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Reviews For: W3HM Radio Restoration Services

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : W3HM Radio Restoration Services
Reviews: 17MSRP:
Description:
Restoration and repair of vintage tube radio equipment,
predominantly themed on Collins radio equipment to include
the "A-line," S-line, and others. Repair and restoration
includes Hammarlund and other military gear of similar
vintage. Painting, powder coating, silk screening, repair
and general restoration
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k2lrc.com/Contact%20Us.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00174.4
K2TQN Rating: 2013-04-05
75A4 - Great Job! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Howard restored my 75A4 to better than new a couple of years ago. As of today it is still working 100%.

Thanks Howard for the great job.
W0TDH Rating: 2012-05-21
Wonderful work! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just this day sent another 32V-3 to Howard for full restoration. The Works....
This is the 2nd 32V-3 Howard will have done for me, also a 73A-3 rcvr. I drove to his QTH at least two times possibly three.
It is a 12hr drive each way from my QTH. Sent rig via FedEx this time, inside of a box made by Dave at HamBoxes.com. I have photos of Howard working on my rigs. Decided to ship this time.
New Lab and the kitty probably would not like staying inside :))
The V3 has not lost any weight in the last 50+ years :)) It did lose grid drive on 10 thru 40Mtrs though. Figured it was time to restore.
V3 is an absolute joy to use. Great audio reports. Looking forward to speaking to old friends on 10Mtr AM again soon with it.....WAØGAG, KØETD, WB1EAD, VK2BA, G4XPY es others. Great bunch of folks on 10Mtr AM.
Howard is the Guru of Collins blackfaced radios as far as I am concerned. Always a Gentleman to me. In person or on the the Telly as Dave G4XPY would say :)) Nearing 70 now. Not sure how much longer I will be able to pick up 110lb Xmtrs.....
Possible I may sell straight from Howard's QTH when it is done, we'll see. The AF-67's in use at present are much lighter :))
If I have not been positive enough about Howard es his work...give me an email. Email address is on QRZ.Com, also the V3 that is headed to Howard as we speak.

73,

Tom - WØTDH
KD0NID Rating: 2012-02-02
Follow Up Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well, it has been a couple of months since I got my Collins 32V-2 back from Howard. As I previously stated, it got badly damaged by UPS even though I DID have one of Dave's great cardboard shipping crates especially made for shipping a Collins 32V Transmitter in. I finally have found all of the damaged parts that UPS destroyed but I am still trying to get the 32V-2 up and running primarily due to the poor job of restoring my transmitter by Howard. To date I have found electrical connections that Howard made that Howard never soldered, cold solder joints, missing hardware, components shorted to ground, and just this week found the coax and shielded cables coming from the Oscillator to be shorted out to other points because the covering on the wires were dry rotted causing the wires to be exposed and shorting out to other components. I didn't have the correct 16AWG 2 conductor shielded cable in my shack and it took me a couple of weeks to find this cable. I have now installed these two cables from the Oscillator and am putting the transmitter back together to see if it is finally working properly. Prior to finding these dry rotted cables, I did have the transmitter putting out advertised power on all bands but I was hearing arcing in the area of these cables which led me check them out. The transmmitter is also turning the Plates on the front 807 Cherry red even after the transmitter is adjusted and loaded properly. I am hoping the replacement of these two rotted cables will fix this problem but seriously doubt that they will but at least I will have elimanted ANOTHER example of the very poor job Howard did on the restoration of my 32V-2. He has never once called or emailed to try and help with the problems I am having that HE caused. I can only guess that he is having problems with someone letting everyone know about how his work has went down hill. I don't make a practise of these kind of reviews about people but the Job that Howard did on my Collins 32V-2 and his attitude towards me and the problems he has caused definitely warrents this review. At least I will now know that every solder joint, every component, and every wire in my 32V-2 will have been inspected and repaired or replaced which is what I paid Howard to do.
WA4KCN Rating: 2012-01-28
Could Not Be Better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had Howard restore a number of receivers and transmitters. If you are reading this and considering his services, you will not be disappointed, in fact, you will be amazed. I first purchased a restored 75A-1 and 32V-2 from Howard. When the two pieces arrived I was stunned by the appearance - factory new. Service after the sale is very good as well. Howard has spent much time with me over the phone when I am in need of his help. We should all be thankful there is a person with Howard's level of skill offering restoration services.
K2LRC Rating: 2011-11-16
An Honest and Great Source for A-line repair Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Howard, has rebuilt a number of my Collins A-line radios over the past few years. His care of the work that is done is exceptional. He is good to work with as a person. He is honest and is provides good suggestions when an issue is discovered. I have personally witnessed his effort to see to it that the packing and shipping is done well. The use of the new supplier of Ham radio Shipping boxes/Crates made by Dave at www.hamradioboxes.com has added to the quality of the delivery.
Call Howard and he will assist you in any of your issues with the A-line Collins gear. No better expert is around...
AK4IJ Rating: 2011-08-23
A true master craftsman! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Howard Mills is truly a craftsman, and a gentleman to boot! It's easy to find something on Ebay, or one of the other auctions that might be cheaper, but it's like buying a used snake.... it's a crap shoot as to what you might actually end up with. But with Howard Mills there's no question you will get what you want. I purchased a set of Gold Dust Twins from him and when they rolled in the door I was amazed - they are like they just came from the factory. I can't imagine the care and love of craftsmanship and effort that went into restoring and rebuilding that gear. Sure it cost more, but like anything in life, you get what you pay for, and this is a great example of that. The after the sale follow up has been wonderful. Old equipment is finicky and needs extra care to operate. No button pushing here, it's an art and a science. No one knows that art better than Howard. Trust me, you can trust him.

W4PTO Rating: 2010-02-08
Strongly consider! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
For those of you considering restoring a beloved Collins "A-line" product, or any Collins product, for that matter, consider W3HM Radio Labs for your service. I have personally met Howard Mills and he is a radio restorer par excellence matched by being a gracious host as well. Howard goes into the "nitty gritty" of restoring radios. In the past, I had W3HM Radio Labs restore a badly burnt but essentially complete 51J-4. I couldn't bear to part out the radio. The unit had been involved in a fire and while "all there," seemingly destined for the parts bin. Howard, after careful assessment, removed all of the questionable assemblies for analysis, replaced the destroyed or non-functional components, replaced, realigned or restored the missing or out-of-spec items, tested the tubes and realigned the radio to factory specs. The chassis was crusted with hardened soot. but was eliminated with Howard's fervent and meticulous cleaning and polishing. A few lingering but minor issues remained but a follow up visit to W3HM solved these malingering items. The picture you see above is the final product of his magnificent handiwork. Let me tell you it was worth every reasonable penny to me to have this classic radio restored. I could have attempted the rebuild myself but didn't have the time. Howard is the solution to this type of work and I recommend his services highly.