My mother bought me one just like it for my 13th birthday, from an American Marines. It worked beautifully and was the envy of all my Dutch friends back in the 50's. Many memories. Thank you.
Thank you for this very nice video with your expertise....You did a terrific presentation....I am 67 and been a licensed ham since 12 yrs old...my first receiver was a Hallicrafters S-38 as a young ham (using a crystal controlled Eico 720 75 watt transmitter).....I was always fascinated by the S-38 of the simplicity and performance factor with the great memories using it as a kid....So much so that I recently picked an S38 up that was completely restored....I got it setting on my ham desk along with my Icom line, but listen with the S38 more than anything else.....Again thank you for your video and Merry Christmas!😊
Thank you for your kind remarks! I try to do coherent videos that are easy to watch. I am 72 but never got around to getting a ham license, but I sure enjoy restoring antique electronic items. My first receiver was the Hallicrafters AR-3.Happy New year and thinks again!
Just finished a S-38C restore (including adding a polarized plug) and am tearing into a B model soon. I love the simplicity of these receivers. My C was a cheap auction site find (I know, not as much fun but in my neck of the woods there are very limited options for looking for anything like this). It powered up on my variac and buzzed like a saw. A recap and a cleaning and it works like new. Yours is in fine shape! As for the CW piece: I'm a "no code" ham but have learned to use CW like thousands of other newer hams and the CW portions of the bands are just as hopping as ever. A lot of newer hams are discovering that with the upcoming solar cycle being predicted to be lackluster and the availability of more portable equipment than ever that CW gets through way easier than phone modes. I've already used my S-38C and a homebrew crystal controlled CW transmitter to make a few contacts. The receiver is as wide as a barn door but will get the job done.
I had a S38C when I was 15 back in 1955?. I loved that receiver and lived to tell the tale. SWBC SWLing in the evenings with Trimm headset attached so my kid brother, who shared bedroom, wouldn't wake up. Happy Days.
The S-38 was my first amateur receiver back in 1952......I was aware of the danger of plugging in the hot side of the cord to the chassis back then! Thanks for showing the old receiver again. Walt (W4FGO)
Wow Im glad I ran across your video! Thanks so much for the helpful information. I was just given an old, beat up hallicrafters s 120 and spent some time taking it apart and deep cleaning everything. I plugged it in and let it warm up, went to screw in a longwire antenna and got one heck of a shock! I put my volt meter on the chassis, the antenna connector, and even the radio cabinet and sure enough, reading 120v everywhere. I know next to nothing about electronics/circuitry so I figured it was a lost cause and was going to just throw it away. Now that ive seen your video, I now know it may just be plugging it in wrong! Thanks for saving an old radio! Going to have to try to rewire with an updated plug.
yesterday I bought one of these at a local junk store. the cabinet is all scratched up and ugly and dirty and old, bits of rust here and there. it has no cardboard back. I looked behind the bottom cover and found some repairs or modifications have been made. there is a new speaker. the headphone jacks have been modified, the original disconnected and what looks like a new type plug mounted through a drilled hole in the chassis. one of the wires is gone. there are non-original soldered connections and wires here and there. I knew nothing about this thing until I looked it up just now, so-- thanks a MILLION. there is loads of information on this radio out there online. I really need it! I have always been interested in ham radio, I went to a few classes when I was a kid but nothing came of that. I would again now except I work 7 days a week and don't have time. maybe in the winter, when I work less (my job is somewhat seasonal, between june and December I work 7 day weeks). from what I am reading, this is the perfect place to start. I don't want to plug this thing in until I know whats going to happen and am certain I am safe. with those modifications, I am especially worried. so--- is it possible to receive CFRW from Winnipeg in my house in quincy, Washington? if so, would I be able to with this radio (once it is working again, of course)?
Thanks very much sir. I am new owner of a hallicrafters s38 myself and it is silver, so I guess there must have been some color variations. Small I.F. cans though. So that dates it a bit as well as maybe closer to the 50s. I also have a S41 which is a bit beefier cabinet but the s38 will make a nice shelf queen after i recap it. Thanks for the video!
Very useful. I already marked John Fuhring's site on my favorite list in case I purchase this Halicrafters S-38D a guy is selling for a reasonable price. It is dirty and a bit rusty, but no parts are broken or missing. The seller says it works but needs servicing. Thanks for the tips.
A polarized plug may improve the margin of safety ONLY if it is plugged into a correctly wired outlet. The wide blade can be filed down to plug into the old style same blade width outlets. Many houses in urban and rural areas still have two wire outlets, many are incorrectly wired also when an outlet is replaced with a polarized outlet. For convenient access to tubes and better cooling the composition back can be left off. It's a killing machine for the uninformed and careless, no doubt about it. Best be damn careful who gets it next!
Thank you for the heads-up about the non-grounded chassis. Just bought a s-52 and plan to power it up to see if it works, or probably start troubleshooting.
Loved your video! I began my Ham career with (and still have it) an SX-28. Love that old girl. That receiver along with my 6L6 transmitter and "rocks" I enjoyed many hours of pure pleasure and tested the patients of many hams to follow me up and down the band. Now it is all Solid State and at 68 years old I have fallen into the solid state mode. 55 years ago I could lift the rigs and clean under them as well as keeping them running. Now, tubes are getting scarce and the back isn't what it was. The SX-28 was a wonderful old girl and will be with me as long as I am around. But as I am virtually 100% CW, my new Yeasu rig and all the filters, memories, auto antenna tuner, etc. plus it can sit on top of the 28 with the manual next to it so I can re-read how to turn it on. I do thank you for your work and craftmanship. However a "hot chassis" receiver is nice to look at but is heart attack waiting to happen. Keep it up for all of us and hopefully the "old" rigs will spark an interest in the new crop of Hams and CW. Take care, 73, WA6SBB
might note, that if you run a ground wire you might burn out the radio, i have lost two transformers, and had to rewire them, it was a s-53a, great radio, was burned out, and gifted to me to repair. I loved this radio, back in 66, for a young man and someone new to radio, it was the radio that helped me discover ham radio, and shortwave listening.
Back in the 80s I always wanted a radio amateur receiver then 1980 there was a craze for CB radio so I went and bought a CB for £80, I went on air I remember some of the slang words breaker breaker...!! I didn't get a radio amateur receiver because they said I have to get a licence and take a course on radio amateur...
I always changed the power cord to a polarized plug, ground side to chassis. This always prevented a lot of A/C humm and reduced the risk of electrical shock.
I had this radio when I was a kid. Somehow I got zapped while hooking up a long wire antenna. I was out side and somehow I completed the circuit to ground. No damage but quite surprised and more respectful of electricity.
I had a Heathkit GR-91 with a similar design but with one exception. When the AC power came in, it went to an isolation transformer. No possibility of a hot chassis. That made it much safer.
Hi, I just acquired a 38b and I am looking over it. I am aware of the hot chassis situation and will take care of that issue. I need to know the dial tuning string routing as the string just snapped. Can you direct me to a good instruction on the repair and installation of a string? On your radio, did you have to remove and replace most of the paper / wax capacitors? I am unsure on the acceptable level of hum that the radio should produce when working correctly. Thanks.
Hi Rene, The SX-43 is an upper end receiver and uses a transformer power supply. It would NOT have a hot chassis. It is the little AC/DC sets you have to watch out for. Thanks for your comment! "73"
I just got one back that was my Dad’s. I haven’t seen it in 40+ years. I’m able to solder but this thing is old and tight inside. I may need some help in rewiring this thing.
Hi Cstrut90,Be careful! It may take more than just a polarized plug for the S-120. You should really check out the video I mention and be able to read the schematic of your radio. There could be other issues with it. Be safe!
Hello and thank you for a very important video I am new to the hobby and have recently acquired a Hallicrafters SX-71 as well as a Hallicrafters s-18 Mark 2 could you tell me if either of these may have the Hot Chassis? Any information would be highly appreciated! Bill
Hi, Billy These two receivers do not have the dangerous "hot chassis". Any receiver with a power transformer (that big black component mounted in the corner of the chassis) Will NOT have a hot chassis.
@@squarewave2 Thank you John! What a relief..Just one more question if i may..they both have non polarized plugs is this safe or should I change them to polarized or 3 prong plugs? Thanks again!
Of these radios, the "E" model was THE MOST TRAGIC. I had one for my novice station in 1961 and it was absolutely miserable! Also, if you think CW (Morse code) is obsolete, then I suggest you listen to 7,000-7,065 kc or 14,000-14,060 kc during contests. The new hams of this day have taken to that mode in droves despite there being no test requiring Morse code proficiency.
I should add that when I took the bottom cover off just now to take a look inside, a modern small-type phones socket fell out. some of the screws are missing and two that fasten the chassis are different. the glass front is plastic that I don't think was around in 1946. it is identical to this one, and with a smooth black finish. I should get in touch with local Hams. I don't know any... should I contact the ARRL? how?
Hi Clev, Sounds to me like your radio is really a "basket case". It would have to be gone over by a real electronics repairman to make it safe. I don't think it would be worth the effort. You can find this radio on eBay for a reasonable price in operating condition. What you can receive with any shortwave radio depends on atmospheric conditions and how good your antenna is. You at least need a 100 foot long wire antenna. Look for the APRL website on line. Good lucl!
This is a great radio built back when people had common sense and were not so stupid that legislation is required on EVERYTHING of everyday life. You were supposed to set this up, plug it in, turn it on and listen from a chair, not go trying to interact with things inside it to make it play 'better' while its on. Thats why nowadays there is a warning something has no user serviceable parts so do not open
I wish i had the ability to fix my own radio's ! I have a Heathkit Mohican that works but needs a little help , i can only receive M.W. and not S.W. ? it is a ebay find. I found a repair shop 60 miles from my home but can not be seen till late Fall.
The simplest antenna for your Hallicrafters 38b is just a long wire strung as high above the ground as possible. Any type of wire will do. It should be 50 to 100 feet long. Antenna kits are sold on EBay.
I love your videos but I somewhat dislike the Hallicrafters S-38 and all of the other "All American 5" receivers. Aside from the electrical hazard the S-38 posed, it was also a very marginal SWL receiver especially on CW and SSB. All of the oscillators including the BFO were both electrically and mechanically unstable making these modes almost useless. However, the transformer operated S-40's and the like were not that much better either. Thank god for people like Art Collins and Mr Drake for their crystal controlled first conversion oscillators and precision PTO VFO's.
Lower Tones I changed my original post from "hate" to "somewhat dislike" agreeing with you. All of the vintage receivers DO have a place in the history of radio.
The S38 models were never designed to copy SSB signals. SSB hadn't even been invented at the time these radios were made (Well, except for later models of the "E" version).
@@bryanphelan1104 All of the S-38 receivers were sold as an AM "AND" CW receiver. The Conversion Oscillators and BFO were both electrically and mechanically unstable making it a very poor CW receiver as well. The envelope detector added to the distortion of strong signals along with improper AGC action. This made the S-38 basically useless on SSB. Well designed and constructed receivers of the same time period like the Collins 75A-1 if used correctly could receive SSB quite well. As the video mentions AC-DC radios like the S-38's could be lethal if the AC line cord's polarity was reversed. Needless to say the S-38 was not one of Hallicrafters best efforts.
When you said CW is less popular now than in 1946 I raised an eyebrow. When you claimed it's all but extinct now, well now I have to wonder what you really know about the radio. Tuning across the CW portions of any of the ham bands with that receiver would very quickly tell a different story. Perhaps it would do so even without attaching an antenna. CW is alive and well, the ham bands have as much or more activity now as they did when that radio was being sold as new. These radios are beautiful, that's for sure. But the real beauty of any radio is in exploration of the ether. You will be surprised at what you hear.
Hi Thor,I guess I exaggerated a little when I said CW was "almost extinct". But it is very revealing that you no longer have to know Morse code to get an amateur radio operators license. Doesn't this indicate something to you? Thank you for your comment!
It has been very revealing. Amateur radio has enjoyed explosive growth since then. There are now more licensed operators than ever before. While CW had started to decline in the 70's, the elimination of testing for CW seems to have put operators at ease. Rather than being forced, which causes "stage fright", the curious are now encouraged to try. As a result CW is increasingly popular. Preppers love it because it reaches further than voice. QRP operators love the simplicity of the gear. So many reasons. In any case you'll find the CW bands are alive and full of signals. Give it a listen, it's easy to learn.
False, the cabinet is electrically separated from the chassis which can be connected to the mains phase. This is why to avoid any problem it is preferable to use an isolation transformer. Here in France I am obliged because the mains voltage is 230 Vac. These posts are lambs, long live the Hallicrafters.
Hi Pascal, Originally, the cabinet was separated from the chassis by rubber grommets. But as the years go by, the rubber deteriorates and the chassis becomes connected to the cabinet! I don't know of anyone who would use an isolation transformer just to listen to this radio. Servicing it is another matter.
Hello. Of course the worry comes from these insulating washers which can no longer fill their work. In any case, careful use of an all-current tube receiver (without transformer for LV supply of filaments and HT) implies the use of an isolation transformer for its supply. Your article is very well done and allows to warn people not very expert in this field. Good continuation
