A question that comes up from time to time goes something like this: "I just bought a new RCI2995DX base radio. It's stuck on 24 MHz and 28/29 MHz bands. How do I get 27 MHz?"
When you unpack a new radio you should see this scotch-taped to the underside of the radio. I call it a dongle. Some folks call it the "E-chip". This is what unlocks frequencies where a ham license is not valid.
Carefully remove it and remove all the screws holding the cabinet cover in place. Remove the cover.
You'll see this empty 3-pin header on the display circuit board side nearest the meters.
Just above it is a white legend "CN611".
Plug the dongle into this header.
Now when you power it up you can cover 26 to 28 MHz in addition to the original two bands.
For future reference, here is the main circuit-board number for radios made in 2022. This one was sold in 2024.
I may be interpreting this serial number wrong, but the first two digits should indicate the year.
One thing I know I'm interpreting correctly is the country of origin. You'll find that radios made by RCI with other brand names on them like Galaxy or Connex are now made in Vietnam. It's the new low-labor cost frontier. Quality suffers when a manufacturing plant is gaining experience. Radios sold with the RCI or Ranger name on them come from the plant in Melaka Malaysia. Thirty years ago when that factory was new, they had quality issues as well. Issues they pretty well hammered out a while back. Makes you wonder why the in-house "Ranger" name radios come from the experienced facility and the other brands made under contract come from the low-bidder factory.
Like maybe Ranger values its good name in the consumer market? Makes you wonder.
Odds are that most long-time members here have already known about this for years if not decades. But Gargle sends people here and when the site gets hits from a search link, can't be a bad thing.
73
When you unpack a new radio you should see this scotch-taped to the underside of the radio. I call it a dongle. Some folks call it the "E-chip". This is what unlocks frequencies where a ham license is not valid.
Carefully remove it and remove all the screws holding the cabinet cover in place. Remove the cover.
You'll see this empty 3-pin header on the display circuit board side nearest the meters.
Just above it is a white legend "CN611".
Plug the dongle into this header.
Now when you power it up you can cover 26 to 28 MHz in addition to the original two bands.
For future reference, here is the main circuit-board number for radios made in 2022. This one was sold in 2024.
I may be interpreting this serial number wrong, but the first two digits should indicate the year.
One thing I know I'm interpreting correctly is the country of origin. You'll find that radios made by RCI with other brand names on them like Galaxy or Connex are now made in Vietnam. It's the new low-labor cost frontier. Quality suffers when a manufacturing plant is gaining experience. Radios sold with the RCI or Ranger name on them come from the plant in Melaka Malaysia. Thirty years ago when that factory was new, they had quality issues as well. Issues they pretty well hammered out a while back. Makes you wonder why the in-house "Ranger" name radios come from the experienced facility and the other brands made under contract come from the low-bidder factory.
Like maybe Ranger values its good name in the consumer market? Makes you wonder.
Odds are that most long-time members here have already known about this for years if not decades. But Gargle sends people here and when the site gets hits from a search link, can't be a bad thing.
73
