[Hallicrafters] OT: Fender, Joe Walsh and me.

[George KB2Z]

Hey Craig,
Place a fair bid, you might be surprised.
I was watching a 5100-SB a few months back that Mr. Walsh was bidding 
on. Someone else outbid him at $1200. More than I could afford, but 
not beyond reach if you wanted it bad enough. I was surprised and impressed.
Good luck, George KB2Z


At 10:52 AM 7/26/05, you wrote:
>Okay, here's the on-topic Hallicrafters bit:  CAUTION:  be careful 
>when replacing tubes with new Russian (or Chinese) types in your Hallicrafters.
>
>Here's a "fer-instance": In an effort to equip my lovingly restored 
>SX-42 with a matched pair of new 6V6 audio amps (even though I knew 
>this was silly and unnecessary), I ordered a set of  Fender branded 
>tubes from an online audio shop.  The backordered items showed up 
>about three months later (inexplicably, via Federal Express 
>overnight service).
>Upon their belated arrival, I eagerly pulled the old, mismatched 
>metal tubes from my radio and replaced them with the shiny new glass globes.
>The Fenders glowed appropriately and prettily and sounded just fine. 
>(Truthfully, they sounded exactly like the old tubes) and all was well.
>
>Well, all was well for about two hours. Then, one Fender failed.  A 
>couple of hours later, the other one went dim.
>It seems that the Fender branded tubes are actually Electro-Harmonix 
>valves from Russia.  They're nicely made, certainly, but MAY be 
>fragile when compared with vintage American tubes. My receiver is in 
>perfect working order with factory specified voltages appearing at 
>all points, so I can only conclude that the new tubes were at 
>fault.  Now, it's possible that I got a pair of "lemons", or it 
>could be that the new tubes simply aren't rated for the type of 
>service the old ones were.  At any rate, I'd like to hear from 
>anyone who's had experience with newer Eastern tubes in older Western gear.
>
>Now -- my off-topic topic.  I'm a big fan of James Millen and his 
>designs.  When I first moved to the Boston area years ago, I 
>actually made a pilgrimage to Malden, Mass. to walked the streets 
>that Mr. Millen did. (I'm perfectly sane, otherwise).
>
>A couple of days ago, a rare and wonderful Millen linear amp 
>appeared on an unnamed auction site.  Dreaming of finally being able 
>to assemble a genuine James Millen-based AM transmitter, I submitted 
>a bid.  I honestly didn't expect much competition, because -- after 
>all -- how many guys even know that Millen ever made a linear?
>Well, our friend Joe Walsh does!  Now, I could sell my car and 
>perhaps outbid him, but...  Well, hey, I love the guy's music and 
>admire his up-front promotion of ham radio, so I guess I'll keep my 
>automobile and let Joe have the amp.  I'm a little disappointed but 
>must admit that it's kinda cool to have this little brush with 
>greatness -- as tenuous as it is.
>
>73,
>
>Craig
>W3CRR
>
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