I recently bought an HQ 180 and LOVE it. It is soooo quiet , but very
sensitive. Stability is just OK after warmup, but I probably have been spoiled
by PLLs PTOs etc. With the 180 you need to touch up the tuning every 20 min or
so to keep an SSB signal sounding the same. Even when left on for days it
drifts a tiny bit. It is so much fun to use and it takes the chill off a small
room in the winter with those glowing filaments. I have "cheated" and bought a
digital readout kit, but I'll only use it when I cant find what I want using
analog tuning dials. I have always preferred the looks of Hallicrafters (SX 100
especially), but the HQ 180 blows away the Halli performance wise. You can
still find semi-cheap HQ 180s if you look hard. Mine was $150 in great shape
at a local ham swap. If you have room for one, they really make SWLing fun. I
have a DSP Ten Tec 320 but its not nearly as much fun to use as the HQ 180.