RCI-5054DX-100 PREVIEW

[N6SIX]

Upon the heels of the introduction of the RCI-5054DX, Ranger Communications is preparing for the release of its second generation of 6 Meter radios... the RCI-5054DX-100.

Yup! You read that right! One hundred watts on SSB, fifty watts on FM, AM, and CW. A nice improvement on what has already been shown to be a good entry-level six-meter radio. The original ‘5054DX has been on the market since July of 2001, and has proven to be a reasonably good success for Ranger Communications. And the solar cycle is not dead yet. There is still a lot of good skip and DX yet to be had on six.
The San Diego Six Shooters were given the unique opportunity by Ranger Communications to test and evaluate a prototype of the new ‘5054’

To read the review and view the many pictures of the yet to be released radio, visit: http//n6six.50megs.com/
San Diego Six Shooters ARC (http://n6six.50megs.com/)

[W9JI]

That is nice i wish they would do the same heat sink like that but on the 2970DX those large fins are a pain in the arse

[WB2WIK]

N6SIX, I purchased a Ranger RCI-5054DX last Fall, and sold it within 30 days because I thought it had some serious (for me) shortcomings, one of the most notable being horrendous CW operation. The transmitted CW signal sounded awful, with a huge amount of distortion at each initial key closure, and CW reception was limited by the very broad I.F. filtering used.

Of secondary importance, but still a noted flaw, was that the AM reception was nothing short of "God-awful" due to its way-too-narrow I.F. bandwidth for that mode, making all signals sound very muffled.

Have you noted either of these deficiencies in the new version??

WB2WIK/6

[W9JCM]

I cannot believe that a six meter club is promoting this CB type radio. This rig is barely a entry level rig. The IMD is terrible just like cb radio. Roger beep?? Come on guys its terrible. This thing was put back in the box ASAP. I run the Northern Nevada Six Meter Society and do not promote this rig to anyone in fact I put a email out #stating to stay far away from the rig. A guy is better off buying a transverter! Or a few more bucks toward a ten tec rig. Hopefully one of the big 3 will come out with a legitmate 6 meter mono bander someday but, I am not holding my breath.

I hate to say but I have to add a negative response to the 5054 as well. #I purchased a 5054 this spring during the peak of the band opening so I did not have to drag my 706 out of the car every time I wanted to work 6. #As soon as I hooked it up and checked in on our local 6 meter net people complained that my audio quality was not up to par and that I was off frequency. #I checked the outputs with an analizer and found that the radio was off 3.5-4 kc from indicated and drifted. #The output was far below rated, and the recieve was poor.

BTW - Kudos to the Portland, OR HRO store. #They took it back a week after purchase no questions asked - I'm sure it broke their hearts when I bought another 706 that now resides in the shack.

73's to all KD7QCG

[JimRHam]

Hmm, well Ranger has always made very nice FREEBAND CB radios disguised as 10/12 meter radios. Why should the 50Mhz one be any different. I can deifinately see the need for a roger beep in a real ham radio.?! Keep up the gud wrk at Ranger. I wonder what Doctor Walley thinks of these radios.

[wayneleake]

I bought a 5054DX a few months back, and I'm still out on how well it does or does not work.
Could hear better? Not sure.
It's fair on FM, and seems okay on SSB.
Have not heard any AM on it yet.
Only a few contacts, only one out of state (Montana, and I'm in Hughson, CA near Modesto).
Keep hoping for a good opening, but those seem to happen when I'm not listening.
On the plus side, I did find, tonight, that the noise blanker does work on SSB.
the controls could be laid out a bit better.
And programmed memories would be better if the split would stay when you program a repeater frequency.
My VHF/UHF main unit is a yaesu FT-7100M, and when I program a frequency, it programs all settings I was using on the VFO when I programmed it, including the power setting.
And the Yaesu came with a schematic.
I'd like one for the Ranger, as I'd like to modify the clarifier. I miss not being able to tune the TX in with the RX.
The main display is good, nice size, but the small items on the display are a bit hard to see at a glance.
Programming is a bear, until you suddenly figure it out.
Would be nice to be able to program the VFO setting directly, instead of having to enter each digit individually from scratch...
I may sell mine, if I get an HF rig with six built in.
Oh yes, adding the tone is not easy for everyone, with all the wires in the way.
I had to remove the front to make sure I didn't burn any wire with my litle Weller soldering station.
If you do add tone, make sure to get one that is externally programmable, as you will need to set different tones for different repeaters.

Wayne WA2YNE