The urge to locate some vintage ham equipment began to grow around 1992.
After listening to some of the midwest AM'ers on 3885, I decided to
locate a classic Johnson Ranger II or Valiant II transmitter.
Finding my way to the Villa Park, Illinois Odeum Hamfest in the spring,
I picked up
an overpriced Ranger from a CB'er who had come in from New York City with
a pile of D-104's and other roger-beep gear. Well, it was the only piece
of Johnson gear at the hamfest! At that time, I didn't know that the real
deals with vintage gear happened before the doors opened to the general
public.
As you can see from the following pictures, one thing led to another, and
another, and another.. living in the Chicagoland area meant being able
to attend great nearby hamfests, and I brought in at least one
new piece of gear home on each trip!
The "cover page" photo is my vintage operating
position for summer 1998. There is a definite Hallicrafters flavor
to this layout. To the left of me, the SX-146 and HT-46 twins
represent the last separate transmitter and receiver combination
manufactured by Hallicrafters. Under the twins is a National HRO50T1,
with that distinctive PW dial. Hidden behind the operator is a SX42
with a S-40B riding on top. Continuing to the right, bottom row, is
the HT-32B exciter, the SX-115 and SX-101A receivers, and the Central
Electronics 100V transmitter. Above these is my favorite AM transmitter,
the Johnson Viking II with a Hammarlund HQ-160 paired with it. The
Hallicrafters SX-111 and HA-6 converter provide 6 meter monitoring.
Finally, the venerable Collins 75A4 receiver, which serves as a classic
high-performance mate to the 100V exciter.
This photograph is a wide angle shot of my
my Boatanchor radio room in the summer of 1997. On the far
left, a Knight-Kit KG-221 VHF monitor receiver sits on top of a pair
of classic command sets, the BC-457 and BC-458A. Below those is a
one of a kind Hallicrafters prototype of the SX-146 receiver. On
the left side of the main operating desk is the classic Collins AM
pair, the 32V3 transmitter and 75A3 receiver. Moving to the middle,
my 'stack' of two R390A's sit pretty with the Nye Viking version
of the Johnson Kilowatt matchbox topside. On the right half of the
desk, bottom row, the Hammarlund HQ-170 and matching S-200 speaker
perform admirably in all-mode reception. 17 tubes and 17 knobs, what
more could a Boatanchor addict desire? To its right is the Johnson
Viking II, with classic stying and plenty of knobs to match the HQ-170.
Finishing up the bottom row is my Gonset 3223 GSB-100 SSB/CW/AM exciter. While it
sounds fine in AM mode, its use is generally reserved for chasing
sideband qrm out of the AM windows. The top row, left to right, consists
of a National NC-173 all-band receiver, the Viking 122 VFO which drives
the Viking II, a Hallicrafters stack of the HA-1 T.O. keyer and HA-5
VFO. Keeping in the Hallicrafters line, a SX-111 receiver sits with
its HT-37 exciter mate. Rounded off topside with the R-48A speaker, and
my original (from 1966) S-120 receiver. How I managed my first hundred
or two novice contacts with that receiver on 40 meters, I'll never know!
This photograph is one of my early attempts at
'neatly organizing' some of the gear. Never mind that it completely
blocks the view of a family room (oops, radio shack) fireplace! On the
top row, left to right, are the Hallicrafters keyer and VFO mentioned
above sitting atop a RME 4300 receiver. Next is a heath SB-600 speaker
with a Johnson T/R switch and
Lafayette 6 meter converter on top. Next is my Hammarlund HQ-145, followed
by the NC-173 again. At the far right, and not very well illuminated, is
the Drake 2B receiver with matching 2BQ Q-multiplier/speaker combination.
Next row down is a triad of classic HP test gear, the 200CD audio oscillator,
the 400H AC V.T.V.M and 412A multimeter. Next to those is a classic Knight
Kit pair, the T-150A transmitter and R-100A receiver. Rounding out the
row is a National NC-300 receiver. The next row down contains one of the
R-390A's, a Central Electronics 200V all-mode no-tune exciter, the Gonset
GSB-100, and the 75A3. On the bottom row sits the second R-390A, a
Hallicrafters SX-99 Mk I, a Hunter Bandit 2000B amplifier, and finally
the Collins 32V3 exciter.
Here's a wall of the 'spare' bedroom taken a couple months
after moving into the current QTH in April of 1996. The bottom row,
left to right, illustrates the Hallicrafters SX-99, the RME 4300, and
the CE 200V. The next row up contains a Hammarlund HQ-129X,
a Hallicrafters SX-42, and a vintage Sansui reciver circa 1969. Next
up is a homebrew 2 meter 829B amplifier, the National NC-300 and Hammarlund
HQ-145 receivers.
Topside is a motly pile of Heath
SB series gear, the SB-101 transceiver, a SB-401 exciter and SB-301
receiver. The SB-301 has been converted to all solid-state, except for
the VFO, and may be featured on these pages sometime. To the right is
A Hallicrafters FPM-300 transceiver supporting a Rat-Shack dual band
VHF monitor, one of (many!) tube-type table radios in the house, and the
Knight VHF monitor. Next to the right is the Hallicrafters SX-62
"all-wave, all mode" receiver, with homebrew antenna coupler on top. Above
that coupler (Nice large matched RF ammeters!) is (sans cabinet) the Hallicrafters
prototype of the SX-146 receiver. The production unit switched to a slide rule
dial rather than the circular planetary mechanism in this unit.
Here's a shot of the old Chicagoland QTH test bench, with an appealing pile of
general coverage receivers, ranging in performance from low to very high. In
performance order, the Hallicrafters S-38C was a very low cost entry-level SWL
receiver. It might have been replaced by something like the Hammarlund HQ-145
shown below it if the user developed an interest in serious listening.
For the ultimate AM listening setup, the pair of R-390A's hooked together
in diversity mode provides the maximum in effective SWL reception!
Onward to: More Shack Pix!
Return to: K9TR's home page
Comments are always welcome!
This page last updated December 26, 1998.