[Boatanchors] Radio Servicing for HQ 180

[Stanley Adams]

This is not a hard problem, just one that will take up some time.
Your best friend is an oscilloscope.

Borrow one, if you do not have one.  When the unit is working properly
just go from RF through IF to audio and note the levels; you will of course
have to vary the sweep time.

When the unit does the nose dive, then just go through it with the scope
again.  Go from the audio backwards and where you see the levels go back to
normal, then this is your area to begin your search for a bad resistor,
solder joint, transformer winding, etc. Pray for it to stay bad for a good
long while and then power cycle it to verify your area of interest.
  Could be a bad RF or IF transformer as the capacitor is a piece of mica
built into the can, so you can either find a way to fix it, just cut it out
and put in a silver mica or whatever.

Scopes are good things!

Stanley Adams
Memphis