You do get your hands dirty. That's a lot of homebrew. What I find
admirable is that you just go ahead and DO it without obsessing over a
perfect front panel and such. I can't begin to count the number of
projects I've thought about taking on but never did because my
workshop skills are so-so and I knew I couldn't make the finished
products look the way they did in the Handbook, so why bother? It's a
dumb attitude, but I'll bet it's shared by a fair number of hams. I
did build some things, but nothing ambitious. You have my respect.

On Jan 25, 6:07 pm, Straydog wrote:

Yes, I'm going towards "retro" myself. Ultimate goal is to build (with
drill and soldering iron) a complete, total, homebrew tube station (AM and
SSB) mainly for 75 and 160). I already have most of a total homebrew
transmitter finished (including pair of 813s in GG). You can see some of
this at: http://www.panix.com/~asd

wb5kcm wrote:

I posted some photos of my HQ-170 project on my Flickr site if anyone
maybe interested in taking a look, let me know what you think...Thanks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32773176@N00/


On Jan 26, 6:25 pm, "wb5kcm" wrote:


The radio looks to be in better than 'fair' condition.

Good luck with restoration.

Hello to the group, I am setting up a vintage station and just bought
an unknown/untested HQ-170 on eBay.

Mine is a 170A-VHF_no clock. The odd ball problem I had was the 6C4 in the
first osc caused noise with increased rx sig strength. The original was dead
so one was installed from a brand new stick of NIB RCA 6C4s. Sometimes the
dials slip too but I still like the radio OK. Hammys are OK here.
HQ-120, HQ-150, HQ-110A, HQ-170A-VHF, EAC R390A ( #237 1960 contract)

EdZ

I posted some photos of my HQ-170 project on my Flickr site if anyone
maybe interested in taking a look, let me know what you think...Thanks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32773176@N00/

Hey, Thats a great radio! No abuse, all the parts, you did well,
con-BoatAnchor-gratulations.

EdZ

On Feb 10, 11:31 pm, "Ed Zeranski" wrote:
I posted some photos of my HQ-170 project on my Flickr site if anyone
maybe interested in taking a look, let me know what you think...Thanks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32773176@N00/

Hey, Thats a great radio! No abuse, all the parts, you did well,
con-BoatAnchor-gratulations.

EdZ

Thanks EdZ,
I just picked up another HQ-170 yesterday for a parts source. It is
much cleaner than mine but is missing several major components. It is
s/n 5792 and my original HQ-170(the one in the photos) is s/n 1902.
Actually the one in the photos has been cleaned up and looks even
better now. Once I have the new front panel, knobs, etc I will post
more photos. Working on this HQ-170 has been a lot of fun. I am now in
the process of putting in the BFO coil and the 160 meter antenna
transformer. Once I have all the components installed and checked I
will finish the alignment. Once I have the radio playing like it
should, I will start swaping the front panels, dials, knobs etc.
Thanks for the tip about the 6C4 HF oscillator, I will watch for that.
I tried to buy a 170 VHF model off Ebay recently but missed it and I
think it sold for ~$140, I wish I had made that deal. Thanks for the
comments and best 73 de Randy, WB5KCM

On Jan 26, 10:06 pm, "wb5kcm" wrote:
I posted some photos of my HQ-170 project on my Flickr site if anyone
maybe interested in taking a look, let me know what you think...Thankshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/32773176@N00/

On Jan 26, 6:25 pm, "wb5kcm" wrote:



1/26/07: Well I got the HQ-170 in via UPS last night. Unpacked the box
and put it on the bench. Noticed several things bouncing around inside.
Removed the 3 case screws from the rear and pulled off the cover. What
was rattling around was about 3 tube shields. I replaced these and
straightened several tubes. Checked the fuse and it looks good. Made
several checks to make sure there was no shorts, all checked good.
Don't see any burned components.
I do see a couple interesting items:
1. The first IF transformer, T1 has had several things soldered to it.
Looks like it may have been replaced some time in the past.
2. The can transformer at the rear of the chassis near V13 has been
removed and it looks like an open type adjustable transformer has been
installed in its place. There is a coax cable connected to this
transformer that is connected to the vernier tuning cap.
Connected a speaker and antenna. Plugged it in and turned it on. Got
one dial lamp burning and all the tubes look to be lighting up. After a
short warmup period, I can hear some signals on 40 meters....very nice,
the SSB and AM signals sound good. Trying the other bands...I can hear
some...only a couple signals on 75 meters and nothing on 160. I can
hear static on 20 meters and the other higher frequency bands, I can
hear static but no signals. I can hear the calibrator on these bands.
Looking at the overall physical condition of the receiver it has all
the knobs, including the clock knobs. The plastic lens on the clock is
cracked. The cabinet has a few paint abrasions, a couple dents. Needs
cleaning inside and out.
Looks like I have a good project here. Hope to get started on it this
weekend. Appreciate all the comments and hints on the restoration. If
you see something I need to look for from my description please pass it
on to me.
Thanks and best 73 de Randy, wb5kcm

On Jan 25, 5:25 pm, "wb5kcm" wrote:

Thanks Straydog and others...lots of very good advice. Hopefully the
HQ-170 will arrive soon but I expect it early next week. I have printed
out the manual and some of the other tech notes. Making a book with all
this info. I enjoy listening to the Amers on 75 and 160 and hope to
have my own vintage station setup eventually. This HQ-170 is my first
item. After I get the HQ-170 going well, I will start looking for a
transmitter. Thanks again and 73 de Randy, WB5KCM Fort Worth, Texas

On Jan 25, 5:07 pm, Straydog wrote:

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007, 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, WB5KCMHere would be my things to check, and priority:

1. Does it turn on?
2. Can you hear stations with it?
3. Is the sensitivity up to where it should be, or low (weak tube(s)?)?
4. What is the calibration like on all bands?
5. Functionality of other stuff (AVC speed, slot filter, etc.)
6. Scratchiness/dirt in bandswitch, and pots.

I bought a HQ-170 at a hamfest several years ago and it wasn't in the best
or worst of conditions. I heard stations but the S-meter needle never went
up all that high. I actually used the receiver for many contacts. Yes,
there is warm-up drift (maybe 10 kc on 75 meters). Also, I noticed that
the receiver sensitivity actually got a little better after an hour's
warmup. Also, the crystal calibrator never worked cold (also, worked fine
after an hour warmup). Selectivity was better than on my Icom 707 and you
could move the BFO freq to adjust the position of the steep sides of the
IF passband to beat some close signals. However, my slot filter does not
work. My 170 is 160 through 6 meters; I think maybe earlier ones were only
160 through 10 meters.

Overall, its not too bad. And, when I get done with some other higher
priority work, I'm going to go through the tubes and check whether they
are weak or OK.

Yes, I'm going towards "retro" myself. Ultimate goal is to build (with
drill and soldering iron) a complete, total, homebrew tube station (AM and
SSB) mainly for 75 and 160). I already have most of a total homebrew
transmitter finished (including pair of 813s in GG). You can see some of
this at: http://www.panix.com/~asd

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I posted my "completed HQ-170" photos on my Flckr site. Let me know
what you think.
Thanks, Randy, WB5KCM
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wb5kcm/...7594523189590/