Heathkit All Tube Amatuer Radio Station 1960's

[niel]

drake had some nice stuff too.

nice novice call. i like your phonetics. my previous call had a suffix of syh. not much really stuck with that one, but one gal did give me smart, young, and handsome for it. don't know if she really thought that back then, but i know it taint so now.

i forgot to ask what you are selling there as you can't buy when sitting there selling?

[boB]

i forgot to ask what you are selling there as you can't buy when sitting there selling?

I get to get in early and there will be four of us minding the table.  I will probably bring a few things and that will be about it.

I mainly go to visit with people and see what little inexpensive "things"  I might like.  I usually spend maybe 20 bucks or so.

boB

[onanparts]

I get to get in early and there will be four of us minding the table.  I will probably bring a few things and that will be about it.

I mainly go to visit with people and see what little inexpensive "things"  I might like.  I usually spend maybe 20 bucks or so.

boB

That's been my master plan for years now at Puyallup... Mike and Key club always put on a great meet. Are you upstairs or downstairs?

S-38, that's a late model! I've had my SX-16 now for about 30 years. All original caps, tubes etc. and it fires up and pulls in the signals just fine. Also have the matching R-12T speaker. Nice receiver circa 1937.

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[onanparts]

A few more pics. Note: These pics of the SX-16 are not of my actual unit but the condition is comparable.

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[niel]

onanparts,
you must have a place big enough to be a museum with all of that stuff. nice stuff too.

boB,
yes, that is what i usually do as i wind up getting connectors and odds and ends, but it always seems that if i go looking for something in particular that they never have it. sometimes i'll grab stuff people don't want to take back home. i got quite a few computer caps that way.

[onanparts]

onanparts,
you must have a place big enough to be a museum with all of that stuff. nice stuff too.

Not museum size but I have collected a few things over the years. 

This is an early pic of my SB station before adding the freq display and scanalyzer

[onanparts]

SB-620 "Scanalyzer" IF spectrum analyzer.

[onanparts]

SB-110 6 meter rig.

[Vic]

WOW!  Onan .. ,  you DO have quite a collection,  and some things that seem a bit rare to me.  Nice stuff,  thanks for the trip back a few decades.  Vic

[onanparts]

Hi Vic,

As far as the "rare" stuff concerning Heathkit the SB-110 6 Meter rig was not easy to find. Even on ebay they only turn up once in awhile. The SB-620 scanalyzer was hard to find when I started looking but they pop up fairly regular now on ebay and on some of the ham related classified sites. A truly rare item is the SB-640 remote VFO/LMO. Still on the hunt for one of those to round out the station.

Although not an"SB" series piece of gear I did snag a very nice condition HM-2103 Dry dummy load wattmeter not long ago. It fits the SB "look" but was made around 1974-1975. Falls into the rare category as they don't turn up too often. The infamous Cantenna's, a 100 watt resister in a 1 gallon paint can filled with oil are a dime a dozen.

The nice thing about these Heathkits is the vast majority were assembled by Hams typically working in the electronics field. Design engineers, repair techs etc. These kits were not slapped together in a day or two but instead assembled with great care, patience and attention to detail over a period of weeks or months as time allowed.

[onanparts]

Small 175 watt 50 Ohm resistor inside.  Respectable derating curve for a dry dummy load.

[onanparts]

Had a good time at the largest Hamfest in the NorthWest last weekend and snagged a couple of goodies to add to the Heathkit family. I knew boB was going to be there with some friends at a sellers table but we never did nail down our table numbers prior to getting there.

Sellers get in as early as 5:30AM but the general public can't get in until 9AM so having 2-3 hours to wander around without the large crowds and get first or second looks at everything is a big plus! After my first sweep through I headed back to our table with the great deal on a Heathkit SB-600 speaker with the PS built in.

Never having met boB all I had to go on was a few seconds of him in one of the MN powertime vids. I spot somebody with a shirt that had " Yes I Know What all The Knobs Do" or close to that anyway on the back. As I got closer he turned my way and I knew it was boB. Before introducing myself I asked him first when the MidniteSolar pre-amplified planter box was going to be released. "Inside joke".

He asked where our table was? Well boB, looks like we are neighbors since I'm right next to you! The pain and suffering of having to put up with him and his buddies for nearly 8 hours was almost unbearable! 

Not buying that are you? OK, actually between the Heathkit radios I scored and boB right next door off the clock on a Saturday and in full casual mode it was probably the best Hamfest I've been to in years. We swapped lots of lies off and on during the day and it turns out he has some "unobtainium" parts I need to repair a minor problem with a 30+ year old piece of Hi Fi stereo gear made by Spectro Acoustics, a company Robin started back in the early 70's and boB was involved in. 

Dang! Talk about product support!

boB is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and he designs some really kool stuff! + he's a Ham and no dang Iphoney for him! Android for those of us who know better....

Ok, that's it for flowers boB! It's time for Heathkit pics!!!!

First up is an SB-102 HF rig I scored at the fest. Assembled in 1972 and being sold by a friend of the silent key that put it together. Looks good and works just fine. Clearly a well maintained rig considering it's 40 years old!

[onanparts]

O-ring belt drives and a good look at the final section with a pair of 6146's.

[onanparts]

Next up was the deal of the day. An SB-110 six meter rig that looked like it had been sitting in somebody's basement the last 30 years! Asking price? $40 I offered $30 as it was most likely going to be a spare parts rig. He said SOLD! Well dang it all if I didn't put it on the bench just for the heck of it and see if the magic smoke was still inside.

It lights up! Within a minute or so I'm pulling in some CW and have not even touched the VFO! Well shoot! Give it an hour to settle in and hook up the dummy load. No 6 meter ant at this time. Hey Mr. Wizard it tunes up and puts out full rated output.  The SB-110 is a bit of a rare beast and non working models go for $150+ on epay if and when they show up.

Before and after pics here. I spent maybe 15 minutes giving it a quick cleaning up. The results are amazing.


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[onanparts]

And now the after pics.