[Boatanchors] Hammarlund HQ-150

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 5/13/05, Fitzpenne at aol.com <Fitzpenne at aol.com> wrote:
> Can anyone on the net fill me in on the Hammarlund HQ-150. I have  understood
> it is one of the best of the HQ,s made, I want it for a good AM  receiver all
> comments are welcome.

Dave - 

I've had a couple of them, one left. They are what is commonly known
as the 'last of the big box' Hammarlund receivers. This relates to
their size and shape and relationship to the others in the line:
HQ-120, '129, '140, ending with the '150. Single conversion rigs, the
HQ-150 has a built in Q-Multiplier which the earlier models lacked.
Otherwise they are fairly similar other than some tube changes and so
on.

The '150 had two different case styles, one is the larger cabinet with
rounded/wrap around front edges like the -140. The last of the line
had a smaller, squared-off cabinet which fits basically flush with the
edges of the front panel pretty much covering the front cabinet edges:
the earlier version sat inside and was framed by the cabinet. Older
cabinet has outside handles, later one just has hand cut outs in the
sides. Matching speaker is the one with the square holes in front and
orange Hammarlund tag above, but with wrinkle gray finish. The
hammerite gray goes with the '140, although it will work with either.

Both of mine worked fine, very acceptable on AM, a bit better than the
SP-600, even. I sold the nicer of the two, an earlier model, to a
collector in MN a couple years back. He was quite pleased with it. I
kept the newer one as a kitchen radio, with the matching speaker up
high on a wall. Great for listening while cooking. Swapped it out
recently when the on/off switch bit the dust.

While not what you'd call 'rare', they are somewhat scarce compared to
the 120s, 129s, or even 140s. The later models with the smaller
cabinets are the least plentiful. I'm not aware of an electrical
difference. They use a large, black tuning knobs like the SP-600 but
without the skirt. Smaller knobs look the same but are, of course,
smaller! If you're looking for authenticity, be sure to get one with
all of the correct black knobs because they are next to impossible to
find. I sent off my only spare last year to a fellow who received his
radio damaged from UPS.

Other than that, I'm not sure what more to say. They work fine, sound
great, and look pretty nice as well. Especially on AM you won't notice
drift as much, but mine seemed to stay put pretty well after warming
up.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ