[Hammarlund] 129x, etc.

[Williams, Barry]

The fast tuning rate of the early receivers takes a bit of practice.  

I recently read an advertisement that mentions National's manufacturing
capability, it reminded me of a statement that National and Hammarlund were
manufacturers, and all the rest were assemblers.  

I have recently been involved with National HROs (about 30 of them), and
decided that to fully understand the HRO I should look at the best
competition, so now I have 6 Super Pros and a Comet Pro.  Hard to determine
whether to turn on my favorite HRO5RA-1, or my SPR-210 SX when I get the
chance.  The Hammarlund has better audio quality, bandspread over a greater
range, and doesn't have the external coils.  On the other hand, the HRO is
stable enough for CW or SSB in 30 minutes and once you have a calibration
chart, you can return to the frequency with a lot better accuracy.

I believe that the Byrd expedition to the Antarctic in 1939 carried Super
Pros and HQ-129Xs.  It seems that the December 1939 QST had pictures of rack
after rack of these receivers.  

I've been trying to resist the National NC series as well as the Hammarlund
HQ series.  Unfortunately I do have one early NC-101X, so I'm afraid that an
HQ-120 or 129 may be in my future. 

73,
Barry
KD5VC
Super Pros and HROs

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