[Hammarlund] Cecil Acuff SP600

[Grant Youngman]

> > Product detctors, both outboard and inboard, can be purchased or 
> > constructed to make sideband reception more viable on these old 
> > radios, but these sets are at their best on wideband AM -- which is 
> > what they were designed for.  

I use either a Hammarlund HC-10 or C-E Slicer with my SP-600.  On the low
bands up through 40 it works reasonably well.  20M and up, it's the
stability of the receiver and the lack of bandspread tuning that makes SSB
difficult at best.  At one time I had a product detector in the radio, but
pulled it out in favor of the external units.

The last 600, the SP-600-JX-21A had a product detector and crystal
controlled BFO for SSB.  I passed one by once (for a kilobuck, in the
mid-90's) and wish I'd not been so stupid.  In any event, it is otherwise
electrically a same-same SP-600 and suffers from similar issues on the
higher frequency bands.

But the SP-600 is a fine AM radio ... and IMHO absolutely the best
band-cruiser around.

Grant/NQ5T