Superstar 122 (small radio) no longer made, I know why !

[Chainsawgang]

Anyone have any experience with one of these oldies? I received one of these "little Gems" several years ago & man it has been nothing but trouble . I wonder if the conversion was done properly???
It is extremely sensitive to heat & cold whenever it is exposed to either , it will run thru the frequencies non stop until it is disconnected . Then if you can restore it to a more reasonable temperature & go thru meditation & east siberian chant it sometimes will work.
I thought that when I got it , it would be a "neat little spare with 120 channels BUT, it is nothing like the quality of the Superstar 360 , 120 , 121 or 3900 . This can't be made by the same mfr's . Today it will transmit & very well I might add but , does not receive. Anyone have any experience with these & any input??

 

[Switch Kit]

I never heard of the SS122 , you got a picture you can post ?

 

[CollinsMan]

I have one of these radios, and have the opposite problem; the receiver works very well, but the transmit is pretty bad. It's either 30 percent modulation or way over-modulated on AM if I adjust the modulation via the internal pot... FM works great, though!

The board in the radio was made by Ranger. How do I know? It is silkscreened on the top of the PCB under the speaker area in my unit. I've emailed Ranger in the past to see if they would sell or send me a schematic on the board, but they have never responded. I can only assume that they are either ashamed or don't wish to share information... :x

The conversion was simple. An extra crystal was included in the plastic bag containing the owner's manual. All a person had to do was unsolder the old crystal and solder the new crystal in. Voilla - instant CB/Uppers/Lowers! Unfortunately, 10 meters was lost in the process....

I converted mine back to 10 meters, and it serves as a pretty decent FM monitor radio. However, as I stated, mine really stinks on AM. I'm surprised that yours works well in that mode. I think that you will really be happy with the unit if the receiver is straightened out.

This is all I really know about this unit. CB Tricks has a little info. on the unit, but not really anything I haven't already told you.

73

 

[Chainsawgang]

I have one of these radios, and have the opposite problem; the receiver works very well, but the transmit is pretty bad. It's either 30 percent modulation or way over-modulated on AM if I adjust the modulation via the internal pot... FM works great, though!

The board in the radio was made by Ranger. How do I know? It is silkscreened on the top of the PCB under the speaker area in my unit. I've emailed Ranger in the past to see if they would sell or send me a schematic on the board, but they have never responded. I can only assume that they are either ashamed or don't wish to share information... :x

The conversion was simple. An extra crystal was included in the plastic bag containing the owner's manual. All a person had to do was unsolder the old crystal and solder the new crystal in. Voilla - instant CB/Uppers/Lowers! Unfortunately, 10 meters was lost in the process....

I converted mine back to 10 meters, and it serves as a pretty decent FM monitor radio. However, as I stated, mine really stinks on AM. I'm surprised that yours works well in that mode. I think that you will really be happy with the unit if the receiver is straightened out.

This is all I really know about this unit. CB Tricks has a little info. on the unit, but not really anything I haven't already told you.

73

Thanks for all that info , I guess I will try to have it repaired. At least get a price on it . But, this is nothing like the other Ranger/ Superstar units I have owned . Like you said it is definitely an RCI circuit board....but it won't hold a candle to the small Uniden or Cobra units !

 

[Chainsawgang]

I never heard of the SS122 , you got a picture you can post ?

Couldn't find a pic of it & I don't have a digi cam YET:Sorry SwitchKit. But , so far I haven't been Happy with it at all . Have owned it for several years just haven't used it much. It seems everytime I drag it back out it goes crazy . Sometimes when you turn it on it will flicker & start rapidly scanning thru the channels & won't stop until the power is disconnected. Alas,Switch , you wouldn't be impressed !

 

[Switch Kit]

Just wondered what it looked like. The thing works one minute and then it don't the next , just acts like it doesn't know if it's coming or going ,sounds like maybe a cold solder joint ? but I;ve seen even craizer things with radios over the years. It does sound fixable all the same. Good luck to you.

 

[warhorse]

ss122

Hi found this info cbtricks.com look under superstar- ( rci ) in the radio listing if you download the doc it gives you the picture in brief form in the pdf file.

 

[CollinsMan]

No problem, I wish you luck on getting your radio working. I agree, these things can't hold a candle to the other Ranger/Superstar stuff... If you like running FM, though, they aren't half-bad.

Just an idea, you might want to check for a cold solder joint where the new crystal was installed. Mine is located on an EP01230A board which seems to be glued to the main board. The way your radio is acting could certainly be traced to either this or a intermittent crystal itself.

Oh, I told you wrong on one thing; mine says "RCI-122" on a little round sticker located on the main board under where the speaker magnet sits when the unit is assembled instead of "Ranger" being silk-screened on it... (I work on WAY too many Ranger- built radios, and get confused about the particulars sometimes.....)

Again, good luck - I wish I could have been of more help, but I haven't even really figured out how to straighten mine out, either!
:shock: