[Hallicrafters] SX-62 Question

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 4/4/06, gkb <gkbrown at gwi.net> wrote:
>     The SX-62 series receivers were quite expensive in there day. Why were
> there no S-meter, cw pitch control and most of all, no bandspread.<snip>

Gary -

I *think* they made provisions for using a plug-in S-meter accessory
on back somehow, but I can't remember for sure. You're basically
right, this was meant more as a home entertainment thingy, less as a
precision-tuned instrument. The SX-42 is its very close sibling and
offered the other features you mention, but for a higher cost.

As far as improvements to old gear, hindsight is always 20/20 as they
say. Some of the things we have access to now weren't around or being
utilized on a commercial scale back then (SSB comes to mind). I
decided years ago to accept the gear as-designed, for what it was
meant to do, and enjoy it as such. Otherwise I might have ended up
drilling holes and adding knobs to all of those AM/CW receivers that
"don't tune SSB as well as the new radios do" and similar stunning
revelations. Newsflash: they weren't designed to!  If nothing else,
it's an excu...er...reason to discover and try out other rigs. After a
while you build up a stable of rigs that can be individually-utilized
for the task at hand.

Along with having top-notch stock audio, there's not a dial out there
that comes close to the coolness factor of the big SX-62 
picture-window dial and its band-in-use lighting scheme.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ