HQ-180 for $450?
 

Today I saw a Hammarlund HQ-180 (not the "A" model) for $450. This seems
to me to be a bit on the high side of reasonable and I wanted to see what
you all think.

It looks like it's in better than average cosmetic condition, though not
"mint" by any means (looks like a 50-year-old radio that was well taken
care of but is, after all, 50 years old). Inside is a bit dusty but I
didn't see any corrosion.

Unfortunately, where I saw it wasn't anyplace where I could plug it in,
hang a wire off the back, and check it out, but I am arranging with the
owner to be able to do that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

It has the clock (so, I guess that makes it the HQ-180C model).

It has the original owner's manual.

When I go to check it out, what are the main things I should check for,
other than the normal ability to receive across all bands?

If I can borrow a signal generator from somebody and take it with me, what
level of sensitivity should I expect?

What are some of the options for that model of receiver that I should look
for that might make it worth more?

What do you all think of the $450 price, if everything works?

HQ-180 for $450?
 

You can check past prices on Ebay by going to completed sales area.
(You do have to register for Ebay to go to that portion) There you
will see what people are actually willing to pay for this and nearly
every other receiver. This is, of course, the true measure of what
something is worth...the price people are willing to pay.

It does seem a bit high though. I'd say maybe $350 for a decent HQ-180
in working order in clean condition.

W3JT Jon

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 12:29:39 -0400, Rick wrote:


Today I saw a Hammarlund HQ-180 (not the "A" model) for $450. This seems
to me to be a bit on the high side of reasonable and I wanted to see what
you all think.

It looks like it's in better than average cosmetic condition, though not
"mint" by any means (looks like a 50-year-old radio that was well taken
care of but is, after all, 50 years old). Inside is a bit dusty but I
didn't see any corrosion.

Unfortunately, where I saw it wasn't anyplace where I could plug it in,
hang a wire off the back, and check it out, but I am arranging with the
owner to be able to do that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

It has the clock (so, I guess that makes it the HQ-180C model).

It has the original owner's manual.

When I go to check it out, what are the main things I should check for,
other than the normal ability to receive across all bands?

If I can borrow a signal generator from somebody and take it with me, what
level of sensitivity should I expect?

What are some of the options for that model of receiver that I should look
for that might make it worth more?

What do you all think of the $450 price, if everything works?

HQ-180 for $450?
 

For reference/comparison purposes only.

The HQ-180 is much more radio than the HQ-145. I just finished the repair [minor
2 resistor replacement and electrolytic reforming], replacement of three tubes,
realignment and recalibration of a HQ-145 where the cabinet was in 9.5+
condition and the interior was hard dust [still needs a little careful brushing
of some surfaces].

The AVC/AGC circuit is a hybrid and is set ONLY for AM. The design of the S
meter circuit is disabled by design on CW/SSB. The calibration/realignment
produced the same response at S7, S9 and S9+20 in the AM mode as my ICOM 746
when calibrated against a signal generator [in a transfer mode calibration -
switching between both radios in one common setup]. The 746 does have better
MDS. My signal generator does not produce reliable outputs below ~S5.

For $$$ comparison I paid $227 for the HQ-145 on Ebay two weeks ago.

The HQ-180 does sound a bit high at $450. But, if it is in GREAT condition and
operable as it stands ... maybe??

/s/ DD, W1MCE

Rick wrote:
Today I saw a Hammarlund HQ-180 (not the "A" model) for $450. This seems
to me to be a bit on the high side of reasonable and I wanted to see what
you all think.

It looks like it's in better than average cosmetic condition, though not
"mint" by any means (looks like a 50-year-old radio that was well taken
care of but is, after all, 50 years old). Inside is a bit dusty but I
didn't see any corrosion.

Unfortunately, where I saw it wasn't anyplace where I could plug it in,
hang a wire off the back, and check it out, but I am arranging with the
owner to be able to do that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

It has the clock (so, I guess that makes it the HQ-180C model).

It has the original owner's manual.

When I go to check it out, what are the main things I should check for,
other than the normal ability to receive across all bands?

If I can borrow a signal generator from somebody and take it with me, what
level of sensitivity should I expect?

What are some of the options for that model of receiver that I should look
for that might make it worth more?

What do you all think of the $450 price, if everything works?

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Looking at several "points of interest", it looks like the price of $450
is just about at the top of the heap for any version of the HQ-180 and
maybe out the top for a straight 180. Beings that condition condition
condition (like real estate location.......) IF it would qualify as
virtually like-new, you might want to seriously consider it. The
HQ-180A uses solid-state rectifiers vs. a 5U4 and has an extra filament
transformer to keep the LO and first mixer on and warmed up. This is
supposed to help stability, at turn-on. Beyond that, there's not a whole
lot of difference, the top opens up and as I recall, the 180A has a coax
connector already mounted. Just had a quick look at mine.... almost
forgot, the BFO on the 180A has a USB and LSB position so you don't have
to adjust the BFO freq. when you change sidebands. It also has an octal
accessory socket on the rear panel and has a 500 ohm line audio output
as well as 8 ohms for the speaker. If the receiver includes the S-200
(big) speaker, it a better deal, too. That's all folks..........
de Jeep/K3HVG

HQ-180 for $450?
 

I'd say thats way too high. My $.02 anyway.
Don't be embarrased to ask to see under the chassis.
I've seen a number of rigs that looked super nice
on the outside/top of the chassis that were a horror
underneath.

Check all bands and look for intermittent switches.
Sometimes all thats needed is a good cleaning.
Other times the wafers can be cracked, or just
plain worn out.

Lots of these around. If you see anything that looks
funny, be patient and find the right one for you.

Steve

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007, Rick wrote:


Today I saw a Hammarlund HQ-180 (not the "A" model) for $450. This seems
to me to be a bit on the high side of reasonable and I wanted to see what
you all think.

Yep, its definitely on the high side. Might be OK for eBay where the
shills bid against you to artificially raise the prices (now you know
another reason for identity theft) and people are so nuts about something
that they will pay out double or triple a decent hamfest price for
something in their dreams.

It looks like it's in better than average cosmetic condition, though not
"mint" by any means (looks like a 50-year-old radio that was well taken
care of but is, after all, 50 years old). Inside is a bit dusty but I
didn't see any corrosion.

Unfortunately, where I saw it wasn't anyplace where I could plug it in,
hang a wire off the back, and check it out, but I am arranging with the
owner to be able to do that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Even if it works up to snuff (S-meter, sensitivity, etc., all work), I'd
still be looking at $200-250 tops, as my offering price. Be willing to
walk away, or at least if he says no, then tell him you'll think about it.

It has the clock (so, I guess that makes it the HQ-180C model).

It has the original owner's manual.

When I go to check it out, what are the main things I should check for,
other than the normal ability to receive across all bands?

Ask to take a screwdriver and take the chassis out of the cabinet and look
underneath. Rust, dust, cobwebs, smoke deposits, cracks in anything.

If I can borrow a signal generator from somebody and take it with me, what
level of sensitivity should I expect?

Hook some 10-20 feet of wire, and maybe a small portable antenna tuner and
see what it sounds like listening to anything across the bands. On the top
band (about 12-30 mHz) you might not hear much because not much is there
except at the low end.

What are some of the options for that model of receiver that I should look
for that might make it worth more?

Matching Speaker? Maybe some other guys will have some ideas.

What do you all think of the $450 price, if everything works?


Fine for ripoff eBay price, but still high even if in mint condition. If
you are too far from hamfests and can't wait, then its your price or talk
the guy down. I've seen really really outrageous prices (surely bid up by
shills) on eBay.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007, Steve wrote:

I'd say thats way too high. My $.02 anyway.
Don't be embarrased to ask to see under the chassis.
I've seen a number of rigs that looked super nice
on the outside/top of the chassis that were a horror
underneath.

Here is another item to look for: the old style first "printed circuits".
What they did was mold a network of resistors and capacitors into a molded
"chip" and it hangs there, suspended in mid-air, and they don't make those
any more. I had an HQ-170 that had one of those and you could not find out
what was in that network because the manual just showed it as a box with
leads coming out. If it goes bad, then you would have to guess what was in
it. Examine the manual to see if there is a "black box" square in the
schematic that does not tell you what is inside. So, if it craps out, you
might be up the creek.

Check all bands and look for intermittent switches.

And, scratchy-noisy pots, too!

Sometimes all thats needed is a good cleaning.
Other times the wafers can be cracked, or just
plain worn out.

Lots of these around. If you see anything that looks
funny, be patient and find the right one for you.

Steve

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Straydog wrote:

SNIPPED


Here is another item to look for: the old style first "printed
circuits". What they did was mold a network of resistors and capacitors
into a molded "chip" and it hangs there, suspended in mid-air, and they
don't make those any more. I had an HQ-170 that had one of those and you
could not find out what was in that network because the manual just
showed it as a box with leads coming out. If it goes bad, then you would
have to guess what was in it. Examine the manual to see if there is a
"black box" square in the schematic that does not tell you what is
inside. So, if it craps out, you might be up the creek.


SNIPPED

The HQ-145 I just finished refurbishing has two of those circuits in it. One is
the AVC/AGC network; the other is interstage coupling for the audio output.

The schematics for both are shown within the field of the basic receiver schematic.

The schematic for the HQ-180 at the BAMA site shows the parameters inside the
hybrid.

/s/ DD, W1MCE

HQ-180 for $450?
 

I agree it's high. I sold a very nice HQ-180AC for around $200 at a swap
meet a couple of years ago. Of course, swap meets are full of chronic
cheapskates :-)

That receiver is new enough that it doesn't use a bunch of old paper
capacitors, so there is not much to check apart from what has already been
mentioned.

I enjoyed my 180, although the audio quality is nothing to write home about.
Receivers with push-pull audio are more to my taste.

If it has a matching Hammarlund speaker, that adds to the value. Those may
sell for $50 to as much as $100 if the right person wants one. They are much
more scarce than the radios themselves, since some purchasers used a
different speaker or headphones. I regret selling my speaker for as little
as I did.

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

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:03:37 -0400, Straydog wrote:

Yep, its definitely on the high side. Might be OK for eBay where the
shills bid against you to artificially raise the prices (now you know
another reason for identity theft) and people are so nuts about something
that they will pay out double or triple a decent hamfest price for
something in their dreams.

Yeah, the trouble with that is, the next words out of his mouth after he
told me his asking price were "If I can't get that for it, I'll just put
it on ebay".

By now pretty much everybody knows about ebay and they know they can get
hundreds more than the true worth of something, which of course then only
serves to raise the "true worth of something" if you define "worth" as
"whatever someone will pay for it".

I asked him to call me if he hadn't sold the radio by the end of the
hamfest and I haven't heard from him, so maybe it's moot and he managed to
convince someone to give him his price for it.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Rick wrote:

...
I asked him to call me if he hadn't sold the radio by the end of the
hamfest and I haven't heard from him, so maybe it's moot and he managed to
convince someone to give him his price for it.


Check ebay, maybe the old coot went ahead and put 'er up 'fer bid! :-$

JS

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:52:49 -0800, John Smith I wrote:

Check ebay, maybe the old coot went ahead and put 'er up 'fer bid! :-$

Oh, I have, and do, regularly. I check ebay at least twice a week.

As I write this I have a web browser up on ebay's "Completed Sales" page
for "Hammarlund 180". I see three of them as having sold in the last
(however long it is that those listings stay on "Completed Sales"... 30
days I think). One went for $300, one went for $500, and one went for
$610. The $500 one was the "A" model and the other two were straight 180's.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:52:49 -0800, John Smith I wrote:

Check ebay, maybe the old coot went ahead and put 'er up 'fer bid! :-$

I'll be darned! He really did put it up on ebay, item number
150103567136, with a starting bid of $475 (no bids yet) and a "Buy It Now"
price of $750.

The guy at the hamfest said he was from Ashburnham, MA, so I'm certain
that's the one I saw at the hamfest.

This is going to be interesting. :-)

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Rick wrote:
On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:52:49 -0800, John Smith I wrote:


Check ebay, maybe the old coot went ahead and put 'er up 'fer bid! :-$


I'll be darned! He really did put it up on ebay, item number
150103567136, with a starting bid of $475 (no bids yet) and a "Buy It Now"
price of $750.

The guy at the hamfest said he was from Ashburnham, MA, so I'm certain
that's the one I saw at the hamfest.

This is going to be interesting. :-)


I saw that on eBay. I was going to post the reference for you.

Nice to know it is 'TESTED' though.

BTW: I've been watching for a Johnson Ranger. One is listed with a buy it now
price of [are you ready?] $1000.00 !!! for a 30 watt AM radio!!!

YIPES!!

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:19:17 -0400, Dave wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:52:49 -0800, John Smith I wrote:


Check ebay, maybe the old coot went ahead and put 'er up 'fer bid! :-$


I'll be darned! He really did put it up on ebay, item number
150103567136, with a starting bid of $475 (no bids yet) and a "Buy It Now"
price of $750.

The guy at the hamfest said he was from Ashburnham, MA, so I'm certain
that's the one I saw at the hamfest.

This is going to be interesting. :-)


I saw that on eBay. I was going to post the reference for you.

Nice to know it is 'TESTED' though.

BTW: I've been watching for a Johnson Ranger. One is listed with a buy it now
price of [are you ready?] $1000.00 !!! for a 30 watt AM radio!!!


Wait till he tries to find a replacement for the temperature
compensating capacitor in the Ranger VFO. It was the failure of that
part and my inability to find a replacement for it 35 years ago that
caused me to sell my Ranger. The Ranger was a nice rig, but $1000?

Of course the Ranger was advertised as a 75 watt radio, but virtually
every transmitter was rated by input back then (plate voltage times
plate current, key down.) Slightly under 50% efficiency was pretty
good. I think my first transmitter, a Heath AT-1, rated at 30 watts
(or was it 25) only put out about 7 watts. We didn't even have a QRP
hobby then. I guess I was ahead of my time in 1956 as a 13 year old
Novice. Its amazing what I actually worked with that rig...and a
Hallifcrafters S-38D for a receiver. I think the bandwidth on that
was the entire Novice Band. No wonder I had very good pitch
discrimination to sort out CW signals. I couldn't do that today.
Mercifully, I got a better receiver the next Christmas...a Hammarlund
HQ-100 (The HQ 180 was a couple year away, and I couldn't afford one
as a teen anyway.)

I think I got $50 or $75 for the Ranger when I sold it back then. The
person who bought it, a lady EE, said she could fix it and when she
couldn't, wanted me to take it back. Sheeesh. If I could have stored
it for 35 years, I probably should have at those prices. I didn't.

Jon, W3JT



YIPES!!

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:35:28 -0400, Rick wrote:

By now pretty much everybody knows about ebay and they know they can get
hundreds more than the true worth of something, which of course then only
serves to raise the "true worth of something" if you define "worth" as
"whatever someone will pay for it".

eBay's a pretty true arbiter of popularity and true market value. It doesn't,
for example, inflate the price of pieces of art at all -- in fact, there are
many true bargains to be had. The same is generally true of cars and
motorcycles.

Just because some idiots are willing to pay more than full retail for brand new,
commonly-available items is not an indictment of eBay, but of the ignorance of
those buyers.

The same is true for ham radio items -- there's a comparatively tiny population
of interested parties, and no sophisticated network providing an accurate
compilation of recent equipment sales prices. Vintage items are truly worth
whatever someone is willing to pay.

-- Larry

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:19:17 -0400, Dave wrote:

I saw that on eBay. I was going to post the reference for you.

Nice to know it is 'TESTED' though.

I think it may be mostly because of me that it is "tested" at all (if in
fact this is the same radio).

When I spoke to the owner at the hamfest, he said he hadn't ever plugged
it in or turned it on since he bought it (from which I interpreted that
he probably hadn't had it for very long). I told him I wouldn't
necessarily be unwilling to go his $450 asking price IF I could go to his
house (about a 1.5-hour drive from my house) and test it with a wire
antenna or signal generator, and I asked him to call me if he didn't sell
it at the hamfest.

It sounds like he probably took it home that night and plugged it in and
tested it, and (I assume) found that it worked.

I suppose I should have just taken my chances and given him the $450... :-\

(I am kind of holding out for an "A" model, though...)

It'll be interesting to see how the auction progresses. If there is no
shilling involved (big "if", I know, but I'm willing to give the guy the
benefit of the doubt at least for now), either the radio won't sell, in
which case I'll probably call the guy up and make him an offer, or else
it'll tell me what the real market is for these things and I'll have to
decide whether I really want to hold out for one or settle for something
else like a Hallicrafters.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Jon Teske wrote:

SNIPPED

Of course the Ranger was advertised as a 75 watt radio, but virtually
every transmitter was rated by input back then (plate voltage times
plate current, key down.) Slightly under 50% efficiency was pretty
good. I think my first transmitter, a Heath AT-1, rated at 30 watts
(or was it 25) only put out about 7 watts. We didn't even have a QRP
hobby then. I guess I was ahead of my time in 1956 as a 13 year old
Novice. Its amazing what I actually worked with that rig...and a
Hallifcrafters S-38D for a receiver. ...

SNIPPED
My first transmitter was also a Heath AT-1. I had 8 watts output on 10 meters.
Worked WAS on 10 meters with that radio and it was crystal controlled on ~28.8
Mc [AKA MHz]. That was when WAS only required 48 states :-)

I was a little older than you when I got my license. Memory is foggy, but I was
about 15 years old. My receiver was the National SW-54 [National's poor version
of the S-38D].

Ah! The olden days ... today, IC-756P3, IC-746, AL-80B, IC-706 MKIIg, multiple
antennas, retired [plenty of time], and rebuilding a 'nostalgia station', ca
1958-1960.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 18:55:21 -0400, Dave wrote:

Jon Teske wrote:

SNIPPED

Of course the Ranger was advertised as a 75 watt radio, but virtually
every transmitter was rated by input back then (plate voltage times
plate current, key down.) Slightly under 50% efficiency was pretty
good. I think my first transmitter, a Heath AT-1, rated at 30 watts
(or was it 25) only put out about 7 watts. We didn't even have a QRP
hobby then. I guess I was ahead of my time in 1956 as a 13 year old
Novice. Its amazing what I actually worked with that rig...and a
Hallifcrafters S-38D for a receiver. ...

SNIPPED
My first transmitter was also a Heath AT-1. I had 8 watts output on 10 meters.
Worked WAS on 10 meters with that radio and it was crystal controlled on ~28.8
Mc [AKA MHz]. That was when WAS only required 48 states :-)

If you lived in W1-land back then, getting WAS on 10 would be a real
challenge...for the close-in states. From here in MD, getting Delaware
on the higher bands is a real challenge, even with short skip. I'm a
bit far for ground wave. For me a 10 meter WAS would have been easier
as a kid for all the adjacent states to Wisconsin (I lived right on
Lake Michigan) had areas far enough removed that I could get them on
short skip or sporadic E.

I was a little older than you when I got my license. Memory is foggy, but I was
about 15 years old. My receiver was the National SW-54 [National's poor version
of the S-38D].

I don't think I ever saw an SW-54, but it was indeed their version of
the S-38 line. On ten meters the challenge woud be which of the image
frequencies you were actually on. I think the IF was at 455Kc
(Remember Kcs ???) My FCC tests were all in Kcs until I went for
Advanced and Extra about 15 years after I got the Novice and General.
I was just 14 by a few days when I took the General test and in those
days you didn't get Algebra until 9th grade. I had just finished 8th
grade when I took the test. You had to calculate a whole bunch of
formulas. I remember my 8th grade shop teacher who was my "Elmer" then
trying to tutor me in enough formula manipulation to do the test. He
must have done well for I did pass it on the first try. You also had
to memorize some schematics and draw them out by hand. The code test
was in a big echoey Civil Service exam room in the Milwaukee Federal
Court House...you could hear each character twice. I froze during the
first part of the five minute code test, then finally settled down
enough to perhaps get one clean minute. To this day I believe that a
kind-hearted FCC examiner passed me because he didn't want to see a
kid crying in the room. I was the youngest one there by a long shot. I
think he knew I really could do the required 13 WPM. Fifteen years
later, now living outside Washington DC, I went to FCC HQ there for
the test with headphones for the CW exam. I went to take the Advanced
exam, but the examiner had to give an Extra CW test first. He asked me
if I could do 20 WPM (I had an ARRL certificate for 30wpm) and I said
sure. So he told me to take the CW test, and if I passed it and the
Advance test he would give me the Extra test (for which I had not
studied at all...didn't even look in that part of the License Manual).
I passed the CW and the Advanced with no problem so I took the Extra
test cold turkey and missed it by one question. After the test was
graded, I took my license manual into the corridor of the building and
underlined the parts of the test I remembered. Thirty days later, I
got a perfect score on the Extra exam. No crying that time.

Ah! The olden days ... today, IC-756P3, IC-746, AL-80B, IC-706 MKIIg, multiple
antennas, retired [plenty of time], and rebuilding a 'nostalgia station', ca
1958-1960.

I've thought about that. I do have a Hammarlund HQ-145 here in good
physical condition, but with a likely bad tube. I did get it working
once but the power supply capactors started smoking. I've put some
new ones in. If I ever saw a decent Johnson Adventurer at the right
price, it was my 2nd transmitter as a kid, I'd get it.

Today, still rather spartan here. An IC-751A to a Butternut vertical
in the backyard and a couple of VHF handhelds and a base station.
I only use the handhelds when I go back to my Wisconsin hometown
and talk with the guys still there who were my teen ham buddies. They
were all a bit older than me. When I was licensed, I was supposedly
the youngest ham in Wisconsin. That distinction was soon eclipsed by
a nine-year old in my town who 15 years later became my brother-in-law
(we married sisters.) I mostly operate CW and have 160 DXCC
countries with this modest setup.

Jon Teske, W3JT (ex K9CAH, W3DRV and I also hold KG4TJ from
Gitmo Bay, Cuba where I operated in 1995.

HQ-180 for $450?
 

Also keep in mind that eBay is an international marketplace. With
potentially thousands of eyes looking at your item, there's a bigger chance
that one or two people might decide that they just can't live without it. As
opposed to a hamfest or swap meet, where it may be seen by a few hundred
people at most, and perhaps none of them happens to be interested on that
day.

Phil Nelson

HQ-180 for $450?
 

I have observed prices on Ebay and elsewhere,
and they have been steadily rising for excellent
condition 180s -- the 180C goes for slightly less,
which is interesting, because I started on a
180 and thought it might have better sensitivity.

But I say again -- excellent 180As and especially
180AX version with no major marks on the cabinet
or front will continue to rise...

HQ-180 for $450?
 

The self contained circuits containing resistors and capacitors were often
used in the audio chain of receivers. Many schematics show the contents of
the integrated circuit at the side of the schematic - but if not, it is easy
to go to any tube design handbook and reverse engineer the components. As I
recall, all of the RCA tube handbooks contain the elementary design data
needed to determine how the chip should have been constructed.

Certainly not rocket science.

Colin K7FM