[Hallicrafters] SX-17 "Special Super Skyrider"

[Ray V.]

I don't recall seeing much in the way of "service manuals" for these 
older receivers. It must be remembered that in those days it was 
expected that most people who bought these radios for ham radio use had 
the necessary technical knowledge on how radios worked, unlike today's 
complex solid state radios with their proprietary chip sets. There was 
no need for a "step by step" service procedure for a basic tube radio. 
All the information a person needed to troubleshoot and maintain was 
usually contained in the operators manual, it was the only written 
documentation provided or needed. Inside the operators manual was 
usually the following: The operating instructions, a tube lineup 
describing what each stage was, alignment instructions and a schematic. 
With this information and a valid ham license as issued at that time, a 
person should have been able to perform an end to end troubleshooting 
and alignment of the radio. Is this information missing from the SX-17 
manual? I checked and it is in most of the other operators manuals from 
this era that I've got, such as the SX-11, S20R etc.

Has anyone ever seen separate "operators manuals" and "service manuals" 
for civilian pre-war (II) radios? It seems most came into being 
during W.W.II for military radios. It would be interesting to take a 
survey and determine what radios (Hallicrafters and other makes) had 
both "operating manuals" and "service manuals" to determine when this 
came into widespread use.  

73, Ray  W2EC

 
>Just received a near mint SX-17.  Receiver works beautifully
>not a dent, ding, scratch or chip in the case.  Silver metal
>trim is bright and shiny like new.  Silver dial like a mirror.
>
>I have the original "Operating Instructions" pamphlet and
>original shipping tag.  Does anyone know if Hallicrafters ever
>published a "Service Manual" for this wonderful receiver?  I
>would like to get my hands on one.
>
>Bill (K2WH)