On Sun, 18 Mar 2007, Rick wrote:


Today I saw a Hammarlund HQ-180 (not the "A" model) for $450. This seems
to me to be a bit on the high side of reasonable and I wanted to see what
you all think.

Yep, its definitely on the high side. Might be OK for eBay where the
shills bid against you to artificially raise the prices (now you know
another reason for identity theft) and people are so nuts about something
that they will pay out double or triple a decent hamfest price for
something in their dreams.

It looks like it's in better than average cosmetic condition, though not
"mint" by any means (looks like a 50-year-old radio that was well taken
care of but is, after all, 50 years old). Inside is a bit dusty but I
didn't see any corrosion.

Unfortunately, where I saw it wasn't anyplace where I could plug it in,
hang a wire off the back, and check it out, but I am arranging with the
owner to be able to do that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Even if it works up to snuff (S-meter, sensitivity, etc., all work), I'd
still be looking at $200-250 tops, as my offering price. Be willing to
walk away, or at least if he says no, then tell him you'll think about it.

It has the clock (so, I guess that makes it the HQ-180C model).

It has the original owner's manual.

When I go to check it out, what are the main things I should check for,
other than the normal ability to receive across all bands?

Ask to take a screwdriver and take the chassis out of the cabinet and look
underneath. Rust, dust, cobwebs, smoke deposits, cracks in anything.

If I can borrow a signal generator from somebody and take it with me, what
level of sensitivity should I expect?

Hook some 10-20 feet of wire, and maybe a small portable antenna tuner and
see what it sounds like listening to anything across the bands. On the top
band (about 12-30 mHz) you might not hear much because not much is there
except at the low end.

What are some of the options for that model of receiver that I should look
for that might make it worth more?

Matching Speaker? Maybe some other guys will have some ideas.

What do you all think of the $450 price, if everything works?


Fine for ripoff eBay price, but still high even if in mint condition. If
you are too far from hamfests and can't wait, then its your price or talk
the guy down. I've seen really really outrageous prices (surely bid up by
shills) on eBay.