[Hallicrafters] SX-15 Magic-Eye Tuner

[kiyoinc at attglobal.net]

W4AWM at aol.com writes:

> In a message dated 2/11/2004 1:19:26 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
> iluznst at yahoo.com writes: 
>  
> > Here are my conclusions about the possibility of the 
> > SX-15 having the magic-eye tuner... Taking into 
> > account W4AWM's comments last month compared with my 
> > own SX-15, reviewing Chuck's book &LA5KI's 
> > Hallicrafter site (which shows internal pictures of 
> > the models that DID come with magic-eye tuners), I'm 
> > about 98% positive that they did not come from the 
> > factory that way. 

> > Eventhough the modification on my set looks OEM and
> > the mod is as old as the set is, there are two things

> My SX-15(ME) has the same magic eye escutheon as shown on the SX-10 on  
> LA5KI's page which you referenced. It has the same mounting screws too, which 
> makes  
> the case of an OEM installation on some SX-15s more than valid in my opinion,  
> also.  
..
> SX-15(ME) since I thought it had beed modded and I only want unblemished recei 
> vers in my collection. Boy, am I ever glad that I never got around to it!

Two SX-15's with a "nicely" done, but homemade mod from the dawn of
time. 

or 

Hallicrafters did a production run with a varient.

My take is that Hallicrafters did a small run for some unknown reason.
They might have wanted an upgraded model.  They might have made a
mistake in the sheet metal shop and rather than pitch out the few dozen 
mispunched panels, covered up the error by producing the varient.

Most mods are crude and you almost never see two that are the same.  

I suspect that the Hallicrafters factory made the magic eye varient and
you have a rare piece.  

This is like my SX-100 with the non-standard Notch Freq and Depth
knobs.  These knobs resemble the other knobs on the radio but are
"different".  It's not just that they don't have the calibration marks.
They are non-standard but look close to factory.

I did a USENET websearch and found several inquiries from folk
looking for "factory notch knobs" because their SX-100 didn't have the
factory knobs.  

I really, really doubt that anyone has ever pulled the notch knobs and
replaced them with "looks real close but are not factory" varients.

First, the Hallicrafters Bristol/spline setscrews would defeat the
novice, "I don't know why I'm subbing this but I'm doing it" mentality.

Second, the notch feature is not an everyday user.  My main radio
was SX-101A for years and I almost never used the notch feature.  It
would not pop into someone's head that "I gotta make this more
ergonomic, different, or better." 

Third, the notch knobs are centrally located on the front panel and
smaller than the other knobs.  They are less likely to be damaged than
the S-meter, power, RF gain knobs,  unless you flipped the radio upside
down and then lifted it from the back.

Finally, how did someone subbing the Notch knobs find a pair that look
so factory?

I believe that the factory did varient runs.  The SX-15 magic-eye and
the SX-100's with look-like notch knobs are rare, minor varients.  Not
a big deal in the grand scheme of things but for historians an
interesting side note.

For those who have them, it's worth preserving and noting.  If these
are true factory varients, it increases the value.  How much, only eBay
and time will tell.

de ah6gi/4 www.kiyoinc.com/heathstuff.html