[Boatanchors] Howard Company

[WQ9E at btsnetworks.net]

The Howard sets have very lightweight construction and lower cost/quality components.  Mechanical instability, backlash, and high drift are obvious on all the models that I own and this is in comparison to other vintage sets-not modern rigs.  The bandwidth of most of their sets is very broad which makes up for some of the drift when operating in AM mode.  I haven't gotten around to restoring my Howard 490 yet which appears have the potential to be a little better than the lower cost sets but certainly has the dial (and in its case panel corrosion) common to the other sets.  The case of the 438 has an interesting look but the same low performance as other members of the 430 series.  My 450 is a little better than the 430 series but it still isn't a receiver I would pair with a transmitter in an often used station.

The mechanical design of the 430 series models, or at least the ones I own, is poor and require involved disassembly even to replace a single tube.  A 436A was my first Howard and I thought at first I was missing some obvious method in getting into the receiver because the case design is so poor.

Dave N7RK has some sets I don't and can probably provide further examples of their shortcomings.  I see a model 460 on his website which looks impressive but probably has some of the same issues as the other models.

Rodger WQ9E



-------- Original Message --------
> From: "David Stinson" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
> Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 4:06 AM
> To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Howard Company
> 
> "Unimpressive."
> What are the problems with the Howard sets?
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