[Elecraft] Johnson Rangers

[N2EY@aol.com]

One more observation on the Johnson Ranger/K2/power thingie:

Back in the AM days, having a high power 'phone station was a big deal. 
Running the legal limit was very expensive because you needed a 500 watt 
output modulator, complete with big mod iron and power supply. And since the 
PEP output of a KW AM rig  could be 3 kW or more, and the duty cycle while 
transmitting was 100%, everything had to be really beefy. 

A typical kW ham 'phone rig took up a whole 6 foot rack, or more. There were 
only two commercially made ham AM kWs - the Collins KW-1 and the Johnson Desk 
Kilowatt. Both were in the price class of "if you have to ask, you can't 
afford it".

Even a moderately powered AM rig could be pricey - check out the cost of a 
Johnson 500 or even a Valiant. End result was that Rangers and DX-100s were 
very popular. Lots of hams ran QRP phone using screen-, grid-, and 
cathode-modulation setups in rigs like the DX-40. Such a setup might put out 
15 watts of carrier on a good day!

SSB changed all that. The introduction of low cost SSB transceivers like the 
SB-100 in the early '60s put a 100 watt SSB station in the same price class 
as a good receiver of 5-10 years earlier. Desktop amplifiers like the SB-200 
and SB-220 made high power 'phone small and affordable. 

Oddly enough, the QRP movement started soon after all this (mid-late 1960s). 

73 de Jim, N2EY