[Hallicrafters] PM-23 speaker information wanted

[ANTHONY CASORSO]

I bought a PM-23 at a Hamfest this past Sunday and I have been trying to google up some more knowledge about these speakers. In particular, I am trying to determine how you tell the difference between the "large magnet" version and the other versions. I have found a photo that claims to be the larger magnet version but it looks similar (as far as magnet size) to others that do not make the claim. I found an article on www.radioblvd.com by W7HTR (Henry Rogers) about the SX-28 that includes some words on the PM-23 that just confuse me even more. So, here are some questions:

 

1. How can I tell by looking (not disassembling) whether I have the large magnet or small magnet version?

 

2. Why do some have the chrome "h" and others do not?

 

The radioblvd article states that the speaker was made from 1939 through 1946. It also says that the chrome "h" was removed starting in 1943 due to the war and that at the same time the magnet cover was removed. If this is true, why is the "h" version so rare? Also, the 45 and 46 catalogs on w9wze.net all seem to show the "h", so either they started putting the h back on towards the end of the war, or the catalogs didn't reflect reality.

 

If the magnet cover was removed at the same time as the "h" per the article, then could this be the "small magnet" version?

 

My speaker has the black magnet cover with the halli logo. I have seen photos with a silver magnet cover as well. The one photo that I found claiming to be the large magnet version has a black cover that looks no bigger than mine but the transformer is mounted perpendicular to the rim of the speaker. On mine the transformer is mounted parallel to the rim of the speaker. The "big" magnet photo also shows the basket with only four large openings whereas mine has more smaller openings.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Tony