Hallicrafters SX-99
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| Frequency | RX: 0.538–34 MHz (4 bands) |
| Power | Receiver only |
| Modes | AM, CW |
| Weight | 12.8 kg (28.2 lb) |
| Connector | antenna terminal strip A1/A2/G (52–600 Ω) |
| Year | 1955 |
| antenna | terminal strip A1/A2/G (52–600 Ω, single-wire or doublet) |
Hallicrafters' mid-range workhorse of the late 1950s. Crystal filter for CW selectivity (the feature that distinguishes it from the cheaper S-85 on the same chassis). S-meter. Antenna trimmer for peaking signals. Bandspread calibrated for all the ham bands including 11m. 8 tubes with 455 kHz IF, simple and reliable. Common enough that parts and documentation are widely available. $159.95 was excellent value in the late 1950s.
Single conversion with 455 kHz IF means poor image rejection above 10 MHz; images are a problem on 15m and 10m. No SSB capability beyond what the BFO provides (no selectable sideband like the SX-96/100). External speaker required. At 28+ lbs it's heavier than it looks. The bandswitch and crystal filter contacts can develop issues.
The practical Hallicrafters. The SX-99 gives you a crystal filter, S-meter, and antenna trimmer (everything missing from the budget S-85) at a reasonable price. For AM and CW on the lower bands, it's genuinely pleasant to use. Above 20m, images become a problem, but for 80m and 40m Novice CW it was the perfect receiver. Today it's a common, affordable hamfest find and a solid restoration candidate.
The Hallicrafters SX-99 is a popular mid-1950s general-coverage communications receiver that brought respectable Hallicrafters performance to the budget-minded listener and beginning amateur. It is an AC-operated four-band single-conversion superheterodyne covering roughly 538 kHz to 34 MHz, taking in the standard broadcast band and the shortwave bands in four ranges, with bandspread calibrated for the amateur bands.
It shares its chassis with the cheaper S-85, but adds the three things that make a "real" communications receiver: a crystal filter for selectivity, an S-meter, and an antenna trimmer (the trade-off is that, unlike the S-85, it needs an external speaker). With a beat-frequency oscillator for CW and the solid, good-looking Hallicrafters construction, it offered the essentials a newcomer needed at an accessible $159.95 (which made it a common first 'real' receiver for many in the hobby.
Sold for years) including through Sears under the Silvertone badge, where it appeared in the 1957 and 1959 catalogs, the SX-99 introduced a generation to serious shortwave and amateur listening. Its one real limitation is the single-conversion, 455-kilohertz IF, which lets images creep in above about 20 MHz. It is a discontinued classic. See its sibling the S-85, the premium SX-100, and the iconic SX-28.