[Hallicrafters] HT-37

[Robert Stachurski]

Many tnx for the welcome aboard.  tnx especially for those secondary voltages on the pwr xfmr that really helps me out and those were the same values I was getting voltmeter readings.   This old xmitter had 40+ years of dirt, dust, crud and corrosion on it when I started and most of it is now cleaned up.  The wiring under the chassis is cotton covered and 99% of of the color coding has faded away but the wire insulation itself seems to be intact.  When I lit of the equipment there was not the heart-wrenching aroma of boiling tar or whatever it was that was used in xfmrs so I came to a hasty conclusion that the xmitter was repairable with some extra effort.  I did change out all of the electrolytic capacitors and resistors in the bias supply but that bias was still reading a bit high and the manual said that the bias voltage is VERY critical.  I did read the specs for the 6146's in the RCA xmitting tube manual and all of the voltages comming from the power supply are at a critical level.  When I replaced the resistors and electrolytics in the pwr supply I used components that exceeded the specs in the parts list (wattage and % tol. for the resistors ; voltage for the caps).  The components that are made today are much smaller than those that were made when this xmitter was first manufactured.
Ideally I would have liked to restore this HT-37 to museum grade but a quick eyeball survey told me that this was an impossible task.  What I can do and have done is a lot of extensive repair and clean up so that I will have a xmitter that works the way it is supposed to.  There are many collectable items that gain in value because they were used for their intended purpose; just ask any stamp or firearms collecters.  I will let you know from time to time how the work is progressing and in the meantime I will abide by a modified version of the carpenters code  "check wiring twice and solder once".
Are ther any ex-Navy ET's out there that might remember the ten commandments of a tech?  It went something like this:
       Keep one hand in your pocket when working on high voltage lest your shipmate finds you roasting on a piece of equipment
       and consoles your widow with copious amounts of wine and beer!
Once again, many tnks for the welcome and info.
  73's Bob WB4RFF

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