Hallicrafters S-40B

If you enjoy listening to shortwave, this post-war, 8-tube Hallicrafters is a good, low-end choice. With its metal cabinet, if officially qualifies as a “boatanchor” in the lexicon of radio hams and shortwave enthusiasts.

With continuous coverage through 45 MHz, this model is classified as a general coverage shortwave receiver—contrasted with “communications receivers,” which typically cover just the ham bands.

No tube-type receiver, with the possible exception of a Collins R-390A, can rival the performance of modern, digitally tuned SW receivers, so the attraction is pure nostalgia. The Hallicrafters S-40A is similar to this model, and in some ways better because its intermediate-frequency transformers are not prone to the dreaded silver-mica disease that can cause short outs. However, my S-40B plays well and shows no symptoms of the disease.

Pictured on top of the set is my MFJ antenna tuner, with which I can crank in series capacitance and inductance to provide greater selectivity. For an antenna, I have about 25 ft of outside wire strung between insulators.

Another modern add-on is a digital frequency counter so that you can tune more precisely than allowed by the conventional analog tuning dial. My digital dial, a model DD-103 sold by Electronic Specialty Products, displays the radio's oscillator frequency, less the IF frequency (455 kHz in the case of the S-40B). Website: http://www.electronicspecialtyproducts.com/

Listening to SW is interesting. The on-line Antique Radio Forum hosts a boatanchor night in which participants compare reception and generally chew the fat, communicating via computer in the Forum’s chat room.

© 2005-06 Doug Criner