Tag Archives: Collins

One of the highest prices ever paid for a Collins 51J-4

Collins-51J4Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:

Over $2k for this receiver, which appears to be quite unique. It is not one of the well-known and quite rare Beckman 51J4s, and likely it was re-finished to give it the almost white-grey color it has.

But it does have an interesting tuning addition, what the seller calls a factory-installed 4:1 vernier knob. Regardless, it fetched about as much as any 51J4 has ever brought in on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181975178674?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thanks, Dan! That 51J4 is a beauty. I’m always amazed at the price Collins equipment fetches at auctions and even at Hamfests. You’re hard-pressed to find anything under $800 and rare units (like the 51J4 above) sell for so much more.

Someday, I’d like to add a Collins R-390A to my collection, but first I need to make room for it and start saving! My buddy, Charlie (W4MEC) has rebuilt several R-390s and I’ve no idea how he does it. The tuning mechanism alone is one amazing (and complicated) piece of engineering! Charlie loves a good challenge, though, and he’s certainly brought a few R-390s back into full service.

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Guest Post: A Late Summer Visit to Howard Mills’ Radio Restoration

Many thanks to former VOA correspondent and noted DXer, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post:


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A Late Summer Visit to Howard Mills’ Radio Restoration

-Dan Robinson

The end of summer is a wistful time, as we begin to mourn the passage of warm days and anticipate the arrival of autumn.

For those of us in love with shortwave, even in these waning days of HF broadcasting, August brings changes in propagation that herald the approach of improved reception, thoughts of getting antennas in shape, and preparing receivers for the new DX season.

It’s also a time when Hamfests are winding down for the year — for me, it’s still great fun to attend these and see what equipment is available.

A few months ago, I and fellow Washington, DC area SWL Dave Malick took the opportunity to visit a couple of Hamfests. At one of these, in Berryville, VA, I ran across someone who over the years has become somewhat of a legend in the field of radio restoration — Howard Mills.

Howard lives in rural West Virginia, at a point about equidistant from Harper’s Ferry and Sheperdstown. That’s about an hour or so from DC and the immediate Maryland suburbs. From DC, you drive out Rt 270 to Frederick, Maryland and then up Route 15 and 340.

It’s beautiful country — on the way you pass through small towns, past farms, and in late summer, roadside stands selling huge ears of corn and about every type of vegetable, along with peaches and apples of every type and size.Rack mounted equipment

Back in the late 1990’s I first became aware of Howard Mills when I brought my Collins 51J4 to him for refurbishing.   Howard is one of the few persons remaining in this country capable of going through classic tube receivers from top to bottom.

A visit to Howard is an experience everyone should have at least once in a lifetime. Restoration activities take place in the lower/ground level of his home.

Outside there are some amazing antennas, long wires, and beams which support both his amateur radio and receiver activities.
DSCF7558Under a porch, covered in tarps, are some of his latest equipment and parts acquisitions, from thousands of tubes to some of the rarest radios and transmitter items one may ever see.

Howard at his home in WVA

Inside, you find a wonderland of receivers. You name it, Howard has it. In racks, there are specialized Beckman 51J4s, SP-600s, AR-88s and R-390/As, Eddystones, and others. In another room, you see some of the most beautiful, and collectible and valuable, American and foreign-made radios dating back to the earliest days.

Rare Eddystone

On tables in one portion of the basement of Howard’s place, you find several R-390s in various stages of refurbishment. One, he notes (probably among his “keepers” ) was found still new in its original crate (how I would love to have that one!).

On the day Dave and I visited, the purpose was to pick up one of the most beautiful R-390s I have ever seen — a Capehart that was refurbished by Howard in 2007 and placed in a custom cabinet, complete with an easy-left-off top, similar to the HQ-180 design. This black beauty is now sitting in my shack at home.

R-390A Capehart

Howard has been at it for many decades, as I said. A conversation with him is a voyage through radio history, punctuated by references to a range of major radio manufacturers. He clearly loves what he does, though one wonders how much longer he will be at it.

Howard emphasizes by the way that his work is in restoring TUBE radios — he doesn’t get into solid state. There are a few well-known receivers in his place — I noticed an ICOM IC-R72 and a JRC NRD-535– but most of what you see are the classics that we have all come to know and love.

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His primary specialty appears to be the 51J series. A link to him on the Collins site notes that his main focus is on A line equipment, J series, and 32V series, but he is certainly capable on a number of models, including as I saw, HQ-180s and AR-88s (http://www.collinsradio.org/howard-mills/)

I was able to take some photos of Howard’s operation and offer them to SWLing Post readers here. At this point, Howard remains in business. He has had customers from all over the U.S. and I assume around the globe.

For each refurbishing job, Howard provides an extensive print out of every single modification and component replacement he does, along with the results of sensitivity and calibration tests done for each set.

Please do note that Howard makes clear that basically as long as it takes him to refurbish a radio — is as long as it will take.   If you give him one of your radios, you basically agree to it being with him for several months if not longer. He does have a backlog.

R390A New

Things like sandblasting front panels for R390s (I am not certain to what extent he does this himself or out-sources this particular aspect) also takes time.   And the detail with which he approaches a breakdown of an R390/A, evidenced by the sets I saw in process, is quite extraordinary and time-consuming.

Howard gets mostly superb reviews from those who have used his services. If you look him up on the Internet, and he has time for you to visit, it’s an experience you will always remember, though it’s not that I would suggest a crowd descend on him.

Hope everyone enjoys the photos — I had intended to get this article to Tom much sooner than October. Keep in mind, of course, that though Howard is one of the last to do this kind of work, there are a few others, including Chuck Rippel in Virginia.

We are indeed lucky to have anyone still doing this work. We know they do it not just as a business, but out of a love for this wonderful old equipment.

Photo gallery

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Many thanks, Dan, for taking us on this virtual tour of Howard Mills’ collection and workshop!

Your Capehart R-390A is absolutely gorgeous; Howard, no doubt, brought it back to mint status through loving, considerate restoration. What a great addition to your collection, Dan.

Thank you, again,  for sharing your guest post.

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A Photo Tour of the National Capital Radio and Television Museum

On Tuesday afternoon, I made a pilgrimage the to the National Capital Radio and Television Museum in Bowie, Maryland, USA.  The museum is located in a modest and beautiful historic house on the corner of Mt. Oak and Mitchellville Roads in Bowie.

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Museum Curator and volunteer, Brian Belanger, kindly gave me a private tour of the museum collections (the museum is closed on Tuesdays). Brian

Many thanks to Brian for taking time out of his day for the tour, and for allowing me to take some photos for the SWLing Post!

The museum has a number of display rooms with radios broadly grouped by style and decade. The first room offers examples of some of the earliest radios produced–including the venerable crystal radio (below).

[Click photos to enlarge.]

Miracle

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Like Brian, numerous volunteers work to keep the collections in working order. This isn’t a place where vintage radios come to die; they actually come to life here.

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1920sRadioEven examples of some of their earliest radios are on the air and can be tuned to local and international stations.  Radio5

RCA-Radiola-60 RCA-Radiola-60Dial

This RCA “portable” (below), housed two batteries on either side of the center faceplate. Note the ad on the wall above–a couple enjoy the RCA as they recline on a beach.

RCA-Portable RCA-Portable-Dial Radiola-X-RCA Radio10 Atwater-Kent-Black Atwater-Kent-Black-Interior

Speakers of the day were pretty amazing, too–check out this hand-painted 1927 Air Chrome Double Cone Speaker, below.

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The museum also has an extensive collection of studio and off-air recordings that can be played over an AM carrier throughout the building.

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By the late 1920s and early 1930s, radio manufactures built gorgeous console radios, features in the living rooms and parlors of many lucky homes.

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This E.H. Scott All-Wave 23 console (above and below) sported not only twenty-threee vacuum tubes, but a large, robust internal speaker. Radio collectors consider the All-Wave 23 to be one of the finest performing radios of the vacuum-tube era. Scott-Console-Radio-Dial

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The museum also features the Zenith 12-S-232 tabletop radio with working shuttle dial–a futuristic band-switching mechanical wonder with a stunning dial.

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A number of tabletop and portable radios that span the decades have found their homes in this museum.  No doubt many SWLing Post readers cut their teeth on these classics!

Zenith-Trans-Oceanic-6500 Zenith-Portable American-Radio-AssociatesRealistic-Model-12-173 Garod-Model-582

I love the design of the Garod Model 5A2–wow! And I’m sure many kids of the fifties wished they had an official Hopalong Cassidy AM radio (below).HopAlongCassidy-Radio

The museum, of course, also houses a large number of classic televisions.

Pilot-Model-TVHallicrafters-TV Philco-TV Philco-TV-ControlsRadio stations and benefactors have also donated many items used in the industry, both in broadcast and retail.

NBC-Chimes PhilcoSign Midwest-Magazine SylvaniaSigns 980KC-MicBrian was also kind enough to take me to the building, next door, where they repair radios and store others for eventual rotation into the collection.

Workshop Repair4 Repair2

Museum volunteers also teach radio repair and restoration classes.Repair1 Repair3

GE-RadioThe number of classic ham radios, home brew receivers and transmitters was simply amazing. Indeed, I felt like a kid in a candy shop!

Radio1 National-NC-46 HalliDial Hallicrafters-SX100 Hallicrafters-SX62A Hallicrafters-SuperSkyrider Hallicrafters-Super-Skyrider CollinsTransmitterBy the end of the tour, I had decided to become a member of the National Capital Radio and Television Museum. Even though I live a few states away, I like knowing that my membership funds not only help preserve vintage radios and televisions, but also provide me members-only access to many of their scanned archives. Click to view a full list of benefits for a modest $25 membership.

Again, many thanks to Brian Belanger for the amazing tour of this wonderful museum!  Brian, I’ll be back next year…

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Dayton Hamvention flea market: a few photos

I had a little over one hour to check out the Dayton Hamvention flea market yesterday morning before manning our inside exhibitor’s table for Ears To Our World.

Here are a few radios that caught my attention:
CollinsRadios

Hallicrafters-SX-24I actually purchased the Hallicrafters SX-24 in this photo (above) for $60. I would have purchased the speaker as well but he wanted $200 (!!!) for it.

Hallicrafters-SX-42 Hallicrafters-SX28 Hammarlund-HQ145ABy the time I made it back to this Hammarlund HQ 145 A, someone else had already snagged it. It was a beauty!

Panasonic-RF-4800 Philips Racal-RA6790GMI probably saw eight of these RA6790/GM’s scattered throughout the flea market.

Signal-Corps-BC-1308 Zenith

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