Wednesday, July 27, 2005
An enjoyable walk down memory lane
I subscribe to several mailing lists on a number of topics with more than a few of them being ham radio related. One of them deals with radios manufactured by the Hallicrafters Company. As with many other things electronic in nature there were once a number of companies here in the United States that produced commercial off the shelf amateur radio gear and Hallicrafters was one of the best. Many hams still collect these vintage radios affectionately called “boat anchors” and with an enormous amount of work restore them to their original physical and electrical pristine state. Trust me when I tell you that for many it is a labor of love. Now if only I had more money in the toy budget!
So this morning in my mailbox I found an offer to purchase a piece of history. Towards the end of it's life Hallicrafters made a number of solid state radios that continued to be available into the early 1960's. The FPM-200 was a marvel of technology far ahead of its time and never became a commercial success due to its high cost. In 1959 this radio sold for over $2600 which was more than half a years wages for the average ham at the time. You can follow this link if you would like to see detailed photos of and the story behind this marvelous radio and piece of history. Enjoy.
So this morning in my mailbox I found an offer to purchase a piece of history. Towards the end of it's life Hallicrafters made a number of solid state radios that continued to be available into the early 1960's. The FPM-200 was a marvel of technology far ahead of its time and never became a commercial success due to its high cost. In 1959 this radio sold for over $2600 which was more than half a years wages for the average ham at the time. You can follow this link if you would like to see detailed photos of and the story behind this marvelous radio and piece of history. Enjoy.
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