[Hallicrafters] S40A Help |
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
Sat May 21 00:55:18 EDT 2011
----- Original Message -----
From: <W4AWM at aol.com>
To: <radiocompass at yahoo.com>; <rbottomleysr at dslextreme.com>;
<hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>; <cosmos41 at ix.netcom.com>
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 9:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] S40A Help
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> Typically, the receivers I have that were Canadian built
> have an SC
> designation. I have an SC-77 and one other, but I am not
> at home at the moment
> and can't recall what model it is. Also, the SC models
> have white lettering
> for both the SC model number and the Hallicrafters brand
> name on the other
> side of the panel. If I remember, I'll check the other
> one when I get
> home. Also I have never seen anything but an SX-28,
> SX-32 and a few others
> with orange dials. I don't believe the dials were that
> color when new but
> changed with age. I am not sure of the original color.
> Same thing for the
> meter faces in those models. I have never seen or heard
> of an S-40 or S-77
> model with anything but a green dial. The only other non
> standard face I am
> aware of is on some S-77s where the background was white
> and the lettering
> was white. These models are plagued by flaking dial
> paint. If you get one or
> work on one, don't touch the dial at all. Never attempt
> to clean it or
> even try to blow dust off of it, just stay away from it.
> The S-76 had a
> similar plastic dial to the
> S-40 series but it was black with white lettering. The
> bandspread dial
> was calibrated.
>
> Hallicrafters did produce a large number of home
> entertainment radios in
> Canada. These were typically All American Fives with octal
> or miniature
> tubes. I have a huge collection of them.
>
>
> 73,
>
> John, W4AWM
>
>
I can't be sure of Canadian models but suspect they were
the same as US ones. The S-20R and other receivers of that
era had dials that were originally white. The material
become brown with age and can look orange. I am not sure if
the first S-40's had white or green dials but Hallicrafters
begain using green dials as part of the new overall styling
of post-war receivers. The green also begins to yellow and
also to fade with age so its possible some green dials now
look some other color.
There were definitely circuit changes between the S-40
and S-40A, for one thing the rectifier was changed from the
type-80 to a 5Y3. I can find nothing in the literature that
suggests this was done on very late S-40's.
The general trend during the transition from the S-20R
to the S-40B was to revise the circuit design to make the
set perform a bit better and change the mechanical design to
make it cheaper to manufacture. Probably the largest change
in design between the S-40A and S-40B is in the
detector/first audio/noise limiter circuitry. The simplified
panel design was probably significantly cheaper to make but
loses a lot in looks IMO.
These are are all decent performing receivers provided
you understand the limits on the design imposed by the
market. They were intended to be quite modest in price, not
as cheap as the minimum type such as the S-38 but also more
affordable than the next step up, a receiver with a crystal
filter and perhaps some other features. When made the price
of an S-40/A/B was about double that of an S-38 of the same
period.
I think Hallicrafters always tried to make receivers
that were good value for the money and affordable. With the
exception of a very few specialty receivers I don't think
they ever tried to make world beaters.
It would appear that Hallicrafters also went into
production with designs which were not quite fully perfected
and had to revise them. The S-40 is an example, having at
least three versions not counting the A and B receivers. Its
also evident to anyone who has worked on a number of
Hallicrafters sets that the exact components were often
changed, probably because of availability or perhaps cost.
It would be interesting to know what sort of profit margins
Hallicrafters tried for and how they managed cost of
manufacture. Certainly, we know that they had to increase
prices on many models because of inflation. Nonetheless I
think they really tried to make stuff which would not
dissapoint the buyer.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com
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