Viking ranger plate current and vfo signal all the time

[kc2etm]

Hi my ranger is showing small amount of plate current i also get a faint vfo
Signal on my receiver this is in phone mode without
The transmitter keyed i thought i had this problem a few years back and i just adjusted
The r39 keying adjustment and it went away but i tried that adjustment and it seems to do nothing at all. Also swapped in a different 12au7 any ideas where to start looking oh yeah also with the tx not engaged if i whistle into my microphone i can hear that on the receiver also but radio loads fine and seems to be working ok

Thanks
Fred

[WQ9E]

Fred,

The Ranger uses a normally shorted keying jack so try plugging in a key (open circuit) if you don't have one plugged in now.  A partial failure of the bias filter system will also cause the clamp circuit to malfunction so if the filter caps aren't known good consider replacing them.

Because the Ranger only has a single power transformer HV is on all the time.  You will see current flow in standby from the clamp circuit, different modifications will affect the amount of current flow.

[kc2etm]

hmm i also just noticed 80m is out cant tune up or anything but i do have grid current and also showing plate but i cant seem to load final even into a dummy load slams plate current and no ouput

[WQ9E]

Before you go any further, measure the bias voltage on the load side of R54 and make sure that you have close to -56 volts of bias.  Loss/reduction of bias voltage will cause a number of screwy problems along with great potential for component damage.

If your bias voltage is OK, a leaky C89 (.047) is a common cause of keyer tube malfunction.

Does your grid current on 80 meters peak at the expected position of the buffer tuning control?  Can you control grid drive smoothly with the drive control?

[kc2etm]

would c89 be under the keyer board cant seems to find it in my book but my book doesnt reference the keyer board at all thanks

[WQ9E]

C89 is underneath the shelf with the keyer tube.  Grab the Ranger 1 operations manual from Bama which has the correct schematic:  http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/johnson/ranger/

Did your bias voltage check OK?

[kc2etm]

it was a bad c89 thanks for your help and also the link to a better manual