[JMS] More of several comments on the National SW-54

[JAMES HANLON]

Not to carry this on forever, but I strongly suspect that the larger manufacturers like Hallicrafters and National purchased their parts in bulk regardless of which radio they were for.  In particular, I found the same types of capacitors, resistors and even molded plastic octal sockets in the very cheap Echophone EC-1 as in the top-of-the-line SX-28.  Hallicrafters certainly could have put cheaper, wafer sockets in the EC-1, but it may have cost them just as much if not more to buy smaller lots of two different kinds of sockets.  Sherrill may well be right about the supposition that they may have pushed the edge of the wattage rating on the resistors on the lower end radios.  I do have several pre-war sets that still have almost all of their original compliment of paper capacitors, including an RME-69 and 70, Nationals SW3, FB7, NC-200, NC-80X, an SX-28 and two EC-1's.  Interestingly in the NC-200 a bunch of the ceramic trimmer caps failed due to silver oxidation I think.  

I too like my radios to work.  I use many of them on a regular basis, and they all get a work-out at least twice a year for the Classic Exchange.  I usually have a few repairs to make both before and after each CX, but then that's what comes of running 24 receivers and about 35 transmitters that are anywhere from 50 to 73 years old.  

73,

Jim, w8KGI