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Reviews For: Hammarlund HQ-180(A)

Category: Receivers: Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : Hammarlund HQ-180(A)
Reviews: 18MSRP: 443.00 (1963)
Description:
High Performance Tube Receiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00184.8
KE4AMQ Rating: 2022-06-19
I like it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is the second hammarlund hq180 I have owned in my life. They are great receivers, I had the collins and I know its supposed to be better, but I dont think so. I listen to all kinds of stuff, HAM, music, Aircraft. I could tell you one thing I have the matching speaker and that combination is GREAT. The only mod I did to it was changed all the 6 volt bulbs to soft white LEDS and they look great. They are getting harder and harder to find in nice shape and working. Mine is 1960 vintage and still works great 62 years later.
WA2LXB Rating: 2020-07-01
Boatanchor Nirvana Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I picked up a HQ-180C with period correct Hammarlund speaker from Rochester NY for $325 in minty condition. It was only used on Sundays by a little old lady to listen to professional wrestling.

Ok, the little old lady part is baloney...the rest is true.

As soon as I (nearly) stole it I had my friend test the tubes with a Hickock 800A. Once we got to the 13th tube and realized that they were all original tubes and all tested "as new", we quit.

We did a quick by-the-ear peaking alignment and saved the real alignment for later when we will start going through several 180s that we will align at the same time.

Meanwhile, I use the 180 with the original speaker to check into the AWA PM/AM net on Sundays. I pair it with a Viking II CDC and D104-with a K7DYY board in the base. When running this combination along with the Viking 122 VFO there are 33 tube filaments burning...it is glorious...boat anchor nirvana.

A Dow key does the muting and a PTT board in the CDC makes everything hands-off during transceiving.

It's a beautiful looking and sounding radio/speaker combination for AM, I do not use it for CW yet. The vernier tuning and ability to notch out carriers are unexpected bonuses on a rig this old. The noise limiter is fair but you're better off with an outboard analog or digital noise killer.

To close, I'll plagiarize from other reviewers with whom I agree:

When recapped, restored,and aligned, you will have a receiver that you will truly enjoy using - for years to come - that's how well they were made and how good they perform.

Excellent signals on all bands. Easy to use, band spread was nice. It will be very hard to purchase another receiver. Tone quality is fantastic.

The HQ-180 is a stable, reliable radio that operates and tunes quite smoothly indeed.

The tuning rate on the bandspread dial is just fine for any person with even average manual dexterity. The VERNIER tuning is another plus that very few receivers in this price range enjoy.
N6MV Rating: 2015-10-05
Excellent Receiver ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have been a ham for over 60 years, and am a collector of "boatanchors",i.e. Vintage HF Receivers,and though the HQ 180 and 180A are not built to the quality of a Collins R-390A or the Hammarlund SP-600, the HQ 180 and HQ 180A are excellent HF receivers who hold their own to both the R-390A and SP-600. When recapped, restored,and aligned, you will have a receiver that you will truly enjoy using - for years to come - that's how well they were made and how good they perform.

73 Jim (N6MV)
W7MBR Rating: 2015-08-31
Decent Receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
To some extent I will have to agree with some average reviews of this receiver but I will refrain from using words like "terrible" which really doesn't apply to the HQ-180. These receivers were manufactured for the retail market and prices had to be kept within reason. The Hammarlund SP-600, developed for commercial and military use, was Mil-Spec, and cost considerably more to produce. The RCA AR88 wasn't designed for the average Ham budget either. Apples and oranges here but the HQ-180 performed as well or better than either of these receivers especially on SSB and CW. The components used in the HQ-180 were not inferior either but of decent quality. For a general coverage receiver it could hold it's own with the best of them of the period. It was well suited for communications use as many other general coverage units of the time were not. It actually performed better than the Collins 51S1 mil spec receiver. I have both. Vacuum tube point to point wiring can look messy even in high priced radios. I will give the Hammarlund HQ-180 nearly a "5" on performance and a "4" on build quality as compared to Mil Spec receivers. Today they are a bit pricey but most who own them love them including myself.
GW4PJQ Rating: 2015-04-14
Good badly made Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have repaired many American (USA) receivers and I always get the impression they were well designed electronically but the component and build quality is terrible. There are exceptions: My all time favourite radio is the RCA AR88. We were very lucky in the UK to get these new in their boxes after the WAR. I still have one I bought new in 1970 and the only things I have replaced is. The dial lights, Rectifier and the final IF amp rusted through and I replaced it with one of the spares supplied with the radio.
Don't for a second think I am letting off the UK makers. Eddystone for example invented the scanner - by accident!
OK I was harsh on the 180A but take a close look at it and ask yourself am I looking at a quality product? the honest answer is no. I think it is hilarious that they put flywheels on the tuning controls with their 9:1 ratio! Would I part with mine? No but as a great American company they could have done better, much better. But I never meant to offend anyone.

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Earlier 0-star review posted by GW4PJQ on 2008-01-05

I'm sorry! Have I missed something? The HQ 180A along with all except the SP600 Hamarlund radios are badly built, use poor quality components and for a tuning mechanism uses a pair of springy washers that grips (if you are lucky) the side of the plastic tuning scale giving less than TEN turns end to end band coverage. I have to concede looking at the circuit diagram; there is, (deep down) a good radio in there, but the compromises in the receiver’s build quality make finding that deep down good radio very difficult indeed. This is definitely one to avoid.
KM1H Rating: 2012-10-19
One of the classics Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Considering its age and continuing popularity it is a radio that must be seriously considered in any high quality setup be it receiving only or vintage equipment ham use.

Its minor flaws are well documented and easily solvable. It can be owner tweaked as a superb CW/SSB and AM battle conditions radio for which it was built or a higher fidelity AM band cruiser.

Finding one with the optional noise blanker built in is a big plus.

I have been restoring these for customers plus the earlier HQ-180 for decades. Ive found the component parts quality to be even above National and Collins of the same era. An out of tolerance resistor is almost never found and only the electrolytics and Centralab Couplates get replaced besides any tubes that either dont test well or are not up to snuff in actual use.

My own cruiser is a HQ-180 with noise blanker that Ive brought up to a 180A to a large degree.

Ive also had a 1956 contract all Collins R-390A for over 25 years and in many areas it is far superior but not a good band cruiser. However both will run circles around any of those cheesy imports that most entry level SWL's are bragging about. If they only knew how much they were missing.

Oh, almost forgot. I also work on and own a Racal RA-17, what a nightmare to work on for only mediocre performance.

KA0AAM Rating: 2012-08-21
Excellent all around Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have always wanted one. Heard about them and the works. I decided to buy one off of ebay. . .HUGE bucks. So I finally found one on Ebay that said: "Does not work". "Do not buy unless you expect a dead radio". I bought it. . .200 dollars to my door.

I downloaded the schematic and tuning manual and set to work. 4 hours later, I had a radio that was the hottest radio I have ever seen for a tube radio. Tuned up easily (Though I had to borrow a Signal Generator that goes down to 60kcs.). Excellent signals on all bands. Easy to use, band spread was nice. It will be very hard to purchase another receiver. it is as hot as my ts440s. Tone quality is fantastic.

I now use it as my main receiver, with a Heathkit SB401. I have also used the Hammarlund hq100, 110. These are also nice hot rigs for their age. These older HQ's I have used for over 30 years.

These 180 and 180A's now go for an extremely high price. They are worth their mint in gold.

They are easily connected up to a T/R switch, and can be switched in and out for a seemless automatic transmit and receive. I only added a relay that attached to the Send/Rec/Calibrate switch to kill the entire radio while transmitting. Nothing like having a modern day Transceiver using boat anchors!
KG8LB Rating: 2009-04-07
A lot better than most Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although some may perceive the "build quality" as inferior it is certainly right up there with any similarly priced competitors of it's time. The proof is of course in the actual use. The HQ-180 is a stable, reliable radio that operates and tunes quite smoothly indeed. Add to that some very powerful QRM fighting tools and you get a darn good receiver. On the crowded ham bands of today, dollar for dollar it will surely give an Eddystone or even some of the Racals from the same period a pretty good spanking. Easy to find and easy to operate. A lot of performance for the dollar indeed. They are still here and still being used by knowlegeable and experienced operators.

At least it doesn't use a strip of brittle 35 mm film for it's "dial readout" LOL !!!

The tuning rate on the bandspread dial is just fine for any person with even average manual dexterity. The VERNIER tuning is another plus that very few receivers in this price range enjoy.

The Hammarlund receivers are all pretty darn good performers that have very well withstood the test of time. The Super Pro series were all very high quality receivers, The 200,210, 400 600 were ALL superb, very well built radios. Of course the HQ-129,140 and 150 were built as economy models and when the price is taken into consideration offered excellent quality for the dollar spent when compared to the competition.

My only negative comment is the narrow audio passband and I would surely like to see a broader bandwidth made available. That aside, the selectivity offered by this model and pure functionality certainly make it a radio worthy of consideration.


AA0CX Rating: 2006-12-23
great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought this boatanchor on e-Bay for slightly less than 500 bucks about four years ago. I have it mated with a Hallicrafters HT-32B transmitter -- and it is sooooo cool! CW is my mode --- it is very sensitive, and there's nothing like seeing that HQ-180 "S" meter swinging to the signal. AGC is excellent -- and Telechron 12-hour clock hasn't missed a beat!

If you're looking for a great boatanchor receiver; something that can dig deep for those distant CW signals; and with classic lines and a radio that does indeed "glow in the dark," you won't go wrong here!
GW4JPC Rating: 2006-08-15
A true classic. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I acquired my HQ180 after it had been stored in a very damp shed for several years. I was aware that it is a very highly regarded triple superhet receiver, but this one was in such poor cosmetic condition I thought that I was taking on a long term restoration project. These radios are quite rare on this side of the pond, so I didn't mind this prospect! When I got it home I was in for a pleasant surprise, it worked just fine and was very sensitive. The sound quality through the Hammarlund speaker was quite acceptable. The clock had been disconnected at some time in the past, but everything else was in full working order.
This radio is just so well thought out. There is nothing on it that is surplus to requirements. No unnecesary bells and whistles. For searching around the SW broadcast and amateur bands it is superb. I have a couple of JRC receivers, the NRD525 and 535, but for general listening around the bands I turn on the HQ180. The tuning rate is just right for searching around the shortwave and the medium wave broadcast bands.
Stability after warm up is adequate. Signal to noise ratio is fine, better than the JRC NRD525.SSB operation is good,AM quality is a little restricted by the bandwidths available.Ergonomics are excellent, a few minutes of familiarisation with the control layout and you are away.
The HQ180 is like driving a classic car with a manual gearbox and no power stearing, you have to drive it. As compared to the JRC's which could be compared to a modern Lexus, all very nice but not in the least bit involving.
My problem will be having the heart to strip this radio down to clean it up and repaint it. I just enjoy using it too much, I don't want to have to take it out of service for a few weeks!
I can heartily recommend this receiver if you are feeling jaded and bored with modern radios.
If you grew up in the valve (tube) era the HQ180 will restore that warm glow of satisfaction when you listen to the bands.