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Ranger AR-3500 - Whatizzit?

I thought that it was strange that the heat sink/final output on the 100 watt radio looked a lot like the Powerband RFX 75. One would think that the RFX people got the idea from this radio and made it work for everyone else. I really wouldn't be surprised if that was so. This radio has set the standard for a lot of radios that are on the market today. When I opened up the radio, it reminded me of a dual-final version of my TR-696FD-1.

The Ranger AR-3500 radio was and is -IMO- clearly ahead of its time...


not strange at all when you realize clear channel/rf limited & magnum are THE SAME people. and no, the cpu controlled ar3500 is nothing at all like the pll controlled texas ranger uniden-semi-clone. 3500 should SCREAM on AM. only issue with them is adjacent channel rejection, can't be totally resolved, but can be addressed with decent results. ahead of its time.....absolutely. a galaxy 99 to REPLACE an ar3500?????? YIKES
 
not strange at all when you realize clear channel/rf limited & magnum are THE SAME people. and no, the cpu controlled ar3500 is nothing at all like the pll controlled texas ranger uniden-semi-clone. 3500 should SCREAM on AM. only issue with them is adjacent channel rejection, can't be totally resolved, but can be addressed with decent results. ahead of its time.....absolutely. a galaxy 99 to REPLACE an ar3500?????? YIKES
i agree .id sell the 99 .and keep the ar radios.anyday
 
not strange at all when you realize clear channel/rf limited & magnum are THE SAME people. and no, the cpu controlled ar3500 is nothing at all like the pll controlled texas ranger uniden-semi-clone. 3500 should SCREAM on AM. only issue with them is adjacent channel rejection, can't be totally resolved, but can be addressed with decent results. ahead of its time.....absolutely. a galaxy 99 to REPLACE an ar3500?????? YIKES

I started using a AR-3500 as a 11m radio & took it out of the truck & replaced it w/ 99V.

Why? I'm not taking any chances bouncing &/or damaging my favorite radio EVER!!

The Ranger can be reprogrammed to start down @ around 3Mhz & end up @ 32Mhz! :w00t:

Ahead of its time.....absolutely!! +1 ;)
 
From an estate sale, I picked up two(2) Ranger AR-3500's in their boxes along with some other goodies . One of these Rangers is the 100 watt radio, and the other is the 30 watt radio. I'm going to hook them up tomorrow and throw them on a meter. I don't know if they have been modified for 11 meter or not, and I will find out that tomorrow as well.

Any of you own them and use them on a regular basis? Good features/bad features? Tell me what you think of them - please...
Great radios.

Modification consists of this:

Open up radio, and on the middle of the front of the mainboard, you will find 3 pins. Jump all 3. Radio now does 26 to 30.

There are other mods to get them to go to 2.9 mhz, but I don't believe they lock below about 20 mhz, IIRC... I <<think>> I saw one go into the 14 mhz region, but it's been a LONG time.

Casio built them, believe it or not, for the guy who originally designed and built the Messenger amplifier line.

Decent radios. I'd love to have my 30 or 100 watt models back.


--Toll_Free
 
If you want the radio to keep the channels in memory there is a mod also to install a battery in the radio.Also you may notice the clarifier is unlocked you Transmit where you receive.
 
Great radios.

Modification consists of this:

Open up radio, and on the middle of the front of the mainboard, you will find 3 pins. Jump all 3. Radio now does 26 to 30.

There are other mods to get them to go to 2.9 mhz, but I don't believe they lock below about 20 mhz, IIRC... I <<think>> I saw one go into the 14 mhz region, but it's been a LONG time.

Casio built them, believe it or not, for the guy who originally designed and built the Messenger amplifier line.

Decent radios. I'd love to have my 30 or 100 watt models back.


--Toll_Free

The chassis is not that broadbanded! Casio isn't the mfgr. of that radio... Clear Channel Corp. is. They are fine radios, quite a step above a G-99.
 
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Ranger AR 3500

I had one as well for about 20 years and sold it to put down for an Yaesu FT 857-D. I miss that radio and thinking of looking for another 100 Watt version. I know the in's and out of that radio it was a very good radio for 10 meter use...
 
The chassis is not that broadbanded! Casio isn't the mfgr. of that radio... Clear Channel Corp. is. They are fine radios, quite a step above a G-99.

i think you'll find clear channel corporation (the forerunner of rf limited/magnum) marketed and developed them and that they were actually manufactured for them by nissei in japan.
 
The one I have work very well. It's the 100w version. Tried to sell it on here for a while but no real hits. It's more radio than what I need. May have to list it on E-bay w/a reserve.
 
Hello there,

My name is Bill Wolverton, I currently live here in Denver, Colorado and been licensed as a ham since September of 1967 when I was still a high school age youngster living up in Oregon where I first became licensed as a Novice (WN7IOK) I passed my Extra class exam back in 1980 and received the call sign KI7F. My home website is at KI7F.COM Home and also a ham radio/SWL related blogging page at KI7F's SW Radio/Ham Radio Activities

I purchased a Ranger AR-3500 back in 1988 when I was still living in Southern California and was very pleased with the rig. Nice sounding receive audio as well as transmit audio. I mostly used it as a mobile unit and you can view the logs I kept from my ten mobile ventures in Southern California bakc in late 80's and early 90's on my blogging page at KI7F's SW Radio/Ham Radio Activities In 1991, the rig's final amp stage failed. I tried replacing the final transistor back in 1995, but with in 30 seconds of key up, the transistor smoked again and I never did find out why. I still have the Ranger AR-3500 packed away in a box and I am temporarily using a Realistic HTX-100 ten meter rig that belongs to another ham radio friend, but would like to get the Ranger AR-3500 repaired and back on the air. I like the Ranger since it offers FM mode as well as SSB, CW and AM modes. If I some how can get it repaired my self, that would be nice if I can find out what I am doing wrong or what I am over looking in my previous repair attempts. I work as an avionics bench technician for a local aviation company here in the Denver area and test and repair aircraft related radios all the time, so, it should not be a big deal for me to fix it. There is something shorted or something that is causing the final transistor to immediately burn up. The receiver section works just fine. If you have any ideas, let me know. If I did decide to send that rig in for repairs, do you what reliable shop is available that still repairs those units?

Anyway, I just installed a ten meter dipole on my apartment balcony and just waiting for ten to start opening up as solar cycle 24 progresses and I would like to have the Ranger AR-3500 back in operation.

Best Regards!

73, Bill, KI7F
Denver, Colorado

ki7f@yahoo.com
 
Ranger AR-3500 back in operation.

Hello there,

My name is Bill Wolverton, I currently live here in Denver, Colorado and been licensed as a ham since September of 1967 when I was still a high school age youngster living up in Oregon where I first became licensed as a Novice (WN7IOK) I passed my Extra class exam back in 1980 and received the call sign KI7F. My home website is at KI7F.COM Home and also a ham radio/SWL related blogging page at KI7F's SW Radio/Ham Radio Activities

I purchased a Ranger AR-3500 back in 1988 when I was still living in Southern California and was very pleased with the rig. Nice sounding receive audio as well as transmit audio. I mostly used it as a mobile unit and you can view the logs I kept from my ten mobile ventures in Southern California bakc in late 80's and early 90's on my blogging page at KI7F's SW Radio/Ham Radio Activities In 1991, the rig's final amp stage failed. I tried replacing the final transistor back in 1995, but with in 30 seconds of key up, the transistor smoked again and I never did find out why. I still have the Ranger AR-3500 packed away in a box and I am temporarily using a Realistic HTX-100 ten meter rig that belongs to another ham radio friend, but would like to get the Ranger AR-3500 repaired and back on the air. I like the Ranger since it offers FM mode as well as SSB, CW and AM modes. If I some how can get it repaired my self, that would be nice if I can find out what I am doing wrong or what I am over looking in my previous repair attempts. I work as an avionics bench technician for a local aviation company here in the Denver area and test and repair aircraft related radios all the time, so, it should not be a big deal for me to fix it. There is something shorted or something that is causing the final transistor to immediately burn up. The receiver section works just fine. If you have any ideas, let me know. If I did decide to send that rig in for repairs, do you what reliable shop is available that still repairs those units?

Anyway, I just installed a ten meter dipole on my apartment balcony and just waiting for ten to start opening up as solar cycle 24 progresses and I would like to have the Ranger AR-3500 back in operation.

Best Regards!

73, Bill, KI7F
Denver, Colorado

ki7f@yahoo.com

The person or business that I would send that radio to is Bobs CB shop in stratenwille PA. you wonder why to a CB shop, well Bobs CB shop use to be the warranty shop for the AR 3500 100W radio.

They still do peak & tunes and still sell and install the sp1-a Speech processors. they are to this day the recommend shop for the AR 3500 and the web also has numerious sites in which you can dowload the tune up info although the shop has all that info. And as for the NOW 10 meter radios of today, well just check out ebay NOW and you find many of those radios up for bid or outright "for sale" since they don't seem to last very long. If it came to a new or updated radio then I would go with an HF radio which can be purchased at a reasonable price weather used or 20 years used, a good HF radio can fill the void.
 

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