New Play Pretty
 

Just posted this over at AK.

Hallicrafters s-20r from the late 40s-mid 50s. It will go well with my s-38 and s-120.

That looks nice cosmetically, good find.

Lessee here....Chuck Dachis' Hallicrafters book sez it was made 1939-45, cost $49.50, & believe it or nutz, the dials were actually white when it was new.

You are correct sir. 39-45 it is and not newer.

I'm not nearly as old as this radio but I forget stuff i read this morning!

Phil's old radios has a page devoted to restoration.

http://www.antiqueradio.org/halli10.htm

funny shot from the movie Some Like It Hot:

http://www.antiqueradio.org/art/halli1023.jpg

Looks like it is in better shape than the one I got a month or two ago. One Saturday at work a few weeks ago I was looking for a project and so put it on my cap checker to form the electros for a few hours, and whaddaya know...it plays nice and strong, no hum! I put some dial strings in it so I could tune it via knob and not reaching inside, and then decided to take it home and see if it would polish up. Some scrubbing with Novus 2 and wow, it shines! I took the side decorations off and was doing some gentle straightening and ding-removal, and scrubbing off decades of brown whatever that had settled on the top edges. Luckily, there was no rust. I found some replacement knobs online, so it's really getting re-born.

There was a discussion on ARF a while back about the speaker grille, some claim it was flocked, some say it was gray and some say it was PURPLE flock, others insist it was always a bare screen.

Mine had remnants of flock under the edges and the central "h", and I think it was dark gray, I posted pics on ARF. In that same thread, someone linked to a source of flock and I ordered some, so that is what I'm going to be doing to it this weekend. I'll take pictures when I'm done. This radio will figure in my "Wall-a-Crafters" at my antique radio show at my shop next month. So far it's my oldest of a dozen or so Hallicrafters. Definitely a fun rig! A full recapping job is in its future, when I get some more 630V mylars in stock.

--Bob

I remember seeing the ARF thread about the speaker flocking. there really is not a lot cosmetically wrong. A couple spots here and there. not bad for 70 years old.

It was very well cared for and as best as i can tell, all original. I have not looked underneath yet. For all I know the previous owner has freshened the coupling caps. Anyway I'll take a better look and bring it up in a controlled environment.

Wall-a-crafters? LOL So what is it about Hallicrafters? Like eating potato chips maybe? Can't eat just one!

Hallicrafters sets are still quite popular, & most of them are pretty good performers, too. I have an S-39, a semi-military "portable" set from the WW 2 era, an SX-28, an S-36, which covered the "VHF" bands, an SX-73, which was their TOTL set in 1951, cost then was $975, & an S-72, which was their answer to a Zenith Transoceanic.

nice looking s20r.still have a few haalicrafters around here.my oldest being a sx25