Hacker Hunter restored and working - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

stuboy57 · 12th May 2017, 7:23 pm

I'm quite new to this with limited experience...originally picked up an old hacker autocrat that was not working...problem was the common AF117's....which once replaced the radio worked fine....really wanted a radio with FM so brought a Hacker Hunter unworking from ebay for £34.00
today plugged in the batteries and as I though nothing.....everything looked fine so I sprayed contact cleaner in the LW, MW, FM, buttons/contacts plus the on/off volume pot......turned back on .....wow everything is working fine on all the bands... no crackles from the pot.....think that's it sorted...well pleased....great radio with a good sound

Radiocruncher · 12th May 2017, 7:46 pm

Well done on sorting it. I had a similar one myself that was dead and a squirt of cleaner in the switches brought it back to life. Great radio and a good buy.

Graham

paulsherwin · 12th May 2017, 8:07 pm

There's a good lesson to be learned from this - always clean the switches and pots before looking for faults elsewhere.

stuboy57 · 12th May 2017, 8:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiocruncher

Well done on sorting it. I had a similar one myself that was dead and a squirt of cleaner in the switches brought it back to life.

What year do you think this radio ages from? 1970 ish?

Paul_RK · 12th May 2017, 9:11 pm

I'd guess 1972/3. The Hunter was in production from '69 to '75, but went through a lot of changes in that time -

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...4&postcount=24

Your set has a DC input jack fitted but doesn't have the last pattern of 'speaker grille, so it's from close to the middle of production.

Paul

mhennessy · 12th May 2017, 10:53 pm

Agreed. The serial number would be nice - from what I've got so far, it'll be between 33518 and 36984, but we also have an "outlier" at 44258 (there seems to be quite a big gap in the numbers there). Of course, if your number is earlier than 33518 or inbetween 36984 and 44258, then so much the better

From what you say, you've not needed to do anything to the cosmetics? If so, that's in remarkable condition - especially for one with the thin sheet grille. Look after it (I'm sure you plan to do just that!).

stuboy57 · 13th May 2017, 7:24 am

Where is the serial number and I will have a look

mhennessy · 13th May 2017, 9:59 am

It's stamped on the chassis, very near to the volume control.

stuboy57 · 16th May 2017, 8:59 pm

Had a look at the serial number today on the Hacker Hunter and it's 30064 fitted with a ELAC speaker

mhennessy · 16th May 2017, 10:36 pm

Oooo - that's a good one!

This set is the earliest one of your type that we have. After yours, we have 33518.

It also puts a question mark on 30077. This one is identical to yours, apart from having a painted Elac. But, it's the only one that does. I'd trusted that that set was accurate and original, but from my records I see that it was an eBay listing, so I'm unable to double-check with the owner. If 30077 has a replacement speaker, then that puts that entire column into doubt! Definitely more data required!

As we've already established, there are odd sets out there. As well as replacements by repairers and restorers, there's a good chance that "odd" ones came off the production lines - perhaps shortages caused them to plunder their spares stocks?

Anyway, I'll trust that yours is original, and modify my records accordingly. Thank you!

Paul_RK · 16th May 2017, 11:50 pm

30064 and 30077 are so very close, I'd guess we're just seeing precisely where the transition was occurring: which is nice. Assembled chassis stamped with serial numbers would have been put together at a certain point with cabinet and loudspeaker, I can't imagine any effort will have been directed to ensuring that all sets below a certain serial number received the earlier 'speaker finish, all sets above it the later.

Paul

mhennessy · 17th May 2017, 9:50 am

Yes, I've always cautioned that the change of loudspeaker would have been minor to insignificant as far as Hacker were concerned. You can well imagine several workstations working in parallel to, amongst other things, bolt loudspeakers into cabinets, and each of those would have had a good stock of loudspeakers piled up beside them, constantly being topped up with whatever arrived from Elac. Therefore, it seems quite reasonable that the change of speaker is going to be "fuzzy"

The more significant change at 30,000 is the addition of the DC input connector. Would Hacker have decided to mark this with a "bump" of the serial numbers? Perhaps. Certainly, there is a decent gap before that, as the latest "pukka" set we have before 30064 is 28438. But, to narrow the gap we do have 29629, which is a bit of a mix-and-match set wearing an earlier cabinet, but certainly that number was definitely stamped onto a chassis...

12th May 2017, 7:23 pm	#1
stuboy57 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 86	Hacker Hunter restored and working I'm quite new to this with limited experience...originally picked up an old hacker autocrat that was not working...problem was the common AF117's....which once replaced the radio worked fine....really wanted a radio with FM so brought a Hacker Hunter unworking from ebay for £34.00 today plugged in the batteries and as I though nothing.....everything looked fine so I sprayed contact cleaner in the LW, MW, FM, buttons/contacts plus the on/off volume pot......turned back on .....wow everything is working fine on all the bands... no crackles from the pot.....think that's it sorted...well pleased....great radio with a good sound Attached Thumbnails

12th May 2017, 7:46 pm	#2
Radiocruncher Hexode Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Torrington, Devon UK. Posts: 446	Re: hacker hunter restored and working Well done on sorting it. I had a similar one myself that was dead and a squirt of cleaner in the switches brought it back to life. Great radio and a good buy. Graham

12th May 2017, 8:07 pm	#3
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,968	Re: hacker hunter restored and working There's a good lesson to be learned from this - always clean the switches and pots before looking for faults elsewhere.

12th May 2017, 9:11 pm	#5
Paul_RK Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 4,259	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working I'd guess 1972/3. The Hunter was in production from '69 to '75, but went through a lot of changes in that time - https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...4&postcount=24 Your set has a DC input jack fitted but doesn't have the last pattern of 'speaker grille, so it's from close to the middle of production. Paul

12th May 2017, 10:53 pm	#6
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working Agreed. The serial number would be nice - from what I've got so far, it'll be between 33518 and 36984, but we also have an "outlier" at 44258 (there seems to be quite a big gap in the numbers there). Of course, if your number is earlier than 33518 or inbetween 36984 and 44258, then so much the better From what you say, you've not needed to do anything to the cosmetics? If so, that's in remarkable condition - especially for one with the thin sheet grille. Look after it (I'm sure you plan to do just that!).

13th May 2017, 7:24 am	#7
stuboy57 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 86	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working Where is the serial number and I will have a look

13th May 2017, 9:59 am	#8
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working It's stamped on the chassis, very near to the volume control.

16th May 2017, 8:59 pm	#9
stuboy57 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 86	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working Had a look at the serial number today on the Hacker Hunter and it's 30064 fitted with a ELAC speaker Attached Thumbnails

16th May 2017, 10:36 pm	#10
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working Oooo - that's a good one! This set is the earliest one of your type that we have. After yours, we have 33518. It also puts a question mark on 30077. This one is identical to yours, apart from having a painted Elac. But, it's the only one that does. I'd trusted that that set was accurate and original, but from my records I see that it was an eBay listing, so I'm unable to double-check with the owner. If 30077 has a replacement speaker, then that puts that entire column into doubt! Definitely more data required! As we've already established, there are odd sets out there. As well as replacements by repairers and restorers, there's a good chance that "odd" ones came off the production lines - perhaps shortages caused them to plunder their spares stocks? Anyway, I'll trust that yours is original, and modify my records accordingly. Thank you!

16th May 2017, 11:50 pm	#11
Paul_RK Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 4,259	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working 30064 and 30077 are so very close, I'd guess we're just seeing precisely where the transition was occurring: which is nice. Assembled chassis stamped with serial numbers would have been put together at a certain point with cabinet and loudspeaker, I can't imagine any effort will have been directed to ensuring that all sets below a certain serial number received the earlier 'speaker finish, all sets above it the later. Paul

17th May 2017, 9:50 am	#12
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Hacker Hunter restored and working Yes, I've always cautioned that the change of loudspeaker would have been minor to insignificant as far as Hacker were concerned. You can well imagine several workstations working in parallel to, amongst other things, bolt loudspeakers into cabinets, and each of those would have had a good stock of loudspeakers piled up beside them, constantly being topped up with whatever arrived from Elac. Therefore, it seems quite reasonable that the change of speaker is going to be "fuzzy" The more significant change at 30,000 is the addition of the DC input connector. Would Hacker have decided to mark this with a "bump" of the serial numbers? Perhaps. Certainly, there is a decent gap before that, as the latest "pukka" set we have before 30064 is 28438. But, to narrow the gap we do have 29629, which is a bit of a mix-and-match set wearing an earlier cabinet, but certainly that number was definitely stamped onto a chassis...