Clear Channel Ranger AR-3500
Clear Channel Corporation
Ranger AR-3500
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made by: RF Limited / Clear Channel Corporation There is a 30W and a 125W version. The ranger is comparable to the Uniden President HR2510. |
Look for the "Clear Channel" manufactured radios as opposed to the unrelated RCI brand radios.
4-pin mic jack model, later models were 8-pin |
Contents
POWER MOD ADJUSTMENTS
1 - VR-15 SIDEBAND POWER ------------------------- Turn fully clockwise ------------------------- 2 - VR-16 AM POWER ----------------------------- Turn fully clockwise ---------------------------------- 3 - VR-17 AM MODULATION ------------ Turn fully clockwise - Also cut diode 58 ----------- 4 - TALKBACK in AM mode --------------------------------- Cut diode 73 ---------------------------------
There are mods allowing you to operate on 12 meters and receive down to 3 MHZ.
Used Market Value
These radios appear for sale at custom shops, Craig's List, and eBay on occasion but are not readily available because only a limited number were produced and owner's tend to hang onto them. Below is a sales record for used 100w models with or without mods.
Clear Channel Ranger AR-3500 10m transceiver ------------------------------------------- $110 unknown possibly working (sold used in 2015) $233 needs repair may transmit unknown (sold used in 2015) $255 Fully functional 100w model (sold used in 2015) $260 functional with display problems (sold used in 2015) $300 excellent condition (sold used in 2015) $332 Used working with cosmetic flaws on faceplate + Turner M +3 mic (sold used in 2015) -------------------------------------------
Distinguish 30w from 100w model
The 100 watt model has the amp stage in place of the rear heat sink and is much larger. This appears as a large box on the rear with large heat sink fins.
If you own the 100 watt model, it has been wisely recommended that you attach a cooling fan to help dispense with heat on the fins in the rear. The cooler you can keep the amplifier stage the longer your radio will operate. Furthermore, it is not necessary to run this radio at full power. If you step the power back about 20% you will gain four times that in operating life.
Early Ranges used a 4-pin microphone jack that was compatible with 4-pin Cobra CB radio microphones. Clear channel then switched to an 8-pin microphone jack with microphone that offered up and down buttons for channel change. An 8-pin mic doesn't mean that it will scan. The scanning board was an extra add-on. The number of pins on the mic jack is NOT a way to discern the model power output.
Optional Addons
There were some optional add-on boards available for the Clear Channel Ranger AR3500.
- Frequency scanning board
- SP-1 speech processor board
- CW-1 variable RF power board
History
Clear Channel Corporation developed the Ranger AR 3300 and Ranger AR 3500. They were built by Nissei of Japan. The Clear Channel Ranger radios have nothing to do with the RCI Radios also marketed under the name "Ranger." RCI is a Chinese company, and has no affiliation with Clear Channel.
In 1982, RF Limited started developing the Ranger AR-3300 and by April 1984 they had it on the market. The AR-3300 was Clear Channel Corporation's first product, although it was a flawed product that had issues. The issues with speech modulation were quickly cleared up on subsequent units. By the time the AR3500 rolled out, many improvements had been incorporated producing a solid 10-meter HAM radio.
There are AR-3500 radios in both 30 watt and 100 watt models. It is believed that the 30 watt lower power models were actually born 100 watts and were factory modified to lower the transmit power. Then owners would have to purchase a 100 watt upgrade from a 3rd party.
There are also AR-3500 units with 4 pin microphone and 8 pin microphone jacks. Later units were made with the 8 pin jack.
Disambiguation
What's in a name? That which we call a rose.
Ranger 2950 and 2970 are NOT Clear Channel radios and have no relation to their product going by the same name "Ranger." RCI Company, aka Ranger Communications Inc. has no relation to Clear Channel Corp. Ranger radios (RCI radios) makes 10, 12 meter Ham radios and gray market 11 meter CB radios. RCI radios are inferior low-end Chinese made and have no collectable value.
One has to understand that the Chinese knockoff company is using "Ranger" as a company name, whereas Clear Channel produced a couple models of radio using the name "Ranger." One is part of a company name, the other is part of a product name. Yet, there seems to be a lot of confusion among people concerning the name "Ranger."
Ranger Communications, Inc. aka RCI capitalized on Clear Channel Corporation's failure to trademark their Ranger model name. This gave the new RCI company some name recognition even though it is the result of confusion. RCI quickly sent their model 2900 to the market where some unsuspecting consumers thought they were getting an updated AR-3500. The 2900 was a failure and RCI later released models 2950, 2970 and also by a third name, Sommerkamp TS-2000 DX. These RCI units covered a wider frequency span than the Clear Channel Radio, from 26MHz - 32Mhz once modified. However, it is still an inferior radio made with low-end Chinese components.
Ironically, another company had used the name "Ranger" for a model of radio clear back in 1954. E.F. Johnson company produced a big clunky tube transceiver known as the Johnson Viking Ranger. It is a beautiful old rig that was also available in a "build it yourself" kit form. As collectable as the Clear Channel Ranger is to 10-meter enthusiasts, the E.F. Johnson Ranger is even more so to antique radio collectors.
