Hello Bob:

I see that you are unfamiliar with servicing radios. Many of us have taught
ourselves - I know I did. Working on an old radio is straightforward and
logical. There are many books out there that cover most of what you need to
know. Then, it just comes to common sense and deductive reasoning.

Manuals for most radios are available for free on the internet, and together
with an old Radio Amateur Handbook you can pick up everything you need.

Basic test equipment includes a digital voltmeter that can be purchased for
a few dollars. A $25 grid dip meter can serve as a signal source.
Gradually, you can pick up a few items which make servicing much easier.
However, most of us started with minimum equipment.

The older servicing books from the late 30s and 40s are ideal because they
assume they tell you how to make your own equipment. As a matter of fact,
if you need to test a tube, you can build a tube tester from scratch in just
a few minutes. It will have wires going all over, but you will be able to
make simple tests.

With all the new test equipment becoming surplus, you can often pick up some
older equipment for nothing, or very close to it. Old Tektronix scopes are
often available for hauling away. Likewise older tube signal generators.

The beauty of the older radios is that they all work pretty much the same.
A Hammarlund HQ-120, sold before WW II, is the same basic radio as your
HQ-145. Learning to service one will give you all you need to know to
service the other. That is far different than the radios today.

As others have mentioned, you can remove the 5U4 and that should remove the
overload on the power transformer. If the radio does not hum or smoke after
the 5U4 is pulled, then the transformer is fine and a simple replacement of
the filter caps will probably get you back into business. And, as others
have mentioned, a fuse would be very helpful to prevent a catastrophe in the
event of a short.

Colin K7FM