Tag: vintage radio

The future vintage radios

In the “Things that make you go hmmm…” category:

After my recent acquisition of the Hallicrafters HT-32, a thought popped into my head: What does the boat anchor/vintage radio of the future look like.

Go to any hamfest or talk to any long time amateur radio operator, and it won’t be hard to find 40+ year old radios still in working condition (some better than others). Even if they’re not working, it’s not impossible in most cases to find parts to resurrect the radio.

I’ve got 3 Hammarlunds and 1 Hallicrafters in my boat anchor collection now. Our Kenwood TS-480SAT or Elecraft K2 could be considered vintage, depending on what time frame for vintage you want to use. Should they be considered part of the boat anchor collection?

In the age of (current) modern, IC based, software-defined radios (pretty much anything from 2010 onward), how many of those will remain servicable/fixable enough to become the boat anchors of the future? Will anybody be using an ICOM IC-7300/7300MK2 or Yaesu FTDX-10 in 2050? Will I be able to repair our Kenwood TS-480SAT in 2040 when something fails?

Ask anyone of a certain ham radio age what a boat anchor radio would be, and you’ll get answers like Drake, Collins, Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, National. What will people say in 2040 or 2050? What boat anchor radios be we be using 20-30 years from now?

Atlas 210X HF radio

One of the items in the KB4NNM (SK) collection that was donated to the club earlier this year was an Atlas 210X 5-band HF radio mounted in a 220-CS AC console. The console allows the radio to be operated off mains power, provides a speaker and VOX capabilities.

Atlas 210X mounted in a 220-CS AC console
Atlas 210X mounted in a 220-CS AC console

It’s a pretty nice looking setup. Until I did a bit of research on the radio, I didn’t realize that the radio and console were separate items. Turns out, the radio just slides into the console, and connects using some 1/4″ plugs and a banana jack-like connector for the antenna.

Atlas 210X removed from the console
Atlas 210X removed from the console

Sounds like the radio works, although the speaker produces a buzzing noise (60Hz hum I think) even when the radio’s AF gain is turned all the way down. Turning some of the dials and switches produces some static-y noises, so it sounds like those will need some cleaning. Haven’t had a look inside the radio yet. That will be later.

This seems like it might be a nice radio to use in the club room.