Hallicrafters SX-100 that cured itself
 

I really do not know how my Hallicrafters SX-100 fixed itself, but I figured you might like to hear this story.

I have had this SX-100 for around 30 years. About 20 years ago I had a tech redo the caps and other items and it has been a sweet performer. 7 years ago I retired and moved out of New york City. The SX-100 was placed in its own carrying case, but unfortunately I let the movers take it in the van. I SHOULD have put it in my car. They must have dropped the case in moving because when I finally got to it, it was a mess. Tubes were knocked out of their sockets and the signal strength meter needle was jammed on one side of the meter case. I got everything back together and freed up the meter, but the performance was terrible. I kept trying, but could not get it fixed and no local repairman would touch it. It sat in my unheated basement for 7 years. Last week I decided to hook it up one last time, and if I couldn't get it to work, to the dump it would go. I hooked it up, turned it on, and it ran beautifully! Perfect sound and reception! I only needed to spray the fine tuning unit with some silicone lubricant to free it up. I'll be darned!:banana:

Any other folks with any good stories about their gear?

It must have heard you say you were going to take it to the dump.

:D I really think that was it!

great to see its working again john.now you need a nice lognwire antenna and some time to cathc up on all the shortwave you've missed all these years:D .heres hoping you get many more years out of it:beerchug:

If your radio was dropped -- or even if it wasn't -- it might have a cracked or cold solder joint which magically started conducting again after being moved & jostled one more time.

Some times, when a "working" radio has been sitting unused for years, all it takes is using it for a while to wipe the corrosion/gunk off the bandswitches and other controls, to make it come back to life.

Restored radios that are used on a regular basis will last longer than those which sit in storage for years. Same as an old car, sewing machine, clock, or whatever.

If you ever get in the mood to throw something else like an SX-100 in the dump, contact me first :-)

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