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Reviews For: hallicrafters SX-146 ham band only receiver

Category: Receivers: Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : hallicrafters SX-146 ham band only receiver
Reviews: 2MSRP: 249.00 , extra filter cw/am 25.
Description:
9mhz single conversion 9 tube radio ,one half of the hallicrafter twins (will transceive with the HT46)
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024
W3PYF Rating: 2009-06-20
Competitive 40+ years later Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Back in the late 1980s, I boxed up my SX-146 and essentially forgot about it for 10 years, until I moved it to several QTHs, never opening the box. It sat in an unheated garage for 7 years, and in storage and basements for 3 more years.

This morning, I plugged it in for the first time in at least 20 years, and except for a stuck S-meter, found it to be as enjoyable rig as it was in 1966 when I got it (and an HT-146) as partial payment for freelance PR work for Hallicrafters.

As the prior reviewer noted, it was not a popular receiver, in part because it was paired with an awful transmitter, and in part because it was hampered by a design that resembled stereo receivers and autos of the era - lots of ugly chrome.

The RF amplifier tube in this receiver is really, really hot, and because of a high-Q preamp tuning circuit, able to be optimized across each band. Very low noise. The filters have very steep sides, and the 500 Hz CW filter has acceptable insertion loss. I used the SX-146 along with a Johnson Ranger for about 10 years, until VFO issues arose in the Ranger in 1978, when I replaced them both with a Yaesu FT-301 (which I also still own!)

This is, in the positive sense of the word, a basic receiver. It has plenty of quirks, like the need to switch USB/LSB sides of zero-beat when switching between, say, 75 and 40 meters. But an novice could learn all s/he needed to know to operate it in 10 minutes. It is sensitive, stable, and selective. Worth snapping up at any hamfest you find one.

KA8DLL Rating: 2006-11-17
A very nice, small, simple , well engineered, ham band only Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This radio is a sleeper. Made in the mid 60's for $249.00. Judging from EBAY sales this is a fairly rare radio without much of a following. Why it wasn't a good selling radio I can't tell you. What I can tell you is it is selective, stable, and sensitive. It is a pleasure to use. This is an innovated design using a 9Mhz single conversion design. It is about the same size and weight as a Drake R4 receiver. Both the Hallicrafter and the Drake had matching transmitters. The Sx146 sold for $129.oo less than the Drake. It doesn't have passband tuning or notch filter like the Drake does. The Sx146 dial is like a Drake 2B dial. Each band is is 500khz wide except 10 meters which has 4 segments 500khz wide. Even though Sx146 dial is small it can be read to approx.+or - 2 khz. Tuning ssb stations is easy. This is a stable radio with very little drift. Signals jump out at you from a silent background. The 2.1 khz standard filter is very selective. Optional cw/am filter were $25.oo each (wow). In my opinion this radio compares very well with the best of Hallicrafters Sx115/Sx117/ Sx101A series. By adding a Auteck QF-1A filter for more versatility this radio is capable of serious ham work. This radio rates my 4.6 score for a late 60's radio.