Randy II AM/FM FCC

[Astrogoth13]

Howdy. I have a Randy II AM/FM FCC. There are several other Randy models in Europe and the US.

This is what I know about the my Randy. I like it. It's sturdy.

The service menu lets you change the AM power, AM low power, AM modulation and FM deviation. To do it press and hold the ANI and SCAN buttons then turn the power on. Press the up/down arrows to change the menu and press the PTT to see the settings you can change. Use the arrows to change them. Turn radio off to save. FYI, the lower the number means the higher the setting. More power means a lower number. Stock output is 3 Watts. I wouldn't raise it to more than 4 Watts. Eats batteries.

I have heard it said the frequency unlock mod is to cut the two white wires inside the radio. Who knows if that mod is for this model Randy. I have seen a SMD resistor mod but I don't think it's for our Randys.

There are 2 good antennas for the Randys. The flat 42 inch $16 Abbree blade whip and the impossible to find $90 Albrecht rubber duck whip. Randys all have a TNC antenna connector so you'll need a BNC to TNC adaptor for the Abbree blade whip. .

President sells a drop in charger base for the Randys. Around $35.

The Randy II FM/AM FCC has a compander. That's a speech processor. Press and hold the MON button to enable it.

Amazon sells a nice cheap padded case for the Randys. Black nylon. Large enough for the recharger, belt clip, radio and antenna.


If all of this has done you any good please post your 4 stock settings below.

 

[W9WSS]

So your Randy does FM/AM but not USB/LSB? Mine doesn't do FM but does do USB/LSB which is actually more useful for me. I have the flat 42-inch antenna, but I didn't pay $16 for it. I also ordered the BNC to TNC adapter. It's very unwieldy to operate. You can easily take someone's eye out, so you MUST be careful operating it. But it DOES work very well for a portable operation. I also like the build quality of the Randy model I've owned for about a year and a half. Because of the Randy, I purchased a President McKinley (older model with AM/USB/LSB; not FM), but I am very happy with it. It does what I want it to do.

Forget the rubber antenna that came with the Randy unless you're strictly using it for testing and experimentation purposes.

I might consider a drop-in charger and possibly a nylon case. I don't like carrying leather cases on my hand-held radios.

 

[Astrogoth13]

I wish the ABBREE blade type whip came with a TNC mount. There are a few Chinese knockoff blade whip makers and none of them come with a TNC mount. BTW, the knockoff makers ship their whips in yellow or no pouches but the real maker, ABBREE, ships in a green pouch.
The Albrecht TNC rubber whip is much longer (3 feet) then the stock duck (10 inches) but at $90 and VERY hard to find I gave up on getting one here in the USA.
The black case on Amazon looks like a tiny unmarked nylon coffin. It's padded and everything fits in it just right. The same company makes a GREEN version that's bigger. Mine's cramped, but I didn't need the extra space.

Your Randy has sideband?? Huh, who knew?

 

[Astrogoth13]

Settings for the AM/FM USA Randy II. 310 for 4 Watts High Pow, 344 for 1 Watt Pow Low, AM Pow mod L/H both 77, FM Mod 510. Using a digital meter. These are the best numbers for that radio. If you don't know how to change these values look at the video on YouTube.