Eighty years ago, Hallicrafters came out with the venerable S-38 receiver. It was essentially an “All American Five” circuit, but covered three shortwave bands in addition to the broadcast band, up to 32 MHz. And it had six tubes, since one served as a BFO for reception of CW or SSB signals. It was announced in this ad from the June 1946 issue of Radio News, with a retail price of $39.50.

The receiver was a very basic communications receiver, but got the job done for many a beginning shortwave listener.  While not ideal, it was pressed into service by many beginning hams, often paired with a simple homemade transmitter.  Hallicrafters released five more versions of the S-38, dubbed S-38A through S-38E, until 1961.