RadioBanter - View Single Post - F/S Hallicrafters Model S-38

April 15th 04, 04:29 PM

In article ,
says...

"William Mutch" wrote in message
ell.edu...
In article , says...
warren wrote in
:

Look on eBay to get an idea whart they are selling for and how they
are described.

Anywhere from $5 - $50, depending on the condition. These were not rare
at
any time, and still aren't.

I agree. I got my S-38E for $5.00 at a church rummage sale in
non-functional condition. Absolutely cherry and working properly it
might be worth $50 to a collector.

Or they might be worth a bit more. I've seen S-38s (no suffix) go for over
$100 in pristine condition. But the typical one usually goes for $30 to
$60. The first generation, no suffix, models go for a premium because they
have a tuneable BFO and a noise limiter, which were eliminated in later
models.

I got my S-38 for $20 in non-working, scratched up condition. I had to
replace the dial cords, a couple of tubes, a few resistors, and all of the
paper and electrolytic capactiors. It works very well now.

Mine took one resistor from the junk
box and a good cleaning to make into a very classy kitchen table radio.
The RF performance is dismal by modern standards, but it evokes powerful
memories of listening to the 2Mhz marine band in the propeller shop of
the boatyard at the end of our road when I was quite little.

Have you replaced the paper caps? Leaky caps will reduce the radio's
performance, especially leaky screen grid bypasses.

Not yet. I'm pretty involved in an NC-183 restoration and I try
not to have too many projects going at once. 8-}

Leaky caps can also
ruin other components, as well. And paper caps are almost always leaky.
After a few years, they're even more troublesome than electrolytics.

I think my S-38 type radios are pretty good performers, considering their
simple design. But they all had to be recapped before they really perked
up.

Frank Dresser