Note
QST, Aug 1946, p. 145.
QST, Dec 1946, pp. 8–15.
Lafayette catalog number 88, back cover.
Concord catalog 9-47, p. 154.
Lafayette-Concord (1949 #949), p. 142.
The SX-42 was listed in an ad (without a photo) in the August 1946 issue of QST (page 145). The ad, for R.C. & L.F. Hall, Inc., may have been a misprint, but it was listed for three months, and the frequency coverage listed was correct. The SX-42 was released four months later, in the December 1946 issue. Oddly, the same ad also listed the SX-43 (with correct frequency coverage) nearly a year before its official release in August 1947.
Reading through the December 1946 issue of QST, you could be forgiven for believing that the SX-42 was the only receiver available. In addition to Hallicrafters' eight page ad, there were 95 other ads for the SX-42, each one with a photo of the receiver.
Released in 1946 as a replacement for the SX-28A. It was, at that time, Hallicrafters' top of the line receiver. The SX-42 uses a single conversion superheterodyne circuit and provides AM and CW reception over its full frequency range of 540 kHz to 110 MHz in six overlapping bands, and adds FM coverage above 27 MHz.
Wide frequency coverage is made possible by the use of a "split-stator" tuning system, and the use of dual IF transformers. Each IF transformer has windings for both 455 kHz and 10.7 MHz. Changeover is accomplished automatically above 30 MHz.
The main tuning and bandspread controls are mounted coaxially, and includes a dial lock that will secure either one, while letting the other turn freely. The bandspread dial is calibrated for the 80, 40, 20, and 10 meter amateur bands, and includes a logging scale for use elsewhere. The main tuning knob is provided with a precision vernier scale which is separately illuminated in a small window in the one-piece main dial housing.
Normal control positions for standard broadcast reception are marked with red dots, while FM adjustments are marked in green. This, the company said, was to make use of the receiver easier for those less familiar with the operation of such equipment.
Controls include crystal phasing, CW pitch, sensitivity, and a four position tone control for selection of LOW, MED, HIFI, and BASS settings. The mode selector switch includes a "phono" input. The audio output section is designed for true high fidelity and provides eight watts of power. Response is essentially flat from 60 Hz to 15 kHz.
The S-meter also functions as an FM tuning meter.
Optional tilting base (B-42).
Tubes (15 total): (2) 6AG5, (1) 7F8, (1) 6SK7, (1) 6SG7, (2) 6H6, (2) 7H7, (1) 6SL7, (2) 6V6, (1) 7A4, (1) OD3 (VR-150), (1) 5U4
References
Technical description. Radio News, Oct 1946, p. 50.
