[Hammarlund] Hammarlund/Collins/Star Roamer

[Mike Taylor]

It's amazing how many things affect the way our radios perform. My Star
Roamer gets perhaps 80% of what my HQ-180 and HQ-110C (yes the clock is
original and works) can hear. It's my bedside rig and amazingly stable on
SSB. I built it in 1970. A true gem at $39.95  Both Hammarlunds are also
rock stable after a 30 minute warm -up. But none of them used to be. I had
them in a location where they were subject to moving air from a nearby
overhead ventilation duct. Every time the furnace or air conditioner ran,
they would drift all over the place. Now that they're away from moving air,
they're very stable. As for Hammarlund HQ series dial calibration, we had
quite a debate for a few days on this last summer here on the list. The 180
and 110 can achieve nearly perfect calibration but it's a pain in the rump
to do. No tech at Mars Hill had the time to do the painstaking work
required. This is why we have crystal calibrators and moveable crosshairs.
But it can be done. Just depends on how meticulous you are and how much
patience you have. I'm single and smart enough to know not to marry any
woman who's too poor to finance things like SP-600's and R390's. And of
course she would have to be strong enough to throw 200 feet of wire over the
tops of 60 foot trees. 73's, Mike.