[Hallicrafters] Another SX-88 surfaced

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Carl <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:

> ** Some folks have more money than brains when it comes to ego trips. There
> are several contemporary rigs out there that work fine at a fraction of the
> $ starting with a Ranger and Desk KW.

But the Viking Kilowatt needed an exciter to drive it, along with a
VFO, and it didn't cover 160. It came out later, so they had plenty of
time to address any shortcomings if they wanted to be serious
competition. Nothing compared to the KW-1 in its day for being a
10-160m AM/CW kilowatt input rig, ready to go, out of the crate.
Doesn't mean I'd pay $25K for one today. The fact that you hear so few
on the air compared to how many have been accounted for makes your
case pretty well.

Wasn't until the GPT-750 came along some years later, and even that
didn't cover 160. Though 'JN has made his work there without much
effort. Now *that's* a transmitter, lacking for nothing beyond full
coverage. Especially if you had one with the AM mod deck.

I've always liked the Globe King too, even though it's not quite up
with the others in overall quality. It sure helped a lot of guys get
big signals on the air. And it looks good.

> ** These days a big tube as a linear is the way to go.
> A YC-156 will run 375 or 2000W carrier (-;

B-o-r-i-n-g. I leave the leenyars and riceboxes to the SSBers and
corntesters. No offense, it's just not for me. If I were just starting
out today, I'd gather up the pieces of a homebrew big rig starting
with some large broadcast iron and a 6 foot rack or two. For me, the
experience of operating the gear is as much fun as communicating(at
least until something breaks). If it were just a matter of being
heard, sure - a big linear would fit the bill or even better - a
cellphone. Even more compact than the amp and far less power
consumption!  (o:

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4