[Swan] Interesting Swan Radios

[Dave Hollander]

The reflector has been quiet so I will add my two sense worth.

I am Dave, N7RK in Phoenix. I primarily collect pre-war Hallicrafters,
National and others but lately have gotten re-interested in Swan
equipment as I had Swan  and Atlas gear in the late 1960, and 1970's

I picked up these Swan units at the Tucson Hamfest a few months ago and
finally got to check them out. I have a few questions that hopefully
someone here can answer.

The first is a Swan 500C. Would be no big deal but it has small plate
below the main tuning that says
SS-16B Special. Can anyone tell me what this is about as I have found
nothing on the web on this. Here are a couple of photos.

http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swan500ss16b.jpg
http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swan500ss16b2.jpg

The next is a super clean Swan 240 and Swan 117AC AC power supply which
came with the original manual and factory mod sheets. This caught my eye
because of the power supply and condition. Eevery 240 I have ever seen
looked like it had been through a war (or someone's car!). I have been a
ham for 40 years, and never saw an AC supply for the 240. Did not know
that they made them as I figured that most 240's were used mobile. Like
the 117XC, this has a speaker inside and it is the same size as the
117XC. The 240 also has a factory or factory authorized mod - selectable
sidebands. I have never seen this before either. Here are some photos.


http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swan240.jpg
http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swan240ps.jpg
http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swan240andps.jpg

The last is a Swan MB-40 which is a single band solid state radio. What
year was this made? I see traces of an Atlas 210X looking at this one.
Does anyone have a manual or info on this. Here is a picture

http://members.cox.net/n7rk/swanmb40.jpg

Also have a Swan 350 ( not the one I had as a kid) that I use on
occasion. I grew up in southern California about 45 miles from
Oceanside. My dad took me down to the Swan factory when I was 13 to pick
up a Swan 350 that he bought for me (he was not a ham than but he worked
for Collins Radio in Newport Beach, CA at the time). I remember meeting
Herb Johnson and getting a tour of the factory. About 4 years later, I
drove down there myself to pick up a Swan 270 Cygnet  that my dad had
arranged a purchase of through some friend at Swan.I used this mobile
and during college until I replaced it with an Atlas 210X.  One final
Swan thing - I know one of the original Swan employees who worked at
Swan in Benson, Arizona back when it started. He lives here in Glendale,
Arizona and has some interesting stories about the early days at Swan.

73,
Dave N7RK

***********************************************************
Dave  N7RK                    Home Page: http://members.cox.net/n7rk
Phoenix, Arizona         *DXCC Honor Roll*    *WAZ#23 - 75 Meter SSB*

            ex-XE2/N7RK, N7RK/ZB2, VK2ERK, ZM0AJN, WB6NRK, WN6IWX

Boatanchor and Antique Radio Collector Extraordinaire preferring
Hallicrafters, National and what ever else looks interesting!