RADIO ADVERTISEMENT FROM SIMPSON'S CATALOGUE, 1952
THE
VE3CSK/VE3NH
VINTAGE RADIO PAGE
Psychologists tell us that we cling to the past as we grow older, as it prevents us from dwelling on a present which too often is insecure and a future which too often is diminishing in scope. In a world where technological revolution is rapid and often uncomprehensible, we go backto a time and a place of our choosing....where we can find comfort in things which are familiar, reminisce, listen to music with which we grewup, and play with the toys of yesteryear!
So it is with hams like myself who, having grown weary with all the gizmos and gadgets of today, "regress" to recreate amateur stations of the time when we "came of age". For me, that was the 50s and early 60s and it all began with that wonderful institution known as the mailorder catalogue. In Canada, we were lucky to have two: Eaton's (which disappeared into shopping history almost 20 years ago) and Simpson's, later bought out by the Sears Company of Chicago.
Both companies produced BIG catalogues twice per year, awaited with great anticipation by all.
RADIO ADVERTISEMENT FROM SIMPSON'S CATALOGUE, 1952
I used to sit and dream of owning either an S-38A (pictured
here) or an S-53A, which was a featured radio in the Eaton's
catalogues from time to time along with the S-40.
In 1959, I acquired an S40A (transformer powered version of the AC/DC
S-77 shown above), but sold it long ago. To
date, I have obtained and am restoring an S-38, an S-53A and an S-40.....dream
fulfilled!
SOME OF MY COLLECTION
Hallicrafters S-38
Hallicrafters S-40
Hallicrafters produced the S-38 beginning in 1946.
It was that
This was the second type of receiver I owned, the first being a -
company's answer to the need for a low-cost "everything"
receiver Hallicrafters
S-20R. This particular unit was acquired along
covering broadcast as well as short wave and ham frequencies.
with a Hallicrafters S-76 (which I have since sold) and an R46
Many variants of this super little radio were produced
and some
speaker which is shown elsewhere. It dates from 1948.
collectors have them all. I am happy to have
just one! The crackle
With black paint splattered on the panel by a previous owner,
finish on the case is not bad for its age; sharp-eyed
viewers will
I was forced into a repaint job complete with new decals. One
notice that two of the small knobs require replacement.
I had to
learns a lot doing a job like this-the next repaint will certainly
manufacture a new back for the radio and replace a
switch.
go more smoothly! I acquired a new bandspread dial and re-
Thanks to Dave Noon, VA3DN for supplying a back pattern,
a
placed the glass in the main dial too. Electrically the radio
switch, some dial cord and a few other needed goodies.
was in good condition when acquired, having been re-capped
and partially aligned. It is a joy to listen to this radio-even
on CW where it is quite stable!
Hammarlund HQ170A
Johnson Navigator
This is a super receiver! Senstive as well as
selective, I use it
This is my favourite Johnson transmitter, though
regularly along with one of my vintage transmitters
such as the
I have a Ranger and once owned a Valiant. It puts out an
Navigator at right. One of my "elmers",
Guy VE3DRK (SK) had
honest and clean 25 watts and is a pleasure to use on
one paired with a Johnson Valiant when I was getting
started in
the air. Occasionally I use it to drive my homebrew
ham radio. He let me make a couple of QSOs just
before I sat
"Mini-Lini" which runs a pair of 811A tubes at 300W.
for my license in 1959 and I drooled over that station!
Hallicrafters SX25 Super Defiant Some of my keys
This 1948 receiver with push-pull 6F6 tubes in the
audio
I am not really proud of the condition of some of these keys,
output is a dream to listen to, especially when hooked
up
and so that is why they are photographed in a group and not
to the R-46A speaker. Quite sensitive and selective
for the
close up. To be truthful, they are a little dirty! These are
a radio of that era, the SX25 is built like a battleship,
"working keys", in other words from my working stations.
weighing in at over 40 lbs.
M y favourite is the 1954 Vibroplex "Champion", followed
closely by the 1952 Johnson"Speedex" bug. I don't use the
straight keys as much as I should!
COLLINS 75A4
I looked for years for a nice 75A4 which I could afford and found
one in the spring of
2005. Like many of my boatanchors, this one comes with a story.
The seller agreed to
loan me the original manual which came with the radio (he wanted to keep
it for his
collection). Imagine my surprise when I discovered the original owner's
call sign
(VE3COK) on the cover! This was a man whom I had known growing up
in North Bay.
The serial number written inside matched that on the receiver and
so I knew that this
75A4 had belonged to Clare King, VE3COK (SK). I have re-capped and
aligned this radio
and done all the mods described in the Collins Compendium (AGC, new 1st
and 2nd mixers,
new front end, remove B+ from the filters, etc). It is now the hottest
vintage receiver I
have ever used and is in constant use on AM, CW and SSB.
HRO "BEFORE"
HRO "AFTER"
After I purchased this receiver
I began to question my sanity! It arrived "ugly" and not working-a
real "basket case", and
while I did not pay very much for
it, nevertheless I wondered if I had thrown my money away. To begin
with, it had been
severely "modified"-most of the
original tubes had been replaced with miniatures, and the wiring job left
a great deal to be
desired. However, I looked
upon it as a good challenge and began making the changes which would bring
it back to life.
This particular unit has square
IF transformers, so it probably dates from about 1938-40. The case
attaches to the panel
with four spade bolts, and this
suggests that it may have been an "HRO SR", possibly one having been in
military service.
After much rewiring and part substitution
the radio began to play. Several hours of additional work were required
before
I was satisfied with its performance.
Now, it is a receiver which I am proud to use. I have several good
coils for it , some of
them bandspread. Attached
to a 10" speaker, it produces beautiful rich AM audio, and operation on
CW is quite acceptable
for a radio of this vintage.
As the panel already had extra holes,
I made use of them by adding a tone control, an antenna trimmer and a switch
for a
product detector. I
also installed a balun transformer and SO-239 connector at the antenna
input. The original power
supply was an accident waiting
to happen, so I built a new one with better regulation and filtering.
Finally, I installed a
meter amplifier which results in more
even S-meter readings. The product detector makes listening to SSB
tolerable!
Refinishing the panel with "Stone Creations"
speckle paint overcoated in black satin produced the "crinkle" finish I
desired.
The tip for using the "speckle" paint
came from Glen, K9STH who discovered, as I did, that trying to paint a
large area
with available wrinkle paint was an exercise
in frustration! Some new National knobs completed the job.
The coil charts
need a little work; as you can see, the
log chart on the left is too "new" and needs to be "yellowed" a bit to
match the tuning
chart on the right.
My most recent purchase, the SX110 was
a model I owned from 1961 to
The SX-110 with my homebrew station, winter 1960. The
1968 This was paired with a homebrew
813 transmitter for several years
homebew VFO is to the left of the receiver, a coupler for open
and then a DX-35 (see station picture
at right). Basically an S-40 with a
wire line is above the rack-mount 813 transmitter. The Heath
few extra features like a crystal filter, the
SX110 was a good receiver
Q-multiplier sharpened up the SX-110 considerably. Note
which enabled me to work my share of
DX.
the absence of an SWR meter-a flourescent tube taped to the
open-wire feeders served as a power output and resonance
indicator!
Hammarlund HX500 DRAKE 2B and 2BQ
This somewhat rare and absolutely mint HX500
was a gift from Betty Taylor,
This nice Drake 2B and 2BQ Q-multiplier is the very first boatanchor
widow of Clive, VE3CL (SK). I first "met"
Clive in 1960 when I moved to London
I acquired. It was an "impulse" purchase at Dayton in 1990; as this
to attend the University of Western Ontario.
I operated VE3UWO, the club
was before the "boatanchor boom" and stupendous rise in prices of any-
station which was located just three blocks
from Clive's Huron St. QTH.
thing tubed, I was able to buy it for a very low price. Over the
years, it
When I went on the air, Clive could not operate on
his favourite 75M frequency.
has been in constant use; the only maintenance ever done was a recent
Needless to say, this did not make for the beginning
of a great frienship!
cleaning and lubrication of switches and controls. It is most often
paired
However, over the years we got to know each other
much better and became good
with my Johnson Navigator. I rate this receiver as among the best
I have
friends. His sudden death shocked and saddened
the ham radio community,
ever used; it will hold its own against receivers which initially
cost a
as Clive was well known far and wide.
This HX-500 may have been the trans-
great deal more. The 2BQ permits narrowing the bandpass while reject-
mitter which Clive used when we first "tangled".
Many radios from his
ing unwanted adjacent signals....great for crowded bands!
collection were donated to the Hammond Museum of Radio
in Guelph, Ontario.
This somewhat rare Harvey-Wells Bandmaster was
acquired at a Boy
This 275 watt Johnson Matchbox is also somewhat rare, being
Scout auction. It has two inputs
(80/40 and 20/15/10), a dummy load
the less common commercial version covering 2-30 mhz. The
which can handle 100 watts and a wattmeter
which reads to 1 KW. It
additional control (top left) is a variable capacitor in the 50 ohm
will tune just about any balanced 300-600 ohm
antenna to a perfect
output, and it permits tuning an even wider range of load im-
match.
pedences than its ham radio counterpart. Unfortunately, a pre-
vious owner drilled a hole to the right of the tuning
capacitor
to permit viewing an NE-51 neon bulb installed as an output
indicator to be visible.
This TRIO-9R4J
came to me via VE3CSJ who purchased it
This is a picture of my Trio 9R4J sitting on top of a Lafayette
before he located
his original radio and bought it back from
HE-10 which I refurbished and recently sold. Note the different
the person to
whom he had sold it some 40 years before. This
S-meter and slightly darker original paint. When I re-sprayed
unit is completely
restored electrically and cosmetically,
my 9R4J I was not able to match the colour exactly. Note also
including a complete
repaint and lettering.
the pilot lamp on the 9R4J.....this is the second radio I have
seen using the exact same pilot lamp, and one wonders
if it
is a modification by a former owner or a factory modification
in later production runs.
Hallicrafters S-53A-almost ready
to go
Heath HW16 transceiver-being
rebuilt after a "catastrophic failure"
Johnson Ranger-major modifications to the audio chain
Links for your further enjoyment
London
Vintage Radio Club
Hammond
Museum of Radio
Vintage
Radio Collecting Links
Just Radios (a
great source of repair parts, manuals, schematics)