Unstable clarifier on early chassis Ranger RCI-2970

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Greetings everyone!

I have a bit of a problem with a Ranger RCI-2970 I recently purchased. This one is the earlier models (not the DX), board no. EPT295013Z.

Here's the trouble:
When I got this unit, I noticed that the clarifier was not linear when tuning. I would turn it approximately 2/3 clockwise, and then it would "jump" about 2 kc high. I did a clarifier unlock, and the clarifier still "jumps" about 2 kc or so when turning from full counter-clockwise to full clockwise.

I also noticed before I opened the radio, that the AM/FM/USB are tracking the same, but LSB is about 2 kc higher than the other modes. This was also the case when the clarifier was locked as well, before I unlocked it.

Is there anything specific I need to look for as to why my LSB is 2 kc higher than the other modes? What about the non-linearity of the clarifier control? Any suggestions is always appreciated. Cheers!

-Rick "Triple 7"

P.S. If you need more information from me, I will attempt to provide the best I can.

[Rick]

It would be best to return the radio back to stock, and do a realignment job, before you try and fix a fault which may or may not be there.
If you do a realignment job, you will have a base to start from and may cure the fault with LSB.

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Alrighty, I'll see what I can do there, my trouble is that my frequency counter went weird on me, it doesn't work anymore, so doing a realignment will be a bit of a problem. I did relock the clarifier up, and realigned what I could, this may have to wait until I can get a different freq. counter.

I DO remember though, that the frequency at the oscillator can for LSB was high. The AM dials up at 10.695, and the USB dials up at 10.6975, the but the LSB won't dial up the 10.6925 like it's supposed to.

I'll check back on this later. Thanks for your time!

-Rick (Triple 7)

[Rick]

If you frequency counter is not working how do you know what LSB carrier frequency is?

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My counter worked when I first got the radio, but about 2 days later it started bouncing frequency all over the place. I was able to check the AM/USB/LSB frequecies at each oscillator can, before it went crazy on me.

I shelved the radio for a few days, as I didn't have a lot of time to devote to it, but I pulled it out the other day, and started going into the radio further to see what the problem is. That's why I cannot perform a full realignment. My frequency counter went bad after I did the inital checkup on the radio.

The clarifier potentiometer is good, it checks linear, and shows correct value for resistance, so that eliminates the clarifier pot itself being bad.

Forgive me ifI seem a bit "n00bish", as I am still learning about repairing radios yet, and I don't have all the test equipment yet (I am working on that).

Cheers!

-Rick (Triple 7)