The HRO Transceiver

This is something very rare, in fact I am quite confident that nothing similar exists.

Built into the case of a standard wartime vintage HRO is an SSB transceiver for the 80 meter amateur band.

It was constructed by the late G3AQY around 1960 and used by G3SGL (his daughter and now my XYL) to communicate from her flat in Liverpool to her home in North Thoresby, Lincolnshire whilst at College in Liverpool studying for her BA.

The rig connected to an external linear amplifier using an 811 power amplifier and was used with a long wire over the roof of her flat on the fourth floor of a house, which still stands at the end of Princes Road, not more than a stones throw from the old Rialto cinema where the Toxteth riots started some years later in the 70s.

The rig fairly bristles with valves. At the last count I found 20 mounted at all angles and in every inch of the chassis. Mostly they are B9A and B7G but I found some octal types as well.

If you look closely you'll see some original HRO parts. The dial and tuning condenser, several knobs, the S-meter, 7MHz coil pack and one of the original metal valves. Maybe there's an original IF can with its coil and many sundry bits still there also?

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