Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM

Your're ****ed blue and screwed, worst piece of **** ever made! What ever
possessed you to bid on crap like that?

k

"wb5kcm" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM

I just hope you didn't buy it from radiomart

--

Clif Holland KA5IPF
www.avvid.com




"wb5kcm" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM

Randy,
I have both a 170C and a 170AC. The audio of Hammarlunds is not that
great but certainly usable for a vintage station. The HQ-170 uses a
tube rectifier, vs solid-state in the 170A. The A model also has an
SO239 coax connector and a flip-up cabinet top. Beyond that, there's
not a lot of difference.
If the fuse is not blown, the rig is probably OK to fire up, as-is. If
you have a Variac available, its always a good idea to bring it up
slowly the first time. Problems will probably be alignment. The 170/A
is triple conversion and if someone has been hacking at the alignment,
there's no telling how well it will, or won't, perform. One failure
mode is the 2.58 MHz oscillator. If the upper bands are dead, look into
that part of the circuitry. Its been my experience with 4-5 of these
that power supply problems and receiver alignment are the bugaboos.
That, and the crystal oscillator. Fortunately, Hammarlund didn't use any
of the nasty types of paper caps. In fact, most are disc types.
If the receiver is in nice physical condition, I'd say you may well have
a keeper. I use one with a Viking Valiant I and find it just fine on 75
and 40 meters. If yours doesn't have a clock, they can be had from
after-market sources. That goes for the clock lens, too. Oh yeah...
Hammarlund dials have a habit of really smoking up (getting very dirty).
One can remove the front panel fairly easily (more info if you need
it) and it will really brighten things up!

Good luck with your project.

de K3HVG


wb5kcm wrote:
Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM

But, if you clean the dials, do not use window cleaner. Be careful with the
lettering as it is very difficult to put back after it is washed off.

In truth, none of these old receivers compare to the newer ones - and they
probably are chosen on aesthetics. If you like the looks, it is a good
radio.

Colin K7FM

Thanks for this info...very useful !
Randy, WB5KCM

On Jan 23, 2:59 pm, K3HVG wrote:
Randy,
I have both a 170C and a 170AC. The audio of Hammarlunds is not that
great but certainly usable for a vintage station. The HQ-170 uses a
tube rectifier, vs solid-state in the 170A. The A model also has an
SO239 coax connector and a flip-up cabinet top. Beyond that, there's
not a lot of difference.
If the fuse is not blown, the rig is probably OK to fire up, as-is. If
you have a Variac available, its always a good idea to bring it up
slowly the first time. Problems will probably be alignment. The 170/A
is triple conversion and if someone has been hacking at the alignment,
there's no telling how well it will, or won't, perform. One failure
mode is the 2.58 MHz oscillator. If the upper bands are dead, look into
that part of the circuitry. Its been my experience with 4-5 of these
that power supply problems and receiver alignment are the bugaboos.
That, and the crystal oscillator. Fortunately, Hammarlund didn't use any
of the nasty types of paper caps. In fact, most are disc types.
If the receiver is in nice physical condition, I'd say you may well have
a keeper. I use one with a Viking Valiant I and find it just fine on 75
and 40 meters. If yours doesn't have a clock, they can be had from
after-market sources. That goes for the clock lens, too. Oh yeah...
Hammarlund dials have a habit of really smoking up (getting very dirty).
One can remove the front panel fairly easily (more info if you need
it) and it will really brighten things up!

Good luck with your project.

de K3HVG



wb5kcm wrote:
Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

Thanks Colin, very good advice!

On Jan 23, 8:00 pm, "COLIN LAMB" wrote:
But, if you clean the dials, do not use window cleaner. Be careful with the
lettering as it is very difficult to put back after it is washed off.

In truth, none of these old receivers compare to the newer ones - and they
probably are chosen on aesthetics. If you like the looks, it is a good
radio.

Colin K7FM

Hey Clif,

I bought it from "Chief's Trading Post" in Wichata, Ks. Do you know
Dale, NG5R ? I believe he is there in Mabank.
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM

On Jan 23, 2:39 pm, "Clif Holland" wrote:
I just hope you didn't buy it from radiomart

--

Clif Holland KA5IPFwww.avvid.com

"wb5kcm" wrote in oglegroups.com...



Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay. Can anyone tell me what to check
for or what to expect when this jewel arrives? Let me know what you
think..good or bad..
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

I owned an HQ-170C a few years back. As I recall, the small capacitors were
most or all ceramics, so you won't have to replace a bunch of leaky paper
caps.

I would recommend replacing the electrolytic capacitors, however. After
about 40 years, they are probably either shot or about to fail, whether or
not the set has been used. And the consequences of a power supply failure
can be expensive.

This article gives some basic information about recapping:
http://antiqueradio.org/recap.htm .

Especially if it has been sitting unused for years, the receiver will also
benefit by cleaning of the controls with a good spray cleaner such as
DeOxit. Don't forget the bandswitch.

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

The HQ-170 was the packaging of the HQ-110 and the HC-10. The HQ-110 was a
rather ordinary, but small and compact, amateur band only receiver. The
HC-10 is a nice if adapter that converts the normal 455 kHz if to a much
lower frequency, then adds a product detector. The HC-10 is highly sought
after. Selectivity can be quite narrow, and it has a product detector,
which a number of other old boatanchors do not have.

The main limitations of the HQ-170 would be stability and frequency readout
on 10 and 15 meters. Since the high frequency oscillator is close to the
ham band, drift is more of a problem than with the receivers that have a
crystal controlled front end. But, on 80 or 40 or 160, who cares.
Stability is ok there.

IF bandwidth is wide enough for good am, but some audio engineer came up
with the bizarre idea to vary the fidelity of the audio output depending
upon the avc voltage. It was called "Auto-Response" and assured distortion
when there was qsb. The fact that they promoted it rather than hiding it
never did make sense.

My neighbor had one and worked a hundred countries on sideband with it and
probably 50 countries on 6 meters am, so it was good enough.

Each of these old receivers has their qualities and quirks - which makes
them almost human.

73, Colin K7FM