External VFO?

[W3UTD]

So, my Ranger's VFO is basically toast.  The reduction drive connection from the dial to the condenser has crumbled away and my only option appears to be some kind of epoxy (which I tried twice, failed twice)

So, short of another ranger and all the tedious work involved in swapping the VFO ... is there an external VFO that would plug into one of the crystal sockets?  Would the 122 work?  Possible? or am I wasting my time?

Fraser

[WQ9E]

Fraser,

Can you post a photo of the failed part?  I have some parts as do other people so it is likely one of us has what you need.  You shouldn't need to replace the entire VFO.

Also, most of the involved parts are metal so brazing may be a better option than epoxy.

[W3UTD]

I'll try later, but it is/was the brown phenolic(?) piece with the two pop-rivets, that attach the shaft to the Jackson reduction drive (I think that's the name)

[WQ9E]

Fraser,

I thought that was probably the part.  The only thing unusual about it is the input and output shafts are different sizes. You can repair it by substituting a proper size piece of plastic and using either small screws or rivets to reattach the couplers.  I repaired one of my Valiants with that method 7 years ago.  You could also take a regular insulated coupler and substitute the proper sized coupler on one end; again using rivets or screws.   But it is easy to repair the one you.

[W3UTD]

I'll have another go.  Perhaps JB weld would give better results than epoxy, we'll see.

Just because I'm curious ... can you insert the output of an external VFO into a crystal socket?

[k4kyv]

I have seen tons of those little insulated bakelite U-joint shaft couplers at hamfests over the years. It shouldn't be difficult to replace or repair. It has been a long time since I owned a Ranger, but I suspect you could get by with one slightly different from stock, as long as it takes the proper size shaft at both ends.

The main reason I would consider going to an external VFO with a Ranger would be for improved stability. I'm now spoilt by my Collins type PTO's and my DDS oscillator.

[WQ9E]

To insert the VFO into the crystal socket you will need to make sure the high side of the VFO also goes to the high side of the socket.  I don't have a Ranger schematic handy but likely will also have to remove a feedback capacitor to avoid having the crystal oscillator taking off on its own using the tuned circuits in the output of the VFO. 

The Ranger attributes are smooth AM audio and a single package with everything in it so fixing your existing VFO is the way to go.