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| Reviews Summary for hallicrafters SX-101 |
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Reviews: 12
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Average rating: 4.8/5
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MSRP: $395.00
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Description: ham band reciever 160-10 meters
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More info: http://
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N8CMQ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 20, 2009 20:19
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Best reciever ever!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had a SX-101A back in the eighties, and like a dummy I sold it for a transistor job, sorry I ever did...
Joy of joys! I was able to buy a SX-101 mark 3!!!
Needs work, but it does turn on and play!
Just building my antenna field now!
If you want a portable, LOOK ELSEWHERE!!! If you want excellent performance, this is the rig!
You won't be sorry to have this rig, and if it needs work, it is easy to get into and do the work!
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KD6HUC
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 10, 2008 12:05
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Love my 101A
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I traded a Radio Shack shortwave radio for this in 2000 and I sure am happy. At first I though the other guy was a pushover, but now I realize he was trying to get me bit! By the boatanchor bug that is. I had a Kenwwod TS-430S as my primary rig at the time and the SX-101A was pretty close on all the bands in reception strength, but sound was just phenomenal compared to the TS-430! I ran them both through a six inch home stereo speaker to keep the playing field even. Many other HF radios have come and gone, but the Hallicrafters station is still here. IC-746,TS-2000,FT-100D,IC-756PRO have all been on the desk and moved on while I listen to the SX-101A almost daily! As a matter of fact, my shack is being overrun by boatanchors! Recently I purchased a Yaesu FT-450 because I wanted some newer technology, but wanted a small footprint. I was running out of room on the desk and can't part with my big iron! the digtal display and DSP is really nice when the bands are not too good, but mostly I love the nostalgia of radio and "how it used to be." Some of the jewels in my station are older than my parents and you can imagine the kisk I get when somebody just drools or comments "my grandpa had one of those way back when!" Get one if you can find one and you won't be sorry...
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N4UE
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 20, 2007 14:00
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Final, final report...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I hesitate to do 'follow up' reports on some equipment, especialy those with small sample sizes, but I just have to update this radio's fantastic performance!
Recently, I purchased and assembled an Elecraft XG2 Receiver Test Oscillator. For those of you who don't have one, or have never used one... you need one of these. Every time I use it my eyes are opened. Please see the reviews here on eHam...... Cheap, too!!!
Anyway, this weekend, I connected the Elecraft to almost all the radios currently set up. I was using the 20 Meter output set to 1 u V. I didn't have time to do the MDS and Signal-to-Noise Calculations that day. (I DID do them for some of my Icoms and every radio was as advertised.
All the radios are fed through a couple of high quality coax switches using RG-8 cable.
What surprised me, was the way that several of my boatanchors heard that weak signal. My Drake R4Bs heard it very well and the S/N Ratio (by ear) was fantastic. I next tried my RME 6900 which I always thought was a sensitive radio. Heck, I had a hard time finding the signal. When the 101A was fed the signal, not only did it produce a beautiful note, the S-Meter indicated a solid S-3. That may not sound too great, but all the solid state radios, produced less glowing audio and ZERO movement of their S-Meters.
OK, some of the new radios didn't have the preamps on, but still, the 'ole Hallicrafter just flat amazed me. The results from my 75A-4 were equally good. Yeah, I KNOW, those radios have the preamp on all the time!!!!
After a recap, tube check and alignment, these old radios can deliver ALL the usable sensitivity anyone could ever use.
One shortcoming: The band switch is touchy and noisy. Guess it's time to bench press the beast into letting me DeOxit it again....
Great old radio..... Only problem with buying on ePay (er, eBay) is the bloody weight!!!!!
Pick one up at a hamfest, and just assume it will need work. It WILL! The results are worth it.
ron
N4UE
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N6YE
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 23, 2005 16:16
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A Beautiful Thing
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The SX101A was added to my shack when I got my Novice ticket in 1959, (WV2HZI). Used the radio for about 20 years and never had a problem with it. Sold it to some kid who just got licensed. Sure wish I had kept the old girl.
The 101A was built like a battleship and it was a beautiful thing to look at when it was powered up on the bench. Most of my operation at that time was 10 meter AM and 15 and 40 mtr CW.
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KB2FCV
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 17, 2005 11:19
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Great Receiver!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my SX-101A for about 16 or 17 years. It was one of my first boatanchors. Together with the HT32A, they make a great team. Aside from replacing a few parts over the year, this radio has been dependable. Not bad for an almost 50 year old receiver! I most recently added the HT33A to go with the station.. I can't think of a better hallicrafters combination!
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WB6NVH
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 20, 2004 16:05
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Nice Receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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There are a few differences between SX-101 and SX-101A. The SX-101 has 160 meters, the "A" does not.
The 10 meter band on the 101 is pretty "squirrely" to tune. The high IF of the SX-101 is at 1650 KHz, which is now within the AM broadcast band. On 160 meters, high power broadcasters on 1650 KHz will bleed through and ruin reception. I am planning on adding a trap in the 160 meter antenna coil circuit to notch that problem out. The selectivity options on the 101 are wonderful. In a crowded band, it will outperform almost anything. The receiver is stable, as others have mentioned, although there are many opportunities for instability such as dirty tube sockets, bandswitch wafers, etc. The 101 leaves the VFO tube filament lit at all times, for stability. I have found that for some reason this ruins the tube after about a year, but I don't know why ! Tests show the tubes wind up with intermittent or hard shorts between filament and cathode; I have gone through about 6 12BY7's because of this. If anyone else has comments on this, please share them ! Most SX-101's you find have chipped up or cracked main tuning knobs. You will need to change the paper capacitors to new mylar types. There was an article in QST a few years back on how to make a simple internal product detector for the SX-101.
The dial accuracy is a bit weak but you get used to it. Overall, the SX-101 is a great buy for the average hamfest price of $ 100-200.
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KB0PGO
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 14, 2004 19:29
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An excellent boat anchor
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have had recent expierence with the old SX-101 when It was given to me by the local ham club. I am the local radio repairman and it was an old boat anchor but I asked if I could have it and they said ok. I have been repair all the old rigs and we have been selling them to try to finance a new HF emergency station. After repairing it I was quite impressed with the stability and high quality of the sound. It was the best old radio I've ever heard. I should have done tests with my equipment to get its specifications but I turned it over to sell it for the club sale after I found out what it was worth. They still bring $250 to $300 and that'll go a long way tward a modern tranciever
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WA0RJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 3, 2003 00:18
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Great Receiver!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My SX101A is cosmetically very nice. It was part of my first novice station when I was licensed back in 1978. I went into the USAF and it sat in storage at my parent's until last week. I just had to get it back on the air and took it to have it checked out. Still in operating condition.
I love this old receiver. It is quite hot. Compares well with most modern rigs. I love the sound of this receiver. I intend to use it quite a bit. The scale is easy to read (for these old eyes) and it is stable with little drifting. Gives you AM, SSB, CW reception. Its features are quite impressive. The Hallicrafters manual (get a copy) is good. If you want a tube type receiver this is a good bet for your first one. They are fairly inexpensive and really get the job done.
Try it, you won't be sorry.
Yes they are heavy, but still managable.
If you buy one that has been sitting around for a long time DO NOT PLUG IT IN until you have it checked out. The old capacitors can be bad and could ruin your power transformer and other components. Some carbon resistors could be out of tolerance.
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KC2IAF
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 15, 2002 18:26
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Excelent fieldeliy on am
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The SX-101A was my first glowing radio 2 years ago at the age of 12. I acquired it in not so great cosmetic shape, but in excellent electronic condition. After a long winter of polishing inside and out it was the most beautiful radio I had ever own. It's very easy to repair in my opinion because of how spread out the inner chassis is. I refuse to use any HF equipment that does not glow. I find it ironic that a 14-year-old kid in 2002 still has an SX-101A in mint operating condition.
The tube Is dead. Long live the tube!
Aaron Parsekian KC2IAF
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N8FVJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 3, 2002 12:43
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Good HF Tube Type Receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned at least 30 tube type older receivers. The SX-101A is a good receiver. I could always find a frequency due to the large analog dial & built-in calibrator. Not many (non-digital readout) receivers have a dial capable of this- a real plus. The receiver is very stable and up on ten meters is also quite sensitive. The selectivity is good and the notch filter works well. Overall, a good receiver very capable of HF communications. Not all receivers from the 50s perform like this, a bargain on the used market.
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