Ray's Horrifically Abused Heathkit of the Week...

Started by raybiker73, October 22, 2013, 07:08:30 PM

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raybiker73

Me, I dig Heathkit gear. Unfortunately for me, I was just a kid and not involved in amateur radio when they were still around, and now there are no Heathkits to build, at least not on my paycheck. Look for unbuilt Heathkits on eBay, for example. I saw an unbuilt code oscillator kit go for over $200. So yeah, that's out. So, I've done the next best thing. If I can't have a nice new Heathkit to build, I can have a few busted-up old Heathkit hulks to rebuild.

So far, I've rehabilitated an HD-16 code oscillator (fun for CW practice, and it even has a little lamp on top), an HW-8 (to help scratch my QRP/CW itch), an HW-2036A (the PL tone setting process is a mystery wrapped in an enigma and screaming at you in a foreign language) and a spider-infested HW-101 (NOT for the arachnophobes among us). The latest project is an SB-630 station monitor. Neat little hunk of junk: it's got an SWR meter, a "digital" clock, a phone patch, and an ID timer with a little light and buzzer to remind you to say your prayers to the FCC every 10 minutes.

I bought two junk models, and have managed to Frankenstein a single working unit from their carcasses. I didn't even have to buy any tubes: one of them had a broken 6EW6 and a good OA2, the other was missing the OA2 but came with a new 6EW6 still in the box. The clock keeps remarkably good time, and the ID timer is kind of slick. Even the SWR meter works. My intention is to rip out all the phone patch guts, and repurpose those knobs as rig selection and volume controls for my external speakers. Should be a fun conversion, and although it's not really what I'd call essential kit, it fits the vibe of my mostly dumpster-dived shack quite nicely.


WA4STO

Man ...

... your dumpsters are WAY different from those here in the cornfields of Nebraska!

73

Luck, WA4STO