Hi,
As things worked out, an RP38A 'Hunter VHF' has become my introducton to the
sound of Hacker radios. I've occasionally heard various models years ago, but never owned one until very recently nor had the opportunity to listen to one critically. Of the recently acquired sets here this RP38A is the only one I found to be vaguely working. I've not done any work on it yet and it's rather tired and scruffy; the aerial has disappeared down its own orifice, the feet seem to have worn off and all switches and controls need cleaning for a start.
But... what a sound! This set clearly thinks it's much bigger, something this size has no right to sound this good. A quick tune around showed it coped admirably with two extremes of my eclectic tastes, classical (R3) and DnB (R1). DnB (
'drum and bass') is particularly challenging with detailed and complex rhythms and very heavy electronic basslines. But, despite being designed over two decades before this genre emerged the Hunter performed remarkably well with no signs of distress even at fairly high volume.
Personally, I prefer the appearance of the
earlier Hacker sets, particularly the RP18 Sovereign and RP30 Herald. As the RP38A isn't (in my opinion) one of the best-looking sets and this one is a little tired and unlikely ever to be immaculate again, it'll be tidied up then used as intended. It's clearly seen a lot of use already; well - it'll get even more. That's what it was built for...
Regards, Kat