According to an unreliable source (The Internet) Marconi is fingered as the 1st ham. But in fact, it was Heinrich Hertz who is credited with the theory that there could be radio waves back in 1890. It also said the 1st ham club was not at MIT or Stanford but Columbia University in 1908.
But with certainty the period 1930's to 1960 produced some really cool looking radios (with some exceptions like the S-38E or the SW-54). The designs had curb appeal and for some strange reason could capture your heart just like a blonde hottie.
One radio manufacturer product line I never owned was one from Harvey Wells. The R-9A and T-9o (receiver and transmitter) were two examples.
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These two radios were small in size as one of the market segments was as a mobile rig. The transmitter had a VFO and could also be crystal controlled. The power supply for the transmitter was external and there was even a mating Z Match Antenna Tuner. I have no data on just how popular these radios were, but they sure caught my eye. Big negative my FFS and the small tuning knob.
One other product line from Harvey Wells were the Bandmaster transmitters which command a fairly high price on eBay today. They had variants such as the Senior Model and Junior Model. The variable was power rating and features. These looked like something you might home brew in your shop. Most were Phone and CW capable, but crystal controlled.
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The R-9A and T-90 show up from time to time on eBay and all you need to do is search BAMA for the manuals and you will quickly conclude to pass on the units.
Still another lusted after radio was the Hammarlund HQ-180A as that just had such a cool look.
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I never owned an HQ-180A but thought this was somewhere between the SP-600 JX17 and the HQ-100. I did own a SP-600 JX17, and it worked well but weighed a ton. I bought and sold quickly a HQ-100 -- just slightly better than an S-38E. Pair the HQ-180A with a Johnson Viking Valiant II and you had a serious (hernia) radio station.
Perhaps the forerunner of the Transceiver was a jewel from Hallicrafters. This was a desk station console that included an SX-101 Receiver, HT-32B Transmitter and HT-33 Linear Amp. That thing must have weighed several hundred pounds and cost several thousand dollars. I don't have a photo of that station, but you can just imagine telling the XYL look what I bought with the charge card (forerunner of a credit card -- this was the 1950's.)
I spent a bit of time today with some radios of old as these might be what you found on the operating desks of the hams 80 years ago. Today it is either an ICOM IC7300 or a black box with no knobs.
Happy Summer.
73's
Pete N6QW
TYGNYB (Trust Your Gut Not Your Butt)