My old friend President Jackson.

[Mudfoot]

The million dollar question:

Did Grogan buy one?

The thread title needs changed to...

My old old old old friend President Jackson.

 

[Watergate]

Just bought one from Wayne at 'The CB Store' (513-292-4004) in Middletown, Ohio - after bending his ear for 15 minutes about it.
Price including shipping was $178 ($160 for the radio and $18 for shipping).
He still has some left at this price.

Gonna give it a quick review in a couple of weeks.

Reason I bought it?
Because one of the old Uniden engineers worked with RCI to bring it back for a trial run.
This is a REAL Jackson /Uniden design!

That's the one. Been there a few times, nice guy.

Apparently, he needs glasses or a new prescription.

This guy won't see a dime from me. Typical CB shop shuck and jive. Got a turd to sell? Just polish it with a good story. The radio may not be a turd at all, but the fact that he felt the need to tell stories about Uniden engineers says all I need to know about him.

 

[Robb]

Just finished the clarifier mod from this page:

CB World Informer December 1996 Issue, Midland 79-290 Review.

It works; but the VR6 pot is now made useless and you cannot fine tune the TX freq; you will be off 30-50hz. This radio is no better off than the Galaxy 99 that I was hoping it would replace. No review for this radio; afraid I wouldn't have much to say about it that hasn't already been said.

Mrs. Sparks will be getting a call tomorrow in the AM.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Check your TR26 and see if it hasn't been yanked off of the board - literally. Mine was. That is the AM Limiter. I just put a new one back in; a 2sc945. With the speaker cover side off, you will find it in front of the mic jack. Also check L31 (just behind the bias board) to see if it had been mangled by this 'Wayne' guy - cutting off one turn. Now I will have to see if he modded it in other places too and set it straight.

 

[Mudfoot]

I bet they yanked that off to improve (I mean increase) AM modulation over the previous weak versions.

I sent Ranger an email about an hour ago. It bounced back telling me I was spam. Don't like Gmail I suppose. I'll look for the limiter tomorrow when I get home.
RCI must be scraping the barrel or something. I'll call them Monday to discuss this Frankenstein rig.

 

[Robb]

just got done with the AGC mod and did the clarifier mod while i had it open, clarifier was easy compared to straining the eyes replacing those resistors. if anyone else does the clarifier mod the wire colors are not the same as the original Jackson's,, on this one the yellow wire from the clarifier goes to +8.5vdc and the green wire gets moved over 1 spot on the small switch board, then d58 gets removed and d65 gets removed and replaced with a jumper wire

I read that mod you posted. Did you read how it said that modding it this way will cause the fine clarifier to slide 10khz in each direction? Well; that kind of defeats the whole purpose in having a fine clarifier - doesn't it? That is twice as much as the coarse clarifier slides.

You might want to check and see how much your radio is sliding with that mod you did. If it is sliding too much; then just put D65 back on the board and remove the jumper that replaced it. Everything else is just like the mod I did, so that is all you may need to do to get 1khz slide in either direction instead of 10khz of slide.

Of course, you will have to re-align the loop oscillator coils once again.

 

[Mudfoot]

I will take the liberty and finish Robb's review for him.

I really don't know what to say. I gloated over it earlier. For some reason I still like it. Maybe it's some sort of sympathy or something.

It has an old nasty, stinky smelling board and chassis. It's has corrosion on the board and chassis. Apparently, the AM limiter is removed??? WTF?

I fail to see Rangers logic of not disclosing the condition or true origins of this radio. Again, I am at a loss for words.
I recommend staying away from it. It's basically no better than buying some 30 year old radio off eBay.

Don't buy from the dude in Ohio.

Don't buy from DTB Radio.

Don't buy from Copper Electronics.

Don't even buy mine if you see it for sale later.

Don't buy the damn thing period!

I can see Copper selling shit like this, but Ranger putting their brand on it just boggles my mind.

 

[IMD262]

About $7 more than Copper wants for it (shipping factored in). Regardless of who sells the radio; the AGC mod will need to be done. He didn't align the radio; he just did the 11m mod to it is all . . .

It sounds like Good Ol' Wayne did a little bit more than just the frequency expansion mod.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Check your TR26 and see if it hasn't been yanked off of the board - literally. Mine was. That is the AM Limiter. I just put a new one back in; a 2sc945. With the speaker cover side off, you will find it in front of the mic jack. Also check L31 (just behind the bias board) to see if it had been mangled by this 'Wayne' guy - cutting off one turn. Now I will have to see if he modded it in other places too and set it straight.

This :

It sounds like the shop in Ohio is a place to avoid if they ship radios out of alignment.

 

[IMD262]

I think you guys are jumping the gun thinking these are 30 year old radios. They have ranger boards that are like the originals but not exactly. They are not PB 042 board Jacksons. They are probably just leftover new old stock superstars they found in a warehouse somewhere.

This is what I'm thinking, it's absurd to call these an original Jackson when the board is marked as a Ranger board. Anyone remember the "plain face Jackson"? Were they a Uniden product or did they use a Ranger board? I had one back in high school and I'm sure I had the cover off turning pots but can't remember what board was used ????

 

[Robb]

I dunno if i would say all that, M42.
I would say buy it if you want a genuine old classic; but be prepared to fix it because it is real old.
Do I think it is a scam?
Yes; because the truth had not been represented.

IMD:
The board # on the radio could have easily been altered.
I can tell you that the crystal filter numbers had definitely been altered.
Why?
Easier to do than altering the print on a phony transistor.

 

[Mudfoot]

My problem is not with it being old, quite the contrary. My problem is the state of deterioration that parts of the board and chassis are in. It's a case of a classic radio being less than anticipated.

It is a classic, but the amount of deterioration is depressing. Maybe we got a bad lot. Maybe there are some other units out there that are in better shape.

I rushed to judgment on the AM limiter. I was thanking that maybe the supplier had them pulled. IDK, I'll check mine later after work. If it's missing from mine then that's an issue. I didn't think about the Ohio dude hacking on yours. That's a good possibility.

The whole back output area of my board and chassis area is covered in a white crystalline build up that looks like battery post corrosion. As I've mentioned, I like the radio, IDK why, but I do. I just want people to realize what this batch is looking like. I'd hate to see some guy buy one of these and pay extra cash to expand, align and do whatever else, only to have the radio poop out prematurely because of age and condition.

I might modify my earlier remarks to once again state that this should not be a first timers purchase. I am still puzzled how Ranger can distribute these in the condition that they are in without some sort of explanation.

Wayne's description is the most embellished. Coppers is generic and vague. DTB's is carefully worded, but gives the impression they are 'new'.

I've never encountered anything like this before that was not disclosed. It's akin to buying a salvage titled car from hurricane Sandy.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

Login

Login

 

[Grogan]

The million dollar question:

Did Grogan buy one?

The thread title needs changed to...

My old old old old friend President Jackson.

I have not bought one Yet. Still considering, and was also waiting to see if it goes to 28.500 would have to buy it already aligned and converted. and would have to find out about the other mods and cost? This may be to much for someone who can't do the work and make it right. and the Board being NOS makes me wonder even more. I want a Cobra 148 gtl but wont buy it cause the are not the same as the old radios.

 

[Grinder74]

You guys have convinced me not to deal with the Ohio guy. I had planned to have him go through my radio! Guess I will keep my original and continue to maintain it myself until I find someone else closer. He is 60 miles from me.

 

[red97k1500]

I am still happy with mine,even after everything i just read.I plan on keeping mine.

 

[Low_Boy]

I really am not seeing any complaints about performance. Also are there any 10 Volt Cap's in this radio?