[Hallicrafters] sx-62a restoration & alignment need

Sat Jun 17 15:03:10 EDT 2017

Not to long ago I restored a nice looking Hallicrafters S-38C receiver.  
This is about the simplest receiver one could restore. I wound up having 
to replace tubes, clean, lubricate, align, replace all the electrolytic 
caps and ALL THE RESISTORS!  Every resistor was out of tolerance.  I 
probably replaced 75 parts in the radio.  Getting to some of them was 
tedious.  I suspect I put in 50 to 60 hours doing all this.  (I did what 
the radio needed for a GOOD restoration.)  This did not include the time 
it took to order the required parts or the $20 replacement cost for the 
new dial cover.   Parts probably cost me around $30.  So what do I now 
have?  I have a great radio that works as new.  I have in it:  $75 for 
the nice looking carcass,  $50 worth of parts,  and 60 hours of time x 
minimum wage of $8 per hour.  Total investment without figuring time for 
ordering parts or equipment investment costs equal $605.  Who in his 
right mind would pay $605 for a S-38C and who in his right mind would do 
60 hours of work to maybe be able to charge $25 for his labor?  Unless 
your clientele has extremely deep pockets, you can't refurbish boat 
anchors for a living. Nobody would pay you a decent wage.  The most you 
could do running a business is put in a couple hours  of work and most 
likely this would not be enough to make it play as new again if at all.

Lee, w0vt

On 6/17/2017 1:27 PM, Lee wrote:
> Well lets see, If you had someone totally restore the electronics on 
> just the SX-62A, he could could easily put in up to 100 hours 
> replacing tubes, cleaning, lubricating, changing out out of spec 
> resistors and replacing all the electrolytic caps and paper caps. Plus 
> do an alignment with equipment he had to buy.  The guy also had to 
> have plenty of expertise.   This is assuming there are no other hidden 
> problems with the radio.  In most cases there will be additional 
> problems to work out.  Parts will probably cost around $100 assuming 
> they are just the normal replacement parts.  At minimum wage, say at 
> $8.00 an hour, the bill would be   $800 labor plus $100 parts for a 
> total of $900.  But for his expertise and equipment investment he 
> should be justified in charging $60 per hour, so the total bill would 
> be $6100.
>
> My point here is, old boat anchor equipment needs to be refurbished by 
> the owner or you need to be a multimillionaire to pay for someone else 
> to do it.  Most cannot afford to pay someone even minimum wage to work 
> on ones equipment let alone normal electronic repair charges per 
> hour.   I'm talking about really restoring the electronics.  It would 
> be highly unusual to find anyone interested in doing a good 
> restoration job on someone else's equipment for the above reason.  It 
> is just too much work to make 50 cents an hour.  To do a good proper 
> restoration, you are talking about some major time.  Restorations are 
> not 2 or 3 hour jobs.  Those are the cold hard facts of life.  One 
> cannot buy a radio to refurbish, do a good job doing it, and then be 
> able to sell it for time, labor and original purchase price.  The 
> final price would be just too high to find a purchaser.  I don't know 
> anyone enjoying to do this kind of work for 50 cents an hour let alone 
> minimum wage.  I'm 79, and when a restoration is needed around here, I 
> have to look in the mirror for a person to do the work or it ain't 
> gonna happen.   Not trying to be mean spirited but just trying to lay 
> out the reality of this type request.
>
> Lee, w0vt
>
>
> On 6/17/2017 12:50 PM, Jammer via Hallicrafters wrote:
>>    All those YouTube videos are great, but I don't seem to have the
>> tools or dexterity (read: aging eyes & etc.) to safely perform 
>> restoration
>> on an SX-62a that hasn't been touched in who-knows-how-long.
>>
>>   So, I'm looking for a local (Chicago, Illinois) ham who enjoys 
>> tackling
>> 60+ pound Hallicrafters, and perhaps an S-40 as well (birthday was last
>> month and my SO bought me something she thought I needed.. and in
>> fact -did- need; she's a peach. but I'd really like to treat myself, 
>> grin).
>>
>>    Please RSVP either on- or off-list; special rates for retired 
>> folks would
>> be just loverly.
>>       Thanks in advance,
>>
>>        73 de KC9KEL Terry Bakowski, on-air someday soon I hope
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