[Hammarlund] Age list of HQ-129-X?

[Don Cunningham]

Richard,

Thanks for all that information.  First, my SP-400 has had the mod you 
referenced, and I would really just as soon put it back to normal here 
as well.  If you or anyone can remember which issue of CQ that the 
article was in, I'd like to find a copy of that article to help in the 
re-wiring.  The seller of this one said it made the receiver "much 
quieter", and since it was DOA it was certainly quiet!!  I found 5 tubes 
that wouldn't come up at all, and figured the poor packing job he did 
contributed to the demise of the tubes, so I just replaced them.  Still 
very silent (dead), but will get it back in the queue soon and trace 
why.  Most of my old receiver use is 40M or below, so quietness is a 
relative term anyway.  I'll keep all these improvements in mind, and I 
thank you for them.  I also have a BC-779, in the original rack, but it 
looks truly all original and was stored for a LONG time in poor 
storage.  It will be a real project that may be left to the next guy.

My SP-600 was one of the later ones with all disc caps instead of brown 
beauties, and I did get it running in a fashion, but lots of necessary 
cleaning and reviving to do on it.  The Hayseed cap was the first thing 
to go in this one before the variac even.  I made a purchase a few years 
back that I haven't regretted.  Harbor Freight had their 1000 lb "lift 
table" on sale and I invested in one, otherwise I would no longer be 
doing these "anchors".  You do have to get it up the initial 5 or 6 
inches, but you can build a ramp or try to always store new arrivals on 
a shelf so you can just pump the table up to the proper level.  Mine 
goes to 42" which seems to fit around here all places.  It is NOT cheap 
nor cheaply built, like much of their stuff once was and has kept me 
able to play longer.
Thanks again,
Don, WB5HAK

On 3/23/2020 11:06 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
> The SP-400 is a very fine receiver. My first station receiver was a 
> surplus BC-779, a version of the SP-200. The 40Mhz version used a 
> different arrangement for the RF stages with parallel fed plates, 
> series fed in the standard and MF models. I am not sure what is in the 
> 400. I think the 400 may not have the Faraday screens in the antenna 
> coils.
>    One thing all of the series need is a regulator for the LO. A 
> VR-150 under the chassis works fine but the plate resistor for the LO 
> should be changed from 12K to about 8K. Without the regulator the LO 
> tends to pull with the AVC voltage. The late 400 also had a TC cap in 
> the LO across the tuning capacitor. I don't know the value, maybe 
> about 5pF, N-750. Will reduce the warm up drift. I let mine run all 
> the time and it was very stable that way. Since mine had been modified 
> when I got it I tried all sorts of things in the RF, converter, and 
> LO. The original circuit works about as well as anything. Mine had the 
> cathode coupled triode mod shown in an old CQ magazine. It worked but 
> the original circuit works better. The modified circuit may have been 
> quieter but it loaded the RF coils so reduced RF selectivity.
>    Anyway, its worth putting some work into. I still have this receiver.
>    I have two SP-600-JX receivers on the back burner. My problem is 
> that I can't lift them any more. Hayseed Hamfest makes a correct power 
> supply cap for them. If yours have the original paper caps they need a 
> complete recaping. You may find a few mica caps bad too. Check the 
> 51pF cap in the BFO since it seems to develop a jump.
>    Do NOT bend the tuning capacitor plates. They should be straight. 
> However, the stators and fixed with screw clamps and fiber washers and 
> can drift off. They are not difficult to re-center. Some people seem 
> to have done plate bending to get calibration. Of course they make it 
> impossible and its usually impossible to straighten out the plates 
> again. I think they were trying to compensate for mis centered stators.
>
> On 3/20/2020 9:04 PM, Don Cunningham wrote:
>> I also have two of the HQ-129X in the repair queue.  Both have the 
>> white lettering, but are not stored where I can see the serial 
>> numbers.  I am currently working on reviving a Super Pro SP-400-X and 
>> an SP-600, so the 129's and an HQ-180 will have to wait.
>>
>> Hayseed filter caps have always worked fine for me, and are the first 
>> things I do before even firing the rig up initially.  I am more of a 
>> "user" than doing restorations, I just like the old receivers.
>> 73,
>> Don, WB5HAK (formerly WPE5CTN MANY years ago, HI)
>>
>> On 3/20/2020 4:17 PM, Ray LaRue wrote:
>>> I have acquired a rather nice HQ-129-X in good physical condition.  
>>> I have not yet recapped it but will get to it shortly.  I am pairing 
>>> it up with a nice rebuilt Johnson Ranger for an operating "classic" 
>>> station, to go along with my rice boxes.
>>>
>>> Is there a list of serial numbers online where I could estimate it's 
>>> age?   The serial number on this one is #14574, stamped into the 
>>> back of the chassis.
>>>
>>> Your attention is appreciated.
>>> Ray, W4BYG
>>>
>>
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