[Johnson] Want Ranger pwr xfmr

[John Lawson]

   Anyone happen to have a NOS or Good-Used Ranger power transformer for 
sale?  I need one - or a Good-Used Ranger - or, a new hobby... ;}


    After several hours on the bench last night - it is apparent why this 
old girl was shelved - it came to me with a 5R4 in the HV socket, but the 
fils didn't light, tho the tube was good. So sure enough - someone had 
tied the 5V fil lines back, and there was a 10-ohm 10W resistor in series 
with the B+ lead.

   I made a plug-in SS rectifier, installed it, switched the rig on - and 
blew both diodes and both line fuses to little bits.

   Ok.

   So I restored the original circuit - there is a definite 'under-load' 
short from the HV rect fils to the HV winding.

   Ok..

  Disconnected all that - the LV side works fine, Osc runs, buffer runs - 
can 'zero-beat' to a receiver, frequency of VFO seems accurate.

  Ok...

  Tansformer voltage and resistance checks are within 10% of spec.

Ok....

Put new diodes in put a Variac and ac ammeter in the mains line, turned it 
up slowly - POW.  Actually, with the diodes in cicuit, it appears to the 
Variac / AC Ammeter that the power transformer has a dead short. Having 
replaced the filter caps, and checked the plate choke - it ain't them. The 
B+ line resistance is slightly over 20K.

Ok.......!

   In this process the power transformer has begun to get slighly warm, so 
I went back to checking the LV side - as I was testing, the transformer 
started to arc internally - and resistance measurements now show the 
fil-to-HV short.  So: It's toast.


   While working on it, I did get to listen to a wonderful, hours-long AM 
QSO on 3.885 - altogether seven or eight stations from both coasts and the 
midwest - nice loud sigs, band wide open and quiet - little QRN and no QRM 
(for once)


NOW: Today I'll try and get the Valiant healthy.


    What else are 4-day weekends for???


Cheers

John  KB6SCO