[Hallicrafters] SX-71 S meter again

[RJB]

> 2)- Is it just this radio, or are all of them this quiet till you come
across a signal? Very pleased with its sound on AM and SW. Copies SSB too.

Joe

i am just finishing up a recap/re-sistor of an SX-71 - if i understand
correctly, it sounds like you simply have way too little gain in the RF-IF
loop to move the S-meter. Fact is that with any sort of antenna, even 6ft of
wire on the floor, the radio should be hot enough to move the S-meter even
between signals.

FWIW, I replaced all tubular caps (with yellow polyprops) and most of the
resistors (still two left in the IF cans). Most resistors were high, a few
insanely so, enough to cause a cumulative degradation of performance from
one end of the rx to the other. I followed this by replacing the weak tubes,
then a complete alignment as per the manual. This transformed the radio - it
is now officially "hot", even without Phil Atchley's IF mods,

http://www.w9wze.org/df.php?dn=Restorations/SX71.wp

I agree about the nice sound, even on SSB it sounds better IMHO than my
HQ-180 - and the IF selectivity works well on both AM and SSB.

best of luck, the SX-71 is a rewarding radio, better than the sum of its
parts, IMO

Bob Bennett, Maple Vly, WA