[Boatanchors] Harvey Wells (?) Oddity on the Bay

[D C *Mac* Macdonald]

How well did they work? Just wondering if I want to bid.
I had an R-9 back in the late 50s and have acquired a
T-90 but still no power supply for it. Still looking for an
R-9A to pair up with the T-90.

* * * * * * * * * * *
* 73 - Mac, K2GKK/5 *
* (Since 30 Nov 53) *
* Oklahoma City, OK *
* USAF, Ret (61-81) *
* * * * * * * * * * *

 


From: N4ch at aol.com
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 08:04:13 -0400
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Harvey Wells (?) Oddity on the Bay
To: k2gkk at hotmail.com; boatanchors at mailman.qth.net



Hello All........
 
I suspect Harvey Wells made a handful of these radios (destined to be marketed by RCA), about the time H-W was making the transition from the R9 to the R9A (main difference: the non-A was all point-to-point construction, and the "A" version had most of the electronics wired by circuit boards).   All the H-W receivers I've seen are 5 band (80-40-20-15-10), and the "RCA" version is 6 bands, general coverage.   This is the third RCA iteration I know the existence of.   About 20-25 years ago, a pretty nice one was at Dayton.   Back then, there was no internet, and not many cared about buying something that neither worked nor was supported by documentation.   After walking past it many times, I decided to buy it.   It sat around in the shape it was purchased for several years.   Finally, I decided to dig around and see if I could get it working.   I've never seen a manual (and I doubt one was ever produced), but comparing it to the R9 and R9A I had, I was able to get it going.   Turns out it was probably assembled in the H-W facility, possibly shipped over to RCA, maybe shown at a few meetings, but never tested.   There were a few circuit board layout errors, and it would have never worked unless those were manually corrected.   I did just that, and other than doing this and replacing a couple bad caps it's in the shape it was bought.   It works great (and the tuning is surprisingly accurate).   It looks just like the one that's currently on eBay, except the meter is smaller.........the one in my radio is the same size (and same style) as what's in the "production" H-W R9/A radios; the one on eBay appears to be a little larger than "original".   I suspect someone changed it after the radio was built.
 
Besides the one I have and the one on eBay, I've seen just one other "RCA" iteration..........and that was 5-10 years ago, and it was pretty beat up, including someone's removing the meter (or maybe the large red RCA logo..........can't remember) entirely, and replacing it with a Japanese 0-100 vernier dial (and a bandspread cap).   The one I have and the one I saw both had the "H-W" logo marking on the chassis, so it's pretty obvious where they originated.   I've yet to see if/when it was ever advertised as a product for sale by RCA, and it's probable that it never got much past the R&D development stages, and I doubt any were ever sold as finished products.   Anyway, my 2 cents worth.
 
73, Herman, N4CH.