[Boatanchors] Found the Ranger keying problem.

[Philip Atchley]

Hi.
Upon lifting up the sub-chassis I immediately spotted my problem.  A BBOD
(black beauty) that I had somehow missed 3 years ago when I overhauled the
unit.  Upon replacing that capacitor with a "modern" "Blue Drop" and
screwing the sub-chassis back down the unit works as it should.

Incidentally, upon checking the tubes I found 3 weak ones that I replaced.
The 6CL6 driver, 6AL5 and the 12AU7 keyer tube which somebody had put a
12AX7 in it's slot (NO, that wasn't my keyer problem).  ALSO, the 1614
modulators are both very weak and drop even lower on the "life" test but I
left them in as I didn't have any and they won't affect the CW operation
anyway.

The man who "permanently loaned" me the rig had used it on the "AM" nets
quite a bit in the 3 years since I overhauled it and guess that took it's
toll on the tubes (though he had gone almost exclusively to his DX-60 the
past year).  You know how those "Old Buzzard transmissions go 8^)

73 from the "Beaconeers Lair".
Phil, KO6BB

DX begins at the noise floor!
beaconeer@elite.net
Merced, Central California
37.18N  120.29W  CM97sh