[Hammarlund] Old Hammarlunds

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:04 PM, Carl <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:

> Unless you completely dissamble the coil box and thoroughly degunk the pins
> as well as restore the fixed contacts to shiny silver they will never be
> stable, that holds for the complete family to the NC-240D.

I expect that's true of the Super Pros too, though to a lesser extent
as the system they used was a non-arcing/self-cleaning approach.
Still, after some 70 or more years, they could likely benefit from a
decent clean and re-lube, where needed.

> Those are the ones used in the console radios, they must have tried
> everything to get the consumer homeowner to take an interest in their radios
> for the LR and den...to no avail.

I think price had the most to do with it, though just reading their
manual gives the impression that someone was suffering from multiple
personalities. Clearly they built the thing for professional
applications like military, maritime, and so on. Then they added the S
model with the extended HF coverage to better appeal to the amateur
market. But early models also had a phono input allowing consumers to
utilize the P-P output amp. So while they targeted commercial markets,
they also wanted it to be a jack-of-all-trades as they went forward.
Offering the Jensen upgrade was just one more piece of the puzzle.


>> I bet you'll like the 400 once you bring it online. It makes a big
>> difference when you have an example running up to spec vs. a tired
>> version needing a recap, alignment, and all the rest.
>
> As with all BA's. The HQ-120/129 in particular get a lot of bad press from
> those who havent a clue what they are doing or what to expect.

It's still quite a marvel that while others had entry level receivers
like the Sky Buddy or NC-80, Hammarlund had the marvelous HQ-120
updated later to the 129. What a beginner's set that would've been! As
with the Super Pros, the fact that they still work (somewhat) after
years of use/abuse/neglect ends up being a curse for those who plug it
in and complain. Fortunately time and interest has shown at least some
that returning an old to its original operating specifications before
a critical evaluation yields far better results. It's still an old
radio, not a new whizbang Yaecomwood, but much easier to enjoy and
appreciate.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4