[Hallicrafters] SX-88 Value Controversy- Pictures

Sat Feb 7 22:03:52 EST 2009

You seem to be regularly harping about the IF Q, here and AMfone. I'll 
have to agree with W3JN.

I guess youve never been into many National receivers. They built their 
own IF transformers and LC selectivity networks using Litz wire and even 
cup cores which blow away your UNLOADED 180 Q.

When they closed most of their components operation I bought bins of 
Litz wire and still have loads of it in numerous sizes.

Drake managed very impressive LC filtering in the 2A/2B and even better 
up thru the R4-B.

Recent experiments with toroids as IF transformers has yielded unloaded 
Q's in the 240-250 range at the frequencies of interest. The next 
purchase will hopefully be a coil winder to facilitate experiments and 
restorations.

Carl
KM1H

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <WA1KBQ at aol.com>
To: <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>; <km1h at jeremy.mv.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] SX-88 Value Controversy- Pictures

> Government contracts are approved or not  approved for any one of a 
> myriad of
> reasons, not because there is something  wrong with the receiver. The
> responsibility for correcting a fault in the design  rests solely with 
> the
> engineering department. Clearing inventory due to a missed  government 
> contract or
> producing an engineering benchmark for "halo receiver"  bragging 
> rights by selling
> at a loss Hallicrafters still managed to put a few  more SX-88s out 
> there in
> one year than National did NC-400s regardless of the  high price. The
> Hallicrafters SX-88 is the only production receiver ever sold  with 
> Litz wound 50KC IF
> transformers having a "Q" of over 180. Did you ever  question the 
> brass
> threaded adjusters in most receiver's IF transformers? The  presence 
> of brass spoils
> "Q" but installing threaded brass rod adjusters is less  expensive 
> than
> threading hard brittle ferrite.
>
> -Greg Gore
>
> In a  message dated 2/7/2009 8:22:16 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,
> km1h at jeremy.mv.com  writes:
> With at least 2 production runs that Im aware of and rather extensive
> advertising Id say they were trying to establish a high end foothold 
> and
> not simply clearing inventory.
>
> With the HRO-60 in the same price  range and minus several SX-88 
> features
> it had about a 14 year successful run  and substantial sales.
>
> With Collins, National, Hammarlund and TMC having  extensive 
> government
> business it makes me wonder what the buyers found wrong  with the 
> SX-88??
>
> Carl
> KM1H
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original  Message ----- 
> From: <WA1KBQ at aol.com>
> To:  <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>; <km1h at jeremy.mv.com>
> Sent:  Saturday, February 07, 2009 7:58 PM
> Subject: Fwd: [Hallicrafters] SX-88 Value  Controversy- Pictures
>
>
>> The fact that it sold in low numbers  (miserably  you said) was 
>> because
>> the
>> receiver was  originally targeting a government  contract that did 
>> not
>>  go
>> through. Hallicrafters decided to go through with a  small 
>> production
>> run anyway at a
>> loss as a "halo" receiver which  ended up  selling around 500 units
>> over the
>> course of one  year but the high price ($5000  in today's dollars) 
>> was
>> more  than
>> most hams were willing to shell out for a  Hallicrafters.  Around 100
>> have
>> been accounted for so far  today.
>>
>> -Greg  Gore
>>
>>
>> From:  km1h at jeremy.mv.com
>> To: WA1KBQ at aol.com,   hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net
>> Sent: 2/7/2009 5:35:40 P.M. US Eastern  Standard  Time
>> Subj: Re: [Hallicrafters] SX-88 Value  Controversy-  Pictures
>>
>>
>> Why not let Jay, W1VD, run  it thru its paces as he has done  with 
>> many
>> other vintage radios on  AMfone?
>>
>> That would settle its  performance pretty well dont  you think?
>>
>> The one I owned was only about 10  years old  when I got it and as I
>> said
>> earlier I wasnt impressed. (As  a  teenager in the 50's I wanted one
>> simply for the looks but  reality resulted  in a HQ-129X). Neither 
>> were
>> a
>> few  engineers at National that put it thru its  paces. Even then it
>>  had
>> an aura that it was something more than just a well  built  radio. 
>> They
>> were primarily comparing it to the NC-400 which has  its  own set of
>> problems IMO.
>>
>> The fact that it sold  miserably speaks  volumes of what prospective
>> buyers thought of it  then.
>>
>> When I sold  it, it was all original so naturally  performance was 
>> way
>> down in 1998 or so.  My parents used it to  listen to SW classical
>> music
>> and gave it back when  they  moved to a condo in NC.
>>
>> Carl
>>  KM1H
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original  Message ----- 
>>  From: <WA1KBQ at aol.com>
>> To:   <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009  3:20  PM
>> Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] SX-88 Value  Controversy-  Pictures
>>
>>
>>> Pictures with short  descriptions of a typical   SX-88 restoration 
>>> at:
>>>   http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=17990.20
>>>
>>>
>>>  Go to  the bottom  of page two. This was a recent discussion  at
>>>  amfone.net on
>>> vintage receiver   performance.
>>>
>>>  Regards, Greg
>>>
>>>  **************Who's never won?  Biggest  Grammy Award surprises of
>>> all
>>> time on
>>> AOL Music.
>>>
>>
> (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?ncid=emlcntusmusi00000003)
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>>
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>> all
>> time on
>> AOL Music.
>>
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>>
>
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