Hallicrafters S38-C Receiver
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$150.00at Big River HardwareChecked Nov 1
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The Hallicrafters S-38C is a four-band shortwave tube receiver from the early 1950s, covering roughly 0.54 to 30 MHz. It has a 0-100 electrical bandspread scale, an automatic noise limiter, a standby switch, headphone terminals and a variable BFO for CW. It is a collector's and restorer's radio, not a daily driver: it is a transformerless AC/DC design, so its chassis can sit at line potential and it should only be run through an isolation transformer. Compared with later communications receivers it is simple and drifty, but it is one of the cheapest ways into a real Hallicrafters boat anchor.
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Lowest price we've seen: $150.00 on Nov 1 at Big River Hardware. Tracked across 1 store since Nov 1.
The Hallicrafters S38-C is a vintage shortwave and AM radio receiver. It has four bands covering .54 to 30 MHz. An electrical bandspread with a 0-100 scale helps with fine tuning.
It has an automatic noise limiter, a standby switch and headphone terminals. A variable BFO allows CW reception. Later models omitted the variable BFO, which reduced the tube count to five.
All S-38 receivers use a transformerless design, which presents a shock hazard. The safest way to operate one is with an isolation transformer in the AC supply. It can be operated without one only if the original back cover, bottom cover and rubber chassis isolators are in good condition.
