[Johnson] Wanna buy a Valiant, cheap?

[Jim Brannigan]

A agree with Kim.
My just finished Ranger had a number of cold soldering joints, un-soldered 
connections and several wiring errors.
One wiring error caused the unit to transmit when the meter was switched to 
the OSC position,  that really drove me crazy.

Jim


> Hi John,
>>  Finished re-capping with all-new expensive parts - now there's no grid 
>> drive whatsoever - none of the tuning procedures work - won't align...
>>    Are these things this much frustration and bother to you others who 
>> have rebuilt them and are using them?? Because, appearances 
>> notwithstanding, this is really *not* my first attempt at repairing a 
>> piece of radio gear in the last, oh, 40 years...  first my little Ranger 
>> doinks me, now this expensive Valiant is 'dying on the table' faster than 
>> I can keep it breathing...
>
>         This is where the scope and freq counter come in, along with the 
> DVM.  I've found, more than once, wiring errors are the root
> cause of this type of thing.  Check the VFO for operation, and then once 
> you verify that it's working, you can trace the signal through each
> succeeding stage until you get to the finals.  Do the same with the audio 
> side, again verify that the mic amp is working and then you
> can trace each succeeding stage until you get to the modulator.  Check 
> both of the power supplies for proper voltage first.  Remember that
> these transmitters were, for the most part, kits and can have wiring 
> errors in them that are present from improper assembly.  I recently bought
> a Ranger that had NEVER transmitted at all because of an error in the 
> assembly of the function switch.  The thing was basically brand new.
> Whoever assembled it, grounded the wrong wire and so several stages didn't 
> work.
>         It's easy to make mistakes rebuilding these things as well, so you 
> might have gotten yourself.  Been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt
> and the frustration as well.
>
>
> Thanks!!
>
> Kim Herron  W8ZV