Ben,

My first "real" receiver, as a Novice ham in the late '50s, was an
NC-2-40D (you're right, Ben, there are hyphens in two places if you
want to be picky). The 240C--oops, 2-40C--was its predecessor,
obviously. Both receivers had a coil catacomb beneath the chassis that
slid on rails when the bands were changed. That technique, which I
believe was the brainchild of the legendary James Millen, minimized
lead length by placing the appropriate coil sets directly next to the
RF and oscillator stages, and maximized isolation by keeping the other
coils at a distance. The kerchunk-kerchunk as the cast-metal catacomb
moves from detent to detent down the chassis when you switch bands is
way cool, and the Deco design of the 200 series (there was an NC-200,
single hyphen) gives it a special look. (I hope yours came with the
stepped feet.) Others seem to agree--Fred Osterman made the 2-40D one
of his cover radios for his invaluable "Shortwave Receivers Past and
Present: Communications Receivers 1942-1997," which actually includes
lots of radios from the '30s. You can find info at

http://www.io.com/~nielw/nat_list/nat_list.htm

The main difference between your C model and my D is that the C was
strictly a SW receiver, with six bands. The D added the four HF amateur
bands--80, 40, 20, and 11/10 meters--spreading them over four separate
scales of their own.

The 2-40D was the final model in a line of National receivers that used
the sliding coil box. The complete series is at

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...5a806cf08966a9

Many years later, I missed my 2-40D and now have two of them, both
awaiting a bit of restoration. The audio is also terrific, with
push-pull 6V6's in the output stage.

Manuals are readily available.

Enjoy your new baby! Did it come with the speaker? Does it work at all?

Avery W3AVE
Potomac, Md.