Ranger RCI 2990

[Raccoon]

So I have a quick question about the Ranger RCI 2990 base station . Does this radio have a factory reset function ??

I was just wondering because it's a CPU based radio , and a few of my other CPU based radios from the same time period do have a factory reset feature in them , but I can't find any information about it online .

 

[nomadradio]

The single computer board in that model is lacking that feature. The previous version used in the 2950/2970 radios had a lithium memory-backup coin cell and two pc boards, one for the computer and one for the display. It originally had a reset switch. They left it out after the first few years but the solder pads on the pc board were still there. This version gave way to the one with no battery in March 1995. No reset since then.

73

 

[Raccoon]

The single computer board in that model is lacking that feature. The previous version used in the 2950/2970 radios had a lithium memory-backup coin cell and two pc boards, one for the computer and one for the display. It originally had a reset switch. They left it out after the first few years but the solder pads on the pc board were still there. This version gave way to the one with no battery in March 1995. No reset since then.

73

If I remember correctly , this version is somewhere between 1994 to 1996. I wish I could remember a little better , but it wasn't important to me at the time ... lol. The radio originally belonged to my Mom , and she recently passed away . And since I'm the only one in the family that gained her interest in radio , I inherited her 2990 . She bought it new between 1994 to 1996 ... so I'm the second owner of it. Everything appears to be working as it should. Except the receive is acting weird. It acts like the squelch is turned up high, even though it's all the way down.Every once and awhile you'll hear static fade in, or someone talking like they broke the squelch level ... and then they fade back out again. So I was hoping that I could somehow reset the cpu in it. I'll have to figure out what's going on with it .

 

[Cable Guy]

Maybe time to consider a recap, and switch/pot cleaning. ~30 years old is kinda iffy, especially if it has been stored away. Storage conditions affect longevity also, considering humidity, temp fluctuations, etc. Cleaning becomes more a necessity if kept and operated in a house by a person who smokes, that nicotine creeps into every nook. Just some thoughts.

Klondike Mike sells fantastic cap kits...

Galaxy DX2527 / RCI 2990,2995,2970 (w/EPT295013Z) electrolytic capacitor kit

Electrolytic radial capacitor kit for Galaxy DX2527 / RCI 2990,2995,2970 / CRT Hercule Turbo / Eagle 5000 / Galaxy Saturn Turbo / Galaxy DX22B / Alan 560, all using the EPT295013Z main board. This kit includes 59 components in total.

klondikemikescapkits.com

 

[Raccoon]

Maybe time to consider a recap, and switch/pot cleaning. ~30 years old is kinda iffy, especially if it has been stored away. Storage conditions affect longevity also, considering humidity, temp fluctuations, etc. Cleaning becomes more a necessity if kept and operated in a house by a person who smokes, that nicotine creeps into every nook. Just some thoughts.

Klondike Mike sells fantastic cap kits...

Galaxy DX2527 / RCI 2990,2995,2970 (w/EPT295013Z) electrolytic capacitor kit

Electrolytic radial capacitor kit for Galaxy DX2527 / RCI 2990,2995,2970 / CRT Hercule Turbo / Eagle 5000 / Galaxy Saturn Turbo / Galaxy DX22B / Alan 560, all using the EPT295013Z main board. This kit includes 59 components in total.

klondikemikescapkits.com

I know that you're 100% right ... but I'm definitely not in any hurry to recap anymore radios right away ... lol. I just finished doing a complete recap on a Cobra 2000, and that was close to 50 capacitors ... and ironically enough, I bought that capacitor kit from Klondike Mike as well ... lol

Thanks for the link

 

[BC Coyote]

It acts like the squelch is turned up high, even though it's all the way down.Every once and awhile you'll hear static fade in, or someone talking like they broke the squelch level ... and then they fade back out again.

That sounds like a classic cold solder joint symptom......Rangers, especially aging Rangers, are famous for that kind of thing.
Open it up and poke around on the circuit board with something non-conductive (a pencil for example) and see if you can narrow down the problem to a certain area of the board. Then using a magnifying glass you can try and find the suspect joint.
Have you checked that the squelch pot isn't just dirty/corroded ?

 

[unit_399]

I haven't checked the schematic, but some of the RCI rigs have a "Squelch Range" adjustment on the board. Could be this pot is out of adjustment or has opened up. Something to check if this radio has this adjustment.

- J.J. 399

 

[Raccoon]

First of all, I want to thank you all for your help with my 2990. I didn't find any issues with a cold solder joints. And I did use a pencil with an eraser to check for them. But I did find a capacitor that took some serious damage. Luckily I happened to have an extra new capacitor of the same value sitting here. So I removed the burnt out capacitor and replaced it with the new one, and now it's back to its old self .

Again, thanks for all of your help and advice, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[nomadradio]

Way cool! Just goes to show that your most valuable troubleshooting tool can be the calibrated eyeball.

73

 

[Raccoon]

So now that it's receiving ... it's acting funky when it's transmitting. The best way I can describe it is that it makes a fuzzy sound with your audio on the peeks when you're talking. Not all of the time, just once and awhile. Since I noticed that the receive still occasionally acts up when they AF Gain knob is touched, I'm going to spray the knobs again too. I'll see if any of this helps.

 

[nomadradio]

There should be two metal shields on the solder side of the pcb, underneath IC20, L43 and L46. This is to prevent stray RF from the linear from leaking back into the transmitter mixer circuit. This frequently causes distortion on sideband modulation peaks, and goes away if the mike gain is turned down to a Watt or two max peak. If those shields are gone, you need them. Likewise, the two bandpass transformers L43 and L46 can't be peaked for max weak sideband signal like a normal sideband radio. If you do, distorted modulation peaks pop up. Detuning L43 slightly clockwise from the peak will usually clear this up. You do lose a couple of Watts off your AM peak power, but not enough for anyone to care.

The barefoot version of this radio had that shield plate under the transmit mixer chip IC20. The amplified versions would have a second one under L43 and L46.

With any luck, your problem falls into the typical pattern above. Never hurts to make sure that the circuit board mounting screws are all tight. A loose one can cause quirky feedback issues.

73

 

[Raccoon]

There should be two metal shields on the solder side of the pcb, underneath IC20, L43 and L46. This is to prevent stray RF from the linear from leaking back into the transmitter mixer circuit. This frequently causes distortion on sideband modulation peaks, and goes away if the mike gain is turned down to a Watt or two max peak. If those shields are gone, you need them. Likewise, the two bandpass transformers L43 and L46 can't be peaked for max weak sideband signal like a normal sideband radio. If you do, distorted modulation peaks pop up. Detuning L43 slightly clockwise from the peak will usually clear this up. You do lose a couple of Watts off your AM peak power, but not enough for anyone to care.

The barefoot version of this radio had that shield plate under the transmit mixer chip IC20. The amplified versions would have a second one under L43 and L46.

With any luck, your problem falls into the typical pattern above. Never hurts to make sure that the circuit board mounting screws are all tight. A loose one can cause quirky feedback issues.

73

I don't know. I'm at the point where I think that I need to step away from the 2990 for a few days, and come back to it another time. I'm not sure if I can even get it back up, and working like it should again. I may end up getting it fixed by someone else. Unfortunately I'm not fond of shipping radios in the mail, especially ones that are important to me like this one is . Too much can happen to them ... and I don't want to make it worse than it already is.

 

[nomadradio]

More than once we would peak L43 and L46 at 28 MHz like the directions say, and then listen to the sideband transmit on channel 20. Turning L43 a turn or less clockwise would sometimes clear up the SSB audio. Would sacrifice a few Watts, but it's just a tradeoff.

73

 

[Raccoon]

So I'll say one thing (which I already knew), letting your radio equipment sit for long periods of time, does them no good at all. This 2990 sat for around 10 or 15 years (give or take a few years) . I told my Mom many times over the years to at least turn it on and just let it sit there so that the capacitors in it wouldn't dry up. She'd always tell me I was right , but she still never turned it on . This is a nice radio, but it's one headache after another , and some days it drives me crazy ... lol

So here's the issues that I've found SO FAR :

1. The needles for the Signal & RF Power meters are both stuck ... of course.

2. The Roger Beep is VERY sick sounding ... lol

3. It's audio gets an obnoxiously loud fuzzy sound that covers you up on the peaks of your audio when you're keyed up talking.

4. The AF Gain knob has a connection issue. The receive audio will cut out, then when you wiggle the AF Gain knob, the receive audio will come come back in . I don't see any cold solder joints on the board that the AF Gain, Squelch, and the Clarifier are mounted on . So it seems like the issue with the AF Gain knob is an internal issue with the knobs potentiometer . I've sprayed out all of the knobs , and turned them back and forth multiple times. They're all nice and loose now.

I "Think" that's all of the issues. At least that's all of the issues that I've found so far. There was a burnt electrolytic capacitor , but I replaced it with a new one.

 

[Raccoon]

The AF Gain has been acting up in my 2990, it's been losing contact and cutting out. So today I took it apart and closely examined the AF Gain/Squelch/Clarifier board ... no cold solder joints. So I sprayed out each potentiometer multiple times with contact cleaner. Then put it all back together again, turned it on and it's still acting up. I figured that the potentiometer was shot, but I figured I'd make sure that it didn't have any cold solder joints, or needed a good cleaning before I tried finding a new potentiometer for it.

I've been combing the internet trying to find a replacement for it. But I've had little, to no luck so far . And I was just wondering if anyone knows a good place to buy a replacement AF Gain potentiometer switch for an RCI 2990 ?