National TV-7W Television

[Sandy G]

This was the National Company of Malden, Mass., that made amateur radio gear. One of their sets, the HRO, was made from 1935, essentially unchanged until 1964. It was a magnificent anachronism, to change frequency bands in it, you had to change one of a set of coils. There were 2 coils for the broadcast band, I think to get all the coils they offered you had to get 7 or 8 of 'em. It was only after WW2 did National make the power supply intergral w/the rest of the radio, before that, you had a separate power supply-the "doghouse", along w/a separate speaker. In 1965, National went from the obsolete to the space age & offered the HRO-500-which was a totally solid state design. Solid state had been used for cheapy shirt-pocket radios for several years by then, but nobody had tried it for a "serious" radio that picked up from 500 KC to 30 MC-the whole shortwave spectrum. And there WERE some problems-but surviving HRO 500s are prized by collectors. Sadly, National couldn't compete against the onslaught of the Japanese, sputtered on thru the Seventies, & died in the Eighties.

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi Sandy and all.

National made very fine electronic gear. Their TV sets were very well engineered with superb build quality to back it up. The HRO amateur and SW receivers are still superb performers by the standards of now. That HRO transistor set is engineering which is unparalled to this day. And it performs well right now in good nick. Delightful equipment they made including components. Their vernier dials and tuning capacitors and coils are among the best ever.