[Johnson] Ranger VFO Access Question

[Bill Cromwell]

Hi Scott,

You are right that access is through that side plate. If yours has the
keying circuit you have to move that out of the way first. Three screws
on top and lift it up and move it over. Let it dangle on the wires. On
mine there is a short terminal strip that holds a wire to the dial lamp
in that side. The screw that holds that strip is one of the screws that
holds the side cover on. Unplug that dial lamp and move it aside and out
of your way, too. I remove the tubes on that side for easier access to
the screws.

You will also have to remove the nuts from two spade bolts that extend
under the chassis from that side plate. Take your time - they can be
hard to get to with other parts crowded around them. When you reassemble
the VFO cage do NOT be tempted to leave those off. They are *required*
for RF isolation from the power amp! Somebody had been tempted with the
Ranger I have and the VFO was really flaky on 40 meters.
Replacing/retightening *ALL* screws and nuts cured all of that.

Todays standards are not the same as when the Ranger was marketed. The
VFOs are a little drifty. Mine is worse on 40 meters so I only use it on
160, 80, and 40 but with the VFO switch locked on  160. The bandswitch
still operates everything else as designed. I get 40 meter output at
slightly lower output. I am building up a heterodyne VFO system
patterned after the Hallicrafters HA-5. Documents for that are available
on BAMA. The VFO and an xtal oscillator run all the time and a mixer and
output buffer are keyed. Doing that resolves several issues with keyed,
free running VFOs.

You might want to replace the 6AU6 wih a 6AH6. Make sure the gas
regulator tube is working ok. The series resistor for the regulator was
marginal and may be out of spec in yours. The one in mine was replaced
by a heavier (higher wattage) resistor before I acquired it. Some people
suggest relocating that resistor and it's heat outside the VFO cage.
Others have suggested it's presence inside the cage helps stabilize the
the VFO temp sooner. Mine is inside. I haven't tried it outside.

Good luck with your project.

73,

Bill KU8H



On Tue, 2012-12-18 at 21:54 +0000, whitebear1122 at comcast.net wrote:
> 
> I powered up a Johnson Ranger 1 over the weekend.  It had not been powered since 1973 according to the previous owner.  I brought it up slowly over a 5 minute period using a variac so as not to just slam HV on the original electrolytics.  It powered up fine.  6146 was dead so I replaced it and was getting full power output.  I did notice the oscillator is moving around some.  The transmitter signal sounds good and clean on the receiver, just the frequency is moving a little bit here and there.  
> 
> 
> I would like to peruse the VFO compartment but it looks nearly impossible to get into without major disassembly.  I'm trying to remember back in the mid 90's I accessed my Valiant VFO compartment from the left side, to replace the 6AU6, OA2, and burnt series current limit resistor.  Even then access was limited from the side, cramped space, difficult.    
> 
> 
> 
> I see the side screws that affix the lid go all the way around the top edge, including two screws facing the VFO dial.  Can't get at them.  Has anyone here gotten good access to the VFO compartment other than coming in on the side?  I fear the answer is something like total vfo disassembly... 
> 
> 
> 
> 73, Scott WA9WFA 
> ______________________________________________________________