[Hammarlund] Please Respond To Historical Research

[Richard.McClung@Dielectric.spx.com]

RICH  WA6KNW / WPE6AKQ

1. What do you consider to be the best vacuum tube general coverage 
receiver?
        Number 1 the R-390/URR - R-390A/URR
Why?
        I was lucky enough to utilized these receivers whilst a member of 
our 
        armed forces and found them to be splendid receivers. The noise 
floor of 
        a properly aligned R-390(*) is hard to beat. Frequency stability 
and 
        dial resetability was within 300Hz. I currently have 6 R-390A's 
and 1 R-390.
 
        Number 2 would be the Rhode & Scwartz EK07
Why?
        The design and engineering is marvelous. The receiver is a great 
performer 
        and it's slide rule dial is extremely accurate. I have 1 EK07.
 
 
2. What do you consider to be the vacuum tube receiver with the best audio
reproduction? 
        The older Hammarlund SP-100, 200, 400's and probably the 600.
Why? 
        The audio output circuits were well designed and would given any 
HI-HI 
        amplifier system a run for it's money. 
 

3. What do you consider to be the best vacuum tube receiver for both AM 
and FM
listening?
        The only receivers in this class that I've used were the SX-62B, 
the R-220 
        and the R-1390. The first one being a Hallicrafters and the last 2 
were 
        military surveillance receivers.
Why?
        The SX-62B was great for listening to FM broadcast with the good 
audio section 
        it had. The military radios were good at finding the signals but 
the low level 
        600 Ohm audio and the weird IF bandpass made for less than Hi-Fi 
audio quality. 
 

4. Which vacuum tube receiver have you enjoyed listening to the most since 
first
becoming interested in radio? 
        The Hammarlund RBG-2.
Why? 
        It was my first.................. 
 

5. What is the best vacuum tube receiver built for Ham band only coverage?
        The HAM BANDS ONLY receivers I've ever owned was the Heathkit 
SB-301, 
        and the Collins 74A-3. I have used and always liked the 
Hallicrafters 
        SX-101 series of receivers.
 Why? 
        The Hallicrafters sounded great on AM/CW and looked way 
cool........


6. What is the best sounding Ham band only vacuum tube receiver? 
        I'd have to say the Collins 74A-4.
Why? 
        It's hard to beat that sound of SSB thru the Collins mechanical 
filter. 
 
7. What company built the greatest number of good performing vacuum tube 
general
coverage receivers?
        The key phrase here is general coverage, so I'd have to say 
Collins. 
        Collins designed some great general coverage receivers and the 
greatest of 
        them [R-390(*),R-392, R-648] were built by other company's.  
 
8. Defining the term 'vintage' to be a receiver that is at least 
twenty-five
years old, or built prior to 1978, which one is the best overall 
performing
general coverage receiver? 
        IMHO it is the R-390.
Why? 
        When the R-390 is properly aligned and attached to a good antenna 
system 
        it is hard to find a receiver with better sensitivity, S/SNR, and 
a noise 
        floor that is not easily equaled. 
 
9. Using the same criteria as in the previous question, which receiver had 
the
best audio quality? 
        Again, I have to defer to the older Hammarlunds.
Why?
        The quality of the circuit design of the audio stages.  
 
10. If you could have any receiver ever manufactured, which one would you 
choose
and why? 
        That's a hard question to answer. I've got quite a few of 
receivers in my 
        collection.     And there are always more receivers out there to 
WANT. I guess 
        I'd like to has a National RAS receiver system. I do have several 
National 
        HRO's in my collection but they are newer HRO-50's and 60's.  I'd 
like to 
        have a complete RAS because I can remember seeing some of them in 
use by 
        the Navy in the early 50's on Guam and was impressed    by them; 
so smartly 
        racked up with the speaker, coil rack, power supply, and HRO 
receiver. The 
        audio wasn't too shabby either.......