The Hallicrafters Company

The Hallicrafters Company of Chicago, IL manufactured several models of receivers and AM transceivers specifically intended for marine radio use during the period from 1938 to 1946. Some of the receivers may have found inland marine use and the transceivers certainly did. The marine transceivers were the HT-3, HT-8, HT-11, HT-12 and HT-14. The receivers designed with marine use in mind included the S-22, S-22R, S-30 (Radio Compass), and the S-51 (a 1950s design). The links are to advertisements for the units.

A rather horizontal Hallicrafters marine transceiver

The HT-3 was a 50 Watt marine transceiver of 1938 vintage. The transmitter operated on 3 crystal controlled channels in the 2.1 to 2.9 MHz band. The two-band, six-tube, tuneable receiver covered the broadcast band and the 1.9 to 3.1 MHz marine band. The unit was powered from 12 or 32 VDC depending on the power supply choice.

The photo of the HT-3 unit at the left and the information above is from Chuck Dachis' book Radios by Hallicrafters, and are used with the author's permission

Thanks to Jack Estes we have copies of the instruction books for the Model S-22 Skyrider Marine Receiver and the Model HT-8 Marine Radiophone. The S-22 book has 7 pages and the HT-8 book has 12. These copies are high quality scans so the files are large, and since there is likely little interest in the complete books only selected information is presented here. Copies of the files for the complete books will be sent via e-mail upon request - see the Contacting Us Page.

Photo of the HT-8 showing the handset hung on the front

The HT-8 was a 25 W marine transceiver of 1939 vintage. The superhetrodyne receiver had a seven tubes and the transmitter had four. A rectifier completed the 12 tube lineup. It operated on any of 5 Xtal controlled channels in the 2.1 to 2.8 MHz range and, with slight modifications, up to 6.6 MHz. The receiver also had one additional channel for a 2 MHz marine weather frequency. Later production of the unit had a socket to connect an external Western Electric type 104A ringer unit for selective calling. The purchaser could specify a power supply for operation on either 120VAC or 12VDC. The power supplies were external units, and 12 VDC supply was dynamotor operated.

This HT-8 Advertisement gives aditional information about the unit.

HT-8 photo is from the HT-8 instruction book

Inside top view of the HT-8 with parts identified

Inside rear view of the HT-8 with parts identified

HT-8 top view (left) and rear view (right) - both images from the HT-8 instruction book

Image of my Hallicrafters RX with a model steamboat on top of it.

It isn't a marine unit, it's my first SW RX a S-38 - Taken 6/14/1949

S-22 photo from the S-22 instruction book.

The Model S-22 Skyrider marine was a tunable superhetrodyne receiver of 1938 vintage. It had
8 tubes and covered the frequency range from
0.14 MHz to 18.5 MHz in four bands. It operated
from 110 Volts AC or DC, and because of the
lack of a power transformer the unit chassis was
isolated from the cabinet. S-22 Advertisement.

Thanks to Moe Fretz of the London Vintage
Radio club for the picture. The unit belongs to
the 427 Wing of the RCAF based in London Ont.

Above: The S-51 Sea Farer. General Coverage Receiver, Single Conversion. 4 bands 0.132-13MHz, has also 3 fixed frequencies. IF 455kHz. 10 tubes. AC/DC. Production year 1947-49. Image and information from LA5KI's great Hallicrafters Gallery. (Note: Other sources say this is a 1950s model.)

Left: The HT-14 (military version). 15 tubes, The TX was 45 watts with two 807 tubes in the final and 6 crystal-controlled channels between 1.68 & 4.45 MHz. The RX had two crystal and two VFO switch positions. The IF was 385 kHz. Operated from either 110 VAC, or 12, 32 or 110 VDC depending on the user-specified power supply. The slightly different civilian version was called the Commodore.

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