National NC173..couple questions

[wb1ead]

Aft gang..I'm in the middle of making a decision on whether to buy or not on this venerable "oldie"..have a couple of questions about specific concerns....
       A: noticed the plastic/glass dial covers and the S mtr one too have a kinda yellowy/brownish cast to them..I can see the markings OK..not so much without the lamps on..but is this "normal"?..or are we talking a boatload of nicotine etc stains?
        B: the top swing away cover seems to have no engineered pull ring/knob for access..bad idea for National?..or am I missing some little "trick" short of a flat blade screwdriver every time?..the painted edge ain't liking it much..
      Thanks all for putting up with my questions..almost all of the "Elmers" in this part of town are now unfortunately SKs..tuff to ask under those circumstances and most of the "new" guys have no experience with National products   tnx! 73 de DAVE

[Pete, WA2CWA]

There was a small slot cut into the front of the cover (I believe left side), at least on the one I had, for a finger nail or small screwdriver to lift the cover. Nothing fancy. When I had my NC-173, the dials and S-meter were yellowy/brown. Looked great when turned on.

Here's several great pictures of the NC-173:

[WQ9E]

My NC-173, along with both of my NC-183 receivers, has the same yellow/brown color.  I don't know if this is original since I wasn't born when these were new.  The NC-183D went to a different color scheme and my NC-400 (sort of the last of that styling family) has basic white dials.

There is a little slightly raised slot on each side of the top lid near the front of the cover for use with a fingernail or screwdriver.

Rodger WQ9E

[wb1ead]

Ask a question and der's the answer..TNX Pete and tnx to you too Rodger..never ever noticed the slot on the LH side..but there it is..AND never saw an actual colored pic of the NC173..so that answers that too!..yah I agree it does look kinda neat when the lamps come on and considering the excellent quality of the pics ya sent no need to wonder if I have the correct knobs and all..they are there!..now time to put 'er to the test..plug in the matching spkr and take 'er for a test flight..gotta eat my Wheaties b/4 picking it up to the bench..agn many tnx Pete & Rodger         73 de DAVE

[WQ9E]

Dave,

You are welcome.  Jim Hanlon has a nice article on the NC-173 in the Oct. '95 issue of Electric Radio so you might want to dig that out for some historical perspective.

The NC-173 seems to be a decent receiver and mine is paired with a Harvey Wells TBS-50 with the VFO.  It is an attractive receiver and I like the looks of the radio with its yellow/tan dial color.  It certainly looks better to me than plain white.  However, my favorite dial among my radios is this Grigsby Grunow Teledial which looks striking, particularly in a dimly lit room.  It is difficult to photograph but the dial has nice deep colors. 

[The Slab Bacon]

Since This series of receivers has been a hot topic around here lately, I'll post this here. (I'm NOT trying to hijack this thread)

I have both the 183 and also the 183-D. there are some features that I like better on each.

The Dials on the 183-D are much nicer than the 183, and they dont sun fade like the 183's and 173's do. Also, you have to be very careful cleaning the dials on the 173 and 183. If you're not very gentle, even clear water will remove the lettering on the dials. This is not a problem with the "D". The clear plastic covers prevent this, and the multiple colors are much nicer looking!

However I do like the front end / mixer circuit in the 183 (non "D") better.  The 183 (and also the 173) has a seperate mixer and oscilator, whereas both conversions of the 183-D are self oscilating converters (like your basic all american 5 table radio).
These do have a tendency to "pull" the oscilator frequency on strong signals. this is especially true if the AVC is not up to snuff or the avc amp is not aligned properly.This is pretty much non existant / unnoticable in the 173 and non-D 183.

Also I do find that the sensitivity on the higher bands is noticably better on the  183-D. If you plan to stay down on the lower bands I kinda think I like the non-D a little better.

Neither one out of the box is a good "battle conditions" receiver, but both have their good points and bad points. The addition of an outboard Q-Multiplier really made a difference on my 183.

And just a last $.02 worth: I have found more open or way out of tollerence resistors (and odd problems caused by them) in National receivers from this era than any other brand.

                                                             The Slab Bacon  

[wb1ead]

Aft all..tnx agn Rodger for the article mention..I'll ck it out..Tnx also to the "Bacon" for his thoughts on this rcvr and it's big brother the 183..I tend to agree with you about resistance changes having seen this in another rig owned of a newer vintage the NCX-200 trcvr..this rig IF I go with it will become my main SW and 75mtr AM listening post..it will require some restoring for sure but I'm not overly concerned considering the great group of guys/gals here on this forum..none of ya have failed me yet!!  TNX! 73 de DAVE

[Pete, WA2CWA]

The Dials on the 183-D are much nicer than the 183, and they dont sun fade like the 183's and 173's do. Also, you have to be very careful cleaning the dials on the 173 and 183. If you're not very gentle, even clear water will remove the lettering on the dials. This is not a problem with the "D". The clear plastic covers prevent this, and the multiple colors are much nicer looking!

                                                             The Slab Bacon  

Actually, on the 183D, you really have to be careful with the printing that's on the outside of the dials. The front panel windows, on both left and right, in the black area, have printing that can wipe off or smear if you're not careful. The 173 and 183 also had front panel windows.

[Jim, W5JO]

The plastic (please excuse the period name for all thing non glass or metal) dials of that time did yellow and nicotine had nothing to do with it.  That is a myth propogated by the non-smoke crowd.  The yellow is a product of the sun and heat of that particular unit.

Second bit of information is that if you would like dial glass replacements for the 183D, the Glen Zook, K9STH produces them.

http://k9sth.com/uploads/ad_total.JPG

If that link doesn't work then go here

http://k9sth.com/Page_3.html

and look for "Various National Items then NC 183 Dial Indicators.

[KM1H]

I have a 173, 183, 183D and NBS-1 which is a 183 variant with a 3rd IF stage and variable IF selectivity plus the regular crystal filter. Of the 2 dialers the NBS-1 is my favorite on the low bands due to good IF skirts from the 3 stages plus it can be widened for great AM or narrowed when needed. It was built to order on a bid that had it competing with the SP-400.

The 183 only has 2 IF stages and is basically similar to the HRO-50 (Not the 50-1) except for stability. In fact for 160-40M the 173 is just as good, the added 183 RF stage just adds noise and overload unless the RF gain is backed off.

The 183D can be compared similarly to the HRO-60 minus the stability and makes for a great band cruiser with minimal work.

I'll never understand why National didnt continue with that selectable IF feature; its a real winner.

Carl
KM1H
National Radio 1963-69
Service Tech, Service Manager, and more