My first boat anchor!

I’ve acquired my first boat anchor radio!

One of my friends from the photography meetup I’m in messaged me and asked if I’d be interested in an old radio he was helping a friend of his sell.

I’m now the owner of a Hammarlund HQ-100 receiver that powers on, but will need a fair bit of restoration work.

Hammarlund HQ-100
Hammarlund HQ-100
Hammarlund HQ-100
Hammarlund HQ-100

I even got a speaker to go with it.

Hammarlund HQ-100 speaker
Hammarlund HQ-100 speaker

It’s a bit of a heavy beast, but not quite as heavy as it looks. Undoing two screws let me slide the cover off to look inside.

Inside the Hammarlund HQ-100, top view
Inside the Hammarlund HQ-100, top view
Inside the Hammarlund HQ-100, bottom view
Inside the Hammarlund HQ-100, bottom view

There’s a fair bit of dust and corrosion on the components, but except for the band spread dial, all the controls seem to work. Not sure how the radio spent the last few decades of its life. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to replace a few components, especially the mechanical bits. Smells like the previous owner might have been a smoker, but it’s hard to really tell.

This is going to be a fun restoration project to work on. It’s going to take me a while, but I’m going to enjoy working on it.