[Hallicrafters] BC-610E questions

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Greetings, apologies in advance for duplicate posts -

I'm the new keeper of a Hallicrafters BC-610-E that followed me home
Wednesday night. It has a few mods done to it, like an audio mod from
a newer military rig wired in to replace the missing BC-614-E, antenna
connections replaced with RG-8 to an outboard filter & relay, and
replacement meters added in place of two originals.

Now, I'm not too terribly concerned with making it look brandy-new,
but I would like to clean it up a bit and get it back closer to its
original configuration. Years ago I picked up a BC-939 antenna tuner
in hopes of someday finding a 610, and fortunately the mounting studs
were still in place, just flipped over. I'd like to know from the
collective wisdom about the BC-614-E outboard speech amplifier, how
available they are and if it's worth trying to use one. I'm one of
those guys who doesn't mind doing reversible mods like tube subs,
component changes and such, I'm just not big on drilling and blasting.
The audio circuit currently installed might work fine, but it's a
rat's nest of wiring and has nothing holding the module in place, it's
free to flop around if the transmitter is moved. While I realize these
transmitters were quite common on the surplus market for years and
modified to the taste and needs of the user, I'm not in a position now
where I need to have parts dangling by wires inside simply to make it
work.

I'd also like to hear from folks who own, use, or have used these
beasts. In particular, I'm interested in the tuning procedure since I
got no documentation with the unit. The plan is to power it up over
the weekend for initial tests and check out, but I don't want to fry
anything. It appears to have all the original iron, the only noticable
change being 3B28s subbed for the 866s, which I'm okay with leaving.

Also, if anyone has or knows of a source of reasonably priced 2A3s, I
broke one while removing it for transport, when it came loose and
smacked into the corner of the added audio module (cleverly hiding out
of view). I do have tubes to trade, from 813 to 811A to 807 or
whatever else is in the garage. There is one available for testing
purposes, but the box is marked as 'weak', so it's not a long-term
solution. Singles, pairs, whatever works.

Looking forward to any stories, suggestions, or other related information.

Thank you -

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ