SX28 now in shack

[ke7trp]

Picked up a great restored SX28 reciever today.  Really enjoying the sound.  Using it with my T368 tonight while I fix the SP600. The Volumn knob did not make it though the Am rally

This one had new resistors, New caps, New tubes,  Profesional repaint.  Just incredible.  I did not pay ebay prices either. The man was a fellow AMer and I think I got a great radio to use with the King on 160.

Clark

[N3DRB The Derb]

thats the way to snag em. Thats a good looking SX 28.

[WD5JKO]

The final touch for that SX-28 would be some nice dial light LED's...

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

You'll love that receiver, Clark. The shove-yank audio is sweet, and it just looks like a real radio should look. The flywheel tuning is nice and smooth, too. And if yours is all recapped, you've got it easy. Just sit back and enjoy spinning the dials.

[N3DRB The Derb]

kittys dig BA's. 

[The Slab Bacon]

kittys dig BA's. 

Yea, they like to piss on them!!   

[ke7trp]

That cat would never....    She just wants to be involved and loves the heat.  So the second I put that radio there, she jumped up.  This one is real nice and I enjoyed it last night.  So much band fade I just ended up spinning the dials on SW and Broadcash band.  What tones comming out of this thing!

c

[WB2EMS]

One of the first receivers I ever got to play with on the shortwave bands was a neighbors SX28. We were in junior high and he'd gotten it from an uncle and we used it for SWLing and Broadcast Band DXing. It was a great old beast of a radio and I have very fond memories of it. If I ever see a good one I would definitely try to snag it.

Nice pics and good memories.

[ke7trp]

THIS JUST IN!    1940s era SX28 out recieves $5000, 2009 Flex radio!


Here is the story of the old SX28

You may be too young to know the history of the development of the SX-28. In the late '30's and early 40's especially after Hitler invaded Poland, there came a need to monitor radio traffic from the US to other parts of the world and run SIGENT operations against Japan and Germany. There was no FCC or signal intercept system in place at that time. A fellow named George Sterling (W3DF) evolved. He was an Army officer during WWI and had experience establishing radio communications of that day. He later became a radio engineer in the Department of Commerce, the government agency which administered radio or rather "wireless" affairs at that time. He moved up through the ranks of the field organization, later the FRC and then the FCC becoming its head during WWII. During this time he organized and headed the Radio Intelligence Division, a far flung but closely integrated group of crack operators who kept detailed watch on enemy and spy communications. Following the war he became the FCC's Chief Engineer and later the Commissioner. During WWII he set up signal intercept and DF sites around the country and Hawaii. In order to do his intercept work, he needed a good reliable receiver. Most of the intercept work was in CW mode. He linked up with Bill Halligan of the Hallicrafters Co. and the by product was the SX-28. The receiver even today is impressive. Many were built but few have survived pristine condition.

[N2DTS]

I don't think so.

I had an SX17, very nice indeed, the wide/narrow IF switch worked well, good choices for AM.
Nice push pull audio, no driver transformer I think, really cool looking, the only downside was I had no idea what frequency it was tuned to.  There are ways around that.

Brett

[K9PNP]

Here is the story of the old SX28

Interesting.  Nice looking rcvr.  The only one I ever saw up close was as advertised above; think it was at W9AVO's [SK] QTH back when I was taking my Novice test.  Also, I remember reading about Sterling's Radio Intelligence Division in old GI intel reference books.  Never knew his call.  Good info.

[ke7trp]

I found the info interesting also. Its been great so far. Used it on 40 am.  Its nice to have a Flex killing Reciever that looks the part for a vintage station.  Highly recomend one.  But they are going to need ALOT of work.  THey are old.  This one had that work done and its a great performer.

C

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

They'll also crush the average HB receiver. Literally. 

Aside from audio output tranny issues (usually due to bad caps left in place), the other big problem with the 28s and other receivers using similar materials has been darkening of the translucent s-meter, tuning, and bandspread dials. Turns out there's a guy in Florida offering a complete set of replacements right down to the red band markings, for $70. You have to reuse your original dial hubs but he includes directions on how to do this. They make an otherwise clean set nearly perfect in appearance.

[ke7trp]

Neat.   Todd, Do you have the info for this guy?

C

[wb4iuy]

Picked up a great restored SX28 reciever today.  Really enjoying the sound. 

That's one good looking radio, Clark!

[K5UJ]

Congratulations Clark on the sx28.  Beautiful rx.

Rob

[W2DU]

This is a continuation of Clark's post re George Sterling, W3DF, W1AE, who founded the RID, the Radio Intelligence Division of the FCC.

I joined the RID in its first days--September 1940, as a monitoring officer at the Allegan, MI monitoring station. Immediately following Pearl Harbor I accompanied Sterling with a group of other monitors to Hawaii. There we set up nine secondary stations on all of the Islands, which also included 24/7 mobile operation around the coastlines, searching for offshore stations contacting local stations communicating with the enemy, using SX-28's and S-27's. The receivers were installed in Hudson sedans. It is important to know that no local Japanese Americans were found to be disloyal to the USA. I worked on all the Islands, except Lanai. All FCC monitoring stations used SX-28's, but the Primary stations used two Hammarlund Super-Pro's.

That was a very interesting time of my life. In April 1944 I received my draft notice and joined the US Navy as an electronic instructor until the end of WW2.

However, I was privy to some very interesting spy cases occurring in South America, the German embassy in DC, and other exotic places.

There were nine primary FCC monitoring stations in the US, the first one at Grand Island, Nebraska, but with Pearl Harbor, many secondary stations were set up across the country, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.

My HRO, which I still use for AM, was dedicated to receiving weather info received from Russian wx stations, and sent to the Army in the Aleutians as a guide for aircraft

[W2DU]

PS to my post above. The text kept jumping around, preventing me from finishing the post.

After WW2 my Dad, W8YNG, purchased an SX-28, which I inherited, but which I gave to son Rick, W8KHK. I recently purchased another one which needs restoring. The one Rick has is in mint condition, except it lacks a cabinet. It had a cabinet when my Dad used it, but we can't account for what happened to it.

Long live the venerable SX-28 !!!

Walt

[Mike/W8BAC]

I joined the RID in its first days--September 1940, as a monitoring officer at the Allegan, MI monitoring station.

Very interesting Walt. Did you know Paul Snyder/W8GLW? He also served at the Allegan monitoring station. A great article in the October 1944 QST about the RID and a photo of one of the mobile stations you mentioned.

Mike

[W2DU]

Yes Mike, I knew Paul Snyder very well. I worked along side him for a long while at Allegan. He was from either Boyne City or Boyne Falls. Before WW2 I lived in Mt. Pleasant, where I had the call W8KHK from 1933, but I had a second station in Allegan, W8VJR.

You live in MI, right? QRZ lists you in a township, but what town are you near? I live in Mt. Pleasant during the Summers, but my home in FL is in DeLand, 17 miles west of Daytona Beach.

Walt

[Opcom]

THIS JUST IN!    1940s era SX28 out recieves $5000, 2009 Flex radio!

SX28 owners are smug and have a right to be..

[Mike/W8BAC]

I am really happy to learn about this Walt. I learned about Paul Snyder (Boyne Falls) in 2005 when I saw a piece of equipment listed on eBay. I found a complete shack that had been shuttered since 1962. I met Paul's remaining family and wrote a story about it for Electric Radio, published in September, 2005.

After that story I was contacted by friends of Polly/W8FLA who also spent his winters in Florida and worked with Paul at Allegan. I was unable to meet Polly before his passing.

We should probably continue this off list since it is off topic but I really want to talk to you more about this. Yes, I live in Shelby Township MI which is close to Rochester MI. Contact me if you will at w8bac@comcast.net and we can go from that. Thanks.

Mike

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

From the late 30's.

[W2DU]

Steve, the receivers on the bottom aren't SX-28's, but look like Halliscratchers. But the receiver on the top left appears to be an S-27, the version the begins at 30 MHz.

Glad to be back after about 3 mo of illness.

Walt

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I don't know the model of the receivers. I wonder if they were mock-ups for the ad or real ones?

Steve, the receivers on the bottom aren't SX-28's, but look like Halliscratchers. But the receiver on the top left appears to be an S-27, the version the begins at 30 MHz.

Glad to be back after about 3 mo of illness.

Walt