Halicrafters S95 civic patrol

[radiotvnut]

Picked up this Hallicrafters S95 "civic patrol" out of a house that is about to be torn down. As can be seen, it's knobless and needs some cosmetic work. If I fix this, will I be able to hear anything on it? From what I'm finding on the Internet, it covers FM from 152-173 MC.

[Sandy G]

Yeah, maybe yr local cops, rescue squad, fire, etc. One of our cop frequencies is 155.010, another couple are 154.70, & 155.70

[Tom Bavis]

You probably have a local weather station on 162.4 or 162.55 MHz.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by Tom Bavis

You probably have a local weather station on 162.4 or 162.55 MHz.

We do. I didn't even think about that, DUH!

[Jeffhs]

In some smaller cities and towns these radios might pick up local police, etc. (as in Sandy's area), but not in major cities such as Chicago, New York, Cleveland, and so on. Most big-city police departments have converted their communications systems to UHF, perhaps to thwart so-called "ambulance chasers" and other casual listeners. In fact, there was an article in an old issue of Popular Electronics magazine in the '60s that showed in detail how to use a UHF TV converter to receive the then-new UHF police broadcasts on older radios. However, as mentioned in previous posts, if your area has a NOAA weather radio station, the S-95 will receive it just fine, but if you are any real distance from the station you may have to use a good antenna. These stations transmit on various frequencies, such as 162.55 MHz, 162.475 MHz, etc. (actual frequency will vary by region). However, 162.55 seems to be the most popular frequency for these broadcasts.

[AUdubon5425]

I have a Knight about that age with the same band coverage. Here, all police/fire/ems have moved to a truncated system. Most moved into the 800mhz range 15+ years ago. I can still get some taxicab companies, one ambulance channel, the weather bureau and that's about it.

Out there in the country, you may be able to pick up more from smaller municipalities. Search the net to see if you can find scanner frequencies for your area.

I do like the looks of that Hallicrafters!

[Jeffhs]

That Hallicrafters receiver should serve you well for local listening to ambulance services, police and fire, taxicabs, etc. that haven't yet made the switch to 800-MHz trunked systems (as may well be the case in very small towns miles away from major cities). The usual advice regarding recapping where necessary (starting with the power supply caps, as in a radio of this vintage they are either already defective or getting there), bringing up the set slowly on a Variac or with a common light bulb in series with the line cord, etc. applies here, in addition to cleaning the controls with a shot of Deoxit. The OP mentioned (and his photo of the receiver shows) that the receiver's knobs are missing; I'd look at Mike Koste's "Gobs of Knobs" in Ambler, Pennsylvania to find proper replacements for them. (I did a Google search for "Gobs of Knobs" and did find several businesses by that name, but there was no web site mentioned for Mr. Koste's firm of the same name; the only URL attached to the listing actually mentioning his company took me to a Google listing for next year's annual radio swap meet at Kutztown.)

This Hallicrafters receiver will need a good cabinet cleaning as the set looks filthy, at least from the photo the OP attached. The dial cover looks filthy as well. I'd try cleaning it with dishwashing detergent, but nothing stronger, as some cleaners have been known to soften and even destroy plastics.

The line cord should be replaced if it shows signs of dry rotting; it may not be a bad idea to look under the chassis as well for crumbling or deteriorated wiring. I'm not necessarily saying that you will need to rewire the set from the ground up, but any radio this old could well have, at very least, a dry-rotted line cord, which as we all know is a safety hazard. I see radios and TVs up for auction on eBay from time to time that have not been tested (some being sold "for parts only") simply because the line cords were shot, and the owners were afraid to plug them in for fear of being shocked or worse.

[Sandy G]

Yeah, Jeff, I agree on the cabinet...But I'd be brave & try a little rubbing/polishing compound & then a good cleaner/wax on the bottom of the cabinet, & if that went well, I'd try doing the whole thing...I NEVER have been able to re-do one of those hammertone finishes where they didn't look like @ss, so you gotta try to work with/preserve what you've got.