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Your host is Dave Aabye.  I was originally licensed as KN9BCK in 1955 at the age of 14.  The "N"  was dropped early in 1956.  After my boyhood days in Chicago, I attended the University of Illinois and then went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in the Class of 1964.  After  completing nuclear power training and submarine school, I joined the Blue Crew of the polaris missile submarine USS Daniel Webster, where I made four patrols in the north Atlantic between 1966 and 1968.  From Webster I joined the commissioning crew of the attack submarine USS Spadefish (SSN-668) at Newport News Shipbuilding (VA).  After two years in the shipyard, sea trials, and a very enjoyable shakedown cruise to the Caribbean, I returned to civilian life in 1970.  My call was changed to W4QCU in 1966, while I was aboard Daniel Webster in Charleston, SC.   Most of my adult life has been spent in W4-land.  After a short stay in Charlotte, NC, I spent 14 years in Jacksonville, FL.  Since 1988, home is the town of Oak Ridge, nestled in the lush green hills of East Tennessee.  I have always been interested in DX-ing and am still active in that pursuit, mainly on 80 meters.  But, in recent years I've joined the swelling ranks of hams who carry on the vacuum tube tradition by restoring, trading, and collecting vintage radios.  Sound interesting??

The operating position I call Boatanchor-1 is currently built around an National HRO-50-1 and a home-brew transmitter I've named "Big Bertha".   Bertha runs 500 watts to push-pull 100THs modulated by a pair of 805s.  She stands 7 feet tall and weighs in at 600 pounds.  The rig was constructed by Casey Kasefang, W4HYG (now a SK) after WW-II.  Nearly all of the components date from the late 1930s.  The transmitter is self-contained except for an outboard speech amplifier and VFO.  In order to avoid the need to change several plug-in coils, I use a Viking II to provide RF drive directly to the 100THs.  With significant modifications, the Viking II also provides audio drive to the 805s.  The low level audio stages in the Viking II are modified as described in Electric Radio (June and July 1998), and the 807s are replaced with 6A3s, which are much better drivers for a class B modulator.  Here is a link to other photos of Bertha.  The Meissner Signal Shifter shown in the photo was used by Casey as the outboard VFO.   For several years, Boatanchor 1 featured a  Globe King 500A.    After Bertha arrived, there was no room for the King, and it now graces the shack of W5SUM.   The very first layout  of  Boatanchor-1 paired the Globe King with a  Super Pro 600 , which was given to me after it didn't sell at our church rummage sale!  Of course it didn't look like this at the time.  Nor did it work...as it does now. The HRO-50 that is now installed at Boatanchor-1 also came to me in very poor health.  The substantial effort required to rewire this beauty was well worth it, as it is in use just about every day.  Pictures taken during restoration show  top and bottom  views of the chassis.
 

Boatanchor-2  is the main operating position employing AM transmitters in the 100 watt class.   Do you recognize the  Johnson Viking II and Collins 32V-3?  I became the proud owner of a Viking II in 1957.  I have always had a soft spot for the first "Johnsons", the Vikings I and II.  Of course, in those days I could only wonder what it would be like to operate Collins equipment.  The  32V-3 came my way in 1998 when I was fortunate to purchase it from W9VZR.   Receivers are the Military R-390A and Collins 75A-2.  I assembled my first R-390A from two defunct radios.  The present 390A  was "remanufactured" by Miltronix in 1999 and is a real beauty.  I agree with many who feel that the R-390A is the finest best vacuum tube receiver ever built.  Recent changes:   A  Collins 75A-1 with its matching speaker is installed in place of the   75A-2 .   The styling matches the 32V3, and it is a really sweet sounding AM receiver.  If you have a 75A-1, I highly recommend the modifications described in  Electric Radio (11/99).   Even more recent change:  In the Spring of 2000, I acquired a National NC-183.  This was the same receiver as used by my "Elmer" (W9CDU) along with his Viking II.  I couldn't resist moving the R-390A to another location.   After a little cleaning and replacing faulty capacitors, the radio is working fine.  The NC-183 continues my  favorable impression of National receivers; I have yet to meet the one I don't  admire.

Vintage SSB and low power AM capability are provided at  Boatanchor-3   The Johnson Ranger II was replaced by a  Ranger I  (or simply "a Ranger").  The panel and cabinet were refinished by Dee, W4PNT, and I "fixed" the quirks in the original PTT circuitry.  The original Ranger has always been my idea of "the" vintage 50 watt transmitter.  The HT-32B  was purchased from K4HU, a genuine pioneer of our hobby and fascinating gentleman.  Harry has forgotten more about shortwave radio than I will ever know!   Silky smooth with super sensitivity and selectivity, the  SX-115  is Hallicrafters' crowing achievement.  I was fortunate to locate one.   Here are a photos of the SX-115 cabinet  during  and  following refinishing.  The inside of the SX-115 really  shines  after a thorough cleaning.   Until the  75A-4  came my way in 1998, I hadn't operated one these gems since may days at the Naval Academy and the Club Station W3ADO.  Little wonder they are so much in demand!  The matching 312A-1 speaker came from my good friend, Louis, W9WWV.  Recent changes:  Boatanchor-3 has changed quite a lot.  The Hallicrafters twins and 75A-4 remain, but the Ranger II and L4B are gone from the station. New additions are a prized Johnson  Viking 500  and the TMC twins, the  GPR-90  and matching  GSB-1  SSB adapter.  The Meissner  Signal Shifter  just to the right of the SX-115 dates from 1943 and is used with an old Stancor transmitter that is right next door at Boatanchor-4.

There are some great stories that I can tell about  Boatanchor-4.  Look for me on 3885 kHz, and we'll swap our stories about these great old radios.  The Johnson  Viking I  was one of the first band-switching, pi-network transmitters to hit the ham scene following World War II.  This one was bought as a kit in 1949 by my good friend Jules Tangle  (W2CGS, later K4IKT and now a SK) and given to me in the late 70's.  The  SX-28  is regarded by many as the "soul of Hallicrarfters".  This one was offered to me by a fellow church member who bought it from the Army Signal Corps when he was discharged from active duty following WW-II.  The radio had been sitting in his basement for many years.  It took a great deal of plastic surgery and electronic repair to make her glow again.   Along with the SX-28  came a nearly complete Signal Corps spare parts kit.  This was a great collection of really rare items in their original packing.  The  SX-42 is basically the post-war version of the SX-28 with a face lift and expanded frequency coverage.  The sound produced by the SX-42 and companion R-42 "reproducer" is really stunning.  Like several other receivers of the era, the SX-42 produces wonderful sound from the push-pull 6V6s in the audio section..  The National NC-173 was my very first National receiver.  The original owner was a Collins engineer  who modified the front end to provide amazing sensitivity.

In the foreground of the Boatanchor-4 picture is a National NC-2-40-D undergoing restoration.  It was definitely a project radio, requiring extensive rewiring to rehabilitate.

 Recent changes-1:   Boatanchor-4 has also changed quite a bit since the page was first put together.  The restored NC-240D was sold after I found one (with the companion speaker) in virtually  mint condition .  The SX-28 and SX-42 have been moved, but still continue to see duty during periods of shortwave listening.  The installed receivers at Boatanchor-4 are a Collins 51J4 , a National  HRO-5TA1 , and the National NC-240D. Recent changes-2:  The Viking I is joined by a  Stancor 20-P .  This great little rig was offered in the late 1930s.  It runs all of 20 watts to an 807, plate modulated by a 6N7.  I've used it to work stations all over the eastern US on 75 meters.   The Hammarlund HQ-120 (shown on the top shelf) is a real nostalgia item for me...More on that later.

 Boatanchor 5  is a recent addition (Spring 2000).  The operating position consists of a wooden cabinet on coasters, so I can move around the shack. The present compliment includes a Heathkit TX1 Apache and the same R-390A and SP-600 that used to be in other locations (and I have already spoken of).  The Apache is the last in the line of Heathkit AM transmitters that began with the DX-100.  It is the only Heathkit transmitter that I've ever owned and quite a good performer.  A few simple modifications are all that's necessary to get rid of the "scratchy Apache" sound.  Of all my 100 watt transmitters, the Apache delivers the highest output power and has the heaviest iron.

The receiver rack  is home to receivers that await rotation into one of the operating positions.  They still are played on a frequent basis to keep 'em in shape.  As a youngster, I used an  SX-25  (Super Defiant) with its matching PM-23 speaker in my novice station.  The rock crushing transmitter back in 1955 was a 6V6 driving an 807.  Instead of a plate current meter, I dipped the final by watching the blue glow from the 807!  I'm here to tell you...that is one tough tube!  Later on, I paired my Viking II with an  RME-4350A, the station you see in the 1959 photo.  The HQ-129X was likely the most popular radio Hammarlund ever made.  It was a post-war sensation.  This one came to me along with the 32V3 I told you about earlier.

 Recent changes-1:   Steel racks gave way to wall-mounted wood shelves.  The shelves have a nicer appearance and provide more usable storage space.  There are two new radios in this view.  The RME (Radio Manufacturing Engineers)  45B  was introduced just after the end of WW-II, originally as the Model 45.  The main difference is a two speed tuning arrangement that is very nice in crowded conditions.  The Model 45 was made at RME's original location in Peoria, Illinois.  Later they were bought out by Electro-Voice and moved to Michigan.  Included in the photo of the RME-45 is the matching DB-22 preselector.  The Hammarlund  HQ-180 is the relatively rare 180X  version with 11 crystal controlled receive frequencies.  The 180 series is noted for super sensitivity and selectivity.  In my opinion, the HQ-180s are a bit narrow for great sounding AM.  Yet they are immensely popular among SWLs.   Recent changes-2:   In this view the addition is a Hammarlund HQ-120 , the first in the HQ series.  This radio has a special meaning to me.  As a youngster I used to pour through the World Book Encyclopedia.  If you have access to a set from the 50's, take a look under Radio, Amateur.  There you will see W9UIG siting in front of his homebrew transmitter and (you guessed it) a HQ-120.  This is probably the first box I ever identified with my life-long hobby.

Recent additions to the station:  The HRO-60  was the top of the National line when I was just starting out.  It really is a great receiver.  My second receiver, as a "seasoned" novice back in 1956 was the  SX-99 .  In about the middle of 1956, the SX-99 was paired with a Globe Scout 65A .  Here is the transmitting setup, as I was recently able to duplicate it.  Shown in the photo  are the Globe Scout, Knight VFO, and the old JT-30 mic.  I used a JT-30 in 1956 because the D-104 was too pricey.  Times have sure changed, as the little JT-30 is now very much in demand..  After looking for some time, I was lucky to locate a very nice  B&W 5100B.   This is a well-engineered transmitter that came along a bit late in the life of AM.  The only one I recall having seen previously was owned by another high school pal, Mike Graham, K9BMH.   After a run of 8 years (an eternity in the ham radio market), Hammarlund replaced the HQ-129-X with the  HQ-140-X  in 1953.   The major differences are in the tube lineup; the 140 replaced metal-octal tubes with the new miniature tubes.  Each of the original HQ series is a great  receiver.  After making only 500 (give or take) SX-88s, Hallicrafters retreated from the high-end market in favor of more popularly priced models.  The successor product line was headed by the SX-100.  Lasting from 1956 until 1961, it was very well received.  This SX-100 is the Mark II version.  Perhaps the finest AM-CW receiver ever built by Hallicrafters is the fairly scarce SX-73.  Produced during 1952-1953, the radio was designed mainly for the military, where it (along with the Hammarlund SP-600) was designated the R-274/FRR.  Views under the hood  and  from the rear bear witness to the heavy duty construction.  "A very few were sold to the ham radio community as the SX-73.  It is similar electronically to the SP-600, but I think it is a better performer with smoother tuning and some higher grade components.

Early in 2002, I acquired two very nice radios from the mid-1930s.  One is this "first edition" of the famous Hammarlund Super Pro Series.  Sometimes called the SP-10, this radio was produced during 1935 and 1936, before octal-base tubes came into use.  A rear view shows the extensive use of shields at grid caps and hefty IF transformers.  This one is in really fine condition; although it looks to have been custom built/modified to meet the unique requirements of WMI, a ship-to-shore station on Lake Erie that operated around 4 mHz.  This link to a history of WMI shows the receiver in photos from 1938 and later years.  The second is an SX-16, the second in Hallicrafters' Super Skyrider series.  The matching speaker appears to be the Hallicrafters PM-8.  Early in 2003, I was given another radio from the 1930s - the National SW-3 Thrill box.  The SW-3 is my only encounter with a regenerative receiver.  Shown in the photo is an outboard power supply-audio amplifier-speaker unit that I built to accompany the SW-3.

During 2006 I renovated an old WW-II aircraft transmitter, the BC-375.  The BC-375 was used in the B-17, B-25, B-25, and B-26.  Literally tens of thousands werer built during the war.  This rig was purchased as war suprplus from Layfayette Electronics in 1947 by a young GI who had encountered the BC-375 while working on B-24s in North Africa.   The GI, Bob Stone, planned to obtain a ham license, but never got around to it.  Sixty years later he gave it to me to see what might be done.  Bob also gave me a very nice plate transformer and swinging choke, which he had intended to use as an alternative to the 24 vdc dynamotor.  I  use this supply as well as another AC-powered supply for the heaters.  The BC-375 uses four 211s and one 10, all old triodes from the early 1930s.   I tried to find a good carbon mic, but finally gave up and constructed a vacuum tube small pre-amp that interfaces a D-104 (hand held version) with the audio input transformer.  This audio clip of the BC-375 was recorded by WY3D.

In January 2004, I fulfilled a personal ambition by working Montana to complete WAS on 75 meters during the "born again" AM era.  Electric Radio Magazine sponsors the only AM Worked All States certificate that I'm aware of.  To date only a few have been issued (mine is No. 3).  I hope this award will contribute to the growing interest in vintage radio operation.  Here's what the WAS certificate looks like.

I would also like to hear from anyone with VINTAGE RADIO equipment, tubes, or parts for sale.

The page was last updated in February 2007.

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