SR-500 Tornado
开云体育
Hi Scott,
The Tornado (SR-500) is an excellent tri-bander. It is a single conversion receiver that performs better than a lot of dual?conversion rigs. With its 250 to 300 watt output it will punch through the noise. The SR-500 is actually an SR-160 with a beefed up
PA subsystem and a power supply providing higher voltages.
The 8236 tubes ARE a problem. Although these are magnificent tubes, with solid carbon block plates, they do occasionally go bad. There are not many good sources for them. When you do run across them there is no guarantee that?they will be matched. Matching
is key to proper operation of the PA.?
The 6DQ5 is a direct replacement for?the 8236. There is a problem with the height of 6DQ5. They come in various?sizes and even with the shortest tubes you need to dimple the PA gage cover.?
The final Achilles heel is the vfo. The 500, like all the SR series rigs, are three times older than the shelf life of its temperature compensating capacitors. This is not a difficult problem to solve, replace C129 NPO and C133 N470.
I hope I have not scared you off the quest for a Tornado. But all ventage rigs require a little TLC.
I have written a repair manual for the SR-500 Tornado. It is a no cost download at:
Good luck with your quest, 73.
Walt Cates, WD0GOF
?
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Scott WA9WFA via groups.io <whitebear1122@...>
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 12:21 AM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [HallicraftersRadios] SR-500 Tornado ?
Hi, Lately I’ve been waxing nostalgic about the old Hallicrafters transceivers. ?A friend loaned me his SR-160 for several months back in 1971 while I was in Senior in High School and I used it for that
summer before heading off to the Vietnam War. ? It was a wonderful transceiver! ?
The premium Hurricane, Cyclone, and Tornado have fascinated me for many years but I never pursued them during my collecting years. ?The collecting years are long over and I’ve sold 99% of my collection with only a few left, but I’m still
intrigued by those premium Halli transceivers.?
Maybe I need another one just to enjoy the nostalgia it gives.?I’m thinking of buying a Tornado for my one last remaining SSB tube transceiver.
The Hurricane and Cyclone scare me in terms of big size and complexity of repair. ?What about the Tornado? ?Do you Tornado owners find them easy or hard to repair? ?Are final amplifier tubes available or do you have to rewire
the socket for something else? ?
What do you Tornado owners think of them? ? Do you know of any working one’s for sale?
Thanks. ?73, Scott WA9WFA
|
开云体育Hi Scott,
Talk about timing...
I have an SR-160 (upgraded to SR-500),
an SR-400, and matching P-500 power supply that I would like to
find a good home for (all in good working order and condition).
The SR-160 is a bit of an oddball in
that the original VFO had been replaced with a solid state VFO
when I got the rig. I don't know if this was something done by a
previous owner, or as a factory experiment or prototype. Because
this rig was already non-standard, I made the changes to upgrade
it to be functionally equivalent to the SR-500. Walt Cates (who
replied to you earlier and whom I consider the expert on these
rigs) had put together a list of differences/changes between the
two rigs.
As I only have the one power supply
(which works for either rig), I don't want to break up the set.
By the way, I also have an SR-2000 and
matching P-2000 power supply. All of these are great rigs, even by
today's standards (especially for someone who likes to fiddle with
real knobs instead of a computer screen).
Like you, I started in ham radio early
in life, getting my novice license in 1957 at the age of 12
(KN7DYB). Since then, I have been in and out of ham radio
depending upon the demands of real-life. When I retired from the
computer industry, I had enough time (and money) to nurture my
interests in vintage tube-type ham radios. I am more of a restorer
and tinkerer rather than operator, although I do get on the air
occasionally, mostly to check out whatever project I am working on
at the time.
If you are interested, I can send you
more information (photos, etc.). My email is good on QRZ.com.
Bob,? K7DYB
On 2/19/2025 1:21 AM, Scott WA9WFA via
groups.io wrote:
Hi, Lately I’ve been waxing nostalgic about the old Hallicrafters transceivers. ?A friend loaned me his SR-160 for several months back in 1971 while I was in Senior in High School and I used it for that summer before heading off to the Vietnam War. ? It was a wonderful transceiver! ?
|
开云体育Hi Scott,
Talk about timing...
I have an SR-160 (upgraded to
SR-500), an SR-400, and matching P-500 power supply that I would
like to find a good home for (all in good working order and
condition).
The SR-160 is a bit of an oddball in
that the original VFO had been replaced with a solid state VFO
when I got the rig. I don't know if this was something done by a
previous owner, or as a factory experiment or prototype. Because
this rig was already non-standard, I made the changes to upgrade
it to be functionally equivalent to the SR-500. Walt Cates (who
replied to you earlier and whom I consider the expert on these
rigs) had put together a list of differences/changes between the
two rigs.
As I only have the one power supply
(which works for either rig), I don't want to break up the set.
By the way, I also have an SR-2000
and matching P-2000 power supply. All of these are great rigs,
even by today's standards (especially for someone who likes to
fiddle with real knobs instead of a computer screen).
Like you, I started in ham radio
early in life, getting my novice license in 1957 at the age of
12 (KN7DYB). Since then, I have been in and out of ham radio
depending upon the demands of real-life. When I retired from the
computer industry, I had enough time (and money) to nurture my
interests in vintage tube-type ham radios. I am more of a
restorer and tinkerer rather than operator, although I do get on
the air occasionally, mostly to check out whatever project I am
working on at the time.
If you are interested, I can send you
more information (photos, etc.). My email is good on QRZ.com.
Bob,? K7DYB
- - - - - - -
On 2/19/2025 1:21 AM, Scott WA9WFA via groups.io wrote:Hi, Lately I’ve been waxing nostalgic about the old Hallicrafters transceivers. ?A friend loaned me his SR-160 for several months back in 1971 while I was in Senior in High School and I used it for that summer before heading off to the Vietnam War. ? It was a wonderful transceiver! ?
|
开云体育
There is no socket conversion needed. The 6DQ5 is a direct "plug and play".
Walt Cates, WD0GOF
?
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Scott WA9WFA via groups.io <whitebear1122@...>
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2025 12:17 AM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [HallicraftersRadios] SR-500 Tornado ?
Thank you Walt for your SR-160 and SR-500 information, weak points, and the finals. ?I think I've read an early post of yours talking about converting the 8236 tube socket to 6DQ5. ?I didn't have a clue about tube height though. ?Also didn't know about
the temperature compensation capacitor failure. ?I will download your SR-500 repair manual. ?I've seen your other repair manuals before and they are a godsend! ?
?
I'm going to keep my eyes open for an SR-500 Tornado to satisfy a nostalgic urge for the SR-160 and the long time desire to own one of the premium transceivers like the Tornado, Cyclone, Hurricane. ? If someone on the list knows of a nice condition Tornado
for sale, I'd appreciate hearing about it. ?
?
Thanks.. ?73, Scott WA9WFA
|
开云体育Hi All,
To wrap up part of this discussion,
Walt Cates' repair guide for the SR-160/SR-500, section 9.11,
lists the changes needed to convert the SR-160 to an SR-500. Other
than some component changes, the main change would be to change
the power supply from the PS-120-150 (a 150 watt transmitter
supply) to the PS-120-400 power supply. This supply has a higher
B+ for the finals (800v vs 550v) and higher current capabilities.
This is the same supply as is used for the SR-400.
In the case of the SR-500 (or converted
SR-160), either the 8236 tubes or the 6DQ5 tubes can be used. The
8236 tubes are much more rugged (but in short supply), but the
6DQ5 tubes will work fine although I am in agreement with using a
cooling fan in either case.
The SR-150 is a bit of a different
beast, and while it could be modified to use different finals and
power supply, it is not as straightforward and would involve a PA
socket change and rewiring. There was a bit of a "how much peak
power" can I get out of a given pair of tubes that took place
during the 70s's. The sweep tubes provide high peak current
capabilities, but with limited average power dissipation
(typically 35 watts). In my humble opinion, I think it would be
best to leave the SR-150 as it is rather than make significant
modifications to obtain a few more watts of output. Remember, it
take a 4x increase in power to provide a one "S" unit difference.
If you are wanting more power, maybe a better solution is to look
at using an external linear amplifier.
Just my two cents (oops, no more
pennies) worth,
Bob,? K7DYB
On 2/20/2025 4:42 PM, HF via groups.io
wrote:
|
开云体育
For the 160-500 conversion, the correct power supply is the P-500 or the PS-500-AC. The PS-500A-AC does not have the bias adjustment. If you want to use later versions of the PS-500XXXXX then you will need?to install the bias divider network.
Walt Cates, WD0GOF
?
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Robert Kembel <rwkembel@...>
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2025 6:14 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [HallicraftersRadios] SR-500 Tornado ?
Hi All,
To wrap up part of this discussion, Walt Cates' repair guide for the SR-160/SR-500, section 9.11, lists the changes needed to convert the SR-160 to an SR-500. Other than some component changes, the main change would be to change
the power supply from the PS-120-150 (a 150 watt transmitter supply) to the PS-120-400 power supply. This supply has a higher B+ for the finals (800v vs 550v) and higher current capabilities. This is the same supply as is used for the SR-400.
In the case of the SR-500 (or converted SR-160), either the 8236 tubes or the 6DQ5 tubes can be used. The 8236 tubes are much more rugged (but in short supply), but the 6DQ5 tubes will work fine although I am in agreement with
using a cooling fan in either case.
The SR-150 is a bit of a different beast, and while it could be modified to use different finals and power supply, it is not as straightforward and would involve a PA socket change and rewiring. There was a bit of a "how much
peak power" can I get out of a given pair of tubes that took place during the 70s's. The sweep tubes provide high peak current capabilities, but with limited average power dissipation (typically 35 watts). In my humble opinion, I think it would be best to
leave the SR-150 as it is rather than make significant modifications to obtain a few more watts of output. Remember, it take a 4x increase in power to provide a one "S" unit difference. If you are wanting more power, maybe a better solution is to look at using
an external linear amplifier.
Just my two cents (oops, no more pennies) worth,
Bob,? K7DYB
On 2/20/2025 4:42 PM, HF via groups.io wrote:
|
waltcates
Robert Kembel