Ranger Superstar SS-158VC6 ???

[44 Dan]

I bought this a month ago and had it for a day then sent it off to get "tuned".. Should be back in a week or two (I hope)...
Scoured the internet and still can't find much info.. Only folks that say this or that but its all good.... Ranger says its a monster after its been "tuned" .... Figured I'd ask y'all to see if anyone knows anything or has even heard of it.. It's supposed to be better than most on SSB (rangers) and.Free Banding (shhh)... Found one for great price (black Friday deal) so I jumped on it... Sent it to Brian @ TruckCBSales.com to get "Truckerized" and whatever he recommends...
So - ever heard of it ?????...
Thanks for any input,
44Dan 9013

 

[9C1Driver]

A local guy has an RCI 99n2 that he bought new. It didn't sound real good on SSB so he sent it to Doug at Custom CB Radio's. When he got it back it sounded great and had a much better looking signal on his scope. Doug didn't try to wrangle every last watt out of it either.

Personally i'm not a fan of these 400 watt mobile style radio's, I prefer running a separate amplifier with a lower powered radio but to each his own. I like that the SS158 has FM, many newer radio's like that do not for some reason. Hopefully it won't drift on you too bad when talking SSB. If you run it as a base that should help. I would imagine it will be a strong AM talker.

 

[BC Coyote]

I agree with 9C1, you are much better off with a lower powered radio and just buy an amp to run with it. These radios with the high powered amp built in seem to be prone to problems, due to the heat generated and the high RF field within the same case as the exciter and driver stages.

As far as freebanding goes, That radio is no better than any other radio of equivalent power & frequency range, and the fact that it runs HOT guarantees it will drift like mad on SSB.

 

[44 Dan]

I agree with 9C1, you are much better off with a lower powered radio and just buy an amp to run with it. These radios with the high powered amp built in seem to be prone to problems, due to the heat generated and the high RF field within the same case as the exciter and driver stages.

As far as freebanding goes, That radio is no better than any other radio of equivalent power & frequency range, and the fact that it runs HOT guarantees it will drift like mad on SSB.

Thanks for the feedback...

 

[44 Dan]

A local guy has an RCI 99n2 that he bought new. It didn't sound real good on SSB so he sent it to Doug at Custom CB Radio's. When he got it back it sounded great and had a much better looking signal on his scope. Doug didn't try to wrangle every last watt out of it either.

Personally i'm not a fan of these 400 watt mobile style radio's, I prefer running a separate amplifier with a lower powered radio but to each his own. I like that the SS158 has FM, many newer radio's like that do not for some reason. Hopefully it won't drift on you too bad when talking SSB. If you run it as a base that should help. I would imagine it will be a strong AM talker This one was tuned by Walcott but like you said it just didn't sound right...

This rig will get moved between mobile and base depending on what I need it for so that's why I figured I would try this type of setup...
Thanks for the feedback..... 73's

 

[njdan30]

This rig will get moved between mobile and base depending on what I need it for so that's why I figured I would try this type of setup...
Thanks for the feedback..... 73's

How did you make it with yours? I have one brand new from Walcott, on ssb it sounds horrible when I transmit, like I'm on one of those tv shows where they try to disguise a person's voice, paid for the align and tune, kinda wish I didn't. Receives great and sounds great on AM but ssb is unusable for me.

 

[brandon7861]

Sorry for the short rant, sure its been said before, but a CB shop selling a radio that hasn't been tuned is like an auto manufacturer selling cars before setting the timing. If Icom or Kenwood had a checkbox at checkout to have it tuned before shipping, they would be out of business. This is our own doing, we let it happen. If a shop cannot sell a radio at peak performance without having to up-sell you on something that should have been done before the ad went up, they are ripping you off. Any radio being sold out of alignment should be sold at a used radio price. If you are going to pay to have it went through, why not buy a used one for a fraction of the price and do the same?

 

[njdan30]

Sorry for the short rant, sure its been said before, but a CB shop selling a radio that hasn't been tuned is like an auto manufacturer selling cars before setting the timing. If Icom or Kenwood had a checkbox at checkout to have it tuned before shipping, they would be out of business. This is our own doing, we let it happen. If a shop cannot sell a radio at peak performance without having to up-sell you on something that should have been done before the ad went up, they are ripping you off. Any radio being sold out of alignment should be sold at a used radio price. If you are going to pay to have it went through, why not buy a used one for a fraction of the price and do the same?

I'm super disappointed in this whole deal I had plenty of galaxy and ranger radios that I only done the channel expansion to and ran for years without issues, this was the 1st radio I thought I'd treat myself to with a full align and tune and it's horrible, I wish I just did it myself, 600 bucks just to sit on my desk unplugged, I bought this to replace my dx94hp in my truck, they won't take a return since "it's been opened" although it was opened by them. Ranger told me I can send it them but I'm looking at 5+weeks minimum, which I think I'm going to, great looking paper weight at the moment. I agree with what you said but again wish I never paid them to mess with it.

Sorry for the short rant, sure its been said before, but a CB shop selling a radio that hasn't been tuned is like an auto manufacturer selling cars before setting the timing. If Icom or Kenwood had a checkbox at checkout to have it tuned before shipping, they would be out of business. This is our own doing, we let it happen. If a shop cannot sell a radio at peak performance without having to up-sell you on something that should have been done before the ad went up, they are ripping you off. Any radio being sold out of alignment should be sold at a used radio price. If you are going to pay to have it went through, why not buy a used one for a fraction of the price and do the same?

 

[44 Dan]

How did you make it with yours? I have one brand new from Walcott, on ssb it sounds horrible when I transmit, like I'm on one of those tv shows where they try to disguise a person's voice, paid for the align and tune, kinda wish I didn't. Receives great and sounds great on AM but ssb is unusable for me.

I bought mine from Walcott also mainly because they are a reputable Ranger Dealer... ... I researched the Radio and Seller which were great but not their Shop that turned out to be Not That Great... Just like yours mine also had deficiencies in SSB that I wanted checked out plus I want some extra things done... ...

Whoever you send it to for whatever you want done get a solid turn-around time so you'll have a good idea about how long it'll take... ... I had mine for a week after I got it from Walcott and sent it right back out... ... I was quoted a 4 to 5 week turn-around and it's been 14 weeks so far... ... I'm leaving it where it is and hoping for the best but my plan was to buy another SSB power house so I'm just going to go ahead with that.... For anyone reading this deciding which radio to get Know This ~ Buy from a reputable shop that can do the work you want... ... Buying one place and sending to another to get the work done can take months and months - Buy from a shop who will get the work done and get it to you (that is how it's done today - I found out too late)... ... For service call and get as many details as you can, mainly what is the longest it could take?... ... Some Shops Do Not Want Your Business as they are too busy - appreciate their honesty... ...

My list of reputable Sales and Service Radio Shops ~ Call and get All the details...

Rooster CB Radio Connection

Rooster CB Radio Connection

www.roostercb.com

CB Radios

https://truckscbsales.com/

After I get my VC6 back I'll find out if it's everything Ranger said it would be... ,,, I did use for about a week after I got it and the plan was to get it modified to a higher power level withy clear audio later on but after I used it I decided to go ahead and get it modified now..... ....
So far after a Walcott Peak & Tune it hasn't shown me anything close to what Ranger said it was capable of... ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping Ranger made a half decent radio for Brian to do his magic with... I will let you know how I end up with this VC6... ...

Good Luck with yours, I'm sure they are good radios that can be made into Great Radios....
Later On - 44 Dan ... 903 Central Arizona .... 73

 

[44 Dan]

I'm super disappointed in this whole deal I had plenty of galaxy and ranger radios that I only done the channel expansion to and ran for years without issues, this was the 1st radio I thought I'd treat myself to with a full align and tune and it's horrible, I wish I just did it myself, 600 bucks just to sit on my desk unplugged, I bought this to replace my dx94hp in my truck, they won't take a return since "it's been opened" although it was opened by them. Ranger told me I can send it them but I'm looking at 5+weeks minimum, which I think I'm going to, great looking paper weight at the moment. I agree with what you said but again wish I never paid them to mess with it.

Brother we are all on the same page with this business... ....

44 Dan

 

[njdan30]

Yeah man, that sucks, sorry you too had to go thru this. Mine was doing pretty close to 400w on AM the quick test I did with it, but ssb is the worse I ever heard(I'm taking about my transmission, receive was fine) . I bought that so I can send my dx94hp out for repair ironically but still using that radio until I figure out what can be done with this new one. Thanks for replying 73s 434 central va

 

[njdan30]

Brother we are all on the same page with this business... ....

44 Dan

I wanted to ask you also, when you got your radio did it have all the channels? Mine didn't have below channel 1 but o fixed that by moving a jumper so now the high low button works. Just curious if you'd was the same?

 

[44 Dan]

I wanted to ask you also, when you got your radio did it have all the channels? Mine didn't have below channel 1 but o fixed that by moving a jumper so now the high low button works. Just curious if you'd was the same?

Everything worked as it should in the stock configuration.... Absolutely no difference from what is advertised other than the defective SSB WHICH was by the way supposed to be one of it's main strong points... ... My point is whatever Walcott did to it for their Peak & Tune didn't change anything from what was advertised that the radio already did... .... Mine tested on my equipment at 390W AM & 400W SSB ... ...The Ranger person I talked to about this radio when I was considering it told me the SSB on this model was designed not to "drift" off frequency and was to be more accurate and stable than most other radios with very good modulation throughout the bands.... Never should've mentioned I primarily use SSB including exploring through the freeband arena ... I mentioned to Brian I wanted it completely unlocked and that I would mention it again when he calls me before he starts the work..... While I had it I only remember it did cover frequency's of the freeband up into the 10 meter band.... I didn't go low freeband or try to split channels that I remember doing.... I'm not a fan of the faceplate and how it illuminates but that is trivial....

LMAO !!... Starting to get excited about this rig discussing it... .... Only because of where it is and who's doing the work allows me to stay positive and hopeful... ... We shall see Yes we shall see........
I'll be around ~ 44 Dan 903 Central Arizona.... ....73

 

[TetroideTom]

How did you make it with yours? I have one brand new from Walcott, on ssb it sounds horrible when I transmit, like I'm on one of those tv shows where they try to disguise a person's voice, paid for the align and tune, kinda wish I didn't. Receives great and sounds great on AM but ssb is unusable for me.

Did they do the full mod on the channels on yours? My friends radio acts just like you described.
But his only had half the channels.
Had no lower channels!

 

[44 Dan]

Did they do the full mod on the channels on yours? My friends radio acts just like you described.
But his only had half the channels.
Had no lower channels!

Mine is still in the shop... I have high expectations ~ we shall see...........
44 Dan........ 903 Central Arizona....... 73