried QRZ and Flea Bay and Craigslist and in 4 months the closest I came was a old Heathkit HW 101 for $350.00 - that was until I found out that it needed a power supply and even a broke power supply was $100.00 and another $100+ to repair it.

I have a Heathkit 101 promised to me, my uncle said he would give it to me - after he replaced all the caps in it, just that he owns his own business and doesn't have the time to replace the caps.
I even asked him if he would as his employee to do it for me and I would gladly pay him for his time and troubles and my uncle got upset and said that he wanted to do it himself and got offended and that was the end of the offer.

It's kind of sad to be a Amateur Extra class license holder and no radio.

[PA5COR]

For the RCI 2950, get the service manual, and do the tune up with decent measuring equipment.
Some golden screwdriver must have wandered in there.... that were most of my repairs setting back everything they screwed up by "tuning up" the radio's....

If it transmits and recieves 98% of the time it has been someone with a screwdriver tuning all pot's and ferrite cores he could find to get some more power out of it.
Including setting the P.A. bias to 0 volts..... now that's good for linearity ( NOT)

There's nothing wrong in getting an older radio, i have 2 FT 847's Collins/Inrad filters and a FT100 with AM 6 KHz filter added.
I had the TS 430 line, and that one worked very fine too thank you.
A TS 430 or FT 757GX2 transceiver here goes for 300 - 500 Euro's depending on the extra's and filters in it.
Think looking at your side of the pond that prices for radio's are even cheaper. ( 2nd hand).

Get an TS 430 or similar radio, you can start making qso's and save up for a better radio later, getting on air is more important.

[NQ6U]

i'd suggest something newer that the HW 101. You should be able to pick up a used Icom IC-718 for about the same price as the Heathkit radio plus power supply . It's a good basic radio with an excellent receiver and it's currently in production so you'll be able to get parts for it.

[ad4mg]

TS-140S $350 HERE on QRZ

[K7SGJ]

I agree. Look at the solid state TS series. I bought a TS130 for a hundred in Phoenix. It was in like new condx. You will need a power supply, but that can be had for reasonable, too. Although those deals don't show up every day, they do happen. Watch your Craigslist at least two or three times a day. The good deals go fast.

As far as the Ranger goes, COR is right. Whenever I have a unit in unknown condx or has multiple issues, going through the alignment will usuall reveal the problem areas. Always begin at the PS. Since you have a Service Monitor available, with a service manual you should be good to go.

[N8YX]

The 2950 (especially the newer versions) is somewhat prone to VCO drift. Improper filtering in the PLL is more than likely the culprit. That said, get the service manual for the radio and have a look at the reference oscillator, VCO and BFO tuning. You'll need a frequency counter to perform the procedure, and a decent oscilloscope with 80-100MHz vertical bandwidth is also a help when peaking the VCO adjustments.I fixed one of these rigs last fall for a ham friend. They're not that tricky to align but seem to go out of alignment more frequently than similar 10M monobanders.

[KC2UGV]

Another thing to check: Are you feeding it with dirty 13.8V? I know my HTX-10 drifted a bit until my car battery's voltage settled down.

It doesn't have to be perfect, but the 10M only rigs tend to have not much in the way of input voltage regulation.