[Hallicrafters] SX25 mods

[WA1KBQ at aol.com]

In the case of the SX-25 so many of them were made and sold and they are 
still abundant enough that modifying some of them will have little impact on 
whether history is preserved or not. To modify, restore with modern parts or 
preserve original factory condition is a real can of worms and there is probably no 
one correct answer. The camp is divided and perhaps everyone is right (each to 
his own as he sees it). I like to see the historical record preserved when a 
particular piece is fairly rare now and was "high end" in its day. The 
components all have original manufacturers names and date codes on them and the 
physical construction is an important historical record of how Hallicrafters 
organized and did things in 1940. In the case of physical construction, 
Hallicrafters (and all the other manufacturers) decided on and adopted particular 
standards of construction quality, had documentation written and trained their workers 
on how to install everything a certain way or the work would not pass 
inspection. Whenever someone now (anyone) replaces something he is working to his own 
set of standards which is not recognized or particularly appreciated by 
anyone other than himself and in most cases his labors will be shunned or rejected 
for having much value by future prospective owners. It may not make a whole 
lot of difference right now I guess because not enough time has passed since the 
piece was made and sold. Another fifty years could make a huge difference and 
I would be willing to bet no one will want to own an SX-25 with a bunch of 
yellow plastic parts from 2004 in it. The historical record for that particular 
piece is forever lost in the case of wholesale replacement with modern yellow 
or orange parts just so someone can hear it work again. One can look at the 
schematic and know how it would have worked with fresh parts anyway. If I just 
absolutely have to hear it work again I try to find a rough one or a basket 
case to restore and leave the good one alone. I am working on another solution 
that is not quite ready yet and I don't know if this is the correct answer 
either. There is a company in Nevada that is making wax paper capacitors again and 
I am sending a set of the original cardboard tubes from one of my high end 
receivers to have them restuffed. They use the old technology but with more 
modern materials and manufacturing methods which might yield a longer lasting part. 
I don't know that this is correct either but I am going to try it to see how 
it goes because I am looking for something that will satisfy both camps. 
Sometimes I am in the other camp too it seems.

Happy restoring,
Greg Gore; WA1KBQ
Charlotte, NC