[Boatanchors] VIKING RANGER

[Bill and Liz]

Several comments have been made about keeping a Johnson Ranger in its
original condition rather than modifying it.  I can appreciate this "purist"
view; there is something warm and fuzzy about keeping a piece of equipment
entirely original.  However, in terms of practicality and longevity of
operation, some modifications would seem to be in order.  The designers did
not build this transmitter with over-sized components, and so heat and
possible overload has led to component failure in many Rangers over the
years.  In several cases, the design is downright poor, and circuit
improvements can certainly be made to make the Ranger a better performer.

I acquired an early model, one produced before the keyer and bias circuits
were factory installed.  My first attempt at using this rig resulted in a
nasty surprise when my finger touched the hot side of the key!  I had always
believed that Rangers used grid-block keying, so after discovering that mine
lacked this refinement I decided to install it along with the timed-sequence
keying found in later production.  I also installed a bias circuit for the
modulator

>From a purely safety standpoint, and in keeping with my philosophy of having
every piece of equipment in my collection equipped with a U-ground power
cord, I installed same on my Ranger along with a fuse holder.  There have
been too many cases where someone with a 2-wire line cord forgot to attach a
ground wire to a piece of equipment and paid the price when something went
wrong.

Extreme heat from the screen dropping resistor, rectifier tubes and a
transformer which ran quite hot prompted me to make some changes to cure
this situation.  After solid-stating the power supplies, changing the method
of obtaing screen voltage, and moving the VFO B+ dropping resistor outside
the VFO compartment, my transmitter began to show signs of being a great
performer.  The VFO now settles down within about 15 minutes of being turned
on, heat was no longer a problem in the cabinet, and I did not wonder if the
power transformer might give out from stress.  New filter caps and
equalizing resistors, replacing the poorly-designed PTT relay system and
changing the modulator tubes to 6552 from 1614 came next.

I now have a transmitter which produces a stable, solid 50 watts on CW and
40 watts on AM and which appears ready to run for another 50 years with few
problems.  For me, safety and longevity take precedence over preserving the
original state.  And my Ranger still looks original!

Bill VE3NH



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