[Hallicrafters] SX-28 competitors in the 1940's

[Rich Oliver]

Tim,

No doubt some SX-28's were sold retail to civilians but the Depression 
was still going on when it was released.  The bulk of the 50,000 
produced went to the armed forces during WWII.  The other Signal Corps 
workhorses of the day were the National HRO and the Hammarlund Super 
Pro.  The Super Pro (most were BC-779 / SP-210's) is generally 
comparable to the SX-28, though I'm sure most of us would choose the 
SX-28 :-)   The HRO is an older design with plug-in coil trays.  The PW 
tuning dial on the HRO is a mechanical wonder but it registers an 
arbitrary number that must be interpolated with a chart on the coil set 
to find the frequency.  That is inconvenient but the robust, stable HRO 
still performed yeoman duty.  HRO's or copies were used by all the major 
combatant forces during WWII.  That cannot be said of any Hallicrafters 
or Hammarlund gear, though to be fair it probably has much to do with 
the fact that the HRO was available 7 years earlier than either of the 
"H" radios.

After the war most of the surviving gear became available as surplus so 
retail competition did not come into play until the next generation of 
gear became available.  Even then it was slow going for years until the 
flood of war surplus slowed to a trickle.  I think you have to conclude 
that the SX-28 never got a fair test in the retail market.  It did help 
win the war, though, so don't feel bad.  Just fire one up and appreciate 
it for the work of art that it is!

73, Rich, KC9GQ

tlogan7 at cox.net wrote:

>Hi folks - 
>What would have been considered the truly high end receivers during the period the SX-28 and 28A were made? What was the SX-28 competing against in the retail market? Thanks for any info you have. 73/Tim NZ7C
>
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