[Boatanchors] VIKING RANGER

[RAY FRIESS]

 Whatever you call it ...   a Ranger I or II or whatever ...   some day I'd love to have one.   Been a dream of minesince I was a Novice back in the 60s. > From: magoo at isp.ca
> To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2012 08:48:38 -0400
> Subject: [Boatanchors] VIKING RANGER
> 
> 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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