Hallicrafters S-107?

[WB3JOK]

Or maybe it's SX-107?

Anyway, there is one in good cosmetic condition at a local flea market for $25. The chassis has the usual petrified dust but I don't see any rust and all the tubes and knobs are there.

Just wondering if it would be worth purchasing at that (or any) price... opinions?
thanks
Charles
WB3JOK/0

[Pete, WA2CWA]

There is no SX-107.
S-107 sold new for $60. It replaced the S-53A. It's a single conversion receiver with 8 tubes with bandspread/logging control. There were three versions. S-107, S-107 Mark I, and S-107 Mark II. The S-107 had, I think, a 5 inch speaker; the Mark I and II had 4X6 inch speakers and some different tubes. 6C4 oscillator and 6BA6 mixer used in all three; probably drifts all over the place. Probably not a stellar performer. Unless you're in dire need of a general coverage low-end receiver, I would pass. Or offer $15; seller would probably counter with $20; you can go from there.

[W3RSW]

Pretty much same info as Pete but a little more desirable.
from eham.net review:

Hallicrafters used several advertising claims for their beginner radios. Such as, "The radio that amazes the experts" or "The finest small communication receiver made". In general this describes the S-107 receiver.
The S-107 receiver is really a continuation of the S-53 design. Indeed, the chassis is the old S-53 with filler plates around the IF stages and some tube sockets. It still has the original S-53 tubes stamped on it next to the new stamps for the S-107.
Looking like a cross between a S-38E receiver and a S-108 receiver it has many high quality parts in it. Some of the parts would be a 8 modern tube design,(it even covers 6 meters), power transformer for safety, and very attractive and expensive looking knobs and switches from the more costly SX series. The tuning capacitor is shock mounted and has several gears for smoother tuning. It used high quality "tiny chief" paper capacitors which all tested good after 50 years. Top notch, rigid construction is seen throughout the entire radio. A bonus is a large built in speaker which also sounds good.
The actual performance of the S-107 is close to it's big brother the S-108 at less than 1/2 the weight, the cost, and the size. The size and weight of the S-107 is about the same as a Icom R-71 receiver.
The radio does SSB pretty well with the sensitivity control adjusted for the signal strength.
Tuning a SSB signal is easy because it has plenty of band spread. Stability is quite good after a 30 minute warm up. This radio could be used in the ham bands today. It is also a hot performer on the AM broadcast band.
The S-107 became the S-118 in 1962. Hallicrafters reduced the number of tubes from 8 to 5, got rid of the 6 meter band, and still had a very competitive radio for under $100.00. That is engineering on a budget. Well done, Hallicrafters.

Also some utube vids, part1 & part2.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPuh6en3VCY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz6ObhmCC78