General HP40W

I had some that sucked (worked on by hacks)
And I had some work great (worked on by good techs)

It's only as good as the tech

 

I'm just being honest. I hate it when people say they don't like a particular radio because it doesn't perform a certain way. Those people for the most part haven't quite figured out that not all technicians are created equal. They are the same people that go out and purchase a new radio and take it to the same guy that screwed up their last radio and they scratch their heads trying to figure out why their new radio doesn't work any better than their last one.

 

I've ran a General Lee for a number of years. No probs at all. Very good radio. Don't let a hack do anything to it always use a reputable, competent tech.

 

Rabbi, I'm with you. I don't write off a radio as a POS until after I've attempted a box-stock alignment. If, after sweeping the i.f. stage and getting the synthesizer dead-on freq, and modulation set on my scope with zero spurs on the spec anny, it *should* be great. If said radio cannot be brought into any of those parameters, and there's no hugely obvious hack, I either mark it as "beyond economical repair" and give it back with a modest diagnostic fee, or try and get as accurate an account as to its history as I can from the owner and, hopefully, the most recent moron who had his stubby little fingers inside, and see if the damage can be undone affordably. As far as inherently poor designs, I've learned never to do anything to a Cobra 150 or 200 ham rig -- too much bad mojo after this long. Same thing for most Browning tube radios, and others of that ilk with the sorta-sealed up channel switch with the internal brushes that wear out, and marginal power supplies in them.

After this long, some radios are just kinda at the end of their life and are destined to become shelf queens.
That being said, I'm on the air a few times a week with a kit-built EF Johnson Viking I, an EFJ 6N2 (using the modulator in the Viking), and Hallicrafters SX-111 with Ameco CN-50 and CN-144 rx converters. Great gear for rock solid CW and good ol' plate modulated AM (pair of 807s......sigh) and a 4D32 final.

Treat stuff right & it'll last for ever. Let one butcher in along the way, and even the nicest solid state rig can become an anchor, albeit for a very tiny model boat.

73