HQ-145X a real gem (IOW, back to BA)

[Kevin Sulonen]

Well, thanks to Andy, KC7YBN, I am now enjoying a nice old (well maybe not
_so_ old) Hammarlund rx. This is really a great radio; thanks for all the
feedback from BA subscribers! I may eventually pick up an HQ-180, but I'm
pleased as punch for now. The price was right, too. How much $$, you might
ask? Nada, except for shipping (granted, the amounts to UPS/USPS were
fairly significant). This was a swap between hams. I had something Andy
would enjoy, he had something I would enjoy. Neato.

The rx was in nice shape, all knobs present, dials readable, cute little
after-market quartz clock w/Hammarlund variable cap logo. I took the radio
out of its case and blew off some of that lovely red desert dust, knobs &
faceplate into the dishwasher for a facelift & nicotine removal, titanium
white acrylic paint in the index markers on the knobs, a little Guardian
aluminum polish on the bezel faces, and voila! a catalog special!

The only thing that I wish I could add to the HQ-145X is the xtal
marker/calibrator. Tuning seems fairly accurate in the middle of the tuning
scales on all 4 ranges, a good bit off at the edges of the dials (fer
example, the 31m broadcast band is about 100 kc, but 5 MHz WWV is right
on). I expect this is normal -- any comments?

The notch filter works well, as do the xtal filters, which surprised me,
and overall sensitivity seems pretty dandy. SSB tuning is a little dicey,
but w/very careful, "surgeons touch" tuning, do-able. No surprise there. CW
tuning is a snap, and the amateur band-spread scheme is pretty workable. I
doubt I'll actually use this rx for ham work, but who knows? My old S38
couldn't hold a candle to this pony.

Anyway, thanks very much for all the input. I am a happy ham.

73 de N7KV (kevin)

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