Welcome!

FOLLOW THAT GLOW!
TO THE
HALLIGAN'S HALLICRAFTERS
WEB SITE OF WIRELESS WONDERS


Welcome to the hallowed hollow state world of Hallicrafters. The visionary dream of founder William Halligan Sr. that still fills many rooms around the world with a warm glow.

The unseen silent power of radio sucks us into its vortex of influence like a permanent magnet captures Iron filings. In every life some acid rain must fall, and probably a lot of dust too from rescuing radio relics residing among the attic rafters. Perhaps some scratches from wrestling them away from a sharp toothed rodent who had hung out a "Home Sweet Home" sign as she raised her young among the tuning coils! Or when you leaped from a still moving vehicle in a moment of unbridled nostalgic passion and snatched an orphaned set from the curb a split second before the trash collector was destined to hurl it into the grinding molars of the waiting garbage truck. Great grid shorts! What makes us risk life and limb to save a moldy box of long lost loctals? Why do we have this fascination with invisible waves anyhow?

The vacuum tube wireless is the foundation the twentieth century was built upon. From a humble crystal radio with hand wound coil to the International Space Station circling the Earth with radios that can be heard in the next Galaxy. it is the electromagnetic voice that calls out to our cosmic kindred dwelling somewhere among those flickering skyscraper lights on distant planets. It is the medium by which some of the greatest stories ever told, were told.

It allowed us to be there in a collective consciousness to share in some of the most historic triumphs and tragedies of humanity. From the Orsen Wells War Of The Worlds Halloween spoof, to the voice of Franklin D. Roosevelt declaring war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl harbor, to a child singing God Bless America as we celebrated America's two hundredth birthday. We were there because of radio.

These magical waves held our senses spellbound as we gathered around the console to listen to music from an orchestra plucking its strings in a concert hall in London. We listened with moist eyes and pounding hearts as it told us that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated on November 22, 1963. We cheered until our voices squeaked like a rusty car door hinge when Neil Armstrong spoke those first human words from the surface of the Moon. We were there because of radio.

We rode upon those weightless waves as we boldly surfed the uncharted oceans of wonder that radio dangled before us like golden coins glittering in sunlight. Let us not forget how Hallicrafters touched most of our lives directly or indirectly. Join us now on a journey that takes us from the very early days of Hallicrafters to the twenty-first century, and beyond. Come now and let's peruse these Hallicrafters halls of history and enjoy the heritage that William Halligan left us all.


By Duane Fischer, W8DBF(SK)