[Hallicrafters] More SX-110

[Neil]

Hi all,
I'll add my SX-110 story to this drift. Got my general,
KH6EAM, back
in the mid-sixties. My friends had various homebrew single
6K6 CW
xmtrs and an assortment of Heath and Knight kits to flesh
everything
out. I started with a Globe Chief 90 Deluxe and an SX-110. I
was always
on the lookout for anything that would improve the receiver.
RF preamp,
Q-multiplier, passive audio peak/notch filters... all of
which helped to
varying degrees, but really nothing could make a Ford into a
Mercedes.

I remember distinctly how mechanically unstable the SX-110
was. A jiggle of the
desk gave it warbly conniptions. I tried to add reinforcing
brackets, lead
weights- anything to give it some solid rigidity. Nada. In
the end, it was
best left alone. From Hawaii, in the wee hours of the
morning, I work
S.A., Asia, and most of the mainland. All on 40m, but the
bands were much
quieter back then and less receiver was required. 

I added a Heath VFO and a military surplus plate modulator
to the Chief,
then later traded it for a Globe Meteor DSB xmtr. Gold and
garish, 
but it worked just fine. With college, all got left behind,
including the hobby.

Now I'm relicensed as KI6HJS and have a JRC NDR525 as my
main receiver,
but have picked up some rehab projects on eBay (HQ-170,
which I could finally
afford, and an S-76 that I refurbished only to have it blow
up on first plug in. 
"Why is that rectifier tube bright red, that's not supposed
to..." too late.)
Transmitters now are all QRP kits of one kind or another.

When I see a clean SX-110 on eBay I get tempted, but never
pulled hard
enough to take one on again.

73, Neil KI6HJS


Neil Murphy
www.ghostdog.com
650.375.0886 wrk
650.533.2015 mobile