I saw it on the table and thought, “I used to have one of those!” Then I looked up, saw Allen AG5ND standing behind the bone yard table at Saturday’s Jackson (MS) Hamfest. It hit me, I literally used to have that shortwave receiver!.
The Hallicrafters S-108 was a gift from my older brother, now deceased, who served in the Air Force. He got it from surplus property as he worked in supply, serving in Phukat Viet Nam. It succeeded my very first “real” shortwave Rx, the Halli S-120, purchased from a notorious pawn shop on Juniper Avenue in Atlanta, GA.
When I completed the requirements for my PhD degree, I was able to treat myself to a more modern receiver (one with a front-end selection narrower than a barn door, I might add). I ordered the Yaesu FRG-7000 with a narrower IF filter and added switch on the front panel from Radio West in California. In 1979, this was a hot desktop shortwave receiver. I bought an MFJ 1020 Active Antenna and, along with my memberships in IRCA and the NRC, my BCB DXing added the high frequency bands to the ponds I fished in.
With this heady new hardware on my desk at home, the S-108 sat there as a Desk Queen of sorts. I met Allen through his spouse who worked for me as a graduate research assistant. He had a love of these mysterious signals emanating from the shortwave bands. So in a moment of unrecognized Elmering, I gave Allen this Hallicrafters S-108 receiver. This was about 1980.
As I understand it, Allen progressed through a Kenwood R-1000 in later years. But he kept the Hallicrafters, the old Gray Lady that she is. He got licensed several years ago at this same Jackson Hamfest and began chasing DX in earnest. He’s been President of the Magnolia Amateur Radio Club in Starkville and succeeded me as Emergency Coordinator for the ARRL ARES program in Oktibbeha County.
Today, when I saw the S-108 on the sale table, I was not saddened that he was offering it for sale. I was pleasantly surprised that he held on to it this long. I know he moved on to a Kenwood R-1000 later as a mainstay SWL rig.
But was I tempted to buy it back? Well, not for $100. And, really, not for the space it would take up. My remaining conventional shortwave radio is a Drake R8A. I’ll actually put it up for sale soon. I’ve been a Perseus SDR user for over a decade now and have both the RSP Duo from SDRPlay and an AirSpy HF+ from AirSpy as well as a KiWiSDR that still in a box. Space becomes a great leveler for sentiment, at times. And, technical specifications can exceed the pull of sentiment versus that space. That’s what happened here.
It was great to see this Hallicrafters Shortwave Radio for sale. I hope someone bought it and has half the enjoyment, excitement, and growth in the hobby that I and Allen had. Bon voyage, Great Gray Lady!