Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares a link to this eBay listing of a Hammarlund HQ-180A and notes:
Whoever owned this Hammarlund HQ-180A installed a DC meter where the clock or crystal unit usually is.
And the screws on the top of the hatch seem to indicate installation of a DC supply perhaps?
Like you, I’ve never seen this particular mod to the HQ-180A, Dan.
I’m curious if the owner installed the DC meter to replace a broken or missing clock? Though I’ve never searched for one, I suspect those Hammarlund clocks are getting more difficult to find on the used market.
I have a HQ-180A with clock sitting in my basement. It was purchased new by the ham that introduced me to SW and amateur radio. I marveled at its ability to pull signals out of the ether when I first saw it some 45-50 years ago. It was used almost exclusively in his work with the MARS relay league conducting phone patches and passing along messages from service members in Viet Nam to loved ones in the states. When he passed away about 20 years ago his grand children were kind enough to pass it along to me. I’ve fired it up but frankly I am fearful of the potential for electrocution! I did get a pretty good jolt from the cabinet!
It’s a zero-centre meter, even less demand for those. A common use is at the output of an FM detector, to show when it’s properly tuned. But that would require the addition of an FM detector, not likely.
There was a period where analog meters were used to display digital values (instead of a string of lights or a seven segment readout), but they’d use one meter per digit. So theoretically there could be a digital clock in there, using the meter for the display, but again not likely.
The suggestion of a speaker in the lid makes sense. That did happen when there was no internal speaker. That way if you moved the receiver, the speaker was with it. Not great, but better than nothing.
Michael
Yes, good observation. Have no idea why he would have put a DC meter in there. The screws on the lid do indicate installation of an internal speaker at some point. The seller does not appear to know much if anything about the radio.
Have no idea about the function of the meter and in the photos it looks as if nothing is attached. As for the screws. Looking where they are attached on the back of the radio and a couple other hints I would say he installed a speaker on the underside of of the lid.