Vintage Amateur Radio Restoration

[2E1CIH Mike]

Hello.
Could anyone offer me guidance regarding which would be a suitable amateur receiver to restore?
My limited research into this has revealed that HealthKit and Hallicrafters radios are "uncrowded" in terms of component layout but I have no idea what parts availability is like.
I am undecided whether to take on a valve or solid state set. I have some basic experience with valves having built a one valve (acorn) receiver some decades ago.
I am open to suggestions and would be grateful for any advice offered.
Many thanks.....Mike (2E1CIH).

[Radio Wrangler]

Mmmm, where to start?

Restoring a receiver is a fair amount of work, so you need to choose something which will motivate you. Something you'll want when it's finished, something you can use, something you can show people.

Most of the common Hallicrafters weren't that good and to my eye don't look much. At the time they were a lower cost way to get listening on shortwave.

How about a set with a tale to be told? An HRO, perhaps. With plug-in coils and low density circuitry they're manageable restorations. Plenty around. AM and CW work well, SSB needs a bit of skill. You can regale visitors with how most of these were used for intercepting enemy orders in WWII with taken down Morse transcripts going to the code breakers at Bletchley park. People in their back bedrooms swaying the direction of major conflicts though they didn't know until the secrets came out in the seventies.

The AR88 is another common period receiver. More imposing to look at. Built-in coils and switching, built in mains PSU. Do=able with only a few awkward to get at parts. Heavy but handsome. Drive well. Plenty about, can be cheap if someone is finding the weight intimidating.

How about the cold war?

Racal RA17 or better the RA117 later version if you can find one! Remember 'Goldfinger'? That scene with Goldfinger's laser getting ready to make a mess of Sean Connery? Well while everyoone else was watching where the laser was aimed, true shortwave nerds were looking at the wall built of racked Racal RA17 gear which formed the backdrop. These sets look very, very, . good and work well once sorted. Plenty of knowledge on here. From the mid fifties to the end of the sixties, these were the bee's knees for British government HF receivers. `lots of extenders and accessories available. RA117 has nicer audio stage and uses more modern connectors.

There's an ex-Racal guy does restorations and has a website showing what's done:

https://www.chavfreezone.me.uk

Despite the jocular url, Ian's website has good info. It covers a lot of other related receivers.

Transistors?

The little eddystone transistorised EC10 etc are cute but a bit disappointing to use. They have a following and lots to read.

Racal did an early transistorised version of their RA17 and sold in two shapes of cabinet RE217 has a square front panel, RA1217 is wide and flat. Fairly complex works resonably well, looks remarkable. I have an RA1217 in my collection. One of the designers was a lecturer when I did my first degree so it has a bit of special meaning for me.

Eddystones.... plenty around. Plenty on the forum. Electrically straight forward. Those dials look great and can be very smooth, but their weak point is wear in the bush supporting the tuning knob shaft. Straight forward to restore. I'd avoid the live chassis AC/DC ones. The one I have in my collection is the EA12 amateur bands one... pre-WARC79 bands that is. This works well but they're sought after and prices are pumped high.

Amateur amateur receivers?

How about the Yaesu FRG7? It's another Wadley style set like a mini, transistorised RA17, but a lot were sold in the uk and a lot of people remember them fondly. finding one to start work on that hasn't been modded to hell and beyond might be difficult.

Anway, plenty to go on. BUT choose something you want or means something to you.

David

[Sean Williams]

It's fair to say a lot of the Hallicrafters stuff is pretty poor with regards condition here in the UK - most of the chassis were designed for a nice warm and dry climate - many decades of living here in the UK will not have been kind to them.

I have the Racal RA17 that David mentions - this was built from a pile of scrap receivers picked up at a Radiophile auction probably 20 years ago - They are not the easiest receivers to work on, all being modular, and requiring quite a lot of desoldering of connections to separate the modules, that being said, spares and information are easy to obtain, and they are a well know device with good support here in the UK.

I'm just about at the end of restoring a Hammarlund SP600, this is a monster of a receiver, and built like a tank - so far I have replaced every decoupling capacitor (over 50 of them!) a lot of Moulded Mica capacitors, as well as numerous resistors - Its a big chunky receiver, and not the best if SSB listening is your thing, but the same can be said for almost all receivers of this period - you have to drive these radios.

The AR-88 is a receiver that every enthusiast should own at some point - I would say it was the standard for Amateur Radio and most of us with any interest in older kit will have at least had one, even if only for a short while - they are easy to repair, perform quite well, and can be found quite cheaply - the peak of a few years back is certainly gone.

There are many other receivers, but I would stick with a mainstream communications receiver, rather than say the venerable R1155 or CR100 - whilst these give excellent results when restored, there is usually a lot of work with rotten wiring, and other faults that make these less fun as a first receiver.

One other receiver that is a good performer, and certainly has a "Look" is the Murphy B40. It's built for the Navy, so reassuringly heavy, but is generally a delight to work on - if you can find a D model, it will normally have all PVC wiring, and some useful extra IF filtering.

Best advice is to buy a receiver that is cosmetically good, and looks to have been well stored - something that is corroded and dirty is going to make for a very long restoration, and could mean that there are a number of hard to find parts needing replacement.

Don't get drawn in by ridiculous prices either - £30-50 for an unrestored radio of this era is about normal - RA17 may make a bit more, especially if it is complete. Perhaps a slightly higher budget for a radio in really good condition, and with manuals or hard to find connectors.

Try to find someone with a receiver that works and have a go with it - see if you enjoy using one before you take the plunge.....

Good Luck
Sean

[Bazz4CQJ]

It would good if you could focus on some specifics, just to think of a few;

• budget
• amateur band only or general coverage
• how much space do you have (AR88's needs lots and HRO's even more, with all of it's coil packs and external power unit!)
• valve or transistor
• Vintage; 1940's to 1970's

I restored two very different receivers;
>an old HRO, valves and dating back to the 1930's (when it was top notch)
>a Realistic DX160, transistor, dating back to the 1970's, good, but entry-level general coverage receiver, mains or 12V DC

Both have their merits and de-merits from every point of view.

What ever you might think about, there will be masses of info about them on Google, especially YouTube.

There's an excellent website that offers good opinions on receivers, though not necessarily on their restoration (for which this forum is better)

seeDX160 https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product/5172
HRO https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product/12177

B

[G6Tanuki]

Baz is right in saying that to provide sensible guidance we need more information on what you intend to use it for.

Old boat-anchors are OK, but remember that something like a B40 or AR88 are two-man-lift and require a sturdy workbench!

(I have a rule these days that any new radio acquisition has to be something I can happily carry under one arm).

Heathkit and Hallicrafters stuff from the 50s and 60s, remember that being kits (Hallicrafters called them Hallikits) the construction quality can be highly variable and you may find yourself having to rectify the original builder's sloppy construction.

Racal stuff is nice but complicated, with multiple bandpass filters that really need specialist test gear to set up correctly.

Eddystone can be good but the construction particularly in the coil boxes is often a rat's nest and sod's law dictates that the resistor or capacitor needing replacement is under several other layers of components.

What about something like a Trio 9R59DS? Compact, has amateur bandspread, ceramic filters in the IF, a Product detector, and provision for a voltage stabiliser so you don't have to suffer frequency shifts when you alter the RF gain. I refurbed one of these for an elderly RNARS friend so he could listen to theor 40M CW net. It had suffered a HT supply mishap that had burned out the mains transformer but I was able to get a scrapper of a radio off eBay for £10 which had an undamaged transformer.

[2E1CIH Mike]

OK. Wow! There's plenty for me to think about here. Thank you all for your informative replies.

re budget....I was hoping for £100 max to buy, and then further costs would be spread over however long it takes me to restore it.

re amateur band only or general coverage.....I'm open to either.

how much space do you have (AR88's needs lots and HRO's even more, with all of it's coil packs and external power unit!).....Hhmm. I recall the heavy beasts from decades gone by. I think the "carry under one arm" rule is best for me.

re valve or transistor......I'm happy for either and aware of the safety precautions needed for valve sets.

Vintage; 1940's to 1970's.....again I'm open minded.

I think, being realistic, something that is fairly straghtforward and doesn't need sophisticated test gear for alignment etc would be sensible.

I remember that, not so many years ago, FRG-7s were very cheap. I wish I had bought one now.

I've just seen a couple of Trio 9R59DS on ebay for around £100. There's also one in Japan advertised for over £300!

Are these as straightforward as it gets to work on? I know this is a difficult question but I am looking at this potential project as a learning process. I wouldn't mind if it took me two years to restore.

Many thanks again for your replies.

[2E1CIH Mike]

Hhhmmm.....The Trio 9R59DS looks like it might be up my street.

Are parts reasonably findable please? Are there any specific things to look out for (apart from what has already been mentioned).

Many thanks. This would be so much more difficult without your help. I am very grateful....Mike 2E1CIH

[Station X]

I have a working Trio 9R59DS which has been in my ownership since I bought it new in 1970. It has the matching Trio speaker. It was pre-wired for a voltage regulator which is fitted.

I changed a few electrolytic capacitors, not the smoothers, in it a few years ago, but it could probably do with some more attention.

Radio and speaker can be yours for £100 to include UK postage. PM me if interested. Given a bit of time I can post pictures of the inside and outside.

[2E1CIH Mike]

Yes please Graham! Thanks. I have sent a PM. Regards....Mike

[Pamphonica]

And/Or for a valve classic, I do have a Hammarlund HQ170 I need to move on. An impressive triple-conversion ham receiver from about 1960, quite a high spec for the day. Still on my "to be looked at" list after about 15 years so should be passed on! I even bought a complete new valve set (17 valves?) from a nice chap in the USA for a lot of money, which I will include. Cosmetically a bit tatty but complete, and untouched (important!). £140. Probably needs collecting, or passing via helpful hands from me to you.
PM me if interested
-Jeremy

[2E1CIH Mike]

Thank you for your kind offer Jeremy but I'll just go with the Trio for now.

Thanks again.....Mike