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Reviews For: Hallicrafters S-38

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Hallicrafters S-38
Reviews: 22MSRP: $39.95
Description:
Six tube general coverage receiver.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00223.8
N0XE Rating: 2011-01-10
Fun and Simple Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had several of these little radios over the years and they are just plain fun to mess with, they get the job done and as boatanchors go they won't break your back or your bank account. You can find these little radios near dirt cheap on Ebay just about every day (many working) and are easy to restore even if not. Sure they are wide for ham use, but many a Novice and beginning ham on a limited budget made thousands of contacts using them. It was a receiver that got them on the air and kept their interest in the hobby, we probably owe a lot to this little rig as it introduced thousands to the world of radio . Actually with the way the bands are today, as long as you stay away from contests you can have plenty of rock solid Qso's on a quiet band using one, although 40 may be rough in the evenings when it is crowded. No you won't get any nice filtering so if your copying CW, train your brain and soon you will find you can copy a CW Qso even if you hear multiple CW signals in the pass band, learn to concentrate on the one you want to copy, I did this for years when I first started out in ham radio as none of my early rigs had any additional CW filtering. Kind of hoot making some Qs wth something this old and this basic. Sure it will drift some, not the best stability but plenty usable. Add a nice vintage transmitter, go with rocks, and have fun. I have made many contacts using my original S-38 and found it to work fine for what it is, I don't put unrealistic expectations on 5 and 6 tube receviers like some do. Yes it is an AC/DC design and you need to be sure it is safe to use, as another poster mentioned about the isolation transformer good idea but my last ones all had the Anti- Shock mod and I never had an issue so you can get away without the transformer. If your interested send me an email and I will send you a pic of my last S-38 that was part of my last vintage Novice set up.
The AM and SW band ability of these little rigs I found to be pretty darn good up to about 20 Mhz, BC band use was pretty decent as long as you had a good antenna. I think I paid $45 for my last one and it had been restored. How can you go wrong and you will have a part of history in the shack as well, buy one if you can. 73 Jim N0XE
W2RS Rating: 2011-01-10
For fun, it's a keeper! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My first SWL receiver was an S-38C in 1953, when I was 10. When I got my Novice ticket two years later, it was my ham receiver until I upgraded to an SX-96 upon passing my General.

A few years ago I decided to "reconstruct" my Novice station, and found an "original" (1946) S-38 on eBay. It was in good condition and had been re-capped. I re-tubed and aligned it, and put it on an isolation transformer. I've had it on the air ever since, with a Viking Adventurer transmitter.

With its tunable BFO and switchable noise limiter, the 6-tube "original" S-38 is a better receiver than the 5-tube S-38A-E series. Everything is relative, however. As previous reviewers have pointed out, selectivity is non-existent and a strong local signal will block it out. Sensitivity on 20-160 meters, however, is more than adequate. On 15 and 10, it suffers from the lack of an RF stage, but it will hear the stronger stations.

The S-38 always was a beginner-level receiver. Don't expect too much from it. Even today, however, it provides a lot of fun. I've worked WAC with it, the Adventurer, a vertical and one crystal, on 40 and 20 CW, as well as solid QSOs with dozens of stations. It won't replace my Orion II, but it's a keeper!
K7NNG Rating: 2009-09-09
sucks Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In my 60 years of radio, it was a poor line of radios at best. I just threw one in the trash bin two weeks ago. Sorry guys, it was a trash radio in my opinion, although the ones I owned were all tens in appearance.
W6GF Rating: 2009-09-09
Great little radios Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have three versions of these radios. The original the B, and C. I restored all three. For what they are, they are great, but if you buy one remember they are so called AC/DC radios, no power xfmr. Check the ac cord wiring 4 TIMES!! and then make sure you use an isolation transformer.

George
N2UGB Rating: 2009-09-09
First HF Thrill Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine with savings from my paper-boy route. Probably 1955 or 1956. Strictly HFBC listening. I had a wall covered with QSLs from those stations. Radio Brazzaville in French Equitorial Africa...wow. Shared bedroom with baby brother. I was up at 2 in the morning listening through headphones. He was snoring. Mom pulled the QSLs off the wall and tossed them when I went into the service (radioman naturally). Wish she kept the cards. The 38 was a good, low-end general coverage receiver for it's day. At least that 16 year-old kid thought so.
KB3IDO Rating: 2009-05-18
Amazing Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased a Hallicrafters S-38 from e-Bay and man am I glad I got it! I plugged it in and attached my set of 1940's earphones and was able to immediately start picking up local AM stations. I don't even have an antenna hooked up yet! For being such an old radio, I was skeptical about how well it would work and was expecting to have to restore it. Boy was I wrong! It works like a gem! I can't wait to get an antenna hooked up and start using it as my main receiver. The dials all work and the knobs all turn smoothly. The only thing missing is the back panel, and I can deal with that. I love this radio!
W2NSF Rating: 2006-04-11
Also my 1st Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although the S-108 was my first ham radio receiver, the S-38 was my very first SWL receiver and I still get a good feeling whenever I see that familiar face. Don't have one any more, but I'll buy a refurbished one one day. If you see one on eBay, pick it up, you won't be disappointed.
KB0XR Rating: 2006-04-11
Still Have It Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In 1957, my folks bought me an S38DB which was the "updated" radio with the rectangular slide rule dial in a fake blonde(tan) painted cabinet. I used the heck out of it as a swl for a couple of years. Collected a shoe box full of QSL's who were kind enought to send one to "SWL-6".

Upgraded to Hallicrafters SX 110 in 1960.

I still have the S38DB on a shelf in my garage. The electrolytic cap has long since dried up and the bandswitch knob broke into a thousand pieces.

I'll never get rid of the radio.
K0AMZ Rating: 2006-04-11
Opened the World Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It wasn't the best, but for a teenager in the late 50's to early 60's it opened the world of SWL to me and further wetted this appetite to become a HAM. Thank you Hallicrafters and wish you were still around.
NS6Y_ Rating: 2006-04-10
It isn't an S-40B Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had one too, I was never able to get much with it, it was not a patch on my old S-40B and sure made me miss it. This is OK for strong easy to get signals and is probably a great collector rig, but don't expect it to sniff much subtle stuff out of the ether.