I was thinks the same thing. ThanksI would try and find someone who is into the hobby that's close by and have them check it out for you.
Just a thought.
I took something into a radio shop a couple years back to have it looked at and was told it was scrap. they offered me 20$ so I took it. within the week it was on the shelf for sale.
Now I have a guy I can go to close by.
Jeff you said it is set for high drive..how much drive do you think?It is indeed a very nice Amp, Do Not let anyone play inside of it, there are variable resistors on the board that control the Bias of the transistors and need to be left ALONE.
I can not stress enough about letting a screwdriver expert dink around in the amp.
It has already been set for the high drive setting and I would bet that if it is attached to the Ranger it is set up correct for it.
Put the lid back on and enjoy one of the best Radio/Amp set-ups you could ever put your hands on. If I had that set-up I would put a fan on it and call it golden.
Consider yourself a lucky guy.
73
Jeff
Thank you. You have given me a lot of great info. As I am new to the "hobby" I didn't really know what to ask. I will definitely ask more questions the next time I take a piece of equiptment to the shop.Ask him to explain why he said "nope we don't want to do that"
That is not much info to go on.... what no output?
Dead key too high?
What mode was he on?
What is the radio doing without the amp turned on?
You need a much better explanation than what is stated above before letting anyone into the radio or amp.
On AM mode I would look for a 80 / 100 watt dead key and no more than 400 watts modulated.
SSB I would still keep it under 400 watts.
Is it capable of more, yes but IMD and heat will go up as the output goes up.
And there is not a tremendous amount of heat sink there for 4 2879`s this is why I said a fan is a good idea.
Most CB style amps the model number is "somewhat " related to the power output, but often over inflated to boost sales.
Understand you will likely never see another one of these amps.
Understand that it has original Toshiba 2sc2879`s in it that are no longer made.
The Jumper on the board is set on the HI pins. There is no way to tell if the radio has been turned down by looking at a picture, you need to put it on a meter and a dummy load to determine that.
Just some observations..........
The balancing resistor on the output combiner looks good, tells us that both pairs have been playing well together.
The input resistors on the power switch do not look scorched , you will see these that look overheated from too much drive, often the death of these amps.
The 10 ohm resistors on the transistors look good, by that we can assume that the transistors are good.
A lifetime ago I sold a few of these amps, everyone I have ever seen used allen head screws on the original transistors, like this one.
They often had a lot of flux on the board as this one does.
I think it is as it came for the guys building them.
Anyway, if the radio shop can not explain what he is talking about, i would walk away with the radio/amp in my hands and look elsewhere.
73
Jeff
I was thinks the same thing. Thanks
Jeff you said it is set for high drive..how much drive do you think?
I have added a few pictures of the ranger. I am also looking myself to see what version it is.If it's a true high drive, I believe the ratio would be 10W deadkey, 25W PEP input into the amp. However I'd NEVER drive an amp with that kind of deadkey, even if it is a true high drive unit. 2-3W deadkey is plenty for these kinds of amps, even on the high drive setting. 25-30W PEP is about max for PEP into that amp. I don't recommend running anymore than that into it, as it can cause more IMD and stress to the final transistors. I am curious as to which version of the Ranger AR3500 you have, if it's the 25W version or the 100W version. If the radio is the 100W version, that might be why the shop shut it down quickly, as 100W into that amp will destroy the finals in short order.
~Cheers~
It just so happens that I was given aN ultratec srw/watt meter along with the other equiptment. So I hooked up the ranger to my srw/watt meter and I am seeing 30 watts on AM and looks to be about 70 on SSB.You have the 100W version of the Ranger AR-3500. That large heatsink in the back is the 100W PA for the radio. Chances are, the radio may not be matched to the amp, so I would NOT run the amp with this radio.
You'll be able to check output by hooking in a wattmeter between the radio and a dummy load or antenna. Look for approximately 80-100W output on SSB. Let us know how you get on.
~Cheers~