Hammarlund HQ-170
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| Frequency | RX: 160–6 m (ham bands) |
| Bands | 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, 10m, 6m |
| Power | Receiver only, VHF coverage |
| Modes | AM, CW, SSB |
| Weight | 15.4 kg (34 lb) |
| Connector | antenna terminals (SO-239 provision) |
| Year | 1958 |
| antenna | antenna terminals (SO-239 provision) |
| speaker | external-speaker terminals (no internal speaker) |
Hammarlund's amateur-bands receiver covering 160m through 6m. Triple conversion on the higher bands (dual on 160/80m) for good image rejection, a crystal filter, an S-meter, a noise limiter, and a crystal calibrator. A capable ham-band receiver of the late 1950s.
Amateur bands only (no general-coverage shortwave between the ham bands). AM/CW/SSB but no FM. 16 tubes to maintain. Hammarlund went out of business. Finding a clean unit takes patience.
A solid amateur-bands receiver. The HQ-170 covered 160m through 6m with triple conversion and a crystal filter, a good performer in the late-1950s transition from AM to SSB. The HQ-170A/C refined it. Often paired with a matching Hammarlund transmitter.
The Hammarlund HQ-170 is a ham-band-only communications receiver from around 1958, designed expressly for the amateur operator and built around an ambitious triple-conversion circuit. It covers the amateur bands from 160 through 6 meters and receives AM, CW, and single sideband, with a final intermediate frequency of just 60 kHz that enables exceptional selectivity, bandwidths as narrow as 500 Hz for digging weak CW signals out of crowded conditions, ranging up to about 3 kHz.
Because it concentrated on the amateur bands rather than broad general coverage, the HQ-170 offered generous bandspread and excellent readability where hams actually operate, paired with a sideband-selection system, a notch filter, and a clock. It was a sophisticated, capable receiver for the serious CW and SSB operator of its day, and the HQ-170A and later variants refined it. It remains a well-regarded vintage ham-band receiver.
It is a discontinued classic. See the general-coverage HQ-180 and the HQ-145.