Product Review - Ranger Communications RCI-5054DX Product Review

Ranger Communications RCI-5054DX
6-Meter Transceiver
Reviewed by Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW
Assistant Technical Editor
It's already clear that Cycle 23 will be
going down in ham history as the best yet
for 50-MHz fans. For years, we younger
folks could only stand by and listen qui-
etly as Old Timers reminisced about the
incredible worldwide 6-meter openings
they witnessed during the peaks of the
legendary cycles of the hollow-state age.
Now, however, a few of us—bona fide
members of "generation solid-state"—
have impressive 6-meter cycle-peak DX
tales of our own to tell.
Impeccable Timing
Ranger Communications recently
added several new transceivers to its
Amateur Radio lineup. These include
three tabletop/rack-mount transceivers—
two for 10 and 12 meters and a single-
bander for 10—and a mobile rig for the
6-meter band. The RCI-5054DX 6-meter
all-mode, the focus of this review, first
hit dealers' shelves last July. Consider-
ing the tremendous 6-meter propagation
that we've been experiencing over the last
several months, it's hard to imagine
Ranger's release of this radio could have
been timed any better.
The Big Picture
The RCI-5054DX covers 50 to
54 MHz in the SSB, CW, FM and AM
modes. Maximum power output is 25 W
for SSB, and 10 W for the other modes.
Features include 10 memory channels, a
relative SWR indicator, an all-mode
squelch, a noise blanker/antenna noise
limiter, memory and VFO scanning, pro-
grammable scan and band limits and
transmit/receive frequency offset capa-
bilities (for repeater and split operation).
The '5054 shares faceplate, enclosure
and chassis components with Ranger's
classic—and somewhat hefty—'2900-
series mobile transceivers. A peek under
the covers of this new rig, however,
reveals a big double-sided glass/epoxy
printed circuit board that's rather sparsely
populated with surface mount compo-
nents.
Frankly, there's an awful lot of
underutilized space inside this cabinet.
It's likely that the conversion to surface
mount technology in its most recent prod-

PRODUCT REVIEW

ucts (the changeover occurred within the
last couple of years) provided Ranger
with a tempting opportunity to decrease
overall radio dimensions—and this
should certainly be a consideration for
companies marketing contemporary mo-
bile equipment. By retaining all of the
existing—albeit oversized—exterior
components used in the manufacture of
some of its earlier radios, though, the
company could avoid considerable re-
engineering and retooling costs. While
most of the other ham radio manufactur-
ers are focusing on ever smaller and
sexier packaging, Ranger chose an alter-
native route. They evidently believe they
can lure traditionally frugal ham custom-
ers with functional styling, but attractive
pricing. Hmmm...maybe bigger is better?
The transceiver's large LCD display
is easy to read from most angles. The
exception: viewing angles below perpen-
dicular to the screen. From these vantage
points the segments essentially vanish. A
mounting location on a high shelf or in
an overhead console probably won't cut
it. Glare and washout can also be a prob-
lem—especially in a mobile installation.
Keep these factors in mind when choos-
ing a permanent mounting position.
Big frequency digits, a signal strength/
RF power/SWR bargraph-style meter and
an extensive collection of feature icons
appear as black segments on a teal back-
ground. The display and key illumination
Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW
can be set to one of three different levels
or shut off entirely.
Front panel controls include the main
tuning knob, a small army of pushbuttons
and seven rotary controls. The tuning
knob—located in the upper left-hand cor-
ner—has a detented action (40 clicks per
revolution—4 kHz per revolution at the
100 Hz tuning step size). There are also
CHANNEL
of the included hand mike, and
buttons on the front panel. Any of these can
be used to tune around in the VFO mode.
The available tuning step sizes are
1 MHz; 100, 10 and 1 kHz; and 100 Hz.
The step increment is selected via a
"shift" key. Each press of the
repositions an arrow cursor under one of
the digits in the display. The mike but-
tons, the tuning knob or the
are then used to increase or decrease the
selected digit's value. This arrangement
works very well for rapidly hopping
around on the band.
The minimum step size for transmit tun-
ing is 100 Hz. A
knob...all right, RIT for you purists...
allows the receive frequency to be varied
anywhere within ±2.5 kHz of the transmit
frequency. For the receive and transmit
frequencies to match, the indicator on the
knob must be set to the 12 o'clock posi-
tion. It would be handy if the control had a
detent at this "zero-offset" setting.
I found the main tuning knob a bit too
Bottom Line
The Ranger RCI-5054DX all-mode
transceiver has made gearing up for
6 meters considerably more affordable.
Assistant Technical Editor
up and down buttons on the top
∆
and
button
SHF
∆ ∇
/ buttons
(clarifier) control
CLR
March 2002
∇
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