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Another new member -- intro

 

I have just been approved as a member of this list and have been busy reading many of the posts to familiarize myself with it. I am not a licensed amateur radio operator but have been a SWL since high school in the Sixties. I "discovered" shortwave when my father let me fiddle with his 1936 RCA Victor 2-band consumer radio which he had purchased new. I found it in my parents' attic ca. 1990 and restored it. I own two Hallicrafters receivers--an almost-functioning S20R which I've owned for a couple of years, and an SX-28 (not an "A" model) which I've owned and used for over 30 years and which failed a couple of months ago. I intend to get both operating before long and will probably have a few questions about them for this list along the way. Looking forward to following many of the topics discussed here.
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Tom
 
Edited

Welcome, Tom.? I'm also new to this forum.? I've been a ham for 30+ years now and in the past several years have gotten into vintage receivers and transmitters.? I hope saying this doesn't get me in trouble, but antiqueradios.com and amfone.net are also great resources to scour when looking for info on vintage gear.
My most recent Halli endeavor is a SX-23 from 1939:
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Good luck with the S-20R and the SX-28!
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73,
Nick W1NJC
 
Edited

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That’s the best looking SX-23 I’ve seen.? Congrats!

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Paul, W9AC

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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Nick, W1NJC via groups.io
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2025 1:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [HallicraftersRadios] Another new member -- intro

?

Welcome, Tom.? I'm also new to this forum.? I've been a ham for 30+ years now and in the past several years have gotten into vintage receivers and transmitters.? I hope saying this doesn't get me in trouble, but antiqueradios.com and amfone.net are also great resources to scour when looking for info on vintage gear.

My most recent Halli endeavor is a SX-23 from 1939:

?

?

Good luck with the S-20R and the SX-28!

?

73,

Nick W1NJC
 
Edited

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Nick

Beautiful radio

Tom Latimer


On 1/10/2025 13:21, Nick, W1NJC via groups.io wrote:

Welcome, Tom.? I'm also new to this forum.? I've been a ham for 30+ years now and in the past several years have gotten into vintage receivers and transmitters.? I hope saying this doesn't get me in trouble, but antiqueradios.com and amfone.net are also great resources to scour when looking for info on vintage gear.
My most recent Halli endeavor is a SX-23 from 1939:
?
?
Good luck with the S-20R and the SX-28!
?
73,
Nick W1NJC
 

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Tom

Welcome from another "SWL / non ham" guy

You will be amazed at the amount of knowledge from these guys here

Tom Latimer




On 1/10/2025 12:34, Allthumbs via groups.io wrote:

I have just been approved as a member of this list and have been busy reading many of the posts to familiarize myself with it. I am not a licensed amateur radio operator but have been a SWL since high school in the Sixties. I "discovered" shortwave when my father let me fiddle with his 1936 RCA Victor 2-band consumer radio which he had purchased new. I found it in my parents' attic ca. 1990 and restored it. I own two Hallicrafters receivers--an almost-functioning S20R which I've owned for a couple of years, and an SX-28 (not an "A" model) which I've owned and used for over 30 years and which failed a couple of months ago. I intend to get both operating before long and will probably have a few questions about them for this list along the way. Looking forward to following many of the topics discussed here.
?
Tom
 

Good luck with the S-20R, they are actually good receivers. I bought
one, supposedly restored, several years ago and found that while it
worked the restorer had done a pretty crude job, so it did it properly.
I did change the detector and noise limiter to the circuit used in the
S-40, which had less distortion (detector). Would not have made the
change if the original restorer had not made a lot of changes previously.
My first short wave receiver was a new S-38B. Had I not been a dumb
little kid or had some help we (my parents of course payed for it) could
probably have gotten a used S-20R for the same money. Its a couple of
steps up from the S-38B. I had that S-38B until it was accidently sold
with a bunch of stuff I had in storage and needed to get rid of.
Anyway, the S-20R is worth the effort. I have another to be restored
on the back burner. Beware that the stuff inside may not be exactly what
the handbook shows. I think Hallicrafters used whatever was on hand to
get stuff out the back door. Modern film capacitors will do wonders for
it. You can get exact duplicate can elecrolytics from Hayseed Hamfest.
I encourage you to get a ham license if you are interested in radio
or electronics. Lots of free learning material on the web.


On 1/10/2025 9:34 AM, Allthumbs via groups.io wrote:
I have just been approved as a member of this list and have been busy
reading many of the posts to familiarize myself with it.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998
 

Thank you Richard, Paul and Nick. Yes, I've read that the S-20R is a pretty decent receiver and worth repairing/restoring. I passed on the Hayseed Hamfest can electrolytic and just used discrete caps when going through the power supply. I also converted to a 3-wire power cord and changed out all but the old mica caps (which rarely fail in my limited experience). The rcvr now "hears" a clean signal injected at the plate of the 6K8 mixer but the local oscillator isn't functioning. If it did, I'm pretty sure it would be a fully operational rcvr. I need to put the thing back on the bench and go over things once again to make sure I have a clear picture of the issues. I hope to do that this coming week and you can be sure I'll have a few questions. :-)
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Tom
 

I echo the sentiment, best looking SX-23.
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So I put in a place of honor on the front page.

K2WH
 

All I can suggest is to look for any wiring errors you may have
made. it IS possible for a new part to be defective but its rare. Just
should not be forgotten. If the LO doesn't work on all bands there is
not a whole lot that is common. First thing is make sure the band switch
is clean. New caps, especially replacing paper with plastic film, will
improve performance on the highest band but you are up against all sorts
of problems there including the types of tubes available at the time.
I have used just discrete caps in place of old can caps, mostly a
matter of looks but in some crowded chassis the can caps save a lot of
space.
BTW, note that the headphone connection is high impedance, goes to
the plate of the driver stage, so modern low impedance phones won't work.


On 1/10/2025 4:08 PM, Allthumbs via groups.io wrote:
Thank you Richard, Paul and Nick. Yes, I've read that the S-20R is a
pretty decent receiver and worth repairing/restoring. I passed on the
Hayseed Hamfest can electrolytic and just used discrete caps when going
through the power supply. I also converted to a 3-wire power cord and
changed out all but the old mica caps (which rarely fail in my limited
experience). The rcvr now "hears" a clean signal injected at the plate
of the 6K8 mixer but the local oscillator isn't functioning. If it did,
I'm pretty sure it would be a fully operational rcvr. I need to put the
thing back on the bench and go over things once again to make sure I
have a clear picture of the issues. I hope to do that this coming week
and you can be sure I'll have a few questions. :-)
Tom

_._,_._,_
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998
 

Wow, Bill. Thanks!?
?
I finished the escutcheon a bit differently than stock. When I was cleaning it up I realized the entire piece was chromed steel and they had masked the "wings" when they painted it. The paint was a dull grayish brown and was scratched and peeling in several places. I ended up removing all of the paint (hot water and a toothbrush) and found Rust-o-leum "metallic oil rubbed bronze" at Walmart. I decided to mask the wings and?the Skyrider emblem in the center. I think it looks a lot better this way and I'm not sure why they opted to paint the emblem at the factory.
?
Anyway, it's a neat rig. I was using it in an AM QSO last night on 75m. Single RF stage so it's more of a looker than a performer, I guess. Still, I find it works quite well with surprisingly low drift. Plus it's just neat and nostalgic to operate an 86 year-old beauty like this!
?
Nick W1NJC?
 

Heartwarming to see S 38 restorations. It was never a great performer but so many of us had one as our first radio. You never forget your first.?

Mark
AF6IM



On Sat, Jan 11, 2025 at 6:35?AM Nick, W1NJC via <njc=[email protected]> wrote:
Wow, Bill. Thanks!?
?
I finished the escutcheon a bit differently than stock. When I was cleaning it up I realized the entire piece was chromed steel and they had masked the "wings" when they painted it. The paint was a dull grayish brown and was scratched and peeling in several places. I ended up removing all of the paint (hot water and a toothbrush) and found Rust-o-leum "metallic oil rubbed bronze" at Walmart. I decided to mask the wings and?the Skyrider emblem in the center. I think it looks a lot better this way and I'm not sure why they opted to paint the emblem at the factory.
?
Anyway, it's a neat rig. I was using it in an AM QSO last night on 75m. Single RF stage so it's more of a looker than a performer, I guess. Still, I find it works quite well with surprisingly low drift. Plus it's just neat and nostalgic to operate an 86 year-old beauty like this!
?
Nick W1NJC?


--
AF6IM
www.parachutemobile.com
 

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Nick, many months ago I posted a link to the QST 5 page ad for ?the 23

See ??????/g/HallicraftersRadios/message/25703 ?for link

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,_._,_


--
don??? va3drl
 

Oh wow! Thanks, Don! I'd been looking for that!?
 

If anyone has, or knows where I can find an S meter for the SX-23, please let me know. Mine is missing. Otherwise the rig is intact.?

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