Trivia question

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Hey Johnny, do you remember where you saw the Avenger? It's been probably a decade or more now, but I'm pretty sure one showed up at Hosstraders when they were still having it up at Rochester NH in the late 90s. There was quite a hubbub about it at the time due to its scarcity. Didn't see it myself, probably too busy drooling over Big Al's radio shelter with the functioning ART-13 complete with dynamotor. Everytime he keyed the mic it said 'weeeeEEEEEEEEEEeeeee'.

 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Could be this; the Hallicrafters SX-112:

Pete,
        Are you sure they were never produced?? I remember seeing what I thought was 2 of them at the Howard County fester in West Friendship a few years ago. this tailgater had 2 of them, unfortunately they were both in really bad shape. both had been badly cat-pissed with very rusty chassis's. And both of them had cracked or broken dial glasses. If one of them would have had a good dial glass I would have probably took the gamble to buy both of them in hopes of making 1 good one. I thought they were pretty cool looking radios.

they didnt make that many models of the "big box" radios with slide rule dials. IIRC it was only the SX62 and the 101 series. the 2 that I saw at the fester looked just like the one in this picture. Now it kinda makes me wish I had bought one or both just for a conversation piece!!

                                                                The Slab Bacon

Well, we know they made one or this picture would have been difficult to take. I believe only three prototypes were built. None went into production.

Slide-rule dials, "big-box radios"  from Hallicrafters probably include S-47, S-108, S-129, SX-62, SX-71, SX-101, SX-110, SX-111, SX-130, SX-133, SX-146.
There were also a number of smaller/lighter weight slide-rule dial radios from Hallicrafters.

[w3jn]

Hey Johnny, do you remember where you saw the Avenger?

 

That probably would have been 1998 or 1999, at W3HM's with HUZ and N9MC on our way to Dayton.

Back when I was in college in Mankato, MN (about 30 mi west of Waseca), EFJ used to hold mini-hamfests and the EFJ radio club would sell off boxes of their prototypes, engineering mockups, etc.  I got one of the first cellphones ever; it was EFJ's prototype for service testing in Chicago and Dallas (according to the labels on the EPROMs).  It was the size of a Motorola Micor and the control head was just a hanger-upper for the handset with a couple of pushbuttons on it.  I ended up tossing it when I moved to DC, but I wonder what other cool stuff ended up with hams in teh southern MN area.

EFJ stuff was *very* popular in MN, and no mid-80s hamfest was complete without a couple people tossing Viking IIs, Valiants, etc in the dumpster (I once saw someone heft a 500 into the dumpster - I remember the PS/modulator maded a spectacular crash as it smashed thru the top of the RF unit).  Course back then the stuff was the object of much disdain, there being *no* AM activity in MN that I ever heard back then.

[K1ZJH]

About as rare as the SX-1000   

[Pete, WA2CWA]

About as rare as the SX-1000   

At least they made a few SX-112 prototypes. Hallicrafters only made a mock-up of the SX-1000 with cardboard and metal, a few real front panel parts, knobs glued to the front panel, no electronics, etc.

[The Slab Bacon]

Could be this; the Hallicrafters SX-112:

Pete,
        Are you sure they were never produced?? I remember seeing what I thought was 2 of them at the Howard County fester in West Friendship a few years ago. this tailgater had 2 of them, unfortunately they were both in really bad shape. both had been badly cat-pissed with very rusty chassis's. And both of them had cracked or broken dial glasses. If one of them would have had a good dial glass I would have probably took the gamble to buy both of them in hopes of making 1 good one. I thought they were pretty cool looking radios.

they didnt make that many models of the "big box" radios with slide rule dials. IIRC it was only the SX62 and the 101 series. the 2 that I saw at the fester looked just like the one in this picture. Now it kinda makes me wish I had bought one or both just for a conversation piece!!

                                                                The Slab Bacon

Well, we know they made one or this picture would have been difficult to take. I believe only three prototypes were built. None went into production.

Slide-rule dials, "big-box radios"  from Hallicrafters probably include S-47, S-108, S-129, SX-62, SX-71, SX-101, SX-110, SX-111, SX-130, SX-133, SX-146.
There were also a number of smaller/lighter weight slide-rule dial radios from Hallicrafters.

Now you've got my curiosity racing! I'll have to dig out "the book" when I get home tonight and try and figger out what they were!

the 1000 is way friggin kool!! It would be neat if they would have gotten into production!

[k4kyv]

If anybody has one please realize that for 120V operation it has the neutral and ground leads tied together, a big NEC no-no. I dont know if that was a Johnson or Henry gaffe but thats the way it arrived here and shows in the manual.

A common bad practice with Johnson.  The Desk KW is also set up with ground/neutral tied together along with most of the other high power Johnson gear running on 240 volts; I guess that was the way things were done in the 50's.  

That's the way the Gates BC1-T is set up.  I separated the neutral from the ground in mine.  I think other broadcast transmitters were wired the same way.

EFJ stuff was *very* popular in MN, and no mid-80s hamfest was complete without a couple people tossing Viking IIs, Valiants, etc in the dumpster (I once saw someone heft a 500 into the dumpster - I remember the PS/modulator maded a spectacular crash as it smashed thru the top of the RF unit).  Course back then the stuff was the object of much disdain, there being *no* AM activity in MN that I ever heard back then.

Somebody had to have been pretty damned stupid.  Did anyone dumpster-dive and retrieve it? 

I recall that attitude being prevalent during the late 60's and throughout the early to mid 70's. I was derided many times at hamfests by others as they watched me haul things like plate transformers, oil capacitors, modulation transformers, black wrinkle panels and chassis bases, large transmitting triodes, etc. to the vehicle. But by the mid-80's, that kind of stuff was once again fetching real money at most of the hamfests I attended.

To this day, I feel disdain for the term "boatanchor".  However, I got in the last laugh, buying all those items for pennies on the dollar, seeing what people are willing to pay to-day and what audiophools are shelling out for big triodes these days.

[WQ9E]

I recall that attitude being prevalent during the late 60's and throughout the early to mid 70's. I was derided many times at hamfests by others as they watched me haul things like plate transformers, oil capacitors, modulation transformers, black wrinkle panels and chassis bases, large transmitting triodes, etc. to the vehicle. But by the mid-80's, that kind of stuff was once again fetching real money at most of the hamfests I attended.

To this day, I feel disdain for the term "boatanchor".  However, I got in the last laugh, buying all those items for pennies on the dollar, seeing what people are willing to pay to-day and what audiophools are shelling out for big triodes these days.

Don,

As the old saying goes, "He who laughs last, laughs best" and you certainly got the last laugh with your grabbing soon to be valuable "trash".  I am glad you saved so much of the good stuff.

[K9PNP]

Don and all.  Saw the same things happen to old gear.  Still see it at times.  Guess that is why my basement is a mess.  Looks like a 50's and 60's tech supply room just not as neat.

Mitch  K9PNP

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Now you've got my curiosity racing! I'll have to dig out "the book" when I get home tonight and try and figger out what they were!

the 1000 is way friggin kool!! It would be neat if they would have gotten into production!

The Hallicrafters SX-1000 and SX-112, along with the Squires Sanders SS-1T and the Hammarlunds HQ-66, PRO 200 transceiver, HXQ-300 transceiver (about 20/25 prototypes were built), and a number of others, sit among the amateur radio clouds. Hey, how many of you have a Hammarlund HR-10 receiver?

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

The Clegg Comet would probably be in that category too, Pete. Though it'll likely never function, someday I'll have mine dressed up enough to at least look good. Kind of a cross between the Venus and 22er MKII. Then there's the Lulus.....