[Boatanchors] Hammarlund HQ-150

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 5/13/05, Glen Zook <gzook at yahoo.com> wrote:

> As for the knobs:  Most of the HQ-140s and HQ-150s
> came from the factory with black knobs.  However, a
> relative minority of both receivers were shipped, for
> some reason, with "reddish" colored knobs.  All of the
> knobs are the same color so it isn't a case of someone
> replacing a broken knob with one of a different color.
>  There are enough of the receivers with the "reddish"
> knobs to definitely indicate that, for some reason,
> Hammarlund did ship them from the factory with those
> knobs installed.  However, all of the knobs are the
> same color.

I've seen plenty of -140s with the brown knobs, never a  -150 though.
My understanding is that the 140s were first sold with these but
switched to black and the brown knobs used up. I would think that any
-150s sporting brown knobs got them as a result of someone putting
unoriginal knobs on and a new owner using the brown ones from a -140
to get back closer to original. Just a guess on my part. If you only
have old B&W ads to go by, it would be difficult to know.
 
> I have seen the main tuning and bandspread knobs of
> the HQ-129X, HQ-140X, and HQ-150X replaced with
> "spinner" types and the person selling the unit
> "swears" that they are original.  To my knowledge none
> of the receivers were ever shipped with spinner type
> knobs.

They also replace the original 'streamlined' (for lack of a better
descriptor) chicken head knobs with the more generic ones seen on so
much other gear. The original design has the flat back area rounded
down as well as the other edges.

The main tuning knobs on the HQ-129 seem to be missing the most often,
replaced by Daka-ware types or spinners. They were a fairly small
design for a tuning knob, so maybe that's why. I'm not aware of
Hammarlund using a crank-type spinner knob on any receiver, the HQ-215
has a finger hole spinner but that's the only one I've seen. Maybe the
HQ-200, really can't recall.