[Hallicrafters] New Halli Fan In Family?

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

With the assistance of my eleven year old grandson, Brandon, I was able to get
the AL-1500 amplifier tuned up and operational on the Mosley TA-33. (Yea, I
know. I practically said a four letter word when I mentioned that non-Halli
amp!). As those who checked into the Global Glow roundtable last evening already
know, the amplifier played very well.  I was able to switch between the Mosley
TA-33 and Hustler 6BTV with no appreciable changes in power output, grid current
or plate current. 	
	
Previously the amp had been tuned to the Hustler 6BTV with a swr of 1.1 This was
after I replaced the 8877 final which failed with six days left on the warranty.
Whew! At a price of $772, that was a little too close. When I switched to the
beam with a swr of 1.5 on 14.293 Mhz, the desired meter readings fell off. Out
of resonance. 	
	
It had been twenty-seven years since I had personally tuned an amplifier, and of
course the grandson, had never tuned one. So with me doing the math and giving
instructions, and Brandon turning the plate and load and giving me the meter
readings, we managed to get the job done. 	
	
This boy may have a future in Ham radio, definitely with vintage gear. He had a
SX-110 in his bedroom here, currently on my dining room table. He now has the
S-120 in his room, mainly because it has a built-in speaker. He got a QSL from
Radio Netherlands for both an English and a Spanish transmission the same night
using the S-120, so he is still enjoying it as he cruises the bands.	
	
I won't be too surprised when he shoves me out of my comfy NCS chair -  But
first, he needs a license! We are working on that.	
	
Duane W8DBF