A Look at the Worst HF Rigs Ever--And How Hams Revive Them

Good rigs. My son now has my Atlas 215 w/console power supply. In the shack for many years. Well built and all solid state when that was something 'rare'.

 

A couple of comments based upon REAL experience.

Since when did the HQ-110 come from Chicago? Oscar Hammarlund started the company in NYC in 1910 and wasnt from Minnesota. It died in NC in 1973.

The S-120 developed from the ~1946 S-38A and on to the end of Halli which milked the basic AA5 design for decades with just cosmetic changes. When sunspots were down so were the signals on Band 4. Even my beefed up HRO-60 and Collins R-390A suffer on the higher frequencies as does any of the super expensive SS gear.

SX-140. Really nice looking and lends itself to mods. Mine wound up with double conversion, a real BFO and Product Detector.

The T-150 shown isnt even a TX it is a R-100 receiver. The T-150A Ive owned also was a modifiers dream that was even stable enough on 6M AM with good audio by the time I finished. I used it with the modified SX-140 at our summer home up on coastal Maine and even those were a tight fit. Cheap and simple AM and CW. Before that I lugged a Viking I, 122VFO, and HQ-129X which caused a bit of strife I dont know the difference between the 150 and 150A

The Eico 753 came out with a stable SS VFO in later years and is in demand now.

Swans went from drifty to very good over the years as engineers learned about temperature compensation, later ones are highly collectible, even the 250!

Sweep tubes were used in everything from single tube AM/CW TX to 2000W PEP input amps. Several designs along with smart owners last a long time; Sylvania even published RF specs for them.

You guys really need to have your videos reviewed and revised before publication.

Carl

 

Hi, Carl. Thanks for your review. Indeed we did not spend enough time on rig improvements by manufacturers and hams over the years. 73.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Listen all , all of these reply's only show the advancment of our hobby. Someone made A radio. Wasn't quite right. Some Radio Operator made it better and Published what he did.
This is what I love about this hobby. Most everybody is willing to share Ideas and Information.
If it wasn't for Elmers I would not be A HAM.
Just sayin. AE7XG

 

Thanks, Dave. Excellent point. That's why we mentioned "reviving" rigs in our title. Hams are amazing.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

I have had the dubious 'Honor' of owning and/or operating several of the 'featured' electronics described in the video. I am not so nostalgic that I would want to 'reproduce' my novice gear, no, I shudder when I see them at tailgate hamfests. That said, I believe it is unfair to malign this gear just like it is unfair to dishouor the founders because they might not live up to todays ideas of social justice. For their time they were what we had AND we more often than not made good use of them until we could obtain simething better.

I was a SWL before I had a ticket(I did have a Pop Electronics SWL call sign) and the S-120 was what dot me into amateur radio listening to the 40 and 75 meter AM old timers. When I got my ticket, I found it less than satisfactory for CW in the nocice bands and got a surplus ARC-5 receiver to go with the Ameco AC-1. Still could SWL with the S-120 as long as it was below 12Mcs(yes, it was Mcs back then....maybe we should go back to that?). After my general, we saved up enough for a HQ-110. VAST improvement and quite usable up tp 21 mcs with some loss of sensitivity. I think the addition of 6m to the band switch was some sort of cruel joke as my Lafayette HE-45 6m AM xcvr worked better. My buddy had a VF-1 to use with his DX-40 and after a year with xtals only, who cared if there was some drift with an occasional chip. To his daiappointment, the ARRL would NOT accept his OO cards as WAS confirmation....they were such snobbs.

Our teacher brought his NCX-3 to our HS club station and we all stood in awe. The only other HF transceiver I had seen was a KWM-1 some rich kid's dad had. Far cry from out NC-270 and SB-100(internal VFO was kinda like an internal VF-1 but with a 12kc AM phone signel a little drifr was a "rounding error"

My vote for the worst in the lot was my SWAN Cygnet 260. Though not specifically shown, it was my second purchase with my reinlistment bonus(Ist was a new Datsun) and it blew up the ist week of mobile operation though they fixed it under warranty. Ten khz dial marks in 15 made exact frequency a guesstimation though I made many mobile 15m contacts with it and a Hustler/15m resonator from KH6 land(I'm sure that helped).

I love my SS ham gear and would not care to return to those hollow-state devices as whey work well...good enough for communications use and have no plan to abandon them for the latest rage(SDRs) to be fashionable but to wait until there is engineering imperative to do so.

Dave K3FHP

 

Thanks for your note, Dave. Hams do a wonderful job of upgrading the old while celebrating the new.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Boy, being a HAM and operating from behind the iron curtain back in 1970's and 80's and hearing on air all those fancy names of gear what did we think...sooo lucky guys. Once in a while browsing a poor copy of QST printed in B&W on cheap heavy paper and seeing all those goodies available...
We built our gear ourselves but there was no kits commercially available. Collecting components, winding transformers, fabricating chassis...you name it. Luckily many of us did get a military surplus communication receivers. Those were great pieces of equipment but they were heavy, built like tanks. Two people were needed to put my dream R-310 on my desk back in '76.
Thank you for the show, folks. Lots of fun and brought a lot of recollections from good old days.
73,
Matt - AF2F

 

Thanks so much, Matt. You have a great story to tell as part of the social history of ham radio. Tom and I have been thinking about doing a show on the importance of home brewing equipment from to the beginning to yet today. Some of my early equipment was home brewed, including a one-tube transmitter.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Really got a kick out of this video. Even though some of the pictures got botched.

Love the comments so far! I've worked with some "junk" but I mostly enjoyed the experiences. It got me on the air and it was up to me to try to keep on frequency--if I could Lots of junk isn't junk at all. Commentors have already covered that.

My mentor sent me home with an amazing HT-44, a bridge and small matchbox. I was using a Radio Shack general coverage receiver. Wow, once I got the wire in the tree and started making CW contacts, the receiver turned out to be a tough rig to try to keep ONE station in my ear... Loved it and hated it all at the same time. Shally k6vhp then sent me home with a 75a3!! Thank you Shally--RIP om.

My buddy and fellow novice was loaned an Atlas transceiver. I was impressed with that rig and we made some great contacts on it--what fun! They are getting rare, finals impossible to find now, but maybe some mod to use current finals--but worthy rigs they were.

And this comment is just hilarious: To his daiappointment, the ARRL would NOT accept his OO cards as WAS confirmation....they were such snobbs. Thanks K3FHP!

Enjoyed the video and the great comments.

TU & 73 all
Jaye ke6sls

 

Thanks, Jaye. What makes you think we would ever botch pictures? We are a 100% professional outfit. ;} Seriously, we do all kinds of research and collect many more photos than we can actually use; then I organize them in the presentation. So I am the "botcher supreme." Love your 75A3 story. I have a 75A4 story I will share in a later video about why ham radio is one of the greatest hobbies in the world. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel. One of my brothers lives near Willits, by the way.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Anyone mention Ameco ?

 

Which Ameco rigs are you thinking about, Bill? Quin, K8QS

 

Got my first--and only--OO with an AC-1. It was apparently transmitting on 80 and 40 simultaneously. I think I was so spooked that I never used it again.

Edited to add: I of course upgraded when I got my General--to a T-150A, of course. It was the perfect desktop counterpart to my favorite pastime: wandering around the countryside.