Similar to other American manufacturers, Hammarlund was initially founded to manufacture components necessary for the construction of a radio receiver. It was not until 1931 that the first complete receiver, the „Comet“, was introduced to the market; this set and its successor, the „Comet Pro“, were the first commercially available superheterodyne receivers.

In 1936, the „Comet Super Pro“ was introduced as the ultimate shortwave receiver. This receiver, called „Super Pro“ for short, was gradually developed from the prototype SP 10. The regular development ended with the model SP - 110, the SP - 600 as the conclusion of the model series was produced in a number of variants until 1972. The characteristic front plate with the main and band spread tuning dials visible in two cut-outs was only slightly redesigned over the years.

In the middle price segment, a second receiver series was added. It began in 1938 with the HQ - 120 or HQ - 120X (with crystal filter) and was also improved over decades to the HQ - 140, HQ - 160 to the HQ - 180, which was for sale until 1973. The front panel of this receiver series is also distinctive with the two dial cut-outs, the S-meter in between and the optional electric station clock.

After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the solid state market with the transistorised amateur radio receiver HQ - 215, Hammarlund's receiver production was discontinued in the early 1970s and the company was sold several times, among others to the Cardwell Group.