[rfeenstra]

[Radioroslyn]

Back in the early 70's I went to a auction at the Navy yard in Washington DC and came away w/ a half doz of '180s. The issue was that they had been stored outside hit w/a wrecking ball. Was able to get abt half working and passed them along.

[mikethedruid]

I have a number of communications receivers. The one I have had the longest is a Knight Kit Star Roamer I built when I was a kid. I paid close attention to the instructions, routing the wires exactly as they said to. It actually is a decent little receiver for general short wave listening. I used it all through my teens, and got quite a few QSL cards from far away stations from using it.

Today I own 2 Hammarlunds, which are excellent receivers. One is an HQ-140-X, the other is an HQ-145. They are both in original condition. I last fired the HQ-140-X up about a year ago, and it still worked fine; but, before I use it again, I am at least going to replace the filter condensers. I don't want to cook the power transformer. I actually like the HQ-140-X better than the HQ-145. Both are dual conversion, very sensitive and selective, and built like a tank.

Right now my everyday listening radio is an Allied A-2515. It is a more modern transistorized radio, 1967-1971. It works very well, but is not as sensitive as the Hammarlunds. It compares favorably with my Philco 37-630.

I also have a Radio Shack DX-160 (around 1975) It works about as well as the A-2515.

As for portables I have a GE World Monitor model P990A, an all transistor receiver from 1964, with AM, FM, Long Wave, and 2 shortwave bands  https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/general_el_p990p_99.html

I also have an RCA RZM195E GRAY, which is a very mice portable, very sensitive and selective for a portable, and compares favorably with my modern digitally tuned receivers.

In digitally tuned receivers I have a Grundig S350DL. It's a nice radio and receives well. The digital tuning makes it easier to know exactly what frequency I am listening to. I often use this receiver as a cross check to my signal generator when I am aligning old shortwave receivers, sort of as a frequency counter. It works really well for this.

One of my most modern solid state, digitally tuned receivers is a TECSUN PL-600. It receives every bit as well as my Grundig, plus it has a BFO for receiving SSB and CW. It also comes with a rechargeable battery, which is also a nice feature. It is a lot smaller and lighter than the Grundig too. How things do progress in just a few years!

Last I must mention my little QFX R-39. This is not the most sensitive, nor selective receiver, but it does pretty well. It has surprisingly good sound for such a small speaker too. It has AM, FM, and 7 shortwave bands. It also has a rechargeable battery. It's most unique feature is that it also will accept a mini SD card, and will play your MP3 files. I use it a LOT for this. It is also very inexpensive, I got mine for about $30 including shipping from eBay. I like it a lot, and use it as a carry around radio that I don't have to worry about.

[thirtiesradio]

Ron,

Hammarlund made great receivers. Yes the HQ170 is Ham only and the HQ180 is general coverage. There is also a HQ-180A that has a solid state rectifier. The HQ180C has a built in clock. There is a person that sells a frequency readout unit that fits where the clock is.  I've had a restored HQ180C for years and it is very sensitive. I like Hammarlund radios so much that I recently purchased a Hammarlund SP-600 which I recapped and had a friend align earlier this year. I still need to clean up the front and paint the two dial lens black as someone painted them blue. I'm going to have the cabinet sandblasted and powder coated the original gray. I've only used it for a month but found that it is an exceptional performer as well. About 10 years ago I had a HQ145 and it was a real performer too. I have 3 solid state radios but find myself using the vintage tube radios the most. Collins and Hammarlund are my favorite tube receivers. There is very little that my best solid state radio can hear that the HQ180 can't, which shows how well designed they were. I rarely listen to SW and have been DX'ing MW for the last 10 years using a wellbrook loop. There is still quite a bit of SW activity if you have a really good antenna. 

I'm moving my radio room into a spare bedroom so my radios are out of commision for now until I move the antennas and electrical. I waited for Summer to move things as Winter has the best DX and I'll have them back and going by then.

Here are the two Hammarlunds....

   

   

[thirtiesradio]

Another neat thing in my radio room is a world clock that I'm rebuilding now. It's called a Geochron and gives time around the globe as well as day/night, position of the sun in the sky (analemma) and other things. I serviced it about 10 years ago but this time it needs a few items replaced from the heat of the two fluorescent lamps inside. The first thing I did was change out the lamp units to use LED lamps. It will run cool now. I'm replacing the sun shades, diffusers and I'm getting a new updated moving map. 

The Geochron was great when I used to DX SW.

Here it is apart....well the rear of the unit......

   

And together...

   

[thirtiesradio]

There are some great radios in the photos of the sale. If not expensive, that R390A would have come home with me. The R390 and R390A are ex military beasts and not much can come close to them. I've used one for years but it is losing sensitivity and needs to be serviced. When a R390 is working as it should, the only thing I've found that can hear a signal better are the solid state military/comercial Drake and Watkin Johnson receivers.

[EdHolland]

Great thread - thank you for starting it Ron, and for the great postings so far.

It sounds like you have a project already

I have yet to dabble in tube communications receivers, but definitely understand the attraction and performance they can offer.

My comms receivers are all 80's and 90`s era, some owned for a long time, others collected in the recent years as circumstances have permitted. It is huge fun to own the sets that could only be dreamed of when seeing the glossy ads in Shortwave magazine and Practical wireless. Better still, now I have the knowledge and ability to work on them.

One brand close to my heart is the British line, Lowe Electronics. They took on the giants with clever designs in the 80s and 90s. I have two of their radios, and am seeking one more from the line.

The radios get regular exercise, especially beacon hunting for weak signals, and it is fun to compare performance.

Ed

[John Bartley]

First question ... what would I buy ... even today when I am "trying" to downsize even more than I did some years ago (very traumatic) ...??

I would like to find either an RCA AR77 with cabinet (RCAF model GR10) in good working shape so that I can just "use" it without having to redo it.
Alternatively, I would like to find a GE model X or CX 371. This is a consumer set, but with the ham bands instead of the full 500kc to 30mc spread.

I've owned each or more than one of the HQ120, HQ140, HQ145, AR88L, CR91A etc, etc and enjoyed them all, but the CX371 would be most appropriate for me these days. I still have the CR91A as well as a National NC240D with speaker and a couple of others.

My CR91A is the first boat anchor I owned. I was working in the radio room at "Bradley Air Services" in Carp Ontario in 1977 as a summer student and during an exploration of the stock room I found this ex-NRC radio, in it's original crate. They let me have it for $50, which they deducted from my pay and home I went with it. Some years later, married and with a child I sold it .. needed the money ... and then about twenty years later I bought it back from that same guy that I had sold it to.

I enjoyed the SW radio programs that were government sponsored. I guess every country has it's version of NPR or CBC or ... and listening to them was educational and entertaining. You've all watched the movie "Enemy at the Gate"? I remember listening to a VOR english language service broadcast that was an interview with the original Russian sniper (translated of course), with the English over top of the muted Russian.

EDIT : one of my favourites, due to it's historical importance to Canada, was a Marconi CSR2 that I owned. It was original, complete with power supply and speaker, all rack mounts and it was unmolested. I carefully and reversibly subbed in a couple of filter caps and used it on my bench for several years before donating it to the Canadian Signals Corps Museum at Kingston Ontario.

cheers

[Ron Ramirez]

My Hammarlund HQ-129-X:

   

The seller said it was in working condition. I was very happy to find, upon bringing it home and trying it out, that he was telling the truth. So many times over the years, I have bought radios from sellers who claimed their radios were "working" when they really weren't, so long ago I learned to take such claims with a grain of salt. To have someone say a radio is working, and to find it really does work, is like a breath of fresh air. I wish I remembered his name so I could thank him for his honesty, which is very much appreciated.

Obviously, none of the knobs are original. That's okay. In a brief test, first on AM and then in the 25 and 31 meter shortwave bands, the HQ-129-X seems to be almost as sensitive as was my Realistic DX-302 before its MHz knob broke. I think the HQ-129-X would benefit from a good alignment, and I will need to look at its audio section as I had to nearly crank the volume control to get good volume from the headphones I was using (low impedance). But I'm happy with it overall.

[Ron Ramirez]

thirtiesradio - that is a really neat world clock. I've never seen one of those before.

[Simon Wa3uay]

You will very much enjoy that old communications receiver- and I bet before you are done, you will have the complete station- otherwise that Send-Rec knob will go to waste

[Phlogiston]

Some of those old receivers don't seem to have a lot of audio power or they are built for some 500 ohm VC speaker. I've seen a few that were modified by changing/adding a new output trans. Probably not much more audio but you could match it to 8 or even 4 ohms.

Probably wouldn't take much to add a little SS Chinese audio-amp.

My favorite receiver, so far, is a little Unusual. It is a NEMS Clarke 1502A which was a US "telemetry receiver". It will do all of the regular stuff + video. It is really hot, surprisingly so on the FM broadcast band and above.

Put into service in about 1960, it would be fun to know who's space shots were monitored on this receiver. I've been going to write about it for a while - -

[mikethedruid]

All of mine pay fine through an 8 ohm speaker, the Hammarlunds, the Allied A2515, even the Radio shack DX-160 has an 8 ohm speaker. Some have 3 screws for the speaker hookup, one is common, always used, then there is one for 4 ohms, and one for 8 ohms. The DX-160 has the speaker that Radio Shack sold for it, with a 1/4 inch plug. The only communications receiver I have whose external hookup is for high impedence, so it can hook to transmission lines for remote speakers, will be the Scott. Even the Scott has its own built in monitor speaker to use if it is not hooked up to a transmission line. I don't know what sets you have been using, but it certainly has not matched my own experience.

[EdHolland]

Looks like you are going to have some fun spinning those dials Ron. I shall be following along with interest.

One tube/valve set I would like, mentioned here before, is the Racal 17. Big, impractical and complicated... Failing that, the famous aircraft receiver from the Second World War, the R1155

[Ron Ramirez]

WA3UAY - Sorry, not happening. Nothing against the ham radio hobby at all, I just don't see myself getting into it this late in the game. I have enough expensive hobbies already (radios, stereo equipment, computers). So I guess that Send-Rec switch will remain on Rec.

Russ - The fellow who sold the HQ-129-X to me included a photocopy of the owner's manual with schematic. Inside, it states that it was made for use with a 6 ohm speaker. So I figured 8 ohm headphones would be good enough for a test. It has a single ended 6V6 output so that should be good for around 2 to 5 watts, depending on circuitry.

And thirtiesradio, I failed to mention that I like your two Hammarlunds as well as that world time clock.