Info on HQ-170AC-VHF Manual

[Rob Dunn]

Hi All,

Well its been a great boatanchor week for me. It has left me with a couple
of questions though that I thought I would put to the group.

On Monday morning before the sun was up I met with a ham who had a
Hammarlund HQ-170AC-VHF for sale.   It was twenty degrees and the parking
lot was dark so we were both in a hurry but it looked like it would be an ok
radio so I gave him the funds and he gave me a radio in the original box.  A
couple of hours later when it was a little warmer I took my boss out to the
car to show him what I had found and what I had was a HQ-170AC-VHF that had
a custom fit translucent dust cover over it and when the dust cover was
removed it looked like the radio was brand new off of the production line.
The chassis doesn't even have dust on it, it shines!   The front panel looks
like it has never been touched.  The dials and meter are white and the
lettering is bright white.  There is touch up on some scratches around the
bezel but it looks like something done at the factory.  The case shines, not
a scratch.   I am ecstatic!  I get home and plug it in and it sounds like
new, not even the faintest hum, tunes right up, controls are noiseless, not
a crackle or pop.  The only thing I have noticed this entire week is that
the bandswitch knob exhibits some frequency instability if you touch it,
like there might be a little oxidation on the contacts, you notice it on CW.
I am not a collector of "mint" gear, I just like to work on and use older
radio equipment but I love this receiver, it even smells new when you warm
it up.  For a guy that lusted after the Hammarlunds in the back of the ARRL
handbook as a kid 30 years ago this is fantastic.  Only  the unpacking of my
first R-390A can compare.

Friday morning a package from Dave Rogers, WA7ZYQ, arrives containing some
manuals I had bought from him without being positive what they were, just
figured they would be handy for keeping the equipment alive.  What I had was
an original plastic cover 15 Apr 1970, NAVSHIPS Tech Manual for my R-390A's
and original Army Organizational and Depot Operations/Maintenance Manuals
for my TV-7D tube tester.  Delighted!

All of this is tremendously motivating to me so this morning (Saturday) I
decide it is time to quit fooling around and get ticketed.  HF DX has been a
desire of mine for 30 years, since I was in elementary school, but a career
in electrical engineer seemed to always get in the way.  Grabbed a book on
amateur regulations and procedures, read it and went down at noon the
monthly amateur examination opportunity here in Vegas.  With all the help I
have gotten with boatanchors on these lists I figured the technical part
would be the least of my worries.  Managed to knock out the Technician
license successfully, its only a stepping stone to General (and beyond)
since HF is where I want to be.  But now I am motivated to push for the 13
wpm and get that General in either 3 or 7 weeks (the next test
opportunities) and just finally getting licensed is a GREAT feeling!  I'm on
my way!

Only bad part about  the week was that there was no manual for the receiver
and that leads me to one of my questions.  Was there a specific manual for
the HQ-170AC-VHF and if so how can I get a copy?  What I can find is manuals
for the HQ-170AC and a supp for the VHF converter.  Sounds good but several
of you pointed out to me that the HQ-170AC-VHF had a pre-amp for 6M that was
not part of the VHF converter nor the plain HQ-170AC so where would that be
documented?  I would hate to spend the $$ for the manual and the VHF supp
and then find our that they don't support this receiver.

Second question is what would a good transmitter be to go with this
receiver.  A gentlemen here in Vegas has a Hallicrafters HT-32 that I am
going to buy.  Is this a good first boatanchor transmitter from the
perspective of those of you with far more experience than I have?  Any
advice would be appreciated.

Lastly the slot filter operation seems to be asymmetrical, that is the
operation on one side of "0 kHz" does not sound the same as the other.  Is
this normal or is an adjustment required to optimize the slot filter
operation?

As always thanks for your advice, these are great groups and a great
avocation!   Sorry for the rambling post but it has been a great week.

Rob
Las Vegas