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A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products
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A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

By Chuck Penson
WA7ZZE

Electric Radio Press, Inc.
DURANGO, COLORADO

Copyright© 1995 by Chuck Penson, WA7ZZE, P.O. Box 2414, St. Paul, Minnesota 55102.
Product photos by Chuck Penson or from the Heath catalogs, except where noted.
Cover art is from a the cover of a 1961 Heathkit log book.
Back cover art is from a Heathkit SB-llO assembly manual.
Author photo by Jim Yunker, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Editorial assistance provided by Kathryn Bevacqua, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Book design by David Steinlicht, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Book was assembled using Quark XPress. Photos retouched using Adobe Photoshop.
Book text is Adobe New Century Schoolbook.
Captions are Monotype Grotesque Bold Condensed.
Headlines are Monotype Grotesque Bold Extended.
Display type is based on the typeface Hellenic.

First Printing: October 1995.

For Dad
For Kathryn

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CONTENTS
(./ ) Foreward .................................... 7
(.I ) A History of the Heath Company ................ 9

(./ ) Buying and Collecting Heathkits ............. . 37
(.I ) A Guide to the Arna teur Radio Products ......... 41

(./ ) Heath Master Product Index by Model ....... . 227
(./ ) Heath Master Product Index by Type ........ . 233
(./ ) Product References ....................... . 239
(./ ) Product Timelines ........................ . 246

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Foreward
~

esearching the Heath Company's past
~ has not been an easy task. Very few people with firsthand information from the earliest
years , prior to 1955 or so, remain to tell the tale.
To further complicate matters virtually all the
records documenting Heath's past were thrown
out in the mid '80s, when Heath began its unfortunate and unceremonious departure from the
kit business . Those records included everything
from engineering notes, advertising photos, and
sales records, to product manuals and catalogs.
Almost nothing survived. A few precious artifacts were quite literally rescued from the
dumpster by employees looking for items of
either cash or sentimental value, but most of the
Heath's recorded history is now entombed somewhere in a landfill. This is a tragic loss indeed .
That the recorded history of a company playing
such an important role in the development of
both electronics and amateur radio could be
tossed away without a thought is beyond comprehension.
Yet people who know the story of Heath, or at
least who know their part of it, are out there ,
and many of them have contributed in significant ways to this book. Those who were kind
enough to spend time talking with me about the
Heath story include many current and form er
Heath managers , engineers, and technicians.
Among them , Chas Gilmore ; Al Robertson ,
KSBLL; Dar Evans, KSADS; Gene Fiebich , Ron
Oxley, WMSZ; Tom Woods, WA0RBW; Chuck Babbit, Terry Perdue, KSTP; Ray Nelson, Bill Denk,
WSLUH; Norm Harvey, WSRTY ; Randy Kaeding ,
KSTMK; Jerry Tol s ma , W9GPB; Bob Knapp ,
WA2CKY; Mike Elliot, WSKRR; and Bob Groh. My
thanks to all of these folks for their time,
patience , and memories.
A number of friend s were instrumental in the
process of writing this book. They include Bill
Schmitt, KE0XE, for all those back issues of Electronics magazine, Courtney Anne Nieman and
Morgan L'Argent , KB0QEJ, who helped sift
through all the old ham radio magazines ; and
Paul March , KB0MAN , owner of the Amateur
Radio Consignment Center, in St. Paul , Min-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

nesota, who let me take photos of a number of
pieces at his store. Also of assistance were
Kathryn Bevacqua; David Steinlicht; Jim Yunker;
Anne Welsbacher; John Desmond, K0TG ; Gene
Kaari , W0UZS; Art Edhlund, KA0ZHZ; and Steve
Raymer of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.
Additionally, fellow collectors Nick England ,
KD4CPL; Dave Ishamael, WAGVVL; Jim Lockwood ,
KMGNK; Mike Sewell, K0CRX; and Chuck Maas ,
W0IUH , provided a lot of detail that I never
would have found without their assistance.
Of course Electric Radio editor Barry Wiseman,
NGCSW, who provided a great deal of support and
encouragement, can not go unacknowledged.
And lastly, a very special thanks to former
Heath engineer Joe Shafer, KSDCE; former Heath
production schedule manager Helen Holland; all
of the members of the Heath Golden Oldies club;
and of course to the Heath Company, without
whose cooperation this book would not have
been possible.
This book is intended to be a kind of field
guide, or spotter's guide if you prefer. It is a book
to keep in your backpack while roaming flea
markets , a book to keep in your shack for h a ndy
reference when you work someone running an
HW-12A, and a book to help you interpret the
Yellow Sheets or classified section in El ect ric
Radio. Additionally, this book will serve to
familiari ze the collector with the 160 or so principal amateur radio products the Heath company produced from 1952 to 1991. The book does
not go into great technical depth, but should provide sufficient detail about the piece of equipment you are looking at and what you may be
getting into should you decide to buy it.
For those who own or who once owned Heathkit equipment (that's just about everyone, isn't
it? ) and for those who remember Heath fondly
and mourn its passing, this book will provide an
opportunity to browse, as you once did for hours,
through the Heathkit catalog. Finally, I hope
this book will ensure that history records the
accomplishments of a remarkable company on
the shores of Lake Michigan and the equally
remarkable people who worked there.

r@ ~ fdifii'Hiil

A History of the Heath Company

lVL

y earliest recollection of the Heath
company dates from about age 6
(1958), when my father bought and assembled
an AR-3 shortwave receiver. I don't recall the
construction of the radio, but I do remember
with great clarity when he brought it down into
the living room, set it up on an end table, threw
a short length of wire out the window, and tuned
in WWV. I remember being thoroughly astonished. It was at that moment that my interest in
radio and in the Heath company began. I spent
hours listening, spellbound, to WWV and all the
other strange beeps and buzzes emanating from
that AR-3. Sometime later my dad gave my
brother and me a CR-1 crystal radio which, from
the perspective of my youth , appeared to defy
the laws of physic s. Wh en I was about 10, I
received a pair of GW-21 lOOmw walkie-talkies.
Although they worked very well and provided
endless hours of enjoyment, I was, by that time,
old enough to attempt to "make them work better." It is a miracle any of those early kits survived my efforts. The AR-3 made it to the present. The crystal radio and walkie -ta lki es
weren't so lucky.
It is likely that most peop le familiar with the
Heath Company have similar stories to tellgrowing up with the smell of solder smoke, the
howl of a heterodyne, and the occasional electric
shock or exploding electrolytic.
( V'° ) HEATHKIT'S EARLY YEARS

Most hams are at least vaguely familiar with the history of the Heath com~ pany. H eath recounted the story of its
humble beginnings in several product
catalogs, and one of the best "thumbnail" versions is on the back cover of the 1968 general
catalog number 610. Around the turn of the century Edward Heath founded the Heath Aeroplane Company. Business was brisk and in 1926,
Heath offered an airplane in kit form. Heath

® _IJ!Ji,

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

was killed in 1931 when the plane he was flying
crashed during a test flight. After Heath's death
the company floundered and eventually went
bankrupt. In 1935 a young engineer named
Howard Anthony purchased the Heath company
at auction. After World War II Anthony got the
idea that there might be some money to be made
in the war surplus electronics market and purchased a large quantity of material. Exactly how
much surplus he bought is the subject of some
disagreement-anywhere from a single boxcar
to several entire warehouses full depending on
which account you read - but there is no doubt
that it was a very large quantity. These surplus
parts were the building blocks Anthony would
use to assemble an entirely new Heath company.
Anthony's original idea was simply to sell hi s
s urplus parts outright. Early advertisements
and flyers listed everything from military transmitters and receivers to meters, chok es,
dynamotors, and condensers. Often mixed in
with the ads were diagrams and schematics suggesting alternative us es or modifications for the
items being sold. On occasion, these schematics
showed devices for which H eath didn't even sell
parts! The idea to offer electronic products in kit
form had occurred to Howard almost 10 years
earlier, but now, armed with a vast stock of raw
material, he found himself in a position to test
the kit market. In 194 7 the Heath Company
offered its first kit product -a five-inch oscilloscope. The idea to offer a scope was a logical
one - among the items acquired in Anthony's
surplus buy were several thousand five-inch
CRTs. On the strength of a single ad in Electronics magazine orders poured in by the hundred s,
and the rest , as they say, is history. Then in
1954, as though history were repeating itself,
Howard Anthony was killed in a plane crash .
Anthony's wife continued to run the company
until 1958 when she sold it to Daystrom, a large
holding company.

HISTORY

THE

HEATH

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CO:l'.11.CP.ANY

'i) S EA RCH LI G H T SECT IO N

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S EA RC HLIGH T S ECTION @

O SC ILLOSCOPE KIT
omplece kir of parts for 5" scope. Io·
d udes punched and for med chass is and
case, lettered panel , aJl tubes, (5 BPl ind.),
oil tilled filters, cased transformer, freq.
compensated ampl ifiers, 15 to 30M sweep
gcneraror, every part suppli ed, di ag ram
and instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.50
3B7 / 1291 U.H.F. Tw in Triode .... . l.50
30 6/1299 U. H .F. Tetrode . . . .. .. . .. !.50
Tubes, new bulk 6 J7, 6SL7, 6A6, 6YtS,
6]5, IG6GT, I UI4, 12C8. ea . ... . .. .49
ircuir Brea ker, 50 Amp. 220V 2 po le .95
Circuit Breaker, l Amp. 110 Volt .... .95
K it Power Rheostats. 25 and 0 \ ' arr
·
6 for 2.95
Kit Assorted Cerlmic Con densers
20 for 1.00
Kir Assorted 5;1ver & Mica Condensers.
a ll. marked ..... ... . .. .. .. 12 fo r 1.00
K h Pmentiomerers. long shafcs, 600 ohms
to 200M ohms . ............. 10 for 1.95
Ocral Sockets made by Cinch .. 20 for J.00
Dynamotors. \\'I .E., 24 V . input 220V .080
A. output .. ...... .......... .. ... 1.50
Dynamotors. 6 Volt input. 550V at .350A
o utput . .... .. .. ..... . ........... 6 .95
Dynamotors W.E. 12 V. input 220 V .
. 0 OA OUIDUt . . . . . • . • • . . . ..• ••.. • 1.95
BRAND NEW BC455B
\'Vestern Electric 6 tube superbetcrodyne
receive rs, 3 ganir cond. R .F. Srnge-21F sta.!ZeS, in original canon , ·with
rubes .............. .. ........... 4.95
DUAL TUNI NG UN IT
BC746.
contains
moun ted
transm itrer
c ry st:i l freo. 3735, receiver crysrnl 455
a bove. transmirrcr rank co i l, receiver.
ant. coi J and tuni11g condense r , all
for ..... ... .. .. .. .. . .. . .... . .... 1.00
RGS/ U Coaxial Cable, Per foo t .
.05
WrHe for Complete Llsflngs
No order un der $2.00
We will ship C. O .D.

. . . .HEATH caM1AHY

The first
Heath ad in
Electronics
magazine ,
August
1947, and
an ad from
November
1948 .

BENTON HARIOR, MICHIGAN

Those interested in a more thorough discus sion of Heath's early years are referre d to Terry
Perdue 's exce ll ent H eath Nostalg i a (1992) ,
which examines the history of the Heath company through t h e remembrances of m any who
worked there.
Anthony's idea to offer electronic products in
kit form was based on the fact that the single
most expen sive component in electronics equipment was t h e cost of assembly, and that if you
could do away with that expense , you could sell
equipment at around half the u sua l price.
Anthony firm ly beli eve d that anyone-even
someone who didn 't know the first thing about
it - could build a piece of electronics equipment
if given clear enough instructions. This belief
would become Heath's guiding principle-a kind
of "prime directive."
By the end of 194 7 it had become clear that
Anthony was righ t. Based on the popularity of
its oscilloscope , H eath unleash ed a fl urry of test
e quipment kits and , by the end of 1948, had
more t h an two dozen products in its flyer. Test
equ ipment was easy to design and in the post-

war boom of t h e late '40s , it was in huge demand .
H eath's fle dgling engineering staff often lifted
its design s directly from circuits publish ed in
popular hobbyist maga zines, or "reverse engine ere d" popular test equipment from oth er manufacturers. The result was an a lmost endless list
of equipme nt . Some of the firs t kits offered
included an RF signal generator, a signal tracer,
an audio generator, a VTVM (designed for
Anthony by RCA), a condenser checker, and an
electronic switch to go along with t h e scope. In
addition to test equipment, Heath was also an
early pioneer in hi-fi and TV produ cts including
an a udio amp lifier, an FM tuner, and a seveninch television kit Heath offered thr ough a deal
struck wit h B elmont Rayth e on . T he TV was
offered with a rather candid warning to potential buyers. Heath cautioned that a lt h ou gh the
set included the manufacturer 's service manual
and a copy of Howard Sams service data but did
not come with an instruction manual or pictorial
wiring diagram , it should not be attempted by
anyone except an experienced radio technician .
The deal was offered in only one flyer in 1947.
Apparently Heath did not have many takers.
Heath's test equipment products were enormously successful because they provided highquality products at prices a lmost anyone could
afford. It can be argued that Heath was responsible for jump-starting tens of thou sands of electronics careers , which in turn jump -started
thousands of bu s iness large an d small , from
mom and pop radio and TV repair shops to l arge
electronics manufacturing firms. It is a lso likely
that tens of t h ou sands of hams earn e d t h eir tickets wh il e h udd l ed over a Heat h VT VM . The
H E .AT H K I T

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HISTORY

VTVM was, perhaps ,
the most s ucce ssful
and
enduring
of
Heath's test equipment products. In the
30-year span from
1947 to 1977 Heath
produced 24 models of
the vacuum tube volt
met er. By the time
Heath released the
V-7 A in 1956 , over
500,000 units ·. had
been so ld. But more
than anything else,
Heath lov e d to build
oscilloscopes. Over the
years H eath designed Heath V-1 VTVM
and sold more than 60 models of oscilloscopes not including thos e scopes m ade for radio ama teurs . Since no sales figures are available, we
can only guess that the total number of scopes
sold by Heath must number in the millions. Anyone who has ever been to a h amfest swapmeet
can attest to the seemingly endless variety of
test equipment th at poured out of Heath. For
more than 40 years, test equipment would
remain a mainstay for Heath .
( V ) A HINT OF HAMMING

The first suggestion of an interest in
amateur radio appeared in Heath's
February 1948 flyer. H eath offered a
BC-746 tuning unit along with plans
and parts to convert it into a one-watt, 80-meter
CW transmitter. The ad noted that a companion
receiver also using the 746 was in the works and
plans for the unit would be published soon. Sure
enough, in the March flyer H eath publi she d
plans to convert the 746 into a receiver along
1
with a correction to
TRANSCEIVER
: rR.OM 6C746 Tl/NINO UNIT
the transmitter
"' ~·:.;::•:.:-::::"!!~.!! :::.,.'°-'
di agram of the pre1
1 ::!!:~ :!;: !~·llO~~~:a·;:r::!.du: :=t
via u s month . In
I :~:.~1:r-------------·
~·::!::! ;!~~!.~ra:!!t!:•!G1,.
June 1948 Heath
I
/iH':;! ,; ';;;r;,~~ ;:;,~~~ /
offered a CW trans I
.' ~-·
'
ceiver
kit built
I
I
RF
around the BC-746,
I
I
giving credit for the
I
circuit to an unI
named customer in
I
I
Kamas, Utah. There
I
was also a curious
I
!~~~~~~~~~~----'
littl e three-tube
"All Wave Receiver. "
Instructions for BC-746
1

CHOKE

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

OF'

THE

HEATH

COlll.IP.ANY

But a serious interest in the amateur radio market wouldn't happen until 1951.
By 1950 the Heath Company found itself
swimming in a sea of black ink-and in a huge
backlog of customer technical correspondence.
Howard Anthony went looking for help .
( V ) ENTER GENE FIEBICH

Gene Fiebich grew up in Detroit, graduated from high school in 1930, an d
found himself unqualified to do anything. Gene had a ham license and an
interest in radio so h e decided to take a two-year
night school course in radio service. He found
service work but was injured on the job less than
a year into it. This, combined with the death of a
close friend, caused Gene to become discour age d
with Detroit, and he began to look around for a
new place to call home. Fiebich , who was nothing if not analyti cal ,
did a careful stud y of
the mid west looking for
a place with both good
radio reception (remember this is 1933 ) an d a
stable economy. He settled on Benton H arbor,
Michigan,
because
ther e were no large
deposits of minerals to
interfere with reception, and becau se it
had a good balance Gene Fiebich, 1994
between industry and agriculture. Gene reasoned that both of these economic bases were
unlikely to crash at the same time and that one
of them would always be healthy. He opened up
a radio shop and found that business was good.
Good enough, in fact, to make it through tho se
very lean years during WWII.
Gene meet Howard Anthony in 1948. Howard
Anthony was a frequent visitor to Gene's shop
and the two became friend s, but Gene had no
interest in working for a "surplus outfit" and
declined Howard's offers to join the company.
Still, Howard knew talent when he saw it and
kept the offer open. When he learn ed of
Howard's plans to expand the kit business, Gene
was intrigued enough to sell his shop and come
on board at Heath. The year wa s 1950. Gene
remembers being employee number 48.
Gene's first assignment was to clean up that
backlog of technical corr es pondence. This
involv e d helping customers with probl e ms ,
sending out replacement parts and so on. Gene

@ill

HISTORY

THE

HEATH

00]).l.[F'ANY

was pretty good at it, finishing up the last of 200
letters in about two weeks time. Howard was
impressed. Seeing that Gene's talents were not
being used to the fullest, H oward put Gene in
charge of the consulting engineers, and very
shortly after that, he put him on the design
bench drawing up new kits and refining older
ones. Within a year Gene was acting as chief of
engineering for the entire company, t h ough he
did not actually hold that title.
About this same time the FCC was making a
lot of noise about a new class of amateur radio
license - the Novice class. Howard had been
thinking about expanding into amateur radio.
One of his instrument engineers even tried to
design a small transmitter, but the project went
nowhere because no one then at Heath knew
much about transmitters. Gene wasn 't much
help either. H e had let his license lapse back in
1934. Yet Howard remained convinced that ham
radio could b e a profitable market to get into
and gave Gene the green light to hire a ham to
get a product going. The year was 1951.
( t/' )

ENTER ROGER MACE

We don't know very much about Roger
Mace. Fresh from the Navy, Mace was
an active ham with no forma l degree
'
in e lectronics. He was however, an
inveterate electronics tinkerer and a man of
great self confidence. Even before he h ad a job
offer, Mace was so confident he could land a job
that he moved his family from Cleveland to Benton Harbor. Fiebich
remembers being very
impressed with him ,
and from a purely
pragmatic point of
view, Mace's lack of formal training made him
a bargain. Gene had a
hunch about Roger and
offered him the job.
Now about that proposed transmitter. All it
needed to be was some- Ro ger Mace , ca. 1959
thing simple, inexpensive, and rock bound. Something w i th a low
financial risk - just in case it flopped .
In retrospect , it's easy to see why a small
transmitter might do well. Browsing through a
QST from 1952, it's clear that there wasn't much
to choose from in inexpensive transmitters. The
E lmac A-54, for example, was expensive-$140
without a power supply-and it use d a VFO.

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Same with the Gonset Commander. But Novices
had to be rock bound. The Harvey Wells Bandmaster Senior was nice, if not somewhat cumbersome. It was also a bit pricey for the novice $110 with a power supply. The B&W 504 was a
spartan little rig, but yo u had to swap coils to
ch ange bands, and it didn't include a power supply - a princely $85. For that kind of money you
could get a Lettine model 240, which was about
as nice and came with a power supply. The Globe
Scout , the Meissner 2 -CW, and the Sonar
SRT-120 were all decent rigs but missed the
mark for various reasons .
Even when companies got it right with the
features, they still missed on the price. The
E l dico TR-75 -TV, for instance, was an attractive
transmitter and was intensely marketed to the
novice, but even in kit form it sold for $60. The
WRL Trotter was on the right track too , but sold
for $90. Remember, we are talking about 1952
here , when $50 was nearly a month's rent.
After a little homework sizing up the competition , Mace quickly real ized that anyone who
could make and sell an attractive, well -engineer e d novice transmitter for, say, $30 could
clean up.
Mace knew that the basic circuits for a small
transmitter could be had from any handbook.
Thus, the engineering costs of developing a
transmitter would be very low. He also knew
that Heath's warehouse full of war surplus parts
had virtually everything needed to make lots of
small transmitters. Thus, the cost of parts
would be very low. In addition, Heath already
had a great metal shop and painting facilities.
Right away, you can see where this is going.
Work on the transmitter probably began early
in 1951 , a few months before the Novice license
was made official. The result was the AT-1Heath's first serious venture into ham radio.
Costing just $29.50, the AT-1 was released just
in time for Christmas in 1951 and quickly began
showing up in shack photos on the pages of QST.
Here was a nice looking, six-band transmitter
featuring single knob band switching, full
metering, plenty of power, and a built-in power
supply. While the unit was advertised and sold
primarily as a Novice transmitter, Mace knew
better than to limit the AT-l 's appeal. The rig's
non-novice frequency coverage and provisions
for a modul ator and VFO made the AT-1 attractive to higher-class license holders while giving
the novice a clear "upgrade path."
Heath had done everything right with the
AT-1, yet the transmitter was less a marvel of
HE.A.TH K I T

r@ ~ f¥'*5¥HHE@

I S T ORY

engineering than it
was a marvel of common sense and marketing savvy - qualities
that would become the
Heath Company's stock
in trade. The AT-1 was
sold for only four years,
but it set the stage for The AT-l
one of the most remarkable stories in ham radio
and laid the groundwork for what would become
the most extensive amateur radio product line
ever assembled by a single company-more than
200 amateur kits, not counting the test equipment, stereo and TV lines, CB radios, marine
products, and more.
With the AT-1 Heath was able to establish
that a market existed for low-cost, kit-form ham
equipment. But was there a market for more
expensive gear? Mace suspected that Heath
could make virtually any amateur product in kit
form-and even add a few more features-and
still be able to sell it for less than a ready-made
product.
Feeling that he now had the ball rolling and
anxious not to lose the momentum gained from
the AT-1, Mace immediately began planning
Heath's next product. Mace used the same strategy he had used with the AT-1-he looked at the
competition, thumbing through back issues of
QST to see what was missing. Receivers might
have been a possibility but there were a number
of good ones on the market already. Besides,
receivers were tricky, and designing one would
take more time than Mace thought Heath had.
To keep things moving, Heath needed another
product quickly.
( V ) THE DX-100 : HEATH 'S TICKET TO RIDE
@~
Again, the answer was transmitA.@~ ters. Strange-there were a lmost
'~~~ no affordable AM transmitters on
'/ 1~
the market. There was the B&W
51008. A mere $467. There was also the WRL
Globe King-500 watts in a cabinet 31 inches
tall. In a box that big you would think they could
have found room for a VFO . Especially for $675.
Well, try the Elenco 77 on for size. It had a VFO
and a respectable 300 watts on AM. The price
tag was respectable too-almost $700. The
Collins 32-V series was in the same neighborhood, out of reach for most hams. Mace had to
wonder what was going on. Couldn't anyone
make a nice AM transmitter with a few features
and a little muscle and sell it for less that a 1954

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

O F

THE

HEATH

CO:D.'.'.IP.ANY

Buick four-door sedan? Mace didn't have to sniff
very hard to smell a market here.
No affordable AM transmitters? Well, there
was one . It ran around 100 watts AM and CW on
160 thro u g h 10 -meters. It was built into a
nice-looking cabinet and weighed an easy-to-lift
65 pounds. And at only $280, it was on the high
side of affordable. It was offered fully assembled
or as a kit, and as far Roger Mace could see, it
had only one weakness-no VFO. This was the
rig (and t h e market) to go after. The rig was the
Viking II and in a very short time the E.F. Johnson Company would find itself looking down the
barrels of Heath's l arge caliber engineering and
marketing guns.
But not so fast. In spite of the modest success
of the AT-1, management at Heath was reluctant
to spend the money needed to develop the new
transmitter, arguing that it was too expensive.
After all, they said, there were some big players
in the ham radio market, and it would be hard to
go up against them. Heath had become real comfortable with its test equipment and Hi-Fi product lines. No, they said, too much money-too risky.
But Mace knew he was right. He knew the
market was there. And he knew Heath could
make a pile of money in amateur radio . At least,
he hoped it could, reminding himself that the
AT-1 was doing well. Undaunted, Mace took on
the project himself. On his own time he would
prototype the transmitter in his living room.
In spite of its many successes , and contrary to
the public image it portrayed-that of a company enthusiastically designing new amateur
products - H eath would remain skeptical about
products not related to test equipment . To be
fair, this reluctance was common to many companies at that time. Heath engineer Dar Evans
recalls conversations with many of his counterparts at companies like Collins, Hallicrafters,
and others, a ll of whom told similar stories. It
wasn't that management would not accept new
ideas, but that they had to be thoroughly sold on
them, sometimes to the extent of having the
product and a bill of materials handed to them
on a silver pl atter. And to some degree management's hesitancy was justified. Tool-up costs for
new products were expensive, as was the investment in inventory. With time and future successes, Heath's apprehension would dissipate a little, but its basic reluctance about new products
never changed.
On the other hand Heath, made it easy for
anyone with a product idea to buil d a prototype-on his own time. Heath's parts stock and

HISTORY

THE

HEATH

metal working shops were open for use by engineers 24 hours a d a y. Heath also allowed its
engineers to take the parts they needed and
work with them at home. And why not? After all,
that kind of time and effort was worth a lot of
money, and at the time, most of Heath's engineers were happy to work on pet projects at
home or after hours. For Heath to take advantage of that kind of enthusiasm was just plain
smart management-it was just another way of
saving money.
It was now early in 1954. Heath's test equipment line was flourishing, as was its hi-fi equipment. Soon it would be expanding its amateur
radio line . Indeed everything Heat h touched
seem to turn to gold. The company was booming.
Then came the news . Howard Anthony was
dead. Killed in a plane crash. The mastermind
who h a d taken th e
Heath Company from
bankruptcy to a thriv ing enterprise on the
strength of a freight
car full of surplus
CRTs was gon e . A
stunned
company
ground nearly to a Johnson Vikin g II
ha l t . Howard ' s wife
Helen, who had been active in the business , now
took the helm . But her heart wasn't in it. Numb
with grief, she lost interest in everything and
put Heath up for sale. But not to just a n yone. It
would have to be a company that treated its
empl oyees well. There were numerous offers,
including one from Allied Radio, home of the
Knight-Kit. But Helen liked a company called
Daystrom . Daystrom was a holding company
with interests in everything from lumber to furniture, but was best known in electronics circles
as the parent company of Weston, a manufacturer of high quality meters. She accep t ed Daystrom's offer of about 1.8 million dollars.
One of Helen's last duties at Heath was to
promote Gene Fiebich to Director of E ngineering. Gene had pretty much been doing this job
anyway, but now he had the title. Helen told
Gene that Howard trusted him more than anyone else and had said to her on many occasions
that if anything ever happened to him, Gene was
the man to take charge of engineering. And take
charge he did "with a soft touch." For the next 19
years Gene would be the guiding light in engineering. Company presidents would come and
go, products would rise and fall, and Heath itself
wou l d change hands, but Gene was always

~ ~ fHMiHHil

CO~PANY

there. Former Heath engineers remember Gene
fondly as a man on whom they could always
depend. A fair, honest, honorable person who
would always go to bat for the engineering staff.
Daystrom turned out to be very good for
H eath. Among other things, Daystrom pumped a
l ot of deve l opment money into Heath and
encouraged new product growth . Daystrom
almost immediately drew up plans for a huge
new facility and in 1956, moved Heath into a
new building on Hilltop Road across the river in
St. Joseph. Was business good? It took Daystrom
less than a year to recover its original 1.8 million dollar investment.
But I digress.
It took Mace only a couple of months to complete the prototype transmitter - now dubbed
the DX-100 (DX seemed like a good idea) .
The rig was designed
to give the Johnson
Viking II some genuine
competition. It would
have everything the
Viking had - pl us a
VFO. Ta rget price:
$100 less than the
Heath DX-100
Viking. When management finally saw the
rig they said, with some reluctance, "Well , OK "
To fully appreciate the DX-100, one must have
an understanding of the times. The DX-100 was
designed at a time when "big and heavy" was
synonymous with "good and stable." Prior to
1958 it was axiomatic that if a rig weighed less
than 50 or 60 pounds, it couldn't be very well
designed . A big heavy radio is what everybody
wanted. It was also assumed in those days that a
rig should be designed - or more precisely, overdesigned - to withstand any peril that might
come its way. Apparently a lot of military-like
thinking went into these radios. Hence, huge
transformers, heavy resistors , heavy gauge
metal fabrication , and over-rated parts of all
description found their way into the circuits .
Hey, we are talking "red menace" here and these
rigs had to be tough enough for "the big one."
One might be tempted to counter that in those
days parts were cheap. Certainly chokes and
coils for 35 cents and high voltage air variables
for two bucks sound cheap, but two bu cks was a
lot of money in 1953 . When viewed in terms of
1950s dollars, parts were, with very few exceptions , no cheaper than they are today. The Heath
Company, like other manufacturers, was very
much a product of its times and bought into
H

El A.TH KIT

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HIS TOR Y

much of the over-design theory of construction.
Over-designed or not, Heath had to come in on
budget. In addition to its well-oiled manufacturing facilities and its remaining stockpile of
so-cheap-as-to-be-free surplus parts, Heath had
another trick for saving money.
Can you say "reverse engineering?"
This was a simple strategy Heath had discovered years earlier. Here's how it works. Find a
successful product, buy a few, take them apart to
see how they work , then design your own version
with a few improvements and added features. All
you need are a few veteran home-brewer types graduate engineers need not apply. You save big
money. Swell idea, eh? Reverse engineering had
been extremely effective when Heath applied it
to test equipment products. Did Heath do it with
the Viking? Only God and Roger Mace know for
sure , but it seems a likely scenario given the
similarities in design and layout of the Viking II
and the DX-100.
When all the dust had settled, the two -tone
gray DX-100 weighed in at an even 100 pounds
and had "stable" written all over it . The rig ran
125 watts AM and 140 on CW, used 15 tubes and,
and yes, it had a VFO. Sticker price: $189.50 - a
full $100 less than the Viking. Even before it
went out the door, Heath felt like it had a winner
but was quick to realize it didn't matter how
good the DX-100 was if no one cou l d put it
together. To win at this game would take a crystal clear, understandable assembly manual.
While engineers like Mace were still writing the
basic step-by-step instructions, Heath hired a
few graphic artists to help with the illustrations
and a few editors to help make sense of the engineer's often over-technical style. In fact, there
was now an entire "manuals department." The
quality of its products notwithstanding, it was
Heath's manuals that would eventually make it
the only serious player in the kit market.
And did the DX-100 sell? While the records of
these early years are gone, we can deduce by
looking at Heath's advertisingthat it was a phenomenally popular product. Prior to the DX-100 ,
Heath bought only small ads in QST focused primarily on test equipment. But by 1956, less than
a year after the release of the 100, Heath began
buying three full pages of advertising in selected
issues of the popular hobby magazine. By 1958
the company was buying five full pages every
month . That kind of advertising takes moneyl ots of money-and there can be little doubt
about where that money came from. It came
from the DX-100.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

OF'

THE

HE ATH

CO:Jl.l.[P A

N Y

The DX-100 was more than just a wildly successful transmitter. It was a pivotal product in
Heath's development . Indeed, it was Heath's
ticket to ride. The revenue generated by the 100
bought more than just advertising. It bought
"know how" - it bought engineers. Graduate
engineers. Al Roberston, Joe Shafer, Dar Evans,
and nine others with the power to move Heath
out of the reverse engineering mode and into a
series of innovative products of its own design .
In the years that followed, as we shall see ,
Heath would have many successful products ,
many even more successful than the 100. But
because of what it was, when it happened, and
what it did for Heath, few Heathkits will be
remembered more fondly - or by so many-as
the DX-100.
( V ) FULL SPEED AHEAD

On the strength of just two pr~ducts ,
the AT-1 and DX-100 transmitters ,
the Heath company had established
itself as a major player in the amateur
radio marketplace, and one to be taken seriously. Again not wanting to lose any momentum and
now embol dened by the huge financial gains
made with the DX-100, Heath's engineers quickly
began planning their next amateur products.
While the AT-1 and the DX-100 were welldesigned products from an electrical point of
view, they weren't much to look at because they
had been developed primarily to see what kind
of market existed for kit form amateur radio
products. Nevertheless , the DX-100 was selling
better than anyone ever could have imagined . So
rather than replace it with a new r ig, Heath
decided that a refinement of the 100 offered as a
"high end" product would give customers a
choice of rigs while giving Heath a greater share
of the overall market. This low-end versus
high-end strategy proved so exceptionally effective that Heath would go on to use it again and
again with future products. Additionally, Heath
knew that if it were to compete aggressively, it
would need a decent receiver in its product line .
Heath also reasoned that designing the new
products as a matched pair would not only be
attractive from a consumer marketing perspective, it would enable the company to use many of
the same parts for both units , thus saving
money. The "economics of scale" was a concept
on which Heath had a firm gras p.
Heath turned its attention first to developing
a receiver, since the receiver would be far more
complex to design than the transmitter and

H I S T O R Y OF

THE HEATH

COl'.11.[FA.NY

would take much longer to get to a prototype stage.
There were, by the late '50s, lots of companies
cranking out tran s mitters, but there wasn't
much in the way of competition with respect to
affordable ham-band-only receivers. Prior to
1958-the year Heath released the receiverthe vast majority of commercially avai lable
rece ivers were general coverage units with a
band s pread added for the ham bands. High
quality h a m-band-onl y receivers were pretty
scarce, and the few that were on the marke t
were pretty expensive. In designing the RX-1 ,
Heath looked carefully at five or six of the better
receivers of the day to get a feel for what fea tures a decent communicatio ns receiver might
include-and how much it might cost.
The Hallicrafters SX-101 was a completely
average receiver that ran about $400 . The Hammerlund HQ-110 was a thoroughly unremarkable ra dio for $230 (the somewhat more remarkable HQ-170 didn't arrive until 1958). National
had a couple of very professional receivers priced
accor dingly: the HR0-60 cost just under $500
and the NC-300 went for about $350. Then of course
there was the Collins 75A4 which, at $650, was
affordabl e only by the military and a few of the
more afflu ent h ams . These receivers, H eath figured, would be the ones to compete with .
A quick a nalysis found that most of the bette r
r eceivers on the market h ad a few things in common. Virtually a ll were dual conversion s up erh et d es igns and most had slide rule dials , which
were regarded as a sign of quality. Ad ditionally
most had adjusta ble selectivity, some kind of
notch filter, a crystal calibrator, an d a tunable
front end. So with a laundry list of feature s and
specifications in hand, H eath turned, as it had
for its previous amateur products , to chief engineer Roger Mace. The challenge was to combine
a ll the features of the best receivers in a stylish
cabinet an d sell it for say, under $3 00.
( ti° ) HEATHKIT'S GREEN MACHINES

@ ,,

The physical design of the new receiver, dubbed the RX-1 "Mohawk," was
realized by H eath's in-house industrial desi gner, Stu Sizer, hired after
H eath decided to get serious about cosmetics .
The RX-1 would b e about the same physical size
as the DX-100 but would be finished in a glossy
two-tone gree n p aint, fitted with attractive
escutcheons, and garnished with shiny die-cast
a luminum knob s. We will never know with certainty why Heath settle d on green, but we do
know there was great interest in an attempt to

~ ~ f§f idiHHEiJ

distinguish H eath products from the ubiquitous
gray and wrinkle black boxes of its competitors.
While there may have been some industrial psychology involved, it is more likely that given the
alternatives of red, blue, a nd yellow, green may
simply have been viewed as the only real choice.
In any case it wasn't long before the color green
became synonymous with Heathkits. Indeed, the
color scheme proved so popular H eath would go
on to u se it in virtually every a mateur product it
made until t h e early '80s.
Building a device as complex as a communications receiver is a da unting task under the best
of circumstances. The assembly of the RX-l 's
dial drive mechanism, for example, was enou gh
to intimidate a watch maker, and the point-topoint wiring required a much smaller iron and a
much steadier hand than many ops were accustomed to. Heath developed a number of strategies to help the builder cope with t h e intricacies
of the work , including improved instructions ,
detailed graphics, and diagrams in the manual ;
the u se of color-coded wiring h arness es; and that
s imple but in genious tool, the plastic nut
starter. But it was the pre-assembled and tuned
front-end sub-chassis that really made the RX-1
possible in kit form. Heath's e ngineers recognized the complexities of a ligning such a unit
a nd wisely decided that providing the front- end
a lready assembled and tuned would avoid a lot
of h eadaches later on - both for the ms elves and
for the cons um er. Without a pre-assemble d and
tuned front -end, the alignment of the receiver
would have been a painful and time -cons u ming
task, b eyo nd the capabilities of many ops and/or
their test equipment . H eath knew that to sell
receivers it would h ave to make the construction
both practical a nd po ssible. H eath contracted
with Sherwood Electronics in Chicago to build
the front -end assembly. Whether Roger Mace
designed the unit himself or farmed it out to
Sherwood is n ot known , but the entire front-end
module was, at the very least, assembled a nd
a ligned by Sherwood and included the RF and
HF oscillators, the mixer stages, and the band
switch unit. All the kit builder had to do was
attach it to the main ch assis with a few screws
and plug in a couple of cables. With the IF frequencies established, the tune-up proc edure
co uld be don e usin g nothing more th at the
RX-l 's built-in crystal calibrator and S-meter.
In designing products this way H eath was
establishing for itself a kind of gold en rule: To be
successful in the kit market, a product must be
designed so that it can b e assembled by a person
H E .AT H K I T

r@ ~ fi'MfHH+i

HISTORY

with limited skill and a ligned without complicated or expensive t est equipment. This principle was a major step forward in the kit product
concept because it would bring kit building within the grasp of tens of thousands who would not
oth erwi se be able to h a ndl e it. Ironically, two
decades later thi s same principle would play a
significant role in H eath's undoing.
B y l ate 1 957 the
RX-1 had a lready been
. CJ
d esig n e d and prototyped a nd was coming
a long nicely. But Mace
knew that he was going
t o n ee d a little help
with the project if h e Heath RX-l
was going to get both
the receiver and the transmitter out the door on
time . Enter Al Robertso n , a young man in the
right place at the right time.
A Mi chigan native, Al Roberts on graduated
from Michigan Tech in 1955 holding a de gree
in Electrical Engineering with a Communications Option . In those days the big corporations
were hiring E .E. s as fas t as they could, so Al h a d
no trouble landin g a
job with Gen eral El ectric in Utica , New York,
working in the ar ea of
military avionics. After
only a few of month s
with General E l ectric,
ROTC calle d him up for
a co upl e of years of
active duty and sta tioned him a t Wri g ht
P aterso n Air For ce
Al Robertson , ca. 1990
Base in Dayt on , Ohio .
Wh en hi s st int w i t h
the Air Force was over, Al decide d that working for a government co ntractor wasn't mu ch
fun , that the military didn't thrill him all that
much either, and come to t hink of it, that Michigan wasn't such a b a d place after all. So with
resume in hand Al h ea d e d b ac k to his hom e
sta t e. While interviewing w ith an electronics
company near Benton H arbor, Al stopped by to
visit an old Michigan Tech friend who'd taken
a job in Heath's audio division. Al had picke d
up his ham license in the service a nd though t
t h at a career in ham radio might be interesting.
H e must have walked in the door jus t about
the sa m e tim e Ro ger M ace was saying "You
know, I sure could u se so m e h elp h ere. " Al was
hired on the spot.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

TH E

HEATH

CO:r.l.l:PANY

(V ) THE TX-1 : SPRINGS AND GEARS
AND PULLEYS , OH MY!
@)
Heath's n ew transmitter was de signated the TX-1 "Apache. " The Indian
names w e r e M a ce's idea. He had a
special affection for Native America n
themes as his wife was a Native American. The practice of u sing India n names continu ed until Mace's failing h ealth forced him to leave
H eath in 1960. The "Mohican" solid-state general cove rage receiv er, design e d during Mace's
tenure, but not released until 1961 , was the last
pro duct to be named with an Indian theme.
Rob ertson's first assignment was to build th e
TX-1 into a box that matched the RX-1 receiver.
This sounded simple enough - but there was a
hitch . Since the RX-1 h a d b een designed from
scratch , its front p ane l controls were place d
pretty much wherever they nee ded to be. But the
TX-1 h a d to match, a nd
that m ea nt it s front
pa n el control positions
h a d to be in places corr es ponding to tho se on
the RX - 1-wh e th er
tho se were the b es t
loc
a ti ons or not. Th e
Heath TX-1
implication of all thi s
is t h a t connecting the TX-l 's front panel knobs
to their associate d controls on the chassis often
require d some complicated linkages. One of t h e
most elaborate of these linkages was in the VFO
band switching m ech a ni sm . The VFO oscillator
ran a t one of three frequency ranges (1750-2000
kHz , 7000-7175 kHz, or 7000-7 425 kHz) depending on what band was sel ected. Since these three
ranges served all five bands, the VFO didn 't
need to change frequency ran ges every time the
band sw itch was turned. Al h a d to invent a
m echanicall y interrupte d switch assembly to
choo se the correct range with each turn of the
b a nd sw itch . Rob ertso n a dmits he was no
m echanical engineer, but sin ce h e knew he h adn 't b een around long enough to argue he had to
come up with something. H e describes his solution as "a real Mickey Mouse lash up" and adds
th a t he was never very pro ud of it. But he is also
quick to note that it ended up working quite well
an d prove d extremely dura ble.
Th e dial driv e assembly was anoth er of
H eath's famou s (or infa m ou s) Rube Gol db erg
mechanisms and h a d been designed for the RX-1
b efore Al arrived. Not wanting to re-invent any
wheels , Robertson chose to u se the exact same
unit in the TX-1. It was a collection of springs,

HISTORY

THE

HEATH

COlll.[FANY

gears, pulleys, and string that gave pause to
even seasoned home brewers. Several entire
pages of the assembly manual were devoted to
its construction, and it likely took a couple of
evenings to complete. Exactly who was responsible for its design is not known, but in the end, it
too proved to be a very good design, being both
durable and mechanically stable.
The actual electronics of the TX-1 were very
much easier to design and build. More than just
a DX-100 in a new box, the TX-1 was a refinement of the 100 and included several distinct
improvements and additions. Particular attention was given to the VFO. While Heath used the
old favorite 6AU6 Clapp oscillator, Robertson
designed it as a sub-assembly to enhance frequency stability. To allow for sideband operation , the TX-1 made provisions for direct connection to the SB-10 single sideband adapter, which
was also under development. The SB-10 was
supposed to be ready for the DX-100 and was to
be called the DX-10, but the fellow in charge
couldn't get it working - even though it was a
direct copy of an adapter made by Barker &
Williamson. Eventually that fellow lost his job
over the project and the SB-10 was turned over
to Robertson, who though also had problems
with it, but finally got it going. A pair of S0-239s
on the TX-l's rear panel permitted a front panel
control to put the SB-10 in the RF path between
the driver and the final amplifier. Heath wanted
to use the SB-10 to h edge its bets on the popularity of SSB . At the time there was a lot of di scussion (sometimes he a ted) about the future of
SSB . Many ops swore (occasionally on the air)
they would never use it. The strategy of providing an optional adapter ensured that Heath
would not lose out whatever the final verdict on
sideband turned out to be .
The TX-1 and RX-1 hit the market together in
Jun e 1958 and were met with rave r ev iews .
Heath introduced the pair with five full p ages of
advertising in QST.
( V ) A SEA OF GREEN

While the AT-1 and DX-100 marked
Heath's official entry into amateur
(§fail!) radio , they se rved primarily as a kind
of "proving ground" - a couple of lowrisk products to see if a market existed for kit
form ham equipme nt and to determine the difficulties involved in bringing such products to
market. The release of the TX-1 and RX-1 was
different. These shiny, stylish, professional looking machines were the result of a new-found con~

r@= ~ fUMih&f iJ

viction to pursue the amateur radio market
based on the unbridled success of its first two
products. Now, for the first time, amateur products were not an experiment. Heath committed
serious design, engineering, and marketing
muscle to the Apache/Mohawk project and began
planning a long-range strategy for its emerging
product line. This shift in attitude marked the
beginning of a truly phenomenal era for Heath.
It was as though H eath had hit resonance. New
products practically flooded out the doors. To
complement the Apache and Mohawk, Heath
developed two linear amplifiers, the ill-fated
KL-1 "C hippewa ," and the very successfu l
HA-10 "Warrior." Work was started on an SSB
transmitter (the HX-10 "Marauder") and an
extensive line of VHF products. It was also during this time that Heath designed its legendary
"DX" family of small novice class transmitters,
mobile HF gear, a line of accessory products , and
more . No one, not even those who worked for
Heath, could have imagined what was in store
for the company. Indeed , Heath was on a roll
that would last more than 20 years.
( t / ) THE DAY THE RADIO UNIVERSE CHANGED

Collins was an influence on just
about everyone in ham radio. Exceptional in both design and expense,
Collins rigs were the envy and desire
of almost every ham. This fact was not lost on
Heath . Since the introduction of the KWM-1-a
compact (by the standards of the day) transc eiver-Heath h a d been thinking that it could go
after the Collins market with a low-cost, lookalike, work-alike rig. Mace and Robertson reckoned there might be some money to be made if
people thought th ey could get something like
Collins performance in
a package that looked
something
like
a
Collins . Then one day
in No ve mb e r 1 958,
only five months after
Heath unveiled the Collins 75 S-l
TX-1 and RX-1 , Al
Robertson opened the latest issue of QST and
saw something that gave him pause. It was a
new receiver. With a modern design that made it
appear both stylish and rugged , it was small and
gray, had just seven knobs, and weighe d only 20
pounds. While many of the industry's leading
manufacturers failed to grasp the meaning of
what they saw in this ad (a failure that would
cost them dearly) , the instant Robertson saw it
H E AT HK IT

~ ~ fHi&f H&fil

I STOR Y

he understood as clearly as a 40 over nine signal
that the days of the big heavy radio were over.
Indeed, Heath had seen the future , and it looked
like a Collins 75S-l. Al showed the ad to his
co-worker Joe Shafer, who had been hired just
after he had. Studying the ad carefully Joe
replied simply, "We could do that."
( t / ) THE BIG PLAN

In a very short time, Collins had
designed and marketed a series of
~
products that quickly became the
~
.
desire of just about everyone with a
ticket: the 75S-1 receiver, the
32S-1 transmitter, the 30S-1 linear, t h e KWM-2
transceiver, and a series of refinements over the
n ext couple of years. Hams lusted after these
rigs but lust was all most could do. Collins came
with a price tag that put the gear way out of
reach for all but the most well-healed of hams.
Heath had taken on the likes of Johnson ,
National, Hallicrafters, and Hammerlund, but
Robertson , Shafer, and Mace knew that Collins
was the real challenge and that going after them
was where t h e real money was. Together they
hatched a simple but ambitious p l an. They
would design a series of products to compete
with everything Collins had on the market-a
receiver, a transmitter, a linear, and a transceiver - and sell them for one-third the price. And
while they were at it, they would go one up and
design a few things Collins didn't have.
It was about this same time that Roger Mace's
health began to falter, forcing him to retire. Al
Robertson was promoted to replace Roger and
was quick to make Joe Shafer the point man for
the new proj ect. Shafer was a brilliant young
engineer just 26 years old when he came to
Heath - considerably younger than most of his
fellow engineers. Joe had been kept busy with a
number of small projects, but his first major role
was in the redesign of the KL-1 "Chippewa" linear. His job was to turn it into the HA-10 "Warrior." Shafer had a remarkable talent for being
able to look at engineering problems and reduce
them to their fundamental components. Joe was
a "hot shot" in the true sense of the term, the
perfect match for Collins .
Both Al and Joe knew that a series of products
made in an entirely new style was the right
move to make , but they never anticipated the
fight they would get from management. From
the moment they proposed it, there was trouble.
It all started with money. The series of products Al and Joe envisioned would be expensive to

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

O F

TH E

HEATH

CO~PANY

design, but the pot of
money Heath had set
aside for new product
design was limited.
Additionally, a ll departments were competing
for those same product
development dollars. If
any one department
took too much, the others would suffer. To the
Joe Sh afer , 1994
guys in Instrumenta tion, General Products,
and most of the others, it looked like the Amateur group was asking for a lot of loot. There
were protests . And that was just for starters .
For virtually all previous products, the physical
design , style, and layout of the front panel had
come first-with no thought whatsoever of the
engineering consequences . As a result , the
"Apache," "Mohawk," and others contained
rather complicated control linkages. The engineers were always being forced to make the insides
fit the outsides . By the time Al and Joe got to thinking about the new product line, they were saying, "Enough is enough, already!" Needless to
say, this didn't sit well with Heath industrial
designer, Stu Sizer. Among other things Stu
believed that all of Heath's products should share
some common design element-the way automobiles did. Year after year for example, Buicks
always l ooked like Buicks . For Stu it was the
knobs. He thought that all Heath products
should use those big shiny cast knobs. "No," said
Al, "the knobs are big, clunky, old-fashioned,
and everyone is tired of them. We want small
knobs - with skirts." And that wasn't all. There
were squabbles over the color, the VFO escutcheons, the VFO design, the filters, the tooling
costs, and the cabinets, and even if the rigs
should use PC boards , to name just a few. Suddenly it seemed like everyone was in on the
debate-even the guy from Personnel. Personnel?
"What the heck does he have to say about anything," Robertson wondered aloud. What indeed.
( t / ) NON-STOP HITS

In spite of the turmoil, energy ran
high in the engineering department,
and the early '60s were very productive years for Heath.
In 1960 Heath released the KL-1
"Chippewa" amplifier and the GC-1 "Mohican"
solid-state SWL receiver. The GC-1 was the first
ever kit shortwave receiver on the market and

HISTOR Y

THE H

EA T H

CO:r-.1.IFANY

the only one to use
standard "C" batteries.
The combination of
compact size (by the
standards of the day),
price, and the use of
commonly available
batteries made it very Th e GC-1 "Moh ican"
popular, especially with
people traveling overseas. Because demand for
the "Mohican" persisted, Heath continued to sell
this "unadvertised special" for more than five
years after it was withdrawn from the catalog.
Also in 1960 Heath introduced the "Shawnee"
and "Pawnee," six- and two-meter transceivers
designed by Heath's ace VHF man, Dar Evans.
And it was Evans who was also responsible for
one of the most phenomenally successful products (at least in terms of units sold) that Heath
ever made-the Benton Harbor Lunch Box.
Actually the Lunch Box story does not begin
with Dar Evans and the Amateur group; it all
started in the General Products division and
with the creation of the Citizens' Band in 1958.
Heath's General Products Division instantly
recognized CB as a potential gold mine and
quickly designed a simple, single-channel, CB
transceiver to tap the market. The truth of the
matter is that Heath's design was based largely
on a design that appeared in an article in one of
the hobby electronics magazines. Heath called
its version of the unit the CB-1. It used a crystalcontrolled AM transmitter and a tunable regenerative receiver, built into an aluminum cabinet
about the size and shape of a lunch box - complete with a handle. The CB -1 was an instant
success. The Amateur Radio division concluded
that General Products was onto something and
figured that a 10-meter version of the CB-1
would do as well. Someone then suggested that
while they were redesigning it, perhaps a
six-meter version might also be popular.
Redesigning the CB-1 for 10-meters would
require almost no work at all. And it was just a
short putt to six-meters. So from an engineering
standpoint these were a couple of products pretty much free for the taking. Swell idea, eh?
Leaning on the "economies of scale" principle
that had served Heath so well with other products , the new ham versions were designed to be
identical in virtually every way to their CB
cousin. Cosmetically, the rigs were almost indistinguishable from each other, and electrically,
the units differed from each other only by a few
coils and capacitors. Although officially desig-

~ ~ fH?f!Hi*PI

nated the "Tener" and the "Sixer," Heath nicknamed these little gems "Benton Harbor Lunch
Boxes" and put them in the catal og early in
1960. They sold for $39.95.
At this period in Heath's development, there
really was not much in the way of market
research to determine the viability of any given
product suggestion. Basically, if an engineer
could convince the chief engineer that a product
might sell, he was given the go-ahead to design
and build a prototype. Once the prototype was
working, the product would be fully developed
and put into the catalog. This was a simple but
fundamentally flawed process-sooner or later
this "shoot from the
hip" approach to product deve l opment was
bound to go wrong . In
the case of the Lunch
Box series, H eath had
incorrectly interpreted
the success of the
CB -1. The popularity of
the CB - 1 was based
solely on t h e popularity of CB as an essenDar Evans , 1994
tially license-free means
of getting on the air - not on the "lunch box" concept itself. Hams, on the other hand, having
many other means to work 10-meters, were not
impressed with the Tener, so while the CB-1
sailed to success, the Tener floundered-badly and was pulled from production in 1962.
While it was not a particularly expensive mistake (these were not particularly expensive
products), Heath had learned a valuable lesson
in marketing-and one it would not forget.
But wait just a minute! The Sixer was selling
like bargain basement 3-500s. The amateur
community had discovered the Sixer as an inexpensive vehicle with which to explore VHF-in
those days, the final frontier. Perhaps a two meter Lunch Box would be equally popular. And
hey, it sure would be a great way to use all thos e
boxes made up for the Tener. Besides, it was
another of those engineering freebies . Yes, indeed.
A two-meter Lunch Box was sounding like a
gre a t idea. Production began immediately, and
the Twoer proved as popular as the Sixer. Both
units sold extremely w ell. Indeed, VHF was the
key to s uccess for the Lunch Box transceivers.
By the late '60s , six- and especially two- meters
had begun to define cle ar technologic directions
for themselves . Channelization , band plans,
repeaters, solid state , and especially the introH E .AT HK IT

l@: ~ fi' *Sf UH+@

HISTORY

"Benton Harbor Lunch Boxes "

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duction a nd widespread u se of FM began t o take
their toll on the Lunch Boxes series. With the
passage of time, the Sixer and Twoer became
increasingly anachronistic, and sale s declin e d
steadily through the '60s. By 1970 "lunch time"
was pretty much over, a nd Heath pulled the plug
on both units.
The early '60s saw several other success stories. In 1961 th e HA-10 "Warrior" amplifier
becam e a best seller- and the fir st amateur
product to be offere d fully assembled. In '62
Heath introduced the H0 -10 monitor scope,
HX -30 s ix-met er transmitter, and HA - 20
six-meter amplifier. Yet the title of the most
remarkable product to be released in the early
'60s clearly goes to the humble HN-31 dummy
load . Developed in 1961-almost by accidentthe "Cantenna" was undeniably the longest running, most successful product H eath ever made.
Selling for 30 years and spanning more than
three quarters of H eath 's amateur radio life, it is
impossible to say how may zillions of Cantennas
were put together.
Other products came
and went, but the Cante nna remai ned . It is
difficult not to wax
nostalgic ove r this
humbl e Heathkit.
Th e Cantenna was
invented one day late in
1960, a lmo st b y acc ident , when Heath engineers Joe Shafer a nd
Al Rob ertso n d eci d ed
- for some reason now
forgott e n-that they The HN-31 "Cantenna"

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

TH E

HEATH

COlv.[PANY

had to have a dummy load. Wanting to keep it as
simple as possible and working with materials
close at hand, th ey decided to u se a whole bunch
of cheap and plentiful two -watt r esistors a nd
run them in parallel by sandwiching them
between two metal plate s. Realizing th ese the
re sistors would n eed to be kept cool led to a little
head scratching. A paint can full of transformer
oil , they concluded after some thought, would be
perfect! What a great idea for a kit! Man age ment , believing that absolutely no one would
pay for so mething as simple as a paint can full of
resistors, was a bit less enthusiastic. Undaunted
and confident they had a winner, Robertson a nd
Schaffer managed to persuade Heath that
because the dummy load was cheap enough, if it
didn't sell, Heath wouldn't really be out anything. And so, taking its name from the standard
one gallon paint can in which it was built, the
Cantenna was introduced in January 1961 for
$9.95 and roared out the door so fast it had
smoke behind it.

CV ) THE "SB " SERIES
Through all of these successes, work
proceed e d on Heath's revo l utionary
hush-hu sh product line. Of major cone I cern to management was that the
iI iI design of these new products relied
; e · heavily on outside vendors to provide a
lot of things Heath had traditionally
done in-house. Take the VFO for example. It was
a great design but would be tricky to build and
next to impossible for Joe Ham to align. Shafer
wante d to farm it out. And the sleek rounde d
cabinets couldn't be made in Heath's metal shop.
They would have to be done outside as well.
Even the knobs would have to b e done outside.
Management saw the price tag and suffered an
attack of sticker shock. Not only did the project
almost not mak e it off the dr awing board, it
almost n ever made it out of the conference room.
Eventually though , thanks to the efforts of Al
and Joe - strengthened by the backing of Gene
Fiebich - compromises were made, deal s were
struck, agre ements were reached, and the onagain off-again project was on again . Stu got hi s
common design element, the color green; Al got
h is small knob s - with skirts ; Shafer got hi s
VFOs pre-assembled and aligned; and nobody
knows what the guy from Personnel got.
The new line imagined by Al and Joe included
an entire family of products - transmitters ,
receivers , transceivers, amplifiers , and a host of
accessories. Everything from 160 to two-meters.

HISTORY

OF'

THE

HE.A.TH

COlY.!P.A.NY

And since the emphasis was to be on single sideband, which they both believed had a big future
in ham radio , they agreed that "SB" might be a
nice designator for the whole product line. Joe
was anxious to get moving on the project and felt
that time was of the essence-the battle to get
the new series approved had taken a full year.
Work began in earnest early in 1960, starting
with the receiver, which Joe thought would be
the easiest piece to design.
The challenge was to make the rig's performance similar to the Collins but sell it for about
one third of the price. Since Collins was not
about to sell upstart Heath its permeability
tuned oscillator (PTO ) or mechanical filters,
Shafer had to figure out a way to accomplish the
same thing in more traditional ways. It was
probably for the best that Collins wouldn't sell
to Heath since Collins was expensive. Its PTOs
and filters would have at least doubled the cost
of the new series. Several number two lead pencils later, Joe had cranked out the basic circuit
and specifications for his version of the Collins
PTO. The Shafer version used conventional
capacitive tuning but
with a number of twists
designed to make it
ultra-linear. And let's
give it some new name
other than a VFO (after
all, PTO had worked for
Collins). Shafer calle d
it the "linear master
oscillator, " or LMO. The
Shafer's LMO.
LMO would become the
heart of all of Heath's new rigs. Elrad Engineering of Chicago, the low bidder, was given the
contract to supply the LMO . As time passed an d
demand grew (and to keep any one vendor from
getting too greedy) Heath also began to get the
LMOs from other vendors. In the end it was
TRW that made the lion's share of the LMOs,
which came complete with a stern warning about
opening up or tinkering with the sealed unit.
The filter was the next problem. Collins had a
very nice filter. With some thought, Shafer was
able to design a crystal filter with performance
characteristics very comparable to the Collins.
And it was a fairly simple design. But again the
decision was made to provide the customer with
a pre-asse mbled unit - to guarantee specifications. Midland of Kansas did the originals. Later
James Knight of Illinois and Blackhawk Engineering out of Janesville , Wisconsin, also pro-

l® ~f U&riii'H+i

vided filters. Blackhawk, in fact, had a lso provided filters for the HX-10.
The IF frequency took some thinking as well.
Shafer's original design called for an IF of 3400
kHz, but in initial tests, this frequency kept
mixing with the 100 kHz crystal calibrator, with
birdies l anding a ll over the place . A simple solution was to go down 5 kHz to 3395 kHz-the frequency that became H eath's standard.
Having designed the basic circuits, Joe began
to hand off the actual design and layout of the
individual products to other members of the
team. Bill Denk got the receiver, now designated
the SB-300.
One of the most important considerations in
the new series was to avoid the complicate d contro l linkages found in earl i er products. To
achieve this, Denk worked closely with Stu Sizer
to come up with a physical layout that would
look very much like the Collins and would be
simple to put together. Denk also designed the
PC boards. All of the engineers knew that PC
board construction was essential. Heath had
quite a bit of previous experience with PC
boards - having used them in the HX-30 transmitter, the V-7 VTVM, and the CG- 1 "Mohican"
receiver, to name only a few. And there was plenty of data to prove that PC boards would make
the products less expensive and easier to assemble correctly. Nevertheless there was considerable resistance to the u se of PC boards from
upper management. One of the upper echelon
who had joined Heath recently was in a position
to make noise about this issue and proceeded to
do so . He did not believe that PC boards were
needed or that they had a future in electronics.
As you can imagine, the engineers began thinking either t hey had missed something or this guy
was a loon. There ensued another skirmish.
( V ) MEANWHILE ...

Other products were still hitting the
catalog. In January 1963, Heath introduced the Marauder, its first SSB
rig-still in the old big-heavy- stable
style. In April the company introduced
HX-20 and HR-20 mobile rigs (small
but amazingly heavy) and ran an ad looking for
more engineers. June saw the release of the legendary "Singleban d ers"-a series of three
single -b and transceivers, one each for 80 , 40 ,
and 20-meter SSB . The Singlebanders were in
fact low end spin-offs from the SB project a nd
were designed in a style that seemed to foretell
Heath's new design concepts.
HE.A.TH KIT

[-= ~ 1H?&iHHfiJ

~
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HISTORY

Then in October, just in time for Christmas
gift giving, hams all over the world opened their
QSTs and saw a receiver that did to them what
the 75S-1 had done to Al Robertson four years
earlier. Here was the SB-300. Maybe it wasn't a
Collins, but it looked a lot like one, and it
seemed to have very similar specs. And even
though it wasn't a Collins, the SB-300's $250
price tag was enough to
sway all but the most
ardent of Collins fans.
The SB-300 was a high
quality "next generation" receiver within
reach of tens of thousands of hams, many of The SB-300
whom couldn't open
their checkbooks fast enough. Heath had succeeded in designing a receiver "for the rest of us"
-to borrow a phrase fro m Apple-and in doing
so succeeded beyond its wildest expectations.
Heath was quickly in inundated with orders for
the 300. In addition to orders from hams, industry and the government were buying as well.
NASA for example, seeing the SB-300 as a very
sweet deal, bought dozens, though Heath never
found out what for .
The SB project had been a big investment but
it was about to pay off-big time. While no one at
the company could have been aware of it at the
time, the SB-300 marked the beginning of the
Heath's golden years-a decade from 1963 to
1973 during which the company could do no wrong.
The exhilaration resulting from the success of
the 300 seemed to supercharge everyone and put
company pride and spirit at an all-time high.
Work on the 300's matching transmitter went
into high gear, as did work on a variety of accessories. The SB-400 transmitter was rel ease d
June 1964. Designed to compete with the $590
Collins 32S-l, the SB -400 came in at just $325,
and with the release of the SB-200 linear amplifier the following month, Heath had a complete
station on the market. The SB-200 sold for $390 ,
which - while still a chunk of money-was a bargain when compared to the Collins 30L-1 at
more than $500, and would, in fact, go on to
become one of most successfu l products in
H eath's history. Yet as phenomenally successful
as these products were, the best was yet to come.
Meanwhile, in a corporate office in a galaxy
far away...
Schlumberger (pronounced Schlum-ber-'zhay)
Corporation was interested in acquiring some
electronics companies to help in the manufac-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HEATH

CO~FANY

ture of sophisticated equipment used in the
exploration of oil, its principal occupation. In
particular it was interested in instrumentation,
and guess who seemed to have exactly what
Schlumberger needed? Weston. Weston, you will
r ecall, is owned by Daystrom, who a lso owns
Heath. All of a sudden lawyers were meeting,
talks were h appening, agreements were being
signed, and the next thing you know Schlumberger owned Daystrom, acquiring Heathkit as
part of the package . Schlumberger was not really interested in Heath but hung on to it because
H eath was making a ton of money. The deal
turned out to be a good deal for Heath. Not only
did Schlumberger start pumping lots of R&D
money into Heath, it tol d Heath something like
"Hey, don 't worry about patent and copyright
problems , you just build anything you want and
leave any legal troubles to us. " And so it did.
This was October 1964.
Now then, back to the booming business of
ham radio.
Engineer Neil Litreal h ad been working what
seemed to be day and night on what was
arguably the most ambitious and potentially the
most lucrative piece of the SB project-the
transceiver. As with the other SB rigs, Shafer
h ad de sig ned the transceiver to look like a
Collins. In this case, like the Collins KWM-2A.
When he saw the ad for the original KWM-2
back in 1959, Shafer was confident that he could
design a transceiver that could compete with it.
In 1959 the KWM-2 's $1150 price was affordable
only by the Pentagon-which was in fact the
principal consumer of Collins radios. And the
KWM-2A, released two years later in 1961 , was
a hundred dollars more . Shafer felt certain that
being able to sell a transceiver for a third of
that, say around $400, would be like having a
licens e to print money.
There was intense inter es t in keeping the
transceiver on schedule for a Christmas 1965
release. Heath had learned long ago that releasing a product just before Christmas meant a
guarantee of heavy initial sales - a quick way to
recoup some inv estme nt money. Meanwhile,
up graded versions of the 300 and 400 were
a lready being started, and in spite of the hectic
sch edule, new products kept showing up in the
catalog. In May 1965 Heath released the HA-14
"Kompact Kilowatt" mobile linear amplifier.
This SB-200 spin-off was designed and sold primarily as a mobile unit but was offered with an
optional AC supply and was pictured in the catalog on a desktop a longside one of the single ban-

HISTORY

THE

HEATH

COlY.l:PA N Y

ders. In August the SB-110 six-meter transceiver hit the catalog with a splash, and in November the HD-10, Heath's first electronic keyer,
was a big hit. Then in December, right on schedule for a Christmas introduction, Heath
unveiled the SB -100, a five-band transceiver
designed to match the rest of the SB series - and
the KWM-2A. As anticipated , the similarities
were not lost on Joe Ham . The price tag was just
$360, less power supply. Engineering had a feeling the SB -100 was going to be hot, and they
were correct. Shafer
had put a lot of clever
engineering into the
100 and was particu larly proud of the rig.
He would remember it
as one of his favorites.
With the introduc- The SB-lOO
tion of the SB-100,
Shafer and Robertson had, at last, realized their
vision of a complete line of Collins look-alikes .
But rather than throttle back and let the money
roll in (which it did in large quantities), the next
year was spent working on refinements and
developing some accessories to round out the
line. The SB-610 monitor scope (an updated version of the H0-10 ) and the SB-630 station console were released in 1966. These two products
would themselves become best sellers. But the
most important work was on r e fining the
SB-100, which had now become the fastest selling radio in amateur history. To capitalize further on the success of the SB-100, work wa s also
begun on a low-cost version of the transceiver,
designed to give buyers a choice and tighten
Heath's grip on the market .

CV ) THE SUMMER OF LOVE: 1967.
Hippies , Haight Ashbury, and flower
power. Indeed . It was the summer
hams fell in l ove with Heath in unprecedented numbers . By mid -1967
amateur radio sales had grown to account for
fully 40 percent of Heath's total sales, eclipsing
Heath's mainstay products-test equipmentfor the first time ever. In 1967 Heath released
the SB -301 and SB-401. The se refinements of
the original 300/400 transmitter/r eceiver combo
so l d even better than the originals , but the
biggest seller was the new SB -101. Th e 101 was
everything you loved about the SB-100 plus a
CW filter and out-of-the -box compatibility with
the SB -640 remote LMO (" available soon") . Can
you say, "I'll take one?" By 1968 it seemed like
3
@
.
~

IT5 ~ f UMi§fHEI

everyone you worked on the air was using Heath
equipment, and in just about every shack photo
on the pages of QST could be seen at least one
piece of Heath equipment. But the real indicator
of just how popular Heath had become could be
seen in Heath's QST advertising. Beginning in
January 1968 Heath started buying color advertising for the first time. And what's more, it
bought inside back covers of the popular magazine, locations favored by industrial giants like
RCA, Amperex, and others . And as if that
weren't enough, Heath bought this location
every month for two solid years , all the while
bringing more products to its swiftly growing
line. These included the SB-620 "Scanalyzer" (a
modernized H0-13) with its bright yellow CRT;
the SB-640 remote LMO; the HW-1 6, a wildly
popular CW novice transceiver; and the not so
wildly popular HW-18 special HF purpose trans ceivers.
Heath also began to realize the potential of
VHF in 1968. In the late '60s not many ham s
knew much about two-meters or FM. But VHF in
general , and two -meters in particul ar, were
gaining some popularity. A lot of Heath's engineers were eager to get going on a two-meter
project, but Joe Shafer was not convinced that
the market for two-meter gear was there , and he
needed to make sure any given amateur product
would pay for itself. There was fierce competition for product development money companywide, and if he was going to go after a chunk of
money he needed to be sure that there would be
a pay-off-a product failure would make it harder to get development money later on. In addition, two -meters had not really coalesced into
the set standards we know today. AM or FM?
Channelized or VFO? Simplex or repeaters?
What kinds of splits? It has also been suggested
that Joe just wasn't personally enthusiastic
about anything above 10-meters . In any case,
Joe had resisted the idea of two -meters for a couple of years but capitulated in late 1968, in the
face of mounting press u re from man agement,
who wanted to know why Heath wasn't working
on a two-meter product. Heath's first serious
two-meter product, the HW-17, was not entirely
successful. The 10 watt AM rig s uffered from a
variety of small problems any one of which
would not have been a big deal. But put them all
together and you had a kit full of headaches.
L ow transmitter audio, poor AGC, a noise
blanker that didn 't work, microphonics, poor
receiver sensitivity, and on and on. Owners were
offered two separate mods directed at fixing the
H E ..A..T HK IT

r@ ~fi'Si#'H+il

HISTORY OF

problems, but try as they might, Heath's engineers never completely solved all the troubles
with the problem-plagued HW-17. Th e FM
adapter never worked very well either. In the
end, Heath was lucky to get its money out of
HW-17-in spite of heavy advertis ing-and
pulled the plug on the rig soon as it did. Back to
the drawing board. It would take another three
years to do the job right . Nevertheless, Heath
h ad sold thousands of the HW-17 and had made
a great deal of noise related to two-meters,
establishing a VHF name for itself.
Never mind the problems . All was about to be
forgiven because 1968 was the year Heath would
make ham radio history. Remember that lowcost version of the SB-100 Heath had begun
designing back in '66? Heath designated it the
HW-100-and it was ready to ship. In designing
this low-cost version, Shafer had reused as much
as possible from the SB-100-right down to the
metal chassis-while cutting some of the
SB-lOO's very expensive corners . The cabinet for
the low-cost version, for example, was designed
so that it could be fabricated in-house. And the
expensive LMO was replaced with a more conventional tuning system. Put the SB and the
HW side by side-the front panels are virtually
identical. The layout and design are the same,
too-including the printed circuit boards.
Given the phenomenal sales of the SB-101, it
is hard to imagine anything selling faster or in
greater numbers. But the HW-100, the low- cost
little brother of the SB-100/101, was running
roughshod over the competition.

CV ) THE HOT WATER 100
=- There was a general agreement
that th e HW-100 could do well ,
but it is unlikely that anyone
. could have imagined exactly how
popular it would become. In retrospect it is clear that the 100 was
going places. First of all the HW-100 had superb
references- it was made by Heath. Secondly, it
was well-designed, well- behaved, and very good
looking. Thirdly, it had just about all the fea tures you could ask for. And then of course there
was the $250 price tag-which gave the 100 the
market impact of a high yield tactical nucle ar
weapon. Indeed, the HW-100 was about to
become the most popular radio of all time .
When the HW-100 first appeared in March
1968, it was an instant success. Within months,
Heath was advertising the 100 as the "world's
fastest selling transceiver,'' a claim that was no

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HEATH

COlll.l:PANY

exaggeration. The so-called "Hot Water" 100 was
one of those rare in-the-right-place-at-the-righttime products and was destined to become a classic.
By 1969 Heath was comfortable enough with
its overall product line to begin to throttle back
just a little bit. The only significant product to
appear in '69 was the
SB-500 two-meter converter. One reason no
other major product s
came out in 1969 is because Heath was busy
refining its biggest
The HW-100
sellers-the SB-101,
the SB-301, and the
HW-100. These were, of course, priority products,
and Heath did not want to rest on its laurels .
The introduction of the SB-220 linear amplifier was the high point of 1970. It had been more
than six years since Heath had put the lKW
SB-200 on the market, and many folks had wondered when H eath would bring out a 2KW
amp -indeed the author of a QST review of the
SB-220 wondered aloud about the cause of the
delay. It had taken so long to get the SB-220 on
the market because Heath was determined to
bring out a full two-kilowatt amp but didn't like
the selection of tubes that were available in the
early '60s. The old reliable 8 11 and 813 wouldn't
handle enough power unless you put a bunch of
them together, and then they wouldn't fit into a
cabinet of reasonable size. Tubes that would
handle the power were either too big, too expensive, or lacked the right physical or electrical
operating characteristics. Then early in 1968
Eimac introduced the 3-500. Here at last was
the tube Heath had been looking for. A pair of
these guys would handle 2KW with ease, were
small enough to work with, were relatively inexpensive, and seemed to have a ll the right characteristics. With the right tubes in hand , it didn 't take long for Heath to get a product together.
By 1970 Heath was shipping the SB-220 by the
truckload. The 220, and later the 221, would join
the SB-200 as one of Heath's most enduring products.
In January 1970 Heath changed its QST
advertising by dropping the inside back covers
in favor of a multi-page layout within the magazine primarily because of the cost. Heath was
redirecting some resources to begin dev elopm ent of an entirely new product-a fully solidstate transceiver. This new project was being
drafted at t he same time Heath was introducing
its revamped big sellers . In April 1970 the

· HISTORY OF

THE

HEATH

CO])l.[PANY

SB-102 was unveiled. The 102 incorporated a
new solid-state LMO and a couple of other minor
refinements but was otherwise essentially
unchanged-relying on vacuum tubes for the
bulk of the circuits. It sold better than ever.
Then, just in time for Christmas 1970, Heath
released the HW-101-a refinement of the
already legendary HW-100. The HW-100 and
101 will live forever as the world's most popular
radios. In their combined 14-year production
life, Heath sold almost 40,000 Hot Water
100/lOls. Nearly 3,000 per year. About eight
rigs every day. It was a sales record that h as
never been broken. Not even the Collins KWM-2
and KWM-2A could match the HW-100/101 in
unit sales. But the 101 holds another distinction-it was Heath's last vacuum tube design .
Heath could see the writing on the wall and it
said "solid state." Indeed, the age of vacuum
tubes was rapidly coming to a close. It wasn't so
much that H eath had a lot of interest in solid
state. Indeed, Heath did not really believe that
transistors-especially for use in the PA - would
ever amount to much. But the market was rapidly turning in that dire ction. Transistors, once
regarded as a curiosity, were finding their way
into everything, and the speed of technological
change was accelerating with each passing day.
Heath realized that if it were to survive, it
would have to meet solid-state technology head
on . Heath a lso would have to face another challange head on - rapidly mounting competition
from the Japanese and others who were bringing
solid-state gear to the market with astonishing
speed. So the decision to develop a solid-state rig
wasn't made be cause Heath was interested in
being on the cutting edge. It was much more a
market-driven decision .
( t/' ) INSTALL Ql AS SHOWN

The necessity of delivering a solid-state
rig had occurred to Heath much earlier -late in '67. Indeed there was agree ment to market a full line of solid-state
products to repl ace the vacuum tube SB series,
but heck, the vacuum tub e rigs were still selling
extremely well. So while it was decide d to procee d with desi g ning a solid-state series, the
SB/HW series would be played out fir s t . This
may ha ve been a strategic misste p becaus e it
delayed the process of design a bit longer than
may have been prudent. The SB-303 receiver,
Heath 's first fully so lid- state rig , wasn ' t
re leased until October 1970-seven years to the
day after the introduction of the vacuum tube

®OCJ

~ ~f U?tSiUHfi

receiver it replaced-SB-300, Heath's first SB
series rig. By this time, several other manufacturers had solid-state receivers already on the
market. Although the SB-303 proved to be a
superb analog design which sold exceptionally
well, it was really just an SB-301 with no tube s
and did not provide much in the way of solidstate experience. A solid-state version of the
SB-400 , called the SB-403, was on the drawing
board but plans to produce it were scrapped
because Heath decided-correctly-that transceivers were the way of the future. Solid state
made possible the building of small, highly functional transceivers for less than the cost of a separate transmitter and receiver.
The new solid-state transceiver envisioned by
Heath engineers wasn't much of an engineering
marvel either. The SB-103 was a modest design
and, like the SB-301, could be characterized as a
copy (in this case of the SB-102) wherein the
tubes had been replaced with transistors -except
for the finals. Finals in the PA were regarded as
a bad ide a because in those days transistors
were not nearly as rugged or reliable as they are
today. Engineers often referred to the "purple
plague" -a condition in which transistors would
simply fail , and no one could figure out why.
The 10 3 had been designed and developed
through the prototype stage when, because of
disagreements over how the project was developing, its principle designers quit. And when
they left, most of Heath's solid- state experience
went with them. The
SB-103 was shelved.
Then in December
1970 there was some thing of a replay of the
events of 12 years earlier when Al Robertson
opened his QST , saw Yeasu FT-101
th e 75S-1, and was
inspired to design the SB series. We do not know
who saw it first , but someone at Heath opened
the December QST and must hav e taken a deep
breath. In this case it was not an ad for Collins
but for Yeasu , and the rig in que stion was the
FT-101. This remarkable little transceiver was
fully solid-state except for the finals, and was
replete with a load of features that mad e for a
very attractive and desirable rig. And oh yes-it
w as fu lly ass embled and aggressively priced.
There can be no doubt that th e Yeasu FT-101
upp e d the ante and put Heath under tremendous pressure to deliver a clearly superior rig at
a clearly competitive price. But could it do it?
H E .AT H K I T

[# ~ fb?df ¥'Hiil

.A.

HISTORY

CV ) ACT 104, SCENE 1
We need to take a little side trip to
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, home of Collins
Radio. About the same time Heath was
busy developing the 103, Rockwell
International was busy buying Collins. Many
employees at Collins were very upset about the
sale in general and about how Art Collins was
treated in particular, so many began looking
through the help-wanted column of the Cedar
Rapids paper. Among these people was Mike
Elliot, who noticed an ad placed by the Heath
Company seeking engineers. To make a long
story a bit shorter, Mike sent a resume and was
offered a job.
Mike's first assignment was the development
of a small VHF amplifier, the HA-202. Mike's
solid-state talents quickly caught the eye of
management who asked Mike if he would be so
kind as to have a look at the SB-103 and provide
an assessment of the
project. Mike saw a lot of
potential in the 103, but
noted that the unit's
design failed to take advantage of some of the
capabilities that were
inherent to solid -state.
The 103 had a preselector, copious tuned circuits, a complicated bandswitching scheme, and a Mike Elliot, 1995
very traditional pi-network PA, etc., etc. It had very low receiver
dynamic range, high power consumption, low
efficiency, poor stability, and so on. Mike's decision was an easy one-start over from the ground
up . About all Mike's new design would save was
the frequency scheme, since Heath had a lot of
previous experience with 3395 kHz crystal filters. Up-conversion was considered briefly but
was rejected as too complex for a kit form rig.
Given the length of time it would take to
develop the new rig - now called the SB-104-it
was decided to take a giant technological leap.
Mike knew that by the time the rig hit the market, its technology would not be considered cutting edge unless they really stretched its design.
Mike remembers the SB-104 as taxing the limits
of his know-how. Beyond simple solid-state , the
rig would employ, among other things, digital
technology and broadband tuning; both concepts
were new to Heath, and both would give engineers their biggest challenge yet. Oh, did I mention that Mike wanted to use solid-state finals?

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HE.A.TH

COl'.11.l:P.A.NY

A major obstacle in developing the 104 was in
fact the prime directive Heath had established
early on. Specifically, any given rig must be able
to be successfully built by a customer with limited technical knowledge and nothing more than
simple tools, and must be able to be checked and
aligned with little more than at VTVM. These
criteria made for some difficult engineering considerations that would never be required with
equipment coming off an assembly line.
When you stop to think about it, trying to
explain to someone how to assemble an electronic device of any kind (let alone something as
sophisticated as a transceiver) is a formidable
task. If you don't believe this, try writing a set of
instructions detailing the operation of a transceiver by someone who hasn't the faintest idea of
how to use it. Remember, you can't say a word or
lend a hand in any way - you must rely on the
clarity of your written instructions. Now extend
the exercise to the complete assembly of your
transceiver and you begin to get an understanding of the complexity of the task. Heath had to
work out instructions for everything from simple soldering to the assembly of complicated dial
and tuning mechanisms, to alignment and
tune-up procedures, all the while assuming very
little in the way of test equipment and technical
expertise. That Heath had mastered the instruction process was a most remarkable feat all by
itself. Without a doubt, Heath's superbly written
and profusely illustrated manuals, finely tuned
over the years, were responsible in large measure for the company's success. After all, why
have the best product on the market if no one
could put it together?
And there were other challenges . The SB-104
required a tremendous number of parts. And
that meant that the odds of a bad part showing
up in any given SB-104 were high. For example,
if the rig used a thousand parts and you were
willing to settle for 0 .1 percent bad parts, the
odds are that one bad part would exist in the rig.
Depending on exactly which part was at fault, a
customer with limited knowledge and test
equipment may or may not be able to troubleshoot the problem himself. And even if all the
parts were good, as the parts got smaller and the
parts density got higher, the physical room for
error-solder bridges and so on-went way up.
It is not clear if all of these considerations were
apparent to Heath engineers at the onset of the
project, but the company was determined to
push forward in digital electronics . As a result,
several other products, including a digital display

H I S T O R Y OF

THE

HEATH

CO]).l.[PANY

for the SB-102 and a synth esize d two -meter
transceiver, were initiated. What is cle ar, at
least in hindsight, is that solid-state technology
substantially raised the stakes for the kit engineer as well as for the kit builder.

GROWING PAINS
@

And as if that were not enough , t h ere
was another more s ubtl e problem.
.~ Heath had become a big company and
was beginning to experience the kinds
of problems big companies have. The most significant of these was higher employee turnover.
It was increasingly difficult to keep the same
people on a project from start to finish . The result
was a l ack of continuity t h at hampered product
development; added to a growing overall level of
empl oyee frustration, and started a s low but
pervasive corrosion of morale. Indeed, the "family"
atmosphere that Howard Anthony had worked
so h ard to foster was beginning to evaporate.
The year 1971 was unique in H eath 's history
-no significant amateur products were released
t h at year. A reflection, perhaps, of the problems
H eath was having with products a lready under
development.
In April 1972 , while still wrestling with the
SB-104, Heath released its first digital product,
the SB-650-a digital frequency display for the
SB-102. The $200 SB -650 worked well , created a
sensation within the ham community, and was
warmly received by reviewers. But compared to
the SB-104, the 650 was child's play. The unit was
based on a couple dozen TTL chips, a double-sided
P C board, and Nixie neon readout tubes.
Two other significant products a lso hit the
market in 1972. The first was the HW-7 QRP
transceiver. It h as been said that the HW-7 was
the result of casual lunch-time experiments with
low power. This may b e true, but it is likely that
there was much more motivation than simple
tinkering. The HW-7 was prob ably inspired by
the Power Mite PM-1, a small , solid-state 80 and
40 meter QRP transceiver introduced by
Ten-Tee. By the time Heath released the HW-7,
Ten-Tee had develop ed the $50 PM-1 into several
other more sophisticated products s uffici ently
more expensive to a llow Heath to price t h e HW-7
at $79.95 and still be competitive. The two-watt,
thr ee -b and HW-7 proved very popul ar a nd
quickly became a best seller.
The other significant product re leased in 1972
didn 't come out of t h e amateur division. The
General Products group h a d been tinkering with
digital circuits themselves and h ad discovered a
~

II5 ~ f¥ 1 %i§fHil

clock chip manufactured by Mostek. The result
was the GC -1005-a six-digit digital clock in a
stylish wood-grained plastic cabinet. It was the
first commercial digital clock kit, and one of the
very first digital clocks to app ear on the market.
At $55 the clock was not cheap, but was s ubsta ntially less expensive than any other digital clock
on the m a rket. Sometimes a little product like
thi s takes everyone by surprise-eve n those who
designe d it. The 1005 practically exploded out of
the catalog. It may be hard to b elieve but H eath
sold more than 50,000 units p er year-almost
140 a day... seven days a week. Because it displayed seconds and could b e set accurately, it
was very popular with hams as a shack accesso ry. To say that Heath made a killing with the
GC-1005 would understate its profits .
As if trying to go "one up " on the General
Products group , the Amateur group fir ed back
with a killer of its own . In April 1973 it released
the HW-202 two-m eter transceiver. Heath wanted b a dly to tap the soon-to-b e -booming two m eter market but didn't want another HW-17 on
its hands. It had been t hree years since H eath
took the ill-fated HW-17 off the market. This
time, Heath had done its homework. The engineers knew what it would take to crack the mark et and they knew how to do it. The HW-202 was
a straightforward, crystal-controlled, solid-state
rig-a superb piece of engineering in tho se early
days of two -meters. The unit sold so well that
H eath had trouble keeping up with orders.
H eath was su ccessfully into VHF at last-big
time . In spite of t h ese achievements, however,
H eath would never venture higher in frequency
than two-meters.
P erhaps the most signific ant eve nt of 1973
wa s the retirement of Gene Fiebich . Gene had
managed engineering with a gentle hand a lmost
from day one. He was a vision ary a nd a tireless
champion of the Amateur divi sion, and fought
h ard for many important proj ects. It was he, for
example, who persuaded senior management to
OK the SB series project back in 1958. Gene said
h e decided to retire because h e "could see the
handwriting on the wall ." H e could see the offshore competition in the wings, he could see the
direction the industry was taking, and h e could
see the way H eath h ad changed over the years.
So after 23 year s at Heath, Gene decided it was
time to go. His departure was, in a way, symbolic
of what was h appening to H eath-the founda tion wa s beginning to crumble . Gene Fiebich
passed away early in 1995.
Meanwhile work on the SB -1 04 dragged on.
HE...A.THKIT

rE= ~ 'HiiiHH+iJ

H I S T OR Y

As a prototype, the rig was unstable, quirky, and
erratic. The biggest problem with the SB -104
can be summed up in two words - "cutting edge."
The SB -104 was a rig push ing every edge of the
envelope. A very complex rig involving lots of
new technologies, it was the expression of
Heath's desire to recapture its steadily eroding
market share with a product that would be
regarded not just as "state of the art" but as
"ahead of its time."
The reliability of parts was a major source of
frustration. For example, it was discovered that
depending on the batch of diodes used in the balanced modulator, you may or may not be able to
get it to balance. The 104 used more than 275
solid-state devices including 31 ICs. There were,
of course, hundreds of capacitors, resistors ,
coils, crystals, and so on, and parts tolerances
were turning out to be more critical than had
been imagined . Further, there was no easy or
inexpensive way to ensure that any given part
was within tolerance. Again , for rigs coming off
an assembly line , parts could have a wider tolerance. But for kit building, engineers needed to
ensure that the rig would land on its feet with a
minimum of tweaking . Remember the prime
directive-the customer has limited knowledge
and doesn't have sophisticated test or alignment
equipment. Random sampling of parts wasn't
good enough for the 104. As a result, the cost of
quality assurance rose substantially, which in
turn added to the cost of the rig.

(V ) SCENE 104 ACT 2
®~· At last, just in time for Christmas 1974,

Heath rolled out the SB-104 with a
full -color fold-out ad in QST. The ad featured the complete 104 series product
·
line including the SB-230 linear amplifier, the SB-634 station console , the SB-644
remote LMO, the SB -614 station monitor scope,
and the SB-604 station speaker. There were also
extensive product notes
written by Joe Shafer,
extolling the many
virtues of the 104. A
2KW lin ear amplifi er,
the SB - 240 (using a
pair of 3-500s) had also
been developed through The SB-104
the proof-built stage,
but at the last moment the unit was canceled
because of safety concerns. There were fears
that because of the rig's layout the customer
would be threatened by high voltage. About 14

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HEATH

COlll.l:FANY

units were actually built. Several were
destroyed and the rest ended up with employees.
Sales of the SB-104 were good, but almost
immediately, customers began calling with problems. Most of the problems turned out to be
related to mistakes in assembly and tune up.
There can be little doubt the 104 was a good
solid rig, but it quickly became clear that alignment of the 104 was critical to the success of the
rig and left almost no margin for error. Additionally, the sheer complexity of the assembly
process was testing the limits of even experienced kit buil ders. Unknowingly, Heath had
stepped over the line , violating the prime directive. But it was also clear that there were some
design problems as well . The CW wave form was
much too abrupt, the TR switching was not very
clean, and the digital disp lay had the jitters, to
name only a few of the 104's troubles. Heath's
initial strategy was to handle these one at a
time, but in a short while, it became clear that a
bigger fix was in order. One solution was to
begin to pre-assemble some of the more complex
boards, including some of the RF boards. That
solved some of the problems but, of course, it ate
substantially into the profits .
The SB-104 wasn't Heath's only headache.
Late in '75 the company had released its replace ment for the venerable HW-202 two-meter
transceiver-the HW-2026 . The 2026 was a synthesized unit on which the frequency was set
with thumbwheel switches. The 2026 had given
its designers about as much trouble as the 104
had provided for its crew. Almost as soon as the
first units went out the door, customers began
calling with complaints that they were bringing
up repeaters other than the one intended as well
as putting in good signals on law enforcement
frequencies , whenever the 2026 was put on the
air. Some quick checking revealed that the
transmitter had some significant spurs. The
problem was not really a design flaw. In designing th e 2026 Heath had looked at the Clegg
FM-27 . The engineers had noticed some significant spurs on the 27's signal but concluded that
if the spurs weren't a problem for Clegg they
shouldn't be a problem for Heath. Unfortunately
for Heath , the spurs from the 2026 landed in all
the wrong places . Heath had designed the 2026
to conform to CCIR specifications, and in fact,
the 2026 actually performed better than the
CCIR specs by a good 10 db. The problem was
that the CCIR specs were flawed. And to make
matter worse, a quick fix was not in the cards.
For the first and only time in its history, Heath

HISTORY

THE HEATH

CO:r-1.l:FANY

issued a product recall. Customers were offered
their money back or a trade-in for one of Heath's
other new products that year, the HW-2021
walkie- talkie. Unfortunately for customers who
chose the walkie-talkie, satisfaction proved
somewhat elusive. While the 2021 was a good
basic design, its shear compactness reduced the
odds of assembling the unit without errors.
There was at least one success in 1975-the
HD-1410 electronic keyer. The physical design of
the HD-1410 was patterned after the Ten-Tee
KR-20 and a keyer sold by Palomar Engineers,
both of which first appeared late in 1969. The
1410 rep l aced the very succ essful HD-10 (the
first kit keyer on the market), which Heath had
released 10 years earlier. The 1410 was more
compact and more easily adjustable that its predecessor, and employe d a vastly improv ed
switching scheme. It sold extremely well.
H eath a lso had some luck with the HW-104 ,
the low-end version of the SB-104. The HW version replaced most of the complicated digital circuits with analog designs. For exampl e, the
HW-104 used a traditional tuning scheme with a
dial readout more akin to the SB-102. The
HW-104 worked quite well because of these
changes, but still suffered in sales as a result of
guilt by association . It was a lso being torn to
shreds by the competition. The rig would last
only two years .
( V ) ENTERING THE COMPUTER AGE

Still reeling from the HW-2026 recall
an d still pulling out its h air over the
SB-104, Heath pressed on, working
on an improved version on the 104
and beginning work on an entirely
new transceiver, the SS-SOOO. At the same time,
development also began on an entire l y new
product-the personal computer. Heath can be
credited with some real vision in this area. It
was still a year or so before the first Apple and
the Radio Shack computers would appear. Heath
recognized the value and potential of the computer very early on. For most people, computers
were still very much a curiosity. Heath understood that personal computers were not some
passing fad, and that they were, in fact, the next
major growth industry. Heath quickly tooled up
for a major effort, enthusi astically beginning
work on a pair of computer products-the HS
and the Hll. Ironically, by starting development
of the computers, Heath was unleashing the
very products that would lead to its demise.
In November 1976, exactly one year after the

nr= ~ fH?diUHilJ

release of the ill-fated HW-2026 , Heath released
its rep lac ement, the HW-2036-an entirely
redesigned two-meter transceiver. To help eliminate any lingering suspicions about the new rig,
the ad in the catalog was complete with charts
det ailing its spectral purity. This time Heath
had gotten it right and the rig was a hit. Sales
took off and never slowed down . You could
almost hear He ath's collective sigh of relief. It
had been a long, hot, frustrating, and expensive
summer for engineering. Getting the bugs out
had not been easy.
The first of two significant releases in 1977
was the HS personal computer. The HS did not
in any way resemble personal computers as we
hav e come to know them. The HS was a
nerd s-only SOSOA-based product with a convenient front panel keypad for programming. As
luck would have it, there were plenty of nerds
who had been waiting their whole lives for a
product like this. They wasted no time putting
in their orders-heck, only $300 , less any kind of
I/O. The Hll, Heath 's other com put er, was
somewh at more imposing-it was a plain white
box with no front panel controls at all. The Hll
was based on the DEC PDP-1110 3 and was available with an optional eight or 16-bit bus. This
machine was a bit more pricey t han the HS $1200 in kit form, $2000 wired, less I/O. Nevertheless , the two computers proved both popular
and lucrative. Sales of the HS , Hll, and their
peripheral products quickly infused a great deal
of cash into the company. While Heath's gross
sales were rapidly approaching $100 million
annually, the bulk of the money wasn't coming
from amate ur products. Heath was pulling in
money from television and stereo products, and
from test equipment as well as from computers.
Amateur products , which 10 years earlier had
accounted for 40 percent of Heath's sales, had
shrunk to less than 25 p ercent . And to make
matters more uncomfortable , engineering costs
in the amateur division were very high.
The second significant release in 1977 was the
improved SB-104. It had taken a lot of re-engine ering, but in July 1977, Heath re-released the
SB-104 as the 104A. Most of the problems had
been solved but the rig remained touchy. True to
its customers , Heath worked diligently to keep
everyone happ y and , for the most part, customers were happy. But the word was out that
the 104 was "iffy" and that getting it to work
could be a problem . Sales flattened out, then
slowly started down. But Heath wasn't standing
still. Development of the 104's replacement, desHE..A..THKIT

~ ~fH&iU&f@

HISTORY

ignated the SS-8000 , was moving slowly for ward. Among other things, H eath had develop e d
an ambitious plan to provide for computer control of the new transceiver. There was nothing
els e like it on the market. A computer-controlled
HF station was something that only a handful of
h ams had even dreamt about.
In 1978 Heath released the HW-8 , a repl acem ent for the HW-7 QRP rig. The HW-7 had been
very popular but had been criticize d for a numb er of minor probl e m s a nd limitation s. The
HW-8 addressed all of tho se problems and added
a few nice touche s. The HW-8 would turn out to
be one of the most popular of the three versions
H eath made-attaining a kind of cult statusa nd one of the most popula r QRP rigs ever marketed. In that same year, H eath replaced th e
very s ucc essful HW-20 36 two -meter box with
the new digital readout VF-7401. The 7401 was
nice and had lots of power and features , but th e
unit had cost a bundle to design, and sales were
n ever as high as H eath h ad hop ed for. It isn't
that a n yone thought poorly of the 7401 , but by
this t im e, the off-shore competitors were turning
up the heat on H eath- and it hurt. It is likely
th a t H eath lost money on the 7401. The VF-7401
is a significant product in H eath's history, however, as it was the last kit-type two-meter produ ct H eath ever m a de. By this time off-shore competition in the exploding two-meter market was
so feroc ious it was clear that H eath could not
compete. Heath wa lked away from VHF a nd
n ever came back- at l east not with its own
equipment.
(V ) 1978-THE BEGINNING OF THE END
@
In 1978 Schlu mberge r (rememb er
Schlumberger? it owned He ath?)
decided that it would be nice to h ave
an "in-house" source of se miconductors an d began looking aro und for a nice semiconductor manu fact u rer to swall ow. It didn 't
have to look very far. H eath was buying liter a lly
million s of se miconduct ors every yea r from a
compan y called F airchild . Heath was, in fact,
Fairchild's singl e l argest consumer of b oth
discrete a nd integrat ed devices. Additionally,
Schlum b erger owned a l ot of other companies
that used se mi con du ctors, an d it u sed a lo t
itself. This, it r easoned , could be sweet deal. By
acq uirin g Fair c hild , Sch lumb erge r wo uld
control not only t h e source an d t h e devices, but
a l so the product s in w hi ch they were u se d.
Funny.. .that is exactly how the Federal Trade
Commission saw it. Who could hav e imagin ed

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HEATH

CO?ll.J:PANY

th at we would ever h ea r the words "Heath"
and "antitrust" in the same se ntence?
The Federal Trade Commission explaine d to
Schlumberger its actions might-at the risk of
putting too fine a point on it- be construed as,
well, illegal. The Commis sion told Schlumberger
that if it wanted Fairchild it would have to sell
H eath. Sorry. If there was any doubt about Schlumb erger's loyalty to H eath , it didn't last very long.
Schlumberger had purchase d Heath for a son g
a nd now, whi le it wasn 't exactly what it had
planned , had the opportunity to sell it for something much more like a symphony. It saw th e
chance to make a great deal of money very quickly
a nd it took it. By December 1978, Heath was up for
sale. It is hard to say what kind of effect this n ews
h a d on employee s a t H eath or on the administration. But there can be no doubt that a shock
wave swe pt through the pla nt. A clue about the
inten sity of this shock wave can be found in the
pages of QST. H eath h a d no a d in the February
1979 is sue of QST. This sm a ll event was s poke
volumes: it was the first iss ue Heath had missed
in more than 20 years or a dvertising .
By January 1979 Heath had completed development of its third computer product-the H89
"all-in-one" computer. The H89 used not just one
but a p a ir of the n ew Mostek Z80 microprocessors and was a most remarkable product. It was
not som e inscrutable box with a k eypad; it h a d a
k eybo ard , a di s play screen, a nd a flopp y di sk
drive built into one very attractive cabinet. It
was however, only p artly a kit. The main CPU
and t erminal interface boards were fully assembled an d teste d , as was t h e keyboard and th e
di sk dri ve . During d eve lopm e nt of the H89 ,
H eath quickly r eali ze d th at a lmost no one could
successfully as semble and -if necessary-troubleshoot one of these t hings . Assembly then , was
limited to con struction of t h e power supply a nd
the putting together of a ll the s ub-assemblies.
The H 89 first appeared in Heath's Summer 1979
catalog and listed for a bout $20 00 , depending on
what options you a dded. The 89 was enormou sly
successful. Heath sold zillions of them.
At about thi s same time, the idea that personal comp uters could be worth a lot of money was
beginning to occur to a number of large corporations, many of which began to explore the idea of
designing their own computer products. Among
these was the Zenith Corporation . Zenith h a d
the idea t hat it might b e possible to bypass much
of the expe n s ive a nd time-consuming d esign
phase an d get a h ead start on the competition by
buying a company a lready making computers.

HISTORY OF

THE HEATH

CO~FANY

Zenith began l ooking around for some small
computer company it could easily acquire and it
didn't take lon g for its corporate gaze to fall
upon Heath. From Zenith's perspective Heath
was very attractive. It was reasonably priced
and had an excellent computer product line on
the market and more in development. Negotiations began early in 1979 , and the deal was completed by fall. Zenith was now in the computer
business - and Heath was now in trouble.

THE END IN SIGHT
The Zenith buyout was a nasty piece
of business by a ll accounts. Many people at Heath thought Zenith would be
good for business. After all, Zenith
was a consumer electronics company.
It was logical to assume that Zenith might bring
with it a lot of marketing muscle and know-how
that would be very beneficial to Heath. Zenith,
however, had other ideas. Zenith was interested
only in Heath's computer line. Nothing else mattered . Nothing. In fact employees began to feel
that Zenith regarded them and Heath's products
with contempt. They were probably right . Budget cuts and layoffs were quick to follow. Zenith
cut the budgets of all of Heath's departments by
15 percent every year beginning in 1980. All
departments except computers, that is. Addi tionally, Zenith began siphoning huge amounts
of cash and resources from Heath.
Al Rob ertson wasn't having much fun . For
him, the Zenith buyout was only part of it. He
had been transferred to marketing a couple of
years earlier, and he wasn't doing the things he
really loved. He looked around one day and
couldn't see the Heath company he had originally
come to work for. Time to go. Al called it a day and retired . His departure, like Gene Fiebich's,
was a harbinger of things to come.
Needless to say, the takeover, the budget cuts ,
the lay-offs, and all the rest, were very disruptive and very distracting. And none of these corporate high jinks h e lped th e Amateur group ,
who had been having plenty of trouble with the
SS-8000 even before the Zenith problems. Neverthele s s, work had progressed well into the
proof-built stage by this time, giving Heath
enough confidence to run a t e aser ad in the
Spring 1980 catalog. The ad displayed th e
SS-8000 , major portions of which were hidden
by a la rge banner reading "space reserved for
revolutionary new SS-8000. " Text in an inset
stated "see it here-in your next Heathkit catalog." In another inset was a picture of the new

rE¥ ~ fH¥Sf¥f i*+il

H19 smart terminal (not the H89), implying
that the SS-8000 could be computer controlled.
It had become increasing clear over the course
of its development that given the complexity and
parts density of the SS-8000, it would be very
difficult, perhaps impossible, for the average
builder to successfully assemble and a lign the rig.
Heath found itself in a bind . It had two choicesboth bad. To proceed with the rig in kit form
meant endless problems for the customer and
lots of bad PR. To offer the rig fully assembled
meant a working rig and a happy customer, but
would double the cost, making it unaffordable .
No matter what it decided, Heath was in trouble.
Still smarting from its experiences with the
SB-104, Heath made the decision to offer the
SS-8000 as a fully assembled product and not as
a kit. Of course by the time this determination
was made, a fully operational model-no longer
a prototype-had been completed. It is important to remember here that it had taken most of
five years to develop the 8000 to this point. Now
it would take another three years to redesign
the rig for sale as a pre-assembled unit. This
would prove to be the single most costly decision
ever made at Heath because the SS-8000/9000
was the single most expensive product Heath
had ever designed. Most estimates put th e
development costs of the 8000/9000 project at
around 3 million dollars, and probably more.
The SS-9000 hit the market for almost $2800 in
the face of competition costing half of that. Bells ,
whistle s , and computer-control notwithstanding, it never really had a chance. Only a couple
of thousand units were ever sold. The project
was an immense financial loss from which the
company never fully recovered.
The HW-5400, Heath's last hope of success in
the kit market, did little better. It sold for only a
year and a half, and while it was less expensive
to develop, Heath lost a bundle on it as well . It
originally had sold for $750. The power supply
was another $175; the frequency entry k eypad
was another $60; and so was the "deluxe" SSB
crystal filter. The whole package was just over a
$1000, and for almost everybody, it just didn't
add up. Not when compared to rigs from Kenwood, Yeasu, and others . And comparing was
what everyone was doing.
By th e time the SS-9000 hit the catalog in
19 82 it was crystal clear to everyone Heath
could no longer sta nd up to off-shore competition. There was some talk of having the SS-9000
and HW-5400 built overseas. Engineers made
several trips to Korea to meet with manufacturH E A.TH KIT

~ ~t§f@Siifi*F@

HISTORY OF

ers and explore this idea, but nothing came of it.
Meanwhile Icom , Kenwood, and Yeasu were
putting new products on the market at the rate
of almost one a month, and by the middle of
1982, Heath's Amateur group essentially caved
in under the under the now crushing weight of
foreign competition. The SS-9000 and the
HW-5400 were to be the la st big products.
Another factor contributing to the demise of the
Amateur group was the layoffs of 1982. Until
that time, the Amateur group had really been
trying to hold things together. The layoffs were
the last straw for Joe Shafer. Drake had been
courting Joe for several years and this seemed
like a good time to make a run for it. He did. At
the same time, man agement was deciding that it
had had enough of ham radio and that it was
time to go QRT. For all intents and purposes, the
Amateur group was out of business.
The effects on the Amateur group of these layoffs are clearly visible in the products that came
out of the department after '82 . These products
were either extensions or refinements of existing
products or were r el ative ly simple in nature .
Concentration on these "downsiz ed" products was
a reflection of the increasingly limited resourc es
available to the Amateur group and Heath's
inability to compete in other product areas.
The "little brown box" series, which began to
appear in 1985, provides the best example of a
company struggling to maintain a presence in
amateur radio. The little brown box series was a
group of accessory products that did not require
any sophisticated or innovative engineering and
which could be marketed very inexpensively.
The group encompasses mo st of the hi gh
four-digit "HD" series of products and includes
the HD-1418 Active Audio Filter, the HD-1 420
VLF Receiving Converter, the HD-1422 Antenna
Noise Bridge, the HD-1424 Active Antenna , and
several others. There was at least one gem in
this otherwise unremarkable series of products:
the extraordinary HD-8999 "UltraPro" CW keyboard . This microprocessor-based keyboard featured memories, practice sessions, a type-ahead
buffer, built-in side-tone, complete control of all
operating parameters, and the ability to key any
transmitter ever made .
But products like these are not enough to
make a living on. Especially when your parent
company couldn't care less about them.
The end did not come quickly. No one came in
one day and said "That's it. No more ham products."
Instead, the Amateur group s lowly withered
away. As budget cuts continued, people once

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

THE

HEATH

COJ:\l.l:PANY

working for the Amateur group were transferred
to other areas, laid off, or replaced by marketing
types. By 1984 only a handful of people were left
in the Amateur group and they were not designing amateur products. They worked on products
like electronic Christmas ornaments, light dimmers, and motor speed controls.
By 1985 all new amateur product d evelopment had ceased. Only a few products were
relea sed after '85 and all of them had been
developed earlier. The budget cuts, transfers,
and layoffs continued, and although a numb er of
ham products lingered in the catalog, by 1986 the
Heath company we once knew and loved was gone .
During the late 80s and early 90s Heath made
a few more attempts in amateur radio by striking deals with other companies to make equipment using the Heath nam e. Heath went to
Ameritron and came back with the SB-1000 linear amplifier. It went to Standard for HTs, to
Yeasu (ironic, isn't it?) for a transceiver (the
SB-1400), and to Telex for a rotator. With the
exception of the SB-1000 , Heath made very little
money with this strategy, and the concept was
abandonedinshortorde~

Ultimately, the splitting up of Zenith itself,
and its s ubsequent sale to Group Bull, a French
conglomerate, left Heath directionles s and in
disarray. Bull had no interest at a ll in Heath
and immediately put the company on the block.
Heath experimented with the home security
market for a while, acting as a reseller for products designed and built off-shore. It was a
short-lived exercise. It also began to experiment
with home-study products, selling educational
videos and workbooks on subjects related to
electronics and computers. This market proved
more profitable and Heath continues to expand
into the home study market.
Group Bull was finally successful in selling
Heath in February 1995. As of this writing little
is known about the buyers-said to be a group of
investors from Florida-or their intentions for
the company. It appears as though as least one
more chapter of Heath's history awaits writing.
( V ) WHAT HAPPENED TO HEATH?

People often attribute Heath's difficulties to off-shore competition in
the early '8 0s . To be sure, that was a
major factor. People also point to the
Zenith buyout and subsequent budget cuts. It is true that Zenith did not h elp matters. But the off-shore competition and Zenith
were not the causes of Heath's demise. They

HISTOR-Y

THE

HEATH

CO:D.1.IPAN"Y

served only to hasten the inevitable.
It is clear that Heath's problems really began
much earlier, in the late '60s . After 20 years of
rock solid products , things began to unravel.
This difficulty is seen first in the SB-104 and is
evident in many subsequent products. What is
less clear is why things began to unravel. I h ave
talked to many former Heath employees and I
have heard their technical explanations of what
happ ened, for example, to the SB-104, HW-20 21,
SS-9000 , and others . They cite, amo ng other
things , the cutting-edge nature of technologies
being used and the complexity of the projects
undertaken. But these explanations do not fully
account for the problems , and the turn of events
that must have begun about 1969-about the
time development of the SB-104 began. Gene
Fiebich may not h ave been able to put it into
words , but it is clear that he fe lt things changing, and that by 1973 the atmosphere h ad, for
him, b ecome intolerable.
I submit that H eath h a d difficulty coping with
the dramatic growth it experienced through the
' 60s . This high-speed growth resu lted in its
crossing a kind of threshold around 1969 , at
which point Heath began to suffer from the same
things that plague many large companies-poor
internal communication, high em ployee turn
over, corrosion of morale, and especially the loss
the "family" feeling that had serve d Heath so
well in its earlier years. The family feeling is , I
think , what Gene missed most. This kind of scenario is not unique. It is experienced by lots of
companies in their formative years. The difference for H eath is that it had to contend not only
with its own growth, but with the growth of a
rapidly changing market and the growth of a
rapidly changing technology. The combination of
the se force s, combined with the ravaging effects
of a corporate takeover, would h a ve driv en a
lesser company to spontaneous combustion. To its
credit, Heath was able to cop e, at leas t to some
extent, with all of these changes.
The inabili ty to adapt to change is a major
problem plaguing many big companies. As companies grow, there is a tendency to become mired
in bur ea ucrac y an d its attendant problem s.
Decision making b ecomes diffi cult because too
many signatures are required and/or there is too
much fear of making important decision s - no
one wants to take responsibility. By the early
' 60s , electronics technology was changing at a
rate that began to outpaced He ath 's ability to
adapt. The cycle time for bringing a kit to market had lengthened from two or three years to

IE:= ~ 'Ui&f #f HEI

more than five years because of the growing
complexity and speed of technologic change . The
cycle time was lengthening at a time when the
ability to adapt quickly was becoming more critical with each passing day. At some point technology began to cycle with an interval shorter
than the cycle time for completing a kit. The
result was that half way through development of
a given kit , Heath could find itself working on
an outmoded product.
The density of parts was also playing a roll.
As kits became more sophisticated, greater skill
was required by the builder. With the SS-9000,
H eath fina lly exceeded the average kit builder's
ability to successfully assemble a kit. Parts
quality was a problem as well . Greater numbers
of parts increas e d the chanc es of a bad part
app earing in a product too sophisticated for the
average builder to troubleshoot.
Additionally, as manufacturing proc esses
b ecame increasingly automated, the cost of
assembly-Heath 's very reason for b e ing bega n to approach zero, and the savings once
possible in kit form vanish ed. By the late '60s it
was possible to buy a fully assembled and tested
product for the same or less than the cost of a
kit. And in the end, it must be recognized that
people began to change. Heath's original customer base was getting older and the younger
generation seemed to have neither the time nor
the interest required to assemble a kit. Instant
gratification had come of age.
Wh a t happened to Heath? Th ere is no one
simple answer. It is clear that a constellation of
events a nd circumsta nces converged on Heath
and that their combined weight simply crushed
the company.
( V ) CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN?

Thomas Wolfe said it best. "You can't
go home again." The Heathkit phe nomenon was a result of the right person, in the right place , at the right
time in history, with the right idea,
for the right price. The Heathkit phenomenon
happ ene d at a tim e in history when the leisurely
pac e of technologic change permitted the
time-intensive process of kit design , and when
the economics of electronics manufacturing provided a cost-effective alternative process for the
acqui sition of electronic technology. The H eathkit phenomenon happened at a time in history
when electronics was a great deal simpler than
it is today, when it was realistica lly possible for
Joe H a m and hi s 50-watt, half-inch chisel tip
H E .AT HK I T

l8 ~ fb&&fHH+il

HISTORY OF

soldering iron to put a kit together and h ave a
good chance of being successful.
Can Heath rise again? Short answer-no.
Long answer-few businesses successfully
weather both the economic changes and the corporate shenanigans that tossed Heath around
like a three-element quad in a thunderstorm.
Even without those factors, the technologic and
social climates that allowed Heath to flower are
gone-never to return. Can anyone make a living from kits? Doubtful. Kits could figure into a
mix of products like they do for Ten-Tee and
Ramsey, for example, but no one is likely to survive very long on kits alone.
I guess all we can do is dream about the way it
was. The muffin pan full of hardware. The packing box cut to hold resistors and capacitors. The
tubes, the transformers, the terminal strips, and
the steps. Ah, the steps ...
Refer to Pictorial 5-5 and Detail 5-5A for the following steps.
( ) Connect one end of a 2-W' green wire to lug 1
(S-2)
( ) Connect a .01 µfd disc capacitor from lug 10 of

THE

HEATH

CO?>.l.l:PANY

tube socket V9 (S-2) to solder lug X (S-4)
( ) Install a metal coupling on the shaft of switch
D. Use a 6-32 x V4" screw.
( ) Connect a 20 KQ (red-black-orange) resistor
between lugs 2 (NS) and 3 (NS) of terminal strip A.

Isn't this how it worked? We rushed home
after work, ate a quick dinner (or maybe not),
headed for the shack and followed the steps. Carefully. Exactly. To the letter. We worked eagerly
but patiently. Time passed quickly. Is Jack Paar
on already? I'll be up in a few minutes, honey.
And so it has come to this . A couple of empty
Heath packing boxes in the basement and a few
red plastic nut starters in the junk box. These
are all that remain to tell the tale. These and a
few memories and the scar on my index finger
from when, during the assembly of an HW-100 , I
picked up my soldering iron from the wrong end.
There is a phrase in the back of just about
every assembly manual Heath ever wrote. A
phrase that has a very different meaning now
than it did back then. It read simply, "This completes the assembly."
Yes. I guess it does.

Most kit builders find it helpful to separate the
various parts into convenient categories. Muffin
tins or molded egg cart ons make convenient
trays for small parts. Resistors and capacitors may be placed with their lead ends inserted in the edge of a piece of corrugated
cardboard until they are needed. Values can
be written on the cardboard next to each
component. The illustration shows one method
that may be used.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

lB ~ u•&tUHE;i]

Buying and Collecting Heathkits

CV > FLEA SPEAK
Flea markets may be the best possible
way to buy and collect any kind of electronic equipment, but you have to know
the subtleties of buying and selling and
t h e protocols involved in a transaction . Usually
the best way to acquire the necessary skills is
just to get in there and get some practice. Start
with some nickel-and-dime j unk and work your
way up to the expensive stu ff. Perhaps the most
important aspect of "fleain g" is understanding
the language . F lea markets have a language all
t h eir own an d it is vital t h at you be able to speak
and understand it. It is important to be able to
interpret what the person behind the flea market table is saying about t h e equipments/he has
to sell. To mak e your task a bit easier, I have
compiled a list of a few possible answers to the
simple question "Does it work?"
ANSWER

TRANSLATION

Absolutely! . .. .................. Maybe
Yes . . ........................ . Maybe
I don 't know ... . ............... . No
No ....... . .... .. ..... . ........ No
It did the last time I plugged it in . .. . No

At the flea market.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

The point I am trying to make h ere is that
there is a risk inherent to buying anyth ing at a
fl ea market, and with Heathkits the risk is
somewhat h igh er. Heathkits were, after a ll , kits.
Someone, not t h e factory, put them togeth er, and
that person may or may n ot have had t h e skills
requ ired to do the job correctly. It is prudent,
therefore, to be a bit extra cautious with Heathkits. It would pay to inspect the piece with a
careful eye, to turn all t h e controls, to look for
evidence of modification or abuse. Th ere is a
good reason why Heathk its picked up t h e nickname "Griefkits."

CV > GET THE BOOK
Heathkits are su bject to the ravages of
time and use j u st as any oth er equipment . Contacts oxidize, caps d ry out,
PC board traces crack, and on and on.
(By the way, H eath's trou bleshooting tips said
that 90 percent of all problems can be traced to
poor solderi n g.) But u nli ke most other rigs,
H eathkits are relatively easy to troublesh oot - if
you have the manua l. I can not e m phasize
en ough the importance of having t h e manual.
Th e best situation, of cou rse , is to get the book
when you buy the product. Often as not though ,
the book has long since disappeared. Th ere are a
number of small companies offering copies of
many of Heath's manuals for a fee. Their names
and address can often be found in the classified
ad sections of the popular ham radio hobby magazines. Collectors will often make copies of their
manuals for you , usually for a couple of bucks,
sometime for free, or a return favor someday.
The Heath Company has a lso begun to advertise
copies of their manuals for sale . Their n u mber is
616.925.5899. Be prepared to wait on hold-and
on your nickel. The cost of their service varies
with the product in question. I checked the price
of a book for the AT-1 a n d for the GR-64. Both
were $25 plu s postage.

!QI

BU Y

ING

AND COLLECTING HEATH K ITS

{ V ) MODIFICATIONS
It is likely that no other amateur radio

products were subjected to more modification than were Heathkits. Over the
years, hundreds of modifications have
been published in the popular magazines. In
addition, many well -meaning hams put in all
sorts of mods of their own . Pity. One of the most
heart-breaking stories I can relate is that of the
AT-1 I spotted at a hamfest . From a distance it
appeared to be pristine. Sad l y, upon close
inspection I discovered that the rig was indeed
pristine-not a scratch to be found-except for a
pilot light added to the front panel.
For the co ll ector, of co u rse, modifications
reduce the value of the kit - no matter how
rare-to something
very close to zero. But
even if you are just
looking for an older rig
as a backup, modified
Heathkits should be
a voided . Once the
owner started deviatCan you find the AT-1
ing from the manual,
in this picture?
heaven knows what
went on. What you see on the front panel is only
t h e tip of the iceberg.
Mods do not occur only on the fro n t panel
however. The rear panel may sport extra connectors and so on, and inside t h e rig there may be
mods that are difficult or impossible to spot with
casual inspection. Regardless of your reason for
buying, Heathkits with mods (except t h ose sanctioned by the factory) shou ld be regarded as usefu l only for parts.
{ V ) UNBUILT KITS

Unbui l t kits are the Ho l y Grail for
Heath collectors. Though rare, un assembled kits can and do sh ow up at
fleas and they are not always easy to
spot . Sometimes they are disguised as just
another junk box. If you find one and bu y it, you
will be faced with a terrible decision-whether
or not to put it together. The answer is simpledon't. Rare or not, there are plenty of examples
of whatever you have found that are already
assembled. An unassembled kit, on the other
hand, is an artifact frozen in time. Unassembled
kits are finds of historical significance because
they are direct links to the past. When assemb led , the link is irretrievably broken . Unlike
assembled pieces which endure , unassembled
kits, once assembled, are lost forever. Without

IE= ~ fUfSiHHEI

them, the idea of Heath "kits" becomes a mere
abstraction.
{ V ) PRICES

Vintage radios are in many ways no different from antiques of any other kind.
Their value is h ighly subjective and
depends on many factors. How rare is
the piece? Wh at condition is it in? Does the seller know wh at s/he has? How skillful are you in
bargaining? How badly do you want it? These
are only a few of the variables that figure into
the price of any given piece . By carefully reading
the classified ads in Electric Radio, t h e Yellow
Sheets, and various other publications, you can
begin to get a sense of the h igh, low, and average
price for any given piece in a particular condition. If you intend to collect seriously you had
better do your homework. Familiarize yourself
with the market.
{V ) COLLECTING ON THE CHEAP
-~

You don't necessarily have to spend

~~§~ tons o~ money to build an impressive

collection. Try collectmg small stuff.
For example, you could collect an
entire series of rel ated products like the AM-2
and all the other products bu ilt in that same size
cabinet. Collect all the grid-dip meters, all the
VTVMs, all the substitution boxes, all the "little
brown boxes," or any of t h e dozens of small products Heath made . For a little more you could collect all the novice-class transmitters. How about
a collection of the early test equipment products
prior to the gear in gray cabinets. Those gizmos
can be had for a song-even if they are in mint
condition. Assembling a collection of Heath's
oscilloscopes could be a life-long endeavor. After
a ll they made about 60 different models. These
too can be had for next to nothing. Many pieces
of Heath hi-fi equipment can be also found inexpensively. If you really like scrounging through
junk boxes, you may enjoy collecting Heathkit
panel meters. Without trying very hard I have
managed to collect a number of these-often for
less than a dollar each. Complete collections of
very specific products or components can be as
rewarding as they are inexpensive .
{ V ) PRE-SALE CHECKLIST

The value of any piece of equipment
~ lies in the details. If you are buying via
~ the classifieds you do not have the luxury of seeing t h e equipment and must
take sellers at their word with respect to its conH E ..A...T HK I T

(@ ~ fU&iHHiiJ

B U Y ING

d i tion. It is very rare to be intentionally
deceived, but for a variety of reasons sellers may
not themselves know if what they have is in good
working order and fitted with original parts.
Bu ying at flea markets, however, is a different
matter. It is very important to carefully inspect
the unit in question before you hand over your
hard-earned money. In the excitement of finding
a Heathkit you want (especially a rare one) it is
easy to overlook a problem. When you spot, for
example, a VX-1 and your heart rate doubles,
it is possible not to see that extra toggle switch
on the front panel , or that t h e mic connector has
been replaced with a non-original. I once discovered a beautiful Mohawk at a flea market . The
unit appeared to be perfect and was priced
accordingly. Upon careful inspection however, I
observed that the main tuning knob was not
original. It had been replaced by something similar. Finding an original knob is not impossible
but could be both difficult and expensive.
Once you have your hand on a piece of equipment you have the right of first offer. No one is
going to take it away from you. Relax. Take your
time. Here is a check list you can use to make
sure you are buying a good piece of gear, Heath
or otherwise.
CHEC K FOR :

( ) Rust
( ) Dents
( ) Scratches
( ) Original knobs
( ) Extra holes in top / sides / back of cabinet
( ) Extra front panel controls / connectors
( ) Extra rear panel controls /c onnectors
( ) All connectors are ori g inal t ype
( ) Feet are present and ori gin al
( ) All paint is ori ginal
( ) All painted surfaces intact (no worn spots)

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

COLLECT IN G

HEATH K ITS

( ) Dial and front panel legends ori ginal
and intact
( ) Dial window g lass/plastic intact
( ) Meters ori g inal and not stuck
( ) Controls operate smoothly throu gh ran ges
( ) Slide rule dial pointers operate smoothly
over entire length
( ) Dial drums not cracked
( ) Fuses present and not burned out
( ) Wi rin g is neat
{ ) Solderin g is expert
{ ) All tubes present and intact
( ) Evidence of internal modifications
{ ) Chassis corrosion
{ ) Battery corrosion {where app l icable)
( ) Evidence of overheated/burned components
( ) Assembly and / or operatin g manual present

These steps represent that fabled "ounce of
prevention." And given the weight of the average
"boat anchor," they may be worth much more
than the fabled "pound of cure. "
There is a great deal more that could be said
about collecting, restoring, and using vintage
radio equipment-most of it well beyond the
scope of this book . The potential collector has a
great deal to learn and there are many good
sources to learn from. Hamfests offer an opportunity not only to collect, but also to connect
with collectors, most of whom are only too happy
to share their knowledge and experiences. Users
of the Internet have access to a wealth of information about vintage radios. In addition to the
Usenet newsgroups such as REC.RADIO.SWAP
there is a listserve dedicated to the discussion of
vintage radios. To subscribe send a post to
"boatanchors@gnu.ai .mit.edu".
Owning and using vintages radios is a great
joy I hope many people will experience, and the
fraternity of collecting has many rewards.

~ ~ 1i'¥Si§'HfiJ

A Guide to the
Amateur Radio Products

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

.A.C-1

r@ ~'if i&iHH+iJ

it-10
make it comfortable to use, and made about as
much noise as a Vibroplex semi-automatic. Nevertheless, it was on the market for nine years,
and Heath sold tens of thousands of HD-10 keyers, so the model must have seemed like a good
idea at the time. The HD-10 is a simple device
and employs a pair of microswitches on either
side of the paddle arm. Moving the paddle back
and forth clicked the switches-simple as that.
It is not an iambic device. The unit uses 11 transistors and has a built-in transformer operated
solid-state power supply. It features a built-in
sidetone speaker and has controls for sidetone
volume, speed , and weighting. There is also a
"hold" switch for tuning. During assembly, the
builder could choose one of two speed ranges10-20 WPM or 15-60 WPM. The keyer can also
be wired for left-hand operation. The HD-10 is
for use only with transmitters using grid-block
keying. Keying output: keyed line to ground.
Polarity: negative to ground only. Maximum
open circuit or spike voltage: 105 volts. Keyclosed current: 35 ma maximum. Connections on
rear panel include the keyed line, receiver
audio, 45 volts battery input, 22.5 volts battery
input, and external key/paddle input. The HD10 is designed for 120 VAC , 50/6 0 Hz , or from a
battery supply-45 volts with tap at 22.5 volts,
14 ma. The unit is finished in two-tone green
wrinkle paint. HD-lOs are not rare and show up
at flea markets on a regular basis - often with
problems.

Electronic Keyer

Weight/Size: 6 lbs; 3.75" wide x 4.5" high x
10.5" deep
Related Products: HD-1410, SA-5010(A), HD-8999

Manufactured: 65-74
Price: $39.95
Comments: The HD-10 was Heath's first keyer
and the first keyer kit on the market. While it
sold extremely well, it was, in retrospect, not a
very good design. It lacked adjustability once
assembled, had a poor dot/ dash weighting
scheme, had way too much paddle travel to

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

:H:D-11

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Q MULTIPLIER
MOO I L

HD ~ 11

Q Multiplier
Manufactured: 61 - 64
Price: $14.95
Comments: The HD -11 is essentially the same QMulitplier as the older QF-1 but with the addition of a built -in power supply, a pilot light, and
the classic Heath two -tone green paint scheme.
For additional details and specifications , see
listing under QF-1. Also see listing under GD125-the product into which the HD-11 would
eventually evolve-still the same basic de sign .
We ight / Size: 3 lbs ; 7.25" wide x 4.75" hi gh x 4.25"
deep
Related Products: QF-1 , GD-125

H E .AT HK IT

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Phone Patch
Manufactured: 66-83
Price : $24.95
Comments: This is a just a restyling of t h e
famous HD-19 pho n e patch and was done to
bring t h e unit into line cosmetically with the SB
series . E lectronically the HD-19 and the HD-15
are virtually the same device . Other than the
cabinet change to Heath's "low boy" style, the
most obvious change is that the station mic does
not conn ect to the phone patch, as in the HD -19.
Instead, the mic is connected to the transceiver
in the normal way, and the patch connects to
jacks provided on the back of the SB series
transmitters and transceivers. For additional
details and specifications, see listing under HD-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

:H:D-15

19. The HD -15 is a simple device and works very
well. Th ere is very little to go wrong. It is easy to
install, adjust, and use . The H D- 15 was a very
successful product and was on t h e market for 17
years. It was replaced by the H D-1515-becoming part of Heath's "little brown box" series. H D15s are not rare and frequently are seen at fl ea
markets. Two-tone green wrinkle .
Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 9.25" wide x 2.5" high x
3.5" deep
Related Products: HD-19 , HD-1515

:H:D-16

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unit is in good shape,
the battery holders can
be replaced. The HD -16
was originally supplied with a key, but the key is
seldom found with the units today. While thousands were sold , HD-16s show up at flea markets much less often than one might suspect.

Code Practice Oscillator
Manufactured: 67-74
Price: $8.95
Comments: The HD-16 is a real classic and a battleship of a CPO . Heath must have thought it
would be subjected to some abuse by frustrated
would-be novices trying to learn the code, so it
over-designed the HD -16 in every way. Today the
metal cabinet would be worth more than $20 all
by itself. The HD-16 featured separate volume
and tone controls, a built-in speaker, key jack,
and headphone jack. Heath-apparently not
wanting to miss the scouting merit badge market-even built in a light that could be flashed.
The HD-16 replaced the older C0-1, uses a unijunction transistor, and is powered by two 9 volt
transistor batteries and one "C" cell for the
light. Eventually reality (and economics) caught
up with Heath and the HD-16 was replaced with
the plastic-cased HD-1416(A) (see listing). Too
bad. The HD-16 is finished in classic SB twotone green wrinkle paint. Be sure to check for
battery damage - but don't necessarily let it stop
you from buying. Assuming the outside of the

Wei ght/Size: 3 lbs ; 4.75" wide x 4" hi gh x 4.25" deep
Related Products: C0-1 , HD-1416(A)

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:H:D-19

Phone Patch
Manufactured: 60-65
Price: $34.95
Comments: The HD-1 9 was Heath's first phone
patch. It uses a special hybrid transformer to
achieve very high isolation between the receiving and transmitting lines . The HD-19 allows
both VOX and manual operation and is placed in
operation by a single switch. The HD-19 fea tures separa te controls for transmit gain,
receive gain, and patch on/off. A VU meter provides levels and permits a convenient check for
null depth . The patch is designed to operate
with a standard telephone line impedance of 600
ohms, and provides a null depth of 30 db minim um between receive and transmit lines .
Receiver impedance : 3-16 ohms . Transmitter
impedance: 600 ohm or high impedance output.
Eventually Heath redesigned the HD-19 to

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

bring it in line with the SB series, rereleasing it
as the HD-15. This was pretty much a matter of
cosmetics, as the insides didn't change much at
all. The HD-19 has a green front panel and a
light green or gray cabinet. The panel meter is
most often seen with a yellowish face, though
white-faced meters have been observed. Rare.
Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 7.25" wide x 4. 75" high x
4.25" deep
Related Products: HD-15, HD-1515.

HD-80

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Crystal Calibrator
Manufactured: 60-67
Price: $14.95
Comments: $14.95 was a lot of money in 1960,
but the HD -20 sold very well. Inside this little
box are a 100 kHz crystal, a single transistor
oscillator, and a 9 volt battery. The HD-10 puts
out accurate markers from 100 kHz to more than
54 MHz and calibrates to WWV with a small
trimmer on the back. Many of these have been
user modified for external power. The binding
post cap originally was red and early units were
fitted with metal TX-1- style knobs. Later models
used a small gray plastic knob of the style sh own
on the AC-1 elsewhere in this book . Be sure to
check for battery damage (th e b ack is open). Finished in two-tone green Rare.
Weight/Size: 1 lb; 2.5" wide x 4.25" high x
2.75" deep
Related Products: PM-2

El .AT HK IT

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Electronic Keyer
Manufactured: 75-84
Price: $59.95
Comments: Unlike its predecessor, the HD-10,
t h e HD -1 410 is a very nice keyer and features
self-completing, iambic operation . The keyer's
mecha n ical action i s eas il y a djuste d (from
inside) and has a nice action becau se it u ses contactors, not microswitches . The 1410 is fu lly
soli d state and can be wired for one of two speed
ran ges (from under 10 to over 35 WPM or under
10 to over 60 WPM), as well as right- or lefthand operation . The dot/dash weighting is good
bu t is not adjustable . The front panel includes a
pilot light and controls for on/off/volume and
speed. The speed control pu lls ou t to provide a
"tu ne" mode . Features include a built -in 120
VAC power supply, a built -in speaker, and
adjustab l e sidetone freq u ency (inside ). T h e
keyer provides negative and positive l ine to
ground keying. Positive line to ground keying is

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Hil-1410

300 volts 200 ma maxim u m. Negative line to
ground is 200 volts 10 ma maximum. Rear panel
connections in clude 12 VDC power in, keyer ou t,
h eadphones, r eceiver audio in (routed to headph ones) , and external key (straight key, not paddl e). Designed for 120 VAC, 50-60 Hz or 10-14.5
V D C 150 ma operation. The t wo-tone green
wrinkle cabin et is nicely weighted for mechan ical stability. The HD- 1410 was t h e most popul ar
of Heath's keyers a n d argu ably one of the most
popular keyer s ever made by a n yone. They are
frequently seen at swap meets a n d many of t h em
are are still on t h e air.
Wei ght/Size: 5 lbs ; 5" wide x 3" high x 7.5" deep
Related Products: HD-10 , HD-8999 , SA-5010{A}

:H::0-1416(A.)(:H:)

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Code Practice Oscillator
Manufactured/Price:
HD-1416 75-86 $24.95
HD-1416A 87-88 $24.95
HD-1416H 88-91 $24.95
Comments: Compare the H D-14 16 to its predecessor the H D -16 (see listing) and you will be
astonish ed to find t h at the last year it was sold ,
t h e H D- 1416-a simple three transistor CPO in
a tiny plastic box-cost about t h ree times what
t h e H D -16 di d . Now that's economics for you.
Th e HD -1 4 16 features a built-in speaker, vol u me control, tone control (on back), headphone
jack, a nd binding posts for the key (included). It
also coul d be used as a sideto n e oscill ator for
transmitters using grid-block keying (400 volts
negative maximum ), though it is doubtful t h at
many were ever used in t h is way. The HD -1416
operates from a single 9 volt battery. The original 1416 had a gray cabinet an d a green front
panel. The only differences in the versions are a
new style knob and the color. The original is
green, the A is brown, and t h e H is black.

Weight/Size: 2 lbs; 4.25 " wide x 2.5 " high x
4.25" deep
Related Products: C0-1 , HD-16 , HD-1426

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Active Audio Filter
Manufactu re d: 83-91
Price : $49 .95
Comments: One of the first in the "little brown
box" series, the HD-1418 is a very useful gizmo
that works quite well. Just plug it in between
your receiver audio output and your speaker and
filter out QRM. The 1418 features 12 total poles
of filtering that can be combined in various ways
to make better copy out of closely packed AM,
SSB, or CW signals. The 1418 features separate
high and low pass filters that are a 5-pole tunable elliptical type with a 300-3500 Hz range at 6 db . The notch/peak fi lter is a 2-pole tunable
type creating a notch as narrow as 200 hertz and
as deep as 30 dB . Input impedance is Hi-Z, 5000
ohm minimum. Nominal gain is unity. The audio
amplifier output is 1 watt into 4 ohms.
Input/output connections are RCA phono jacks.
"Tape out" is at -20 dB. Note that the headphone

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HD-1418

jack is a mono connector and that you'll have to
u se an adapter if you use stereo phones. When
the HD - 1418 is switched off, signals are
bypassed around it. The HD -1418 u ses 22 common ICs a nd requires 7-13.5 VAC or 9-18 VDC at
400 ma maximum. The unit is designed for standard "power cube" operation and is enclosed in a
brown cabinet. Lots of these are still in service.
Medium rare.
Wei ght/Size: 3 lbs ; 9" wide x 2" high x 6.5" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

:E-3::0-1480

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ence. The unit works
quite well but a good
antenna is essential and a vertical one is best, followed by a long random wire . WARNING: If you u se the HD-1420
with a transceiver of any kind be sure to remove
the converter from the RF line before transmitting . Failure to do so will result in destruction of
the converter. The 1420 u ses one I C and two
transistors and runs on one 9 volt transistor battery, or 6-14 VDC at 20 ma, an d is enclosed in a
brown cabinet. Medium rare.

VLF Receiving Converter
Manufactured: 85-91
Price: $49.95
Comments: The HD-1 420 is another "little brown
box" product. Connected between your antenna
and receiver, the HD-1420 lets you tune in VLF
signals between 10 and 500 kHz. These signals
are fed from the converter to your receiver and
appear between 35 10 and 4000 kHz. The actu al
frequency of the VLF station being received is
t h e di a l frequency shown on your receiver minus
35 00 kHz . The HD-1420 is about as simpl e a
device as one could ask fo r. There is no align ment or tuning to be done . The front p anel contains only a pilot light and a single control-the
on/off switch . Just connect the box and turn it
on. Rear pan e l connection s include only the
power connector and two S0-239s (input from
antenna and output to receiver). When unit is
switched off, signals are byp assed around it. A
few tips on use: Any long wire antenna will clothe lon ger the better. Also , be s ur e to use a
shielded cable between the converter a nd your
receiver. This will cut down on 80 meter interfer-

Weight/Size: 1 lb; 5" wide x 2.25" high x 5" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

H E A.TH K I T

:a::o-14aa CAJ

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range: 0 -200 ohms.
Capacitance range :
plus or minus 60 pF.
Operating range : 1-30 MHz. Front pane l
includes power on/off and pilot light and contro l s for resista n ce and reactance. The rear
panel ha s two 80 -239 connectors (marked
"unknown" and "receiver"), a ground lug, and a
standard DC external power connector. The unit
can be calibrated using your station receiver.
T he H D -1422 is designed to run on one 9-volt
battery or 9- 11 VD C at 45 ma external power. As
far as I can determine, there is no difference
between the 1422 and the 1422A. Enclosed in a
brown cabinet. You don't see many of the se since
not too many were sol d and most people who
bou ght them still u se them .

Antenna Noise Bridge
Manufactured / Price:
HD-1422 85-89 $49.95
HD-1422A 89-91 $49.95
Comments: The HD -1422 Antenna Noise Bridge
is a very u seful, though little understood, gizmo.
Valuable for the serious antenna experimenter,
it may be of little interest to the average "appliance operator," and Heath probably didn't sell
many of these. Unlike an SWR bridge , which
tells you h ow well an antenna is matched to your
transmitter, a noise bridge t e lls you what is
causing any mismatch. The HD -1422 is a tonemodulated, broadband noi se generator coupled
to an impedance bridge. Using your station
receiver, the impedance bridge measures the
resistive and reactive components of your antenna. The 1422 may also be used to pre-tune an
antenna tuner, to tune quarter wave transmission lines, a nd to find the value of unknown
capacitors and inductors. All in all, a handy
de vice - for the serious HF antenna person.
Having t h e instruction book would be very helpful in learning to u se t h e HD-1422. Resistance

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 2 lbs ; 5" wide x 2.25" high x 5" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

HI:>-1484 (.A)

Active Antenna
Manufactured/Price:
HD-1424 85-89 $49.95
HD-1424A 89-91 $59.95
Comments: Essentially an antenna pre-amplifier, the HD-1424 can be used with very short wire
antennas (only a few feet long) or its own tele scoping antenna to provide good reception of signals between 300 kHz and 30 MHz . It also can be
used as a pre-selector and pre-amplifier for both
indoor and outdoor antennas. The 1424 uses a
simple three -transistor circuit. The front panel
includes a pilot light and controls for power
on/off, gain, band , and tuning. The rear panel
has two S0-239s (input for antenna and output
to receiver) and a standard DC power connector.
The telescoping antenna connects to a terminal
on the rear panel. Tip: Don't run the gain too
high or receiver overloading may occur. Also,

oscillations may occur if gain is run too high .
This is especially a problem when used with
receivers having plastic cases. The unit is
designed to run from a single 9 volt battery or 614 VDC external power. The HD-1424 is a useful
accessory for the SWL and works very well . As
far as I can determine, there is no difference
between 1424 and the 1424A. Enclosed in a brown
cabinet. Fairly common.
Wei ght/ Si ze: 2 lbs; 5" wide x 2.25" hi gh x 5" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

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HD-1486

Field Strength Meter
Manufactured: 77-80
Price: $12.95
Comments: Until Heath released the HD-1426 , it
hadn't had a field strength meter in its product
line since the PM-2 in 1967. The HD-1426 is a
simple self-powered accessory useful in transmitter and antenna adjustments. It features a
built-in printed circuit antenna, a binding post
for a whip antenna, and a sensitivity control. Its
useful frequency range is 1.8-250 MHz and it is
designed for transmitter outputs from 1 to 1000
watts . The HD-1426 was a short-lived product,
and Heath probably didn't sell very many. Cabinet is gray; front panel is green . Rare.
Weight/Size: 2 lbs; 4.25" wide x 2.5" high x
4.25" deep
Related Products: PM-1, PM-2, HD-1416

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

:H:D-1481

Antenna Switch
Manufactured: 84-91
Price: $89 .95
Comments: The HD- 1481 replaced the SA-1480
(see listing), but for a brief time these two products were on the market together. Like the SA1480 , the HD-1481 is a device for the remote
switching of antennas sharing a common feedline to the shack. Unlike the SA-1480, the HD 1481 control unit (which contains the power supply) uses the station RF coaxial cable to route
switching signals to the relay switch box mounted on the tower, or wherever. The 1481 can select
up to four antennas. The switch will handle up
to 2000 watts PEP with a VSWR of 1.15 :1 or less

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below 30 MHz. CAUTION: A VSWR higher than
about 3:1 (even momentarily) can damage the
control unit. The 1481 is designed for 120 VAC,
50160 Hz operation and is enclosed in a brown
cabinet. The units are medium rare and still are
very much in demand .
Weight / Size: 5 lbs; control unit 5" wide x 2.25" high
x 5" deep
Related Products: SA-1480 , Little Brown Box series

H E .AT HK IT

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Phone Patch
Manufactured: 85-87
Price : $49.95
Comments: The HD-1515 is a fully solid-state
device that utilizes an integrated active speech
and transmission circuit. Direct connection to
the phone line is made possible through a built in active low voltage polarity-protection interface circuit. The HD-1515 derives its power
directly from the phone line but may be battery
operated with phone lines exhibiting low voltage
conditions. Special speech tra nsmis sion circuits
re place the conventional hybrid transformer and
perform the 4-wire to 2-wire radio-to-phone line
conversion. Front panel controls include power
on/off, transmit gain, and receive gain. Connection to phone line is m a de via a standard modular connector on r ear panel. The re ar panel also
provides access to line null controls. Features
include an 8-pole filter, PTT or VOX operation,
and a built-in d etector circuit for adj u stme nt
with a VTVM or VOM. Telephone loop input

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HIJ-1515

impedance: 600 ohms , polarity protected.
Receiver output to phone line: not to exceed -9
dBm (278 m V). Transmitter output to radio: 25
m V into a 22 k ohm load at 1000 hertz. Receiver
input impedance: 3-50 ohms. The 1515 is powered by phone line or internal 9 volt battery.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT install a battery unless
it is needed. The HD -1515 works well enough
but is a good example that more technology is
not always better. Brown in color. Not a big seller. Not seen very often.
Wei ght/Size: 2 lbs; 5. 75" wide x 1. 75" hi gh x
3.75" deep
Rel ated Products: HD-15 , HD-19 ,
Little Brown Bo x series

HD-1580

Touch-Tone Decoder
Manufactured: 85-90
Price: $79.95
Comments: The HD-1530 was a nice idea, but it
didn't do very much and it was relatively expensive . Basically, the HD-1530 connects between
your receiver audio output and a speaker. It
then keeps the speaker muted until it hears the
correct Touch-Tone code -your basic tone -calling scheme. The HD -1530 a lso can provide a contact closure for singl e functio n contro l of a
repeate r or autopatch (or anything else for that
matter) upon receipt of the right code. The operative phrase here is "single function." You have
to have an H D-1530 for each function you want

rE= ~ fH?df§fHEI

to control. The on l y
front panel control is
t h e on/off push button .
Three front panel LEDs indicate power on/off,
receipt of tone, and device on/off. A user programmable two-digit Touch-Tone sequence toggles the unit on and off. The 1530 can be set to
turn off the device automatically under control
after 8 minutes. It uses 7 .5 -11 VAC or 11-16
VDC. Enclosed in a brown cabinet. Rare.
Weight/Size: 2 lbs; T' wide x 2.25" high x 5" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

El AT HK IT

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Antenna Rotator
"IntelliRotor"
Manufactured: 90-92
Price: $279 .95 (excluding rotator motor and cable)
Comments: Available in kit or assembl ed form,
the H D- 1780 is compatible with many popular
rotators including a ll Ham-M (series 3,4,5 and
6), Ham-II , Ham-III, Ham-IV, CDE, TR-44, CD 45 (series 2), and M2. The QWERTY keyboard
lets yo u swing the antenna based on entry of
callsign prefix, grid squ are, latitude an d longitude, bearing in degrees, or first few letters of
the country. T h e unit has a ROM database of 400
countries and a llows you to ad d 10 headings of
you r own. The 1780 also can be connected to and
controlled by your PC (with supplied software)
and can report headings in 20 WPM morse for
visually impair ed users. Features include motor
pulsing, automatic brakes, and initial back-rotation to protect brakes from locking due to wind
loading. A speci al 120 VAC power supply module
connects via cable; specifications are not avail-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HD-1780

able. Made off-shore and designed by H eath for
Telex as on OEM product. Make sure you get the
instruction book. Also, if you want to control it
with a PC, you must have the software . Caution:
The HD -1780 is a nice gizmo, but if it ever goes
down, chances of getting it fixed are remote.
Rare.
Weight/Size: 6 lbs - dimensions not available
Related Products: none

:B:I:>-SOOS

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almost any interface or
terminal unit with a
scope output for tun ing. Input level threshold : .3 volts RMS AC or .5
volts DC. Maximum input: 15 volts RMS AC or
15 volts DC. Each axis requires about 14 dB no signal-to -signal voltage ratio (5:1) for full width
display. Runs on 8 -16 vo l ts AC /DC. Brown.
Medium rare .

RI I VTuning Indicator
"Crossfire"
Manufactured: 84-86
Price: $59.95
Comments: The HD-3006 was on the market only
two years. The idea was to replace the oscilloscope - the t r aditiona l means of tuning in a
RTTY signal-with a tiny, low cost, solid-state
device. The HD -3006 uses 16 LEDs to indicate
correct tuning. Eight vertical LEDs indicate
mark strength, and 8 horizontal indicate space
strength . Just tune t h e receiver for maximum
vertical and horizontal display. The unit has a
wide voltage range and is compatib l e wit h

Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 5" wide x 3.25" high x 4" deep
Related Products: Little Brown Box series

El .AT HK IT

H:O-SOSO

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sh ifts). P reselect filters
for 170 hertz is optional. An optional 425/850
H z filter/shift board provides a 425 or 850 shift,
but not both. This option is chosen during
assembly. Rear panel connection s include a loop
j ack input (100 VDC @ 20 or 60 ma), 25-pin DB25 I/O connector for TTL and RS-232C computers, terminal and printers, 120 VAC 340 watt
autostart outlet, and ground post. There also are
provisions for scope tuning output. Th e CW
demodulator center freq u ency is 750 Hz . -3 dB
bandwidth is 70 Hz. -20 dB bandwidth is 240 Hz.
Without the manual, you could be sorry. Brown.
M edium rare .

RI I VTerminal Interface
Manufactured: 84-87
Price: $249.95
Comments: The HD-3030 can send a nd receive
ASCII and Baudot RTTY, as well as CW, and is
designed with eight plug-in PC boards and a
mothe r bo ar d. F eatur es include 6-pole active
pre-select filtering , data rates up to 300 baud ,
TTL and RS-232C I/O, a nd a built-in 20/60 ma
loop supply for old-style terminals. Also features
crystal controlled AFSK generator, capability for
full FSK with equipped transmitt ers, and true
mark/space det ecti on . An autostart function
energizes an AC receptacle on rear panel. The
front panel h as LEDs for power, se nd, RDA ,
mark, and space and a 10-segment bargraph
t uning indicator. Front panel controls include
flag-type pushbuttons for power, operate/standby, se nd / receive, CW/ RTT Y, send / rece i ve
(reverse shift), preselect/bypass, and 170 , 425 ,
and 850 hertz (independent and interlo ckable

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 8 lbs; 7.5" wide x 3" high 10" deep
Related Products: HD-3006, Little Brown Box series

:H:IJ-4040

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pletely bypass the
internal modem for
faster baud rates.
Operating commands can be stored in nonvolatile RAM -128 4-bit l ocations. Protocols :
AX.25 and VADCG. Operating modes: command,
conversation, a nd transparent. The HD -4040
came with both an assembly manual and a user
manual. It would be very h andy to h ave them
both. 120 VAC 50/60 hertz. Brown. Rare .

Terminal Node Controller
Manufactured: 85-87
Price: $199 .95
Comments: The HD-4040 was Heath's first packet product. It has most of the feat ures one would
expect in a TNC, including a mailbox, a beacon
mode, and a repeater mode. Features include
32K of ROM as 4 x 2764 and SK of RAM as 1 x
6264 expandable from 2K to 16K RAM or ROM
an d RS-232C interface baud rates from 50 to
4800 (optional to 19,200). A parallel port provides controller channel and command channel ,
diagnostic sign al port, and a PROM programmer
port. The modem input i s filtered prior to
demodulation an d the filter consta nt can be
changed by a plug-in header. Modulator is 1200
baud. An external modem can plug in to com-

100

Weight/Size: 5lbs;13.75" wide x 2.5" high x
7.75" deep
Related Products: HDA-4040-1 , HK-232

H E AT HK IT

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CW Keyboard
"UltraPro"
Manufactured : 83-88
Price: $249.95

Comments: The UltraPro is a microprocessor
based CW keyboard that was very popular and is
still highly sought after. It is built largely on two
PC boards and is a really fun toy-absolutely
loaded with features. It has a professional quality, pre-assembled, full-stroke keyboard with key
legends that won't wear off. There are 10 variable length text storage buffers (which can be
linked together for added flexibility), a 64 character type-ahead buffer with a 3-color LED monitor, and a 4-digit LED display to indicate opera ting parameters, all of which are selectable
from the keyboard . Three different 4-level code
practice modes will send random length or 5charactor groups wit h 3,000 characters sent

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HI:l-8999

before the sequence repeats. The UltraPro also
has a built-in sidetone oscillator and speaker.
There also is a self-diagnostic function : if a chip
fails, the chip number will light up on the dis play. This function a lso is used during initial
testing. The HD-8999 uses CMOS memory with
battery backup to save buffer text. Speed range
is 1-99 WPM in 1 WPM steps with selectable
weighting . The 8999 also features auto serial
numbering from 1-9999. Total text buffer capacity is 495 characters. About the only complaint
heard is that the prosign AA is missing. Keyer
output is +25 volts @ 100 ma, and -200 vo lts @ 40
ma. Power requiremen ts are 7.5-11 VAC or 11-16
VDC @ 450 ma maximum. The HD-8999 is a real
gem. Very rare.
Wei ght/Size: 7 lbs ; 15.5" wide x 3" high x 8" deep
Related Products: HD-10 , HD-1410 , SA-5010(A)

101

:H:G-10 CB)

External VFO
Manufactured/Price:
HG-10
61-66 $37.95
HG-108 67-76 $37.95
Comments: The HG-1 0 was released in 1961 j u st
a few month s after the DX-60 (see listing).
Designed as a match ing accessory for t h e DX-60,
t h e HG-10 is calibrated to cover 80-2 meters but
will provide drive on 220 MHz and 440 MHz as
well. T h e HG-10 and lOB are two tube units
using a series-tune d Clapp oscillator (a variety
of Col pitts) and a cathode -fo ll ower isolation
stage, and will provide 5 volts RMS output (to an
open circuit). The H G-10 is designed for trans mitters using grid-block keying (like the DX-60
series) and most transmitters using cathode
keying (like the DX-40). Load impedance: 50,000
ohms or high er. Output frequency: 3.5 t o 4 MH z,
7 to 7.425 MHz, and 8 to 9 MHz. Features
include a 28: 1 dial drive turns ratio, a "s pot"
switch for off-the-a ir tuning, and an illuminat ed
d i a l window . Front pane l controls incl u de
off/ spot/ operate, freque n cy, a n d band. Rear
panel connections include an RCA phono RF out-

102

E~ fff WiUH+iJ

put jack, a 1/4 inch jack for a key, and a cable for
B + and filament power. Power requirements:
108 VDC at 25 ma and 6.3 VAC or DC at .74 ma.
The H G-lO(B) can derive its power directly frnm
the DX-60, 60A and 60B, and the HW-16. CAUTION: Most HG- l Os yo u find wi ll have been
wired specifically for the DX-60 , et al; however,
it is possible for it to have been u sed with other
transmitters as well . Before you plug it in, make
sure you know where it's been. The manua l
details changes that are needed to make it work
with non -Heath transmitters . Differe n ces
between HG-10 and the lO B (there was no Aversion) are purely cosmetic . For example both versions are two -tone green, but the smooth finish
of the 10 was repl aced with a wrinkle finis h on
the lOB. And on t h e B version the knobs are a
darker shade of green. The HG-10 and lOB are
common, t u rning u p at flea markets with great
regu l arity, though B versions are seen more
often .
Weight/Size: 12 lbs; 9.5" wide x 6.5" high x
9.25" deep
Related Products: DX-60(A)(B), HW-16

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connectors for interchangeable H F /VHF
operation , an 8-pole
bandpass filter fo llowed by a limiter discriminator with automatic threshold correction, and a
built-in front-panel LE D bar-graph tuning indicator. An answer -back memory permits auto
answer in both Packet and RTTY. No data is
available on t h e differences between the 232 and
the 232A, although it is likely there are no differences. Power requ irements: 12 VDC at 750
ma. Gray. Medium rare.

Terminal Node Controller
Manufactured / Price:
HK-232 87-88 $279.95
HK-232A 88-91 $279.95
Comments: Released in the fall of 1987, this was
an maj or overhaul of the H D-4040. The H K-232
is a multimode TNC providing for HF and VHF
packet, RTTY, CW, AMTOR, and WEFAX. It supports H F packet rates to 300 baud an d VHF
packet to 9600 baud, a l though rates beyond
1200 b aud require a n externa l modem. The
TNC-t o-compu ter baud rate can be as h igh as
9600 baud and the CW speed range is from 5-99
WPM . T h e 232 supports a ll common Baudot
RTTY and ASC II rates. A special "SIGNAL" command causes t h e HK-232 to determine t h e mode
being received and will preset the baud rate and
mode . It a lso will invert the signal if required .
Lots of front panel LED s dis play t h e current
operating mode and system status. Features
include two independen t, selectable rear-panel

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 5 lbs; 8.25" wide x 2.5" high x ff' deep
Related Products : HD-4040

103

HL...-aaoo

lF~ fH&iHH+I

meter for plate current. Rear panel con nections include phono
type connectors for antenna relay and ALC, S0239s for RF input and output, and a ground post.
Power requirements: 120 VAC , 50/60 hertz at 20
amps maximum , or 240 VAC, 50/6 0 hertz at 10
amps maximum. The unit is protected by two 10amp breakers. The 2200 is housed in a brown
cabinet. Although it was as reliable as its predecessor, the HL-2200 was met with the scowls of
hams who viewed it as something of a rip -off. It
lasted only a year and a half. The HL-2200 was
the last true Heath HF amplifier - the SB-1000
(see listing) was not des igned by Heath. Heath
never sold very many 2200s, and because of its
short production life , it is not seen very often.

4 Band HF Linear Amplifier
Manufactured: 83-84
Price: $849 .95
Comments: In the spring of 1983 the venerable
SB -221 (see listing ) was replaced by the HL2200-the last of the genuine Heath amplifiers.
With almost no added features the 2200 was
basically an SB-221 in a cabinet designed to
match the ill fated SS-9000 and the HW-5400
(see listings). The price tag may have been the
most substantial change-the HL-2200 cost
$250 more than the SB-221. Like the 221, the
2200 uses a pair of 3-500Z finals and covers 80,
40 , 20, and 15 meters. The 2200 requires 100
watts of drive and has a duty cycle of 100 percent for SSE and CW and 50 percent for RTTY
(maximum of 10 minutes key down or RTTY
transmit time). The HL-220 will tolerate an
SWR of 2: 1 or less and has an input/output
impedance of 50 ohms (unbalanced). Front panel
controls include tune, load, band, amplifier
in/out, meter function , power, and CW/SSB. The
multi-function meter reads grid current, relative power, and high voltage. There is a separate

104

Wei ght/Size: 68 lbs ; 15" wide x 8.25" hi gh x
14.5" deep
Related Products : SB-220 , SB-221

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:H:M-9

QRP Wattmeter
Manufactured: 83-91
Price: $49.95
Comments: T h e HM -9 is another product
designed for the QRP and VHF markets. It is a
50 watt power meter and SWR bridge t h at can
be wired for one of three frequency ranges: 1.830 MHz, 50-54 MHz, or 144-148 MHz . Th e range
is chosen during construction. It is built on a
singl e PC board and features two ranges: 0-5
watts and 0-50 watts. Accuracy is plus or minus
10 percent of full-scale reading. The SWR sensitivity is less than 1.5 watts and the unit is fitted
with 80-239 connectors . The HM-9's broad frequency range made it very popular, and when
H eath closed them out in 1991 , they practically
flew out the door. Many - if not most - are still in
service. Before you buy one , make sure you know
what frequ ency it has been wired for. It is diffi cult (but not impossible ) to re-wire-assuming
you have the manual. Brown . Medium rare .
Wei ght / Size: 3 lbs ; 5.5" wi de x 2. 5" high x T deep
Related Products: HFT-9 , Littl e Brown Box se rie s

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

105

:H:1VL-11

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FUNCTION

SENSmVITY

SWR Bridge
Manufactured: 62-65
Price:$15.95
Comments: In 1962, Heath "updated" the AM-2
with a more modern looking meter and the classic green paint finish and called it the HM-11.
The insides didn't change. See listing under AM2 for details and specifications .
Weight / Size: 3 lbs; 7.25" wide x 4. 75" high x
4.25" deep
Related Products: AM-2, HM-15, HM-102.

106

H E .AT HK IT

:H:1VL-15

SWR Bridge
Manufa ctured: 66-70
Price: $14.95
Comments: The HM-15 is the third incarnation of
an SWR bridge that was born as the AM-2 in
1957. In 1962 the AM-2 was given a new paint
job and called the HM-11 . Then in 1966 the HM11 was put in to a new "low boy" cabinet, painted
to match the SB series , and renamed the HM-15.
It will handle up to 2000 watts PEP and will
operate from 160-6 meters . It also will operate
with 50 or 75 ohm lines depending on the pickoff resistors chosen during construction. For a
little more history on this unit, see l istings
under AM-2 , HM-11. In 1970 the HM-15 would
itself be changed into the HM-102 - the last of
the line. The HM-15 ha s a light green cabinet
and an SB green wrinkl e front panel. The HM15 is another of Heath's most popular products,
turning up at flea markets all the time . H e ath
must have sold zillions of them . Not rare .
Wei ght / Size: 3 lbs ; 9.25" wide x 2.5" hi gh x
3.5" deep
Related Products: AM-2 , HD-11 , HM-102 , HD-15

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

107

:H:1VL-108

HFWattmeter
Manufactured: 70-81
Price: $34.95
Commen ts : This is the last and most successful of
the line of SWR meters that began with the AM 2 in 1957. In this final iteration Heath added a
wattmeter and built it all into a smart-looking
cube adorned with the SB color scheme . In 1970,
a low-cost wattmeter was pretty much an oxymoron . When Heath released it, the HM -102
went out the door so fast Heath coul d hardly
keep up. T h e 102 has two switch -selected
ranges-0 -200 watts and 100-2000 watts-and
features a built-in calibrator permitting 10 percent accuracy throughout the 80-10 meter
bands, low-loss torroidal circuitry, and a removable remote sender unit that permits the meter
to be placed up to six feet away . The HM-102 is
designed for continuous duty, has an impedance

108

~ ~ 1 Hi&ii'H+i1

of 50 ohms, has a working frequency range of 330 MHz , and is fitted with 80-239 connectors. In
1973 Heath released a matching VHF unit-th e
HM -2102 (see listing). The HM -102 h as a light
green cabinet and an SB green wrinkle front
panel. Zillions sold. These are not rare but are
still in demand and tend to sell quickly.
Wei ght/Size: 3 lbs ; 5.25" wide x 5.25" high x
6.5" deep
Related Products: AM-2 , HM-11, HM-15 , HM-2102

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VHFWattmeter
Manufactured: 73-81
Price: $34 .95
Comments: The HM-2102 was released in time
for Christmas in 1973. It was a big h it b ecause
low-cost VHF wattmeters were a lmost unknown
at the time. It was designed to match the popular HM-102 HF wattmeter and has a frequency
range of 50 to 160 MHz, a maximum power rating of 250 watts, and a built- in SWR bridge.
There are two switch-selectable ranges-1 to 25
watts and 10-250 watts . Accuracy is 10 percent
of fu ll scale. SWR sensitivity is less than 10
watts. Other features include a removable
remote sender unit that permits the meter to be
placed up to six feet away. The 2102 may be
placed in the line permanently with "little or no

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

H:L\IL-8108

loss." The unit is fitted with S0-239 connectors
and h as a light green cabinet with green wrinkle
front panel. The unit is designed for 50 ohm
antennas . At a distance the HM-2102 is indistinguishable from HM -102 making it easy to overlook. The HM-2102 is much more difficult to find
than the HM-102. They are still in dem and and
sell qu ickly. Medium rare .
Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 5.25" wide x 5.25" high x
6.5" deep
Related Products: HM-102

109

HM-8103

HF Load/ Wattmeter
Manufactured: 73-75
Price: $69.95
Comments: It is not clear why Heath made this
little gem for only three years. Th e HM-2103 is a
wattmeter and a dry dummy load in one package . It was (and still is) a very useful product.
Designed for HF use, its operating range is from
1. 8 to 30 MHz . It will provide a 50 ohm non-reactive load with 1.2:1 SWR over the full range. The
load resistor will handle 175 watts continuously,
500 watts for 5 minu tes, and 1000 watts for 2.5
minutes. An overload indicator light warns of
h igh temperature conditions. This circu it is activated by a t h ermal switch and requires a 9 vo lt
battery. A front panel switch selects two power
ranges (0-200 watts and 0-2000 watts) an d a
h igh-temp indicator lamp/battery test. NOTE:

110

lG= ~ fif&iHH+il

t h e HM-2103 does not
contain
an
SWR
br~dge. The 2103 cabinet is light green and the front panel is wrinkle
green. These are highly sought-after units, and
on the rare occasion s they show u p at a flea market, t h ey sell in an instant . Very rare .
Weight/Size: 6 lbs ; 5.25" wide x 6" high x
13.75" deep
Related Products: HM-102

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HFWattmeter
Manufactured / Pri ce:
HM-2140
79-83 $74.95
HM-2140A 84-91
$99.95
Comments : This handy little kit was on the market right to the end. The HM -2140 provides
simultaneous indication of both forward and
reflected power by means of two separate
meters , and will read PEP or average power. In
addition, the instrument contains an SWR
bridge . It has a usable frequency range from 1.8
to 30 MHz and will h andle forward power up to
2000 watts and reflected power up to 500 watts.
Front panel push buttons select power ranges
(0-200 watts and 0-2000 watts ), PEP/average,
SWR set/forward/reflected, a nd battery test,
while a control combines SWR sensitivity and
on/off function . The 2140 has a forward accuracy
of plus or minus 5 percent and a reflected accuracy of plus or minus 7 .5 percent. The insertion
SWR is less than 1.05 :1. The removable sensor
unit is factory assembled and calibrated and can
be mounted up to 6 feet away from the readout
box. The HD-2140 requires a 9 volt battery and a

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HM-8140

jack is provided for use with a power cube. The
only difference between the 2140 and the 2140A
is the paint color. The 2140 is two-tone SB green.
The "A" version was painted brown to match the
rest of the "little brown box" series. Heath a lso
took the opportunity to raise the price $25. Just
a few months after its release in '79, Heath came
out with a VH F version-the HM-2141. Tens of
thousands of 2140s were sold . Many are still in
use . They show up frequently at flea markets
but don't seem to sell all that quickly. The HM2140 and the HM-2141 are indistinguishable
from a di stance and are easily confused. Not
rare.
Wei ght / Size: 3 lbs ; 7.5" wide x 4.25" hi gh x
6.5" deep
Related Products: HM-2141

111

HM-8141

lE= ~ f UMf§fH+il

UNIT SHOWN IS HM-2140, COSMETICALLY IDENTICAL.

VHFWattmeter
Manufactured: 79-83
Price: $79.95
Comments: Not as s ucces sful as its HF cousin,
the HM-2141 lasted only four years. The 2141 is
functionally identical to the HM-2140 except
that it covers from 50 to 175 MHz with a forward
maximum of 300 watts and a reflected maximum
of 100 watts. There are two power ranges: 0-30
or 0-300 watts forward and 0-10 watts or 0-100
watts reflected. See listing under HM-2140 for
other functions and specifications - they are
identical. Requires a 9 volt battery. No brown
colored "A" version was ever made. The 2141 is
finished with the classic two-tone SB green
wrinkle paint. The HM-2141 an d the HM-2140
are indistinguishable from a distance are are
easily confused. The 2141 is very rare compared
to the HM-2140.
Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 7.5" wide x 4.25" high x
6.5 .. deep
Related Products: HM-2140(A)

112

HE.A.TH KIT

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HN-31 (.A)
rating curve diagram . The original Cantenna came topped off with a small a luminum
mini-box with an S0-239 and a ph ono jack
DC pick-off for relative power measurements . In 1983, the box and the phono jack
were removed and the S0-239 was mounted
through the lid of the can. At the same time,
Heath removed the printing from the can
and replaced it with a flashy three-color
stick -on label. The HN-31 provides a 50
ohm non-reactive load with an SWR or 1.5 :1
from 1.5 to 300 MHz. It handles up to 1000
watts and can be filled with oil to help cool
the resistor. With transformer oil the Cantenna will handl e 1000 watts for 10 min utes. With mineral oil the lKW rating drops
to less than a minute . CAUTION: Some
transformer oils contain PCBs-a suspected
carcinogen. If you're not sure what's in your
Cantenna, handl e it with care. Heath did
not supply oil. The original HN-31 has a 3: 1
SWR spike just above 225 MHz and a 2:1
SWR above 400 MHz .. The "A" version
moved this spike up to a bout 350 MHz and
lowered the SWR a bove 400 MHz to less
than 1.5: 1. No shack should be with out this
piece of h istory. It's hard to go to a flea market and not see at least one Cantenna .

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Wei ght/ Size: 3 lbs ; Size: See text
Related Products: none

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RF Load
''Cantenna"
Manufactured/ Price:
HN-31
HN-31A

61-83
83-91

$9.95
$24.95

Comments: The Cantenna RF Load is undeniably
the longest running, most successful product
Heath ever made . It sold for 30 years and
spanned more than three quarters of Heath 's
amateur radio life. It is impossible to say how
many gazillions of these were put together.
Other products came and went, but the Cantenna remained . It is difficult not to wax nostalgic
over this humbl e product. Housed in a standard
one gallon paint can and so ld for $9.95, it
remained plain black until 1969 when it was
adorned with the familiar Heath logo a n d a de-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

113

:a::o-10

lE§ ~ fH&fHHFIJ

of drive and will h andle as
much as 1000 watts. A
rear panel attenuator control is used for adjusting
the vertical deflection size
based on your input
AF
power - 0 to 24 dB in 6 dB
lRAf'
SIN E \ I I T:ip
steps. Vertical response is
plus or minus 3 dB from 10
to 500 kHz with sensitivifUNCllON
FREQ.
ty of 500 mv per inch and
I 54;51+4i1

Special Purpose SSB
Transceiver
CAP /MARS/160 Meter
Manufactured / Price
HW-18-1 68-72 CAP
HW-1 8-2 68-69 MARS
HW-18-3 68-69 160-meters

$119.95
$109.95
$109 .05

Comments: The HW-18 series of transceivers
were a great idea for which there apparently
was no market. They are all based directly on
the "Single-Bander" radios released two years
earlier. Released in March 1968 , the MARS and
160-meter rigs lasted just over a year, while the
CAP unit managed to hang on for about four
years. All three versions are identical except for
frequency coverage. The CAP and MARS units
are virtually identical rigs covering 4450 to 4650
kHz, while the 160-meter radio covers 1800 to
2000 kHz. The CAP and MARS rigs were so similar that Heath packaged the CAP version with
the MARS assembly manual-along with a
small booklet of changes needed to turn it into

130

rE= ~ fHidf UH+i

•

the CAP assembly
manual. The HW-18
series are a 12 -tube
design built on a single
large PC board. They run about 200 watts SSB
input employing crystal filter sideband generation or about 40 watts in the "carrier" (AM)
mode. The CAP and MARS units were sold as
USB rigs but could be run in USB or LSB (but
not both) depending on what heterodyne oscillator crystal you used-3396.500 kHz for USB or
3393.500 kHz for LSB . The 160-meter unit came
from the box as an LSB rig but presumably could
be switched to USB with the right crystal. All
three can operate on one of two switch selectable
crystal frequencies-transmit and receive frequencies are locked together. Receiver sensitivity is either .5 or 1 uV depending on which ad you
read. Selectivity is 2.1 kHz at 6 dB down. CAP
and MARS units use crystal frequencies
between 7840 and 8000 kHz . The 160-unit uses
crystals between 5200 and 5400 kHz. The crystal frequency formula for all versions (assuming
LSB operation) is as follows-operating frequency = crystal frequency - 3393.500 kHz. While
Heath made no provision for it, VFO operation is
H E .AT HK I T

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possible by connecting the VFO output directly
to one of the crystal sockets (observe polarity)
via a short length of RG-58U . VFO output
should be between 1 and 2 volts RMS. Features
of the HW-18 series include fixed tuned operation, solid-state T/R switching, illuminated Smeter, and built-in speaker. Note that there is
no built-in power supply, and that these rigs are
intended primarily for SSB operation. AM operation is not recommended for more than 30 seconds at a time. Front panel controls include
on/ off/ volume, clarifier (adjusts receiver frequency plus or minus 100 Hz), reception ("local""
or "distant"), mode (SSB or "carrier"), meter
function, and channel selector. There are front
panel screw driver adjustments for S-meter zero
and bias setting. A rear panel control adjusts
mic gain. Rear panel connections include a
phono connector for a 50 ohm antenna, an 11 pin
octal-style plug for power input (for use with the
HP-13 or HP-23 series power supplies), and a
ground post. The microphone is hard-wired to
the unit through the middle of the front panel.
Requires only a VTVM and a dummy load for
alignment. Power requirements: 800 VDC at 250
ma, 250 VDC at 100 ma, -130 VDC at 5 ma, and
12 volts AC or DC at 3. 75 amps . CAUTION: Run
only at 250 VDC B+. Two-tone green wrinkle finish matches other HW series radios . The front
panel of all three versions is labeled only "HW18," so the easiest way to tell them apart is to
look at the serial plate-usually found on the
rear apron-which will include the dash 1, 2, or
3. The clever person should be able to put one of
these on 75 meters without too much trouble. To
the best of my knowledge such a modification
has never been described in any of the popular
magazines . Since not many were ever sold, all
three are quite rare, but the 160-meter version
is the rarest of all.
Weight/Size: 16 lbs; 12.25" wide x 6.25" high x
10" deep
Related Products: HP-13, HP-23

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A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

131

H-VV--19

T E N

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T E R

THE "TENER"

of CB products , but the
10 -meter Lunch Box
l anguishe d and was
pulled from production in 1962. Interestingly
enough, the CB -1 wa s di s continued that same
year-replaced by a number of other products
that better reflected the direction CB was taking. The s ix-mete r Lunch Box , however, did
much better. So much bett er , in fact , that Heath
d ecided to lau nch a two-meter version. Hams
vi ewed these little gems as si mple low-cost ways
to explore VHF-which in t ho se days wa s the
fin a l frontier. By the late '60s, six a nd especially
t w o-m et ers were defining a cle a r technologic
direction for themselves a nd the Lunch Boxe s
b ecame increasingly anachronistic . Both the sixmeter and 2-met er versions were discontinued
in 1971 , by which time t en s of thou sand s of each
h a d been sold. What follows is a gene ral discussion of the entire Lunch Box series. The simplicity of th ese radios is r efl ected in their specification s. All versions in the se ri es are fiv e -t ub e
units u sing a s up erre gen erative rece iver "preceded by an RF a mplifier stage" and a five-watt
input, plate modulated AM tran smitter "autom a tic a lly limited to l ess than 100 percent. " The

10 Meter AM Transceiver
"The Tener"
''Benton Harbor Lunch Box"
Manufactured: 60-62
Price: $39.95
Comments: The famo u s "Lunch Box" serie s of
transceivers were so called because in size and
shap e they bore a striking resembl a nce-right
down to the h andle -to the metal boxes full of
sandwiches and coffee carried to work by millions . The serie s includes the HW-19, HW-29(A),
and HW-30 , but began in 1959 with the CB-1 CB
radio. Th e CB-1 was not only H ea th 's fir s t
Lunch Box, it was a lso its first CB radio. Base d
on the success of the CB-1, He ath's marketing
folks concluded that 10-met er and six-meter versions would be equally popular. They were not
entirely correct. The popularity of the CB-1 was
base d on the popularity of the Citizens Band
itself- not the Lunch Box concept. As interest in
CBs grew, Heath responded with a wide variety

132

H E .AT HK IT

their specific frequencies and
details. Some units have a holder
on
the right side of the cabinet .
POWER
OUTPUT
This holder has a plastic face
plate behind which one could slip
the station license. A common
(and benign) modification was to
TUNIN "
fit the rigs with an S0-239.
Another mod to watch out for is a
,;;~;;;;.
change in the mic connector that
would permit true PTT operation.
This mod is fairly common and
most unfortunate since it destroys
the original flavor of the Lunch
Box . The physical design of the
units is unique to the Lunch Box
series. The paint style is a wrinkle finish brown cabinet and
smooth finish light brown (advertised as "mocha") front panel. The
knobs are unique as well. They
THE LUNCH BOX MICROPHONE.
are the same brown color as the
cabinet and have gold-colored, inset faces. All
receiver is tunable while the transmitter is crysversions came with a small desk/hand ceramic
tal controlled on a single frequency. Receiver
element microphone (made by Turner) and are
sensitivity is "usable with signals as low as 1 uV
at the antenna terminals ." Boasting of the
not complete without it. Two power cables were
originally supplied-one for 120 VAC operation
receiver's superb sensitivity, the receiver circuit
and one for use with a 6- or 12-VDC optional
description section in the manual notes that "3
external vibrator power supply. The units can
u V will produce near full quieting." The specifinot be directly powered from 6 or 12 VDC. Lunch
cations make no mention at all of selectivity. The
Boxes used to be very common at swap meets,
Lunch Boxes feature a built-in solid state power
and it used to be that you couldn't give them
supply, an amplifier metering jack, and a "pressaway, but in recent years th ey have become
to-talk" lever switch on the front panel. This
quite rare . Among Lunch Boxes, six-meter (HWswitc h a l so has a transmit "hold" position29A) and 2-meter (HW-30 ) units are seen most
apparently designed for the long-winded operaoften. However, because of their short life span,
tor. Other front panel controls include on/off/volsix-meter (HW-29), 10-meter (HW-19 ), and CB
ume and receiver tuning. Also on the front panel
(CB-1 ) units are exceptionally rare. In addition
are a mic connector and two neon lamps-a
to those described above, many Lunch Boxes
power-on lamp (clear) and a transmit lamp (red).
have been subjected to a variety of other unforThere is a lso a white and gold plastic Heathkit
tunate modifications. Beware.
emblem on the front panel. Missing from these
little rigs is any kind of squelch control-you
Weight/Size: 8 lbs; 9.75" wide x 8" high x 6" deep
have to liste n to them roar between transmisRelated Products: CB-1, HW-29, HW-29A, HW-30
sions . On the rear apron is a re generation control, a phono jack for a 50-75 ohm antenna, a
fuse holder, a ground post, a quarter-inch jack
for RF a mp metering, and an octal plug for
power input. Some units may have a small hole
on the right side of the cabinet through which
the final am plifier's tank circuit tuning capacitor may b e adjusted. The crystal socket is located inside th e cabinet, and all versions (except
the original HW-29) u se rocks in the 8-to-9 MHz
range. The HW-19 covers from 28 to 29 .7 MHz.
See listings under HW-29 (A ) and HW-30 for

•

·~·,.·····
~·~······
•••••••••

,•••••••
...•....
"'•••••r

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

133

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•.

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TA.4H8MITTBA
52

SHAWNiiE

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MAlltS

RECEIVER

UNIT SHOWN IS HW-10.

2 Meter AM/CW Transceiver
"Pawnee"
Manufactured: 61-65
Price: $199.95
Comments: The HW-20 is identical in every way
to the HW-10 except for frequency coverage . The
frequency coverage of the HW-20 is 143.8 to
148.2 MHz. For additional details and specifications see listing under HW-10.
Weight/Size: 34 lbs; 12" wide x 6" high x 10" deep
Related Products: HW-10

134

HEATHKIT

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FINAL. TVNI!:

•

20 Meter SSB Transceiver
"Single-Bander"
Manufactured: 66-74
Price: $119.95
Comments: The HW-22 is identical in every way
to the HW-12 except for frequency coverage. Frequency coverage for the HW-22 is 7.2 to 7.3
MHz. It operates only in LSB. For additional
details and specifications see listing under HW12 .
Weight /Size: 15 lbs ; 12" wide x 6.25" hi gh x
9.25" deep
Related Products: HW-12 , HW-12A, HW-22A,
HW-32 , HW-32A, HS-24

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

135

H-v\T-aa.A

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\

I I

20 Meter SSB Transceiver
"Single-Bander"
Manufactured: 66-74
Price: $99.95
Comments: The HW-22A is identical in every way
to the HW-12A except for frequency coverage.
Frequency coverage for the HW-22A is 7.2 to 7.3
MHz . For additional details, specifications, an d
differences between the A series Single -Banders
and t he originals see listing u nder HW-12 and
HW- 12A.
Weight / Size: 15lbs; 12" wide x 6.25" high x 9.25"
deep
Related Products: HW-12 , HW-12A, HW-22 , HW-32,
HW-32A, HS-24

136

HE.A.TH K I T

HVV--89 (.A)

~ fbidii'Hf@

cation kit was offered
to owners of the origin al. It is likely that
only a few hundred of the original units ever got
out the door and as a result, finding one would
be the ham radio equivalent of being dealt four
of a kind. The frequency coverage of the HW-29
and HW-29A is 50 to 54 MHz. The transmitter
(on the A version) u ses crystals between 8.333
and 9.000 MHz. Transmit frequency = crystal
frequency x 6. For additional details and specifications see listing under HW-19.

6 Meter AM Transceiver
"Sixer"
"Benton Harbor Lunch Box"
Manufactured/Price:
60-60 $39.95
HW-29
HW-29A 61-71 $44.95
Comments: Almost immediately upon the release
of the HW-29 Sixer in 1960, it was discovered
that the unit had a couple of problems . The rig's
regenerative receiver was radiating a respectable
signal and getting into TV sets at a considerable
distance. Additionally, the Sixer had been
designed to use a 10 MHz fundamental crystal
cut so that it would also oscillate at the fifth
overtone (50 MHz). This scheme proved problematic for crystal activity and stability. H eath
quickly redesigned the rig to solve the receiver
problem and changed the transmitter oscillator
section to include a multiplier stage to allow for
the use of 8 MHz rocks. The new improved version was released as the HW-29A, and a modifi-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 8 lbs; 9.75" wide x 8" high x 6" deep
Related Products: CB-1, HW-19, HW-30

137

H"'V\T-80

TWO

[@ ~ 'h#§idi*iil

ETER

A M A T E UR

TRANSCEIVER

I tt K' i

THE "TWOER"

2 Meter AM Transceiver
"Twoer"
''Benton Harbor Lunch Box"
Manufactured: 60-71
Price: $44.95
Comments: The HW-30 is identical to the HW-19
except for frequency coverage . The frequency
coverage of t h e HW-30 is 143 to 149 MH z. The
transmitter u ses crystals between 8.0 and 8.22
MHz. Transmit frequency = crystal fre quency x
18. For additional details and specifications see
listing under H W-19.
Weight/Size: 8 lbs; 9.75" wide x 8" high x 6" deep
Related Products: CB-1 , HW-19 , HW- 29 , HW-29A

138

H E .AT H K I T

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F'I N A L 'TUNR

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_ ;/ Ill/;, \ _

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~
.

40 Meter SSB Transceiver
"Single-Bander"
Manufactured: 66-74
Price: $119.95
Comments: The HW-32 is identical in every way
to the HW-12 except for freq u ency coverage. Frequency coverage for the HW-32 is 14.2 to 14.35
MHz. It operates only in USB . F or additional
details and specifications see li sting unde r
HW- 12.
Weight/Size: 15lbs;12" wide x 6.25" high x
9.25" deep
Related Products: HW-12 , HW-12A, HW-22,
HW-22A, HW-32A, HS-24

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

139

H"'V\T-SEA

~ ~'i'@i§iHEIJ

UNIT SHOWN IS HW-22A.

40 Meter SSB Transceiver
"Single-Bander"
Manufactured: 66-74
Price: $99.95
Comments: The HW-32A is identical in every way
to the HW-12A except for freq u ency coverage.
Frequency coverage for the HW-32A is 14.2 to
14.35 MHz . For a dditional details, specification s, and differences between the A series Single-B anders and the originals see listing under
HW-12 and HW-12A.
Weight/Size: 15 lbs; 12" wide x 6.25" high x 9.25"
deep
Related Products: HW-12, HW-12A, HW-22, HW22A, HW-32, HS-24

140

H E .AT H K I T

HVV--99

l8 ~·ua+tHH+il

UNIT SHOWN WITHOUT COVER.

volume , and main tuning. There is also a
headphone jack on the
front panel. Rear panel connections include an
S0-239 for a 50-75 ohm antenna, a ground post,
and phono jacks for a speaker (4 to 8 ohms) and
a key. The HW-99 only lasted about a year and a
half. It was viewed as expensive, featureless,
and drifty. Heath's own specs do little to persuade one that this is a stable radio - "typically
less than 1 kHz per hour after 30 minutes
warmup . Typically less than 150 Hz per 30 minutes after 90 minutes warmup." At least one
article (in QST) described a mod to fix the drift
problem (see appendix). There are no DC power
input connections that would let the HW-99 be
used in a portable situation. The two-tone brown
matches HW-9 and the "little brown box" series.
The sh ort production life of the HW-99 makes it
a very rare item .

4 Band CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 85-87
Price: $299.95
Comments: The HW-99 is essentially an HW-9
with more power. The HW-99 is a fu ll y soli d
state rig using a single conversion receiver with
a broadband front end, a 4-pol e crystal filter,
and no RF amp. It has an AGC circuit and and
active audio fi lter with a bandwidth of about 450
Hz at 6 dB down, receiver sensitivity of better
than 1 uV, and frequency coverage from 3.5 to
3.75 MH z and the lower 250 kHz of 40, 15, and
10 meters. There are no provisions for WARC
operation. The transmitter develops about 50
watts into a 50 ohm load and the PA transistors
are protected against h igh SWR. The transmitter ALC will deliver at least 90 percent of rated
output with an SWR as high as 2:1. Features
include a built-in AC power supply, a front panel
bar graph LED display for S-units and relative
power, continuously variable RF output, and full
QSK break-in operation up to 30 WPM. There is
no built -in speaker. Front panel controls include
a power on/off rocker switch, RF level, a n d band,

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 14 lbs; 11.5" wide x 4.5" high x
10. 75" deep
Related Products: SP-99

141

HVV--100

~ ~ 1 UR&ihH+I

the HW-100 are a lmost
identic a l to the SB101, too . Receiver sensitivity is .5 uV. Crystal filter selectivity is 2.1
kHz at 6 dB down and 7 kH z at 60 dB down.
Ther e are provisions for only only one filterSSB. A CW filt er was n ever offered as an option.
The HW-100 u ses the "standard" Heath IF fre quen cy of 3395 kHz. IF a nd image rejection is
better than 50 dB. Frequency cove rage is 500
kHz segm ents of 80, 40, 20, 15 , and the full 10meter ba nd right up to 30 MHz. The transmitter
delivers 180 PEP SSB input and 170 watts CW
input. Carrier and unwanted sideband suppres sion is 45 dB down. Frequency stability is less
than 100 Hz per hour after 30 minutes warmup.
Les s than 100 Hz vari a tion with 10 p ercent
change in line voltage. F eatures include PTT
a nd VOX operation , sw itch- se l ec tabl e s ideb a nd s, se mi-break -in CW (grid block keying )
with built-in sidetone , an d a built-in 100 kHz
crystal calibrator. The biggest complaint h eard
a bout the HW-100 was the tuning dial m echanism. H eath h a d a patented tuning drive system
it called Harmonic Drive. It provided a 28:1
turns ratio to cover 500 kHz . Some ops claimed

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufa ctured: 68- 70
Price: $250
Comments: Shortly after its release in March

1968, H eath began advertising the HW-100 as
"the world's fast est selling transceiver." Beca use
a ll those records have been de stroyed , we will
n ever know exactly how fast it sold, but it is ce rtain H eath's claim was no exaggeration. The
HW- 100 was the right product at the right time
for the right price, a nd was offered as the lowcost alternative to the SB-101 (see listing). With
the exception of the VFO , the two rigs are virtu ally identica l. The SB series use s H eath's expensive patented tub e-type Linear M aster Oscillator or LMO as it was called . The HW-100 uses a
much s impler and more traditional (but solid
sta te ) VFO de s i gn. Th e tran sceive r i s b uilt
around 19 tub es (including a pair of 6146Bs),
five main PC boards, a nd four sm a ll bandswitch
PC boards. The metal chassis, PC boards , mo st
parts, and parts placem ent of the HW-100 a re
identical to those in the SB-101. Even the layo ut
of the front panel is similar. The specifications of

142

H E .AT HK IT

~ ~ f§fWfUH+il
it was full of wobble and backlash. Popul ar ham
magazines published mods to replace the dial
with a better one . In the author's opinion these
complaints were overblown. Front pane l controls include b and and mode selectors, load,
final tune, driver preselector, mic/CW level, and
slide switches for meter f u nction and
PTTNOX/CAL. Rear panel connections include
a quarter inch key jack, phono j acks for ALC
input, 8 ohm speaker, and a 50-75 oh m antenna .
There is a lso a spare ph ono jack. In addition
there is an 11-pin "octal style" power input plug
and a ground post. Advertising copy refers to a
separate rear panel jack for "RF output" (in
addition to an antenna jack), but examples ofrig
with this jack h ave not been found , a lt h ough
there is an unused hole in the rear panel that
might h ave been used for this purpose . The re
are access holes in the lower right side of the
cabinet for screw driver adjustment of controls
for meter zero, bias, and VOX. The HW-1 00 has
no internal speaker or power supp l y and is
designed for use with t h e HP-23 or HP-13 series
of power supplies. Power requirements are 700850 VDC at 250 ma, 300 VDC and 150 ma, -115
VDC at 10 ma, and 12 volt s AC or DC at 4.75
amps. The two-tone green stylin g a lso incorporates SB series knobs . See listing for SB -100
regarding information about mo dificatio n of the
driver preselector control. All t hings considered ,
t h e HW-1 00 is a fine rig and many are still on the
air. Th ou gh they are still fairly com mon, t h e HW100 is much rarer that t h e HW-101 (see listing).
Weight/Size: 22 lbs; 15" wide x 6.25" high x
13.5" deep
Related Products: HW-101 , HW-104, SB-600,
SB accessories

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

143

:a:""'\7\T-101

~ ~ 1 H+SiUH+I

•

F\JNC}IOI{

Mf1'£JI

must be removed to
check for the presence
of the CW filter. See
listing for SB-101 for details on checking for the
CW filter. One other small improvement Heath
made was to fix the problem with the driver preselector-though it was never a big issue. To better distinguish itself from its predecessor, Heath
restyled the lOl's front panel. All other specifications and operating characteristics of the HW101 are the same as the HW-100. See listing
under HW-100 for additional details. The HW101 was the last tube -type rig Heath ever made
and is the most popular radio it ever sold. It is a
true classic, and thousands are still on the air.
Look for the two-tone green cabinet and SB
series knobs. The HW- 101 is not rare, but
beware strange modifications.

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 70-83
Price : $399.95
Comments : Released for Christmas in 1970, the
HW-101 was a refinement of the HW-100 and
proved to be even more successful. When the last
ad for the 10 1 appeared in the Winter '83 catalog, Heath noted that more than 30,000 units
had been sol d. It is likely that the final number
was closer to 40 ,000 . This is a truly staggering
number of radios , and it is doubtful that that figure will ever be equaled by any other manufacturer for any kind of transceiver. There are three
primary improvements in the HW-101. First,
the receiver sensitivity has been improved and
is now better than .35 uV (as opposed to 1 uV in
the HW-100). Secondly, the Harmonic Drive tuning mechanism no one seemed to like was
replaced with a more conventional ball bearing
drive with a 34: 1 tuning ratio (as opposed to the
28:1 in the '100 ). Lastly, Heath added front
panel switch selection of filters for SSB and CW
(the HW-100 has only an SSB filter ), though the
400 Hz CW filter was optional. The enclosure

144

Wei ght/Size: 22 lbs ; 15" wide x 6.25" hi gh x
13.5" deep
Related Products: HW-100 , HW-104, SB-600 ,
SB accessories

HEATHKIT

HVV-104

~ ~ f§fiSii'Hii

lar. Frequency coverage is 80 through 10
m e ters (through 29.0
MHz). Coverage to 29. 7 MHz is provided with an
optional accessory (a set of coils and crystals
mounted on a space provided on the front end of
a PC board ). 15 MHz WWV rece ption is also provided but there are no provisions for WARC coverage. The receiver is a broadband design with a
4-pole crystal filt er, sensitivity of bette r than 1
uV, and selectivity of 2.1 kH z at 6 db down . An
optional CW filter provides selectivity of 400 Hz
at 6 dB down. The top cover must be removed to
ch ec k for the pr ese nce of the CW filter a nd
extended 10-meter coverage. Drift is less than
100 Hz p er hour after 30 minut es warmup.
Transmitter output power for both SSB and CW
is 100 watts (PEP SSB) in high power mod e and
1 watt in low power mode. The main feature of
the HW-104 is, of course, the broadba nd design,
which facilitates instant band changing a nd
eliminates the ne ed to "tune up ," and although a
"tune" mode is provided, it is intended primarily
for the adjustment of antenna tuners . Behind
the red plastic window is the illuminated VFO
di a l , a m eter reading S-units, relative power,

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured : 75-77
Pr ice: $569.95
Comments: Released for Christmas in 1975, the
HW-104 (there was no HW-102 or HW-103 ) was
the "low cost" alternative to the the SB-104,
which had been released a year earlier. As with
the HW-101 and SB-101 , the HW-104 is almost
identical to the SB-104. The basic design an d
electronics are th e same . Both are fully solid
state units - including the final amplifier. The
main difference was the fr equency display. The
SB-104 us es an expensive and complicated digital display. The HW-104 u ses a much simpler
analog di a l. The HW-104 is built with 15 PC
boards , 11 of which are plug-in circuit card s.
There is no "mother board. " The cards plug into
sockets on the chassis and are connected by two
wir ing h arn ess es. Because the HW-104 shares
its design with the SB-104 , it also shares many
of the same problems suffered by the SB -104.
The reader is referred to the listing for the SB104 for a discu ssion of these problems. The basic
specification s of the two units are also very simi-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

145

rG= ~

'UR&iifHil

ALC and 13.8 VDC, and an illuminated window
for display of your callsign. (The clever person
will figure out some way to change or eliminate
the callsign). Front panel controls include push
button selection of meter function, power off/on,
VOX, 25 kHz calibrator, and optional noise
blanker. Push buttons also select operating
mode and power level. Other front panel controls include AF and RF gain (pull for 100 kHz
calibrator), main tuning, AGC speed, band,
mic/CW level, VOX gain, and VOX delay. Rear
panel controls include sidetone level, anti-VOX,
and a switch to select separate or common
antenna connections. Rear panel connections
include phono jacks for the following: phone
patch in and out, aux audio, key, 4-8 ohm speaker (there is no internal speaker), VFO in and
out, ALC, driver output, IF output, receiver
antenna, common antenna, and two spares. For
normal operation there must be a jumper cable
between the VFO "in" and "out" jacks. There are
also two 11-pin "octal style" connectors - a plug
for 12 VDC power input and an accessory jack
for use with the SB-644 external VFO. For normal operation there must be a jumper wire
between pins 2 and 5 of the accessory socket .
Antenna switching is via a mechanical relay.
CW operation is semi-break-in. NOTE: The card
edge connectors used in the HW-104 almost certainly will develop oxidation over time leading
to erratic operation. These connectors should be
thoroughly cleaned. The HW-104 is designed for
use with an external 12 VDC power supply.
Power requirements: 13.8 VDC nominal at 2.5
amps low power, 20 amps high power. WARNING: DC input voltage must NOT EXCEED 16
volts or damage will result. REVERSE POLARITY will also result in damage as the HW-104 is
not polarity protected. The HW-104 was the last
of the classically styled "Hot Water" high fre quency rigs and may have been one of the least
successful primarily due to its price and problems . The two-tone green cabinet matches other
HW series units. Clean HW-104s in good condition are very rare.
Wei ght / Size: 31lbs ; 14. 5" wide x 5.75" hi gh x
14" deep
Relat ed Produ cts: HW-100 , HW-101 , HS-1661

146

H E A..T HK IT

:a:vv--aoa

!:@ ~ ff'?tSiH&iil

tures include an illuminated meter reading Sunits and relative power,
a built-in speaker, an
optional tone-burst
encoder ( HW-202-2),
and push button selection of transmit and
receive frequencies.
Existence of the toneburst encoder can be
determined by the
presence of a row of 4
push buttons above the
"transmit " frequency
push buttons. Front
panel controls include
on/off/ volume , squelch,
and push buttons for
frequency, and (optional) tone burst selection.
Th ere is also a front
panel mic connector.
Rear panel connections
include phono jacks for a 50 ohm antenna and an
external speaker. A rear panel switch selects
between the internal speaker and an external
speaker. There is no power "connector" -power
input wires come out an opening in th e rear
panel. The 202 can be run directly from a DC
source. AC operation r equires an external DC
power supply. Power requirements: 12.6 to 16
VDC at 2.2 amps (while transmitting), 200 ma
(while receiving). The HW-202 is polarity protected. The transmitter u ses 6 MHz crystals . The
crystal formula is transmit frequency I 24 = crystal frequency. The receiver uses 45 MHz crystal
and the formula is (receive frequency - 10 . 7) I 3 =
crystal frequency. The HW-202 was supplied
with crystals for 146.94 simplex. The 202 can be
aligne d without instruments-but don't try it
without the book. The two-tone green cabinet has
chrome finish around the front panel. Heath sold
tens of thousands of these. Many are still on the
air. Great for packet. 202s turn up frequently at
swap me ets but often sell quickly if they are in
good condition.

2 Meter FM Transceiver
Manufactured: 73-77
Price: $189.95
Comments : In the spring of 1973 Heath took serious aim at the 2-meter FM crowd an d hit the
mark with the release of the HW-202 and a
group of accessories including a power supply
(HWA-202-1 ), a wattmeter (HM-2021 ), and an
amplifier (HA-202 ). Heath had learned some
valuable lessons on VHF and FM with its HW17 , and did everything right with the 202. The
HW-202 is a simple, straightforward, crystalcontrolled transceiver. It was advertised as a 36
channel radio because it h ad 6 transmit and 6
receive frequencies that were ind epe nd ently
selectable. Of course in 1973 not many people
understood how 2-meters worked and didn't
realize that you probably never would want to
transmit, for example, on 146.28 and receive on
146.94. What you really have here is 6 channel
radio. The 202 i s built on 4 glass -epoxy PC
boards and uses a dual conversion receiver with
dual-gate MOSFETS in the front end and a 4pole monolithic 10 . 7 MHz crystal filter. The
receiver sensitivity is better than .5 uV with a
nominal bandwidth of 22 kHz . The transmitter
section provides 10 to 15 watts output and will
do so indefinitely without failure into an infinite
SWR. Deviation is adjustabl e from 0 to 7.5 kHz.
The HW-202 will cover any 1 MHz segment of
the band between 143.9 and 148 .3 MHz . Fea-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 11 lbs; 8.25" wide x 2. 75" high x
10" deep
Related Products: HWA-202-1, HA-202 , HM-2021 ,
HW-2026, HW-2036, VF-7401

147

:a:vv--aoa1

Available
No'1ember

2 Meter Hand-Held
Transceiver
Manufactured: 75-77
Price: $179.95
Comments: This was Heath's fir st HT and it was
a real h andful (see dimension s below). The HW2021 is a 1 watt , 5 channel , crystal-controlled
unit. Assembly of the HW-2021 is tricky,
demanding a sm a ll soldering iron and a steady
hand as parts on the board are tightly packed.
The same crystal is used for both transmit and
receive , and an offset switch let s yo u us e any of
the frequ encies as a simplex or shifts the transmit fr equ ency 600 kHz below t h e receive fre quency. It is importa nt to note th at the offset is
accomplishe d by a crystal an d can b e plus or
m inu s 600 kH z -but not both, si nce there i s
room for only one offset crystal. The 2021 came

148

standard with the crystal for a transmit of 600 kHz. Other non-standard offsets are poss ibl e with the right crystal in sta ll ed . The
receiver sensitivit y is .5 uV. Features include
a du a l-gat e MOSFET front end, a pulse-type
battery save r circuit , a nd an LED , which indicated battery charge statu s, battery saver
status, an d a squelch open condition. When
crystali ng the unit, a lways calculate for the
receive frequency. Crystal formu l as: crystal
freq u ency = (receive frequency - 10.7) I 9 . The
transmit offset crystal formul a (for tra nsmit
below receive ): crystal freq u ency= 10. 7 MHz offset frequency in kHz. For transmit a bove
receiv e: crystal frequency= 10 .7 MHz+ offset
frequency in kHz . The HT is powered by 10
AA NiCad batteries (s older lug type ) producing about 12 volts. Recharge time with the
s upplie d drop-in charger is about 16 hours. "'~
Replacement batteries s houldn 't be much 5
trouble to find or install. Controls incl ude ~
on/off/v olume, squelch, channel, and offset. '"~
The unit is equipped with a rubber duck and :;;:
a lso h as a j ack for an externa l a ntenn a. This ~
jack can cause problems with poor co nnections due to the lack of "sprin g" in its contacts. The HW-2021 was offered with an optional
12 digit touch tone pad an d is built into a black
plastic case with a li ner of metal foil-cov ered
paper. The HW-2021 suffer ed from a variety of
miscellaneous problems resulting mostly from
difficulty in assembly rather than any intrinsic
design fa ult s. It was "no t r ecommende d for
beginners b ecause of its compactness ." The 2021
was replaced by the VF -2031 (see li sting) in
1978. Rare.
Weight/Size: 2 lbs; 3.25" wide x 9. 75" high x
2" deep
Related Products: HA-201, VF-2031, HW-6502

HE.A.TH KIT

Hvv--aoas

~ f Hiif HH+il

(1800-2500 Hz, .6 kHz
deviation, se l ectab l e
during construction) or
continuous tone encoder (70-200 Hz, . 7 kHz
deviation, selectable during construction). The
transmitter has an offset selection of 0 or -600
kHz and one auxiliary. Transmitter deviation is
adjustable from 0 to 7.5 kHz . The receiver sensitivity is .5 uV and a bandwidth of 15 kHz at 6
dB. There are two front panel LEDs . One lights
when th e squelch opens, indicating "ch anne l
busy," and the other lights when the synthesizer
is locked on frequency. In normal operation this
second LED should light when ever you key the
mic, unl ess you are outside the range the unit
has been tune d for or unless you are outside the
band. Receiver birdies are rated at less that 1
uV equiv alent except at 146.87, 146.90, 147 .46,
147.53, and 147 .80. Birdies at these frequencies
are greater than 1 uV equivalent. The microphone is hard-wired, but watch for mic connector modifications. Power requirements : 12 .6 to
16 VDC at 700 ma squelche d and 2.5 amps
transmitting. The two-tone green cabinet with
chrome trim matches the HW-202. The HW-2026
may be one of Heath's rarest radios.

2 Meter FM Transceiver
Manufactured: 75-76
Price: $299.95
Comments: The HW-2026 was Heath's disastrous
attempt at frequency synthesis and its first ever
product recall. It was on the market only briefly,
from Christmas '75 through the winter of '76 ,
and did not ap pear in the Spring 1976 catalog. It
was designed to cover an y 2 MHz segment of the
band between 144.0 an d 147 .995 in 5 kHz steps
by dialing the frequency from lever switch es on
the front panel. Specifications are similar to the
HW-202 (see listing). The transmitter puts out
about 10 watts, with spu rious output suppo sed
to be at -40 db within 2 MHz of th e carrier, but
the major problems with the 2026 are related to
spurio u s emissions . It had a large number of
spurs at levels high enough to bring up
repeaters all over town. Heath's engineers dis covered that a quick fix was not in the cards and
pulled the 2026 from the market. Owners were
offered their money back or credit toward another kit. Some owners who didn't have any trouble
(as far as they knew ) kept the rigs , and those are
a ll that remain today. For this reason HW-2026s
are exceptionally rare. The 2026 is cosmetically
similar to the HW- 2036(A) (see listing) . The only
major difference is in t h e toggle switche s below
the frequency lever switch es. In the HW-2036 (A)
these were rep l aced by rotary switche s. The
HW-2026 features a built-in tone burst encoder

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 12 lbs; 8.25" wide x 2. 75" high x
10" deep
Related Products: HW-202 , HW-2036 , VF-7401 ,
HWA-202-1, HA-202, HM-2021

149

HVV--2036 (.A)

~ ~ fH?&iH&+i
down 70 dB within 20
MHz of the carrier. Deviation is adjustable from 0 to
7 .5 kHz. Front panel controls include on/ off/vol ume , squelch, frequency
selectors, mode, tone, 0 or
5 kHz, and a meter reading 8 -units and relative
power. As with the 2026 ,
there are two LEDs that
light up on the front panel.
One indicates "channel
busy" and the other indicates synthesizer lock. In
normal operation this
light should com e on
whenever you key the mic,
unless you dial in a fre quency that is out of the
band. The microphone is
hard-wired-but watch for
mods adding a mic connector. Rear panel connections include a phono jack
for a 50 ohm antenna (many have been user
replaced with S0-239s) and a phono jack for an
external speake r. A rear panel switch selects
between the internal speaker and an external
speaker. There is no power "connector" -power
input wires come out an opening in the rear panel.
The HW-2036 covers any 2 MH z segment of the
band between 143.5 and 148.5. NOTE: Both transmitter and receiver m u st be aligned with the same
2 MH z portion of the band. Th e only difference in
the A version is in frequency coverage . The HW2036A offers a full 4 MHz coverage - the entire 2meter band. The HW-2036(A) is offered with the
optional Micoder microphone, which features a
built-in touch tone pad. The 2036(A) can be powered directly from a 12 VDC source and is polarity
protected. AC operation requires an external 12
VDC power supply. Power requirements: 12.6 to
16 VDC at 700 ma squ elched and 2.5 amps trans mitting. The two-tone green cabinet with chrome
trim matches the HW-202 and the HW-2026 . In
1980 the HW-2036A was rep laced with the VF 740 1, but there was a small gap in production .
The HW-2036A was not listed in the Christmas
'79 catalog-and neither was its successor. The
HW-2036(A) was very successful. They show up at
flea markets regularly, but sell fairly quickly.

2 Meter FM Transceiver
Manufactu red / Price
HW-2036
76-76
HW-2036A 77-79

$269.95
$269 .95

Comments: Smarting badly from the failure of the
HW-2026, Heath took great pains to ensure that
its replacement would perform without a hitch.
After a long, difficult summer and endless testing,
Heath unveiled the new rig in its 1976 Christmas
catalog-complete with charts displaying its spectral purity. Cosmetically the new rig was almost
identical to the 2026 , but Heath gave it a new
number so no one would mistake it. They designated it the HW-2036. There were some substantial differences. The HW-2036 uses a 10 MHz time
base; the 2026 uses a 1 MHz time base. The 2026
has both a tone burst and a continuous tone
encoder. The 2036 has only a continuous tone
encoder, but gave a choice of three switch selectable frequencies between 70 and 200 Hz . Perhaps
most significant is that the 2036 offers both plus
and minus 600 kHz transmitter offset, as well as
simplex operation plus and auxiliary offset. The
HW-2036's basic specifications are about the same
as the 2026 . The receiver features dual-conversion, an 8-pole crystal IF filter, IC limiting, Quad
detection, and a double tuned front end with a
MOSFET RF amp . The receiver has a sensitivity
rating of better than .5 uV and a bandwidth of 6
dB down at 15 kHz. All birdies are less than 1 u V
equivalent . T h e transmitter puts out about 10
watts with harmonic and spurious emissions

150

Weight /Size: 12 lbs ; 8.25" wide x 2. 75" high x 10" deep
Related Products: HW-202 , HW-2026, VF- 7401 ,
HWA-202-1 , HA-202 , HM-2021

El .AT HK IT

lE= ~ fUWSiff H+i

H-VV--5400

age kit builder's ability
to assemble a kit suecessfully. Of course it
didn't help that Heath was changing the design
on an almost daily basis. Changes were so frequent that Heath abandoned its traditional soft
bound assembly manual in favor of one in a
three-ring binder. Still , once you (or the factory)
got it working, it worked quite well. Features
include broadband design, two-speed tuning,
automatic sideband selection (with manual
override), full CW QSK, and optional keypad frequency entry. The green vacuum fluorescent display indicates frequency, T/R status , split operation , and mode. Front panel controls include
main tuning, mode , mic gain, CW gain, AF gain,
RF gain, RIT, IF shift, and band, as well as push
buttons for receive / tune, PTT/ VOX, AGC
fast/slow, and memory management. VOX controls and sidetone level adjustment are located
behind the Heath nameplate. The meter reads
S-units and ALC/relative power. Rear panel connections include an S0-239 for a 50 ohm antenna, and phono jacks for ALC and relay output for
use with a linear amplifier. In addition there is
an accessory socket for connection to the option-

8 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 83-84
Price: $499.95
Comme nts: The HW-5400 was the last big HF
transceiver Heath made and it was not a big success. Plagued by foreign competition as well as
excessive engineering and design costs, and
troubled by persistent assembly and alignment
problems, the HW-5400 wasn 't long for the
world. It was sold for just one year. Not that it
wasn't a good enough rig, it's just that the production costs were so high Heath ended up having to sell it for about what you would pay for a
ready-made transceiver with more features and
fewer headaches. Add to this the 100 hours
needed to put it together, and most of the advantages Heath originally had to offer were gone.
Most ham s opted out. The fully solid-state HW5400 covers 80-10 m eters including the WARC
bands. It is built on 14 circuit boards, and so
demanding was its assembly that toward the
end of its production, large portions of the 5400
were being shipped pre -assembled . In some
respects, Heath had finally exceeded the aver-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

151

® ~fHBSif'Hil
al HWA-5400-1 power supply/speaker. This very
inconvenient connector provides audio to a
speaker, serves as a power input for memory
back-up, and has "an essential sensor line for
proper operation and remote on/off switching at
the radio." There is also a connector for DC
power input. A rear panel switch disables the
linear relay for more quiet operation when not
using an amplifier. The HW-5400 uses an optical
encoder type tuning scheme. In add ition , the
main tuning knob is fitted with a metal insert in
one of its two finger indents. Touching this
indent causes the receiver to tune in 1 kHz steps
instead of the normal 50 Hz steps-very clever.
Heath patented the idea. Receiver sensitivity is
better than .35 u V. Selectivity with standard filter is 2 kHz at 6 dB down. With optional SSB filter se lectivity is 1.8 kHz at 6 dB down . CW
active audio filter is 250 Hz at 6 dB down centered at 700 Hz. Overall stability is less than 50
ppm drift from turn -on. Numerous weak
"birdies" and other miscellaneous strange noises
are down far enough that they should not get in
your way. Transmitter output power is 100 watts
PEP and CW minim um except on 10 meters,
which is 80 watts minimum. Power output is
continuously variab le. The PA transistors are
thermally protected against high SWR and will
deliver 90 percent of the rated power with an
SWR of less than 2:1. Early units had real problems with the CW wave shape and length. Not
only was the rise time abrupt, but the transmitter took a full 26 milliseconds to shut off upon
key up. This made CW speed s at or above 20
WPM impossible . Heath would supply a fix for
this problem to anyone who asked and incorporated a permanent fix into later units. Whether
or not the unit you're looking at has this problem is impossible to say with only visual inspection. Missing is a way to shut off the AGC. In the
end, Heath realized the HW-5400 was too complicated and too expensive given fierce competition from other ready-made rigs. They pulled it
from production and cut their loses saying, in
effect, "enough is eno u gh." H eath lost a lot of
money on this 5400 and vowed never to do it
again. The 5400 requires a frequency counter
and a VOM or VTVM with an RF probe for alignment. Power requirements: 13.8 VDC nominal
at 20 amps (transmit). Requires an external
power supply. Two-tone brown cabinet. Rare .
Weight/Size: 24 lbs; 11.5" wide x 5" high x 14" deep
Related Products: HWA-5400-1

152

H E .AT HK IT

~ ~fH?&iHHi#l

2 Meter Hand-Held
Transceiver
Manufactured: 85-86
Price: $199.95
Comments: The HW-6502 is a fully assembled HT
and was Heath's last 2-meter product. Buckling
under the weight of economic reality, foreign
competition, and a changing consumer market,
Heath pulled out of the two-meter competition
in 1986 and never came back-at least not with
its own radios. The HW-6502 includes a built-in
CTCSS encoder with all available frequencies.
Features include an S/battery meter, selectable
5 watt, 1.5 watt, and 300 mW power output levels, and thumbwheel frequency selection with
+5 kHz and ±600 kHz offset switches. Frequency
range is 144.0 to 147.995 MHz . Sensitivity is .25
uV. OPTIO NAL speaker/mic avail able. H eath
also offered the HW-6502 with an OPTIONAL
"Mobile Console." Designe d for mobile installation, this fully assembled console had a opening

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

HVV-6502

into which the HT could be inserted . Cables from
t h e console provide d power and antenna connections. The console, in turn, was available with
an OPTIONAL 25 watt amplifier. The HW-6502
and its companion Mobile Console were sold for
just over a year; this was Heath's last attempt at
selling its own HTs. The HTs that followed-the
HWS-2(4)(XL) series-were made for Heath by
Standard and are not listed in this book . The
6502 and console are very rare.
Weight/Size: 1 lb; size not available
Related Products: HW-2021, VF-2031

153

HX-10

--~

iE= ~ 'H?diU&il

E=:::::i.~···~··-~~:::-_.::.:.:f*:·:··.:·"'" ..:

----

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!'Y'IARAUO£A'
.. :>11 • ~ .. .

JUN !!

5 Band SSB/AM/CW
Transmitter
"7'
IT
d er "
1narau
Manufactured: 62-65
Price: $ 334.95
Comments: The HX-10 was H eath's fir st self-contained sideband tran s mitt er and wa s not a
replacement for the TX-1 "Ap ache"-the two rigs
were sold side by side for about three years. The
HX-10 u ses 21 tubes and 9 diodes and cove r s 80
through 10 meters . It runs 18 0 watts input on
CW a nd FSK, 180 watts PEP on SSE (upp er or
lower), and a bout 75 watts input on AM u sin g a
pair of 6146s in t he PA cage. Features include
filter-typ e SSE operation, a multi- section, h ermetically seale d band-pass filter, a dual conversion crystal-controlled h etero dyne oscillator,
ALC , and a fan-cooled final a mp. In a ddition the
operator can choose ma nu a l , PTT, or VOX control (VOX was built in ). The HX-10 also features
VOX controlled break-in CW op eration an d a

154

-.... . .

built-in sidetone for monitoring CW tran smi s sion. To improve stability, VFO plate and scre en
voltages are r egu lated a nd the fil a ments in the
VFO are left lighted , even when the main power
is off. The main tuning mechanism is a w orm
gear t y p e assembly featuring s pring -load e d
gears to minimize backlash. The dial is flywh eel
weighted a nd has a 165 :1 turning ratio yielding
abo ut 10 k H z p er revo l ution. Like all tuning
linka ges of this kind , repair may be complicated.
There is a provision for one crystal- controlled
frequency. Crystals u sed are in the 4900 to 5500
kHz range and any given crystal will produce 7
frequencies-one for each b a nd . To find the crys t a l frequ ency, subtr act desired operating fr equency from the h etero dyne mixing fr equ ency
for the correct band: 80 meters (s ubtr a ct 9.0
MHz), 40 meters (subtract 12 .4 MHz ), 20 meters
(s ubtract 19.4 MHz ), 15 meters (subtract 26.4
MHz), lOA (s ubtract 33 .4 MHz) , lOE (s ubtract
34.0 MHz) , lO C (s ubtract 34. 6 MHz) . Crystal
frequencies can b e tweak e d with the trimmer
(C 129) on the VFO enclos u re. All power supplies
are built-in, and the bias s upply is solid- state.
There is a plastic cover window protecting the
illuminated slide-rule dial, but it is sometimes
HE.ATHKIT

[[ ~ 1 H&ifi&E*1
found to b e missing in u nits picked u p at fl ea
markets. Care m ust b e tak en not to damage t h e
dial markin gs or the pointer. Every control needed for normal operation is avail able on the front
panel. Th ese controls include the mode switch ,
audio gain, driver tune , band selector, main tuning (note that t h e main t u ning knob h as a 0-100
scale on it), frequency control (VFO or XTAL ),
drive level , spot l evel , meter function, final load,
final tune, and controls for VOX operation. The
front panel also has a mic connector and a key
jack. There is a control on the rear apron of the
HX-10 for adjustment of the scope monitor level.
Rear panel connectors include an S0-239 for a
50-75 ohm antenna, a phono jack for spotting
signal output, a p h ono j ack for phone patch
input, a quarter inch jack for FSK keyboard
input, a 120 VAC power recept acle (switched), a
ground post, and an octal accessory socket. Th is
socket provides connections for receiver muting,
external amp lifier cutoff bias, connect ions to
receiver audio , and power for a 120 VAC external relay. There is a lso a ph ono jack for monitoring the RF with an oscill oscope. For use with 120
VAC 50/60 Hz only. Two-tone green finish with
polis h ed ch rome knobs. This was the l ast rig
Heath made in the "big/heavy" style . Clean HXl Os in goo d condition are mediu m rare .
Weight/Size: 92 lbs; 19" wide x 11.5" high x 16" deep
Related Products: TX-1, RX-1, HA-10

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

155

HX-11

!"§: ~ fH+Sii'HflJ

TRA!'f•llllTT•l'l
wocua. · •Ot ~ 111

to bring the DX-20 into
lin e with its new
design style. Just as
the DX-20 was sold against the DX-35, the HX11 was sold against the new DX-60, which had
been released about the same time as the HX-11.
Heath used this same "two tier" product scheme
over the years through most of its amateur product line. For addition details and specifications,
see listing under DX-20 . Clean HX-lls in good
condition are very rare.

5 Band CW Transmitter
Manufactured: 61-63
Price: $43.50
Comments: The HX-11 was released in November
1961 and was sold for only about a year and a
h a lf. As a result of its short production life, the
HX-11 qualifies as one of the rarest and le ast
known of Heath's early transmitters - rarer
than the much-sought-after AT-1. The HX-11 is
an exact copy of the transmitter it replaced-it
is a DX-20 in new clothes. The tube line-up is the
same , the power output is the same (50 watts),
the front panel layout is the same, the crystal
access hatch on the cabinet is the same; it is
even in the same size cabinet. There were only a
few significant changes : The meter style is more
"modern," a low pass filter has been ad d ed,
switched power for an external antenna relay
h as been added, Heath no longer advertise d 11
meter operation (even though the HX-11 will do
it), and the paint color has been changed. The
HX-11 is painted in two -tone "Heath green" the colors that by this time had become one of
Heath's trademarks. Heath mad e these changes

156

Weight/Size: 13 lbs; 13" wide x 8.5" high x T deep
Related Products: DX-20

FIE A T FI K I T

HX-80

~ ~ H'*Sf Hi*fi

···1H.. 1+tft11• ·: .: .. 1. , t1•·111·ttd~-~~.,_,_._,
I~

---~-

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(not included). Power
requirements: 6 volts at
4 amps or 12 volts at
2.4 amps AC or DC, -125 VDC at 20 ma, 300 VDC
at 100 ma, and 600 VDC at 130 ma. Front panel
controls include operate/spot/standby, mode ,
final tune, driver t u ne, band, VFO tune, meter
adjust, audio gain, and driver gain. Tune-up is
done u sing the HX-20 's relative power indication. Rear pan el connections include a receiver
accessory socket, power input socket, receiver
antenna, RF output, key jack, and antenna
relay, while the m i crop h one connects on the
right side of the chassis. The rear panel also features t h e fuse, a sideband balan ce control , and
controls for VOX sensitivity and anti-trip . The
final amp operates in class ABl and is designed
to work into a 50 oh m load . Unlike the matching
HR-20, the HX-20 does not use a rotating dial
drum. The tuning mechanism has a 30:1 tuning
ratio and is quite a collection of springs and
gears-take care when working on it. T h e unit is
housed in a two-tone green cabinet. Rare .

5 Band SSB/CWTransmitter
Manufactured : 62-64
Price: $134.95
Comments: The HX-20 and H R-20 are matching
rigs designed primarily for mobile use and represent a general refinement of the MT-1
"Cheyenne" and the MR-1 "Comanche" (see listings ), which they repl aced. The biggest change
is the addition of SSB and VOX and the elimination of AM . The HX-20 transmitter is a 13 tube
design (including a 6146 PA) covering the entire
80-15 meters bands and three 500 kHz segments
of t h e 10 meter band. No PC boards are useda ll wiring is point-to-point. The HX-20 will operate USB, LSB, or CW (no AM), with an input
power of 90 watts PEP, and must be used with
one of the following power supplies : the HP-10
or HP-13 series (for mobile u se) or the MP-1, HP,
20, or HP-23 series (for 120 VAC use). Features
include crystal filtering and balanced modulator
circuits, a temperature compensated VFO , a
hermetically sealed bandpass filter, dual conversion heterodyne operation, crystal -controlled
oscillators, and ALC. Heath went out of its way
to assure the wary shopper of excelle n t "long
term suppression stability" of unwanted carrier
and sidebands and touted only 100 Hz drift after
warm-up. Advertised carrier suppression is 50
dB below peak output and sideband suppression
is 55 dB below peak ou tput . The HX-20 uses grid
block keying and a high impedance microphone

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 22 lbs; 12.25" wide x 6.25" high x
9.25" deep
Related Products: HR-20 , MR-1 , MT-1 , MP-1 ,
HP-20 , HP-23 series , HP-10 , HP-13 series ,
AK-7

157

HX-80

6 Meter SSB/AM/CW
Transmitter
Manufactured: 62-65
Price: $189.95
Comments: Looking much like a smaller version
of the TX-1, the HX-30 was Heath's first VHF
sideband transmitter and was very well received
by VHF enthusiasts . Th e HX-30 is built on 4 PC
boards, employs 14 tubes including a 6360 final ,
an d uses crystal-controlled carrier and hetero dyne oscillators together with an audio phaseshift scheme to generate the output. The HX-30
will cover any one 1 MHz portion of the sixmeter band . The basic frequency generation
met hod works in the fo llowing way. A carrier is
produced at 11.5 MHz and is mixed with the heterodyne oscillator frequency of 30.5 MHz to produce a 42 MHz signal. This 42 MHz signal is
mixed with the VFO ou tput from 8 to 9 MH z to
produce an output from 50 to 5 1 MHz. Since
there is no "band switch," ch anging the hetero dyne oscillator crystal is required to move to a
different portion of the band. Changing the h et-

158

IE= ~ f§fdf§fi*il

erodyne oscillator crystal to 31. 5 MHz (for
examp l e) would produce an output between
51 and 52 MHz . While somewhat inconvenient,
this system-together with a very well made
and temperature compensated VFO-provides
excellent stability. The rig comes with a heterodyne crystal to provide output from 50 to 5 1
MHz but is capab le of coverage to 54 MHz .
NOTE: Changing the heterodyne crystal
requires major realignment of the transmitter.
Running SSB, t h e transmitter will provide 8 to
10 watts PEP output. On AM or CW the ou tput
is only 3 to 4 watts. Carrier suppression is better
than 50 dB, and unwanted sideband su ppression
is better than 40 dB. Features include a built-in
power supply, VOX or PTT control, switch selection of USB, LS B, AM, or CW (grid block keying) , a built-in VF O , provision for two crystal
frequencies (7.9 to 9 MHz crystals ), and selectable temperature compensation. The illuminated slide-rul e dial drive uses H eath 's famous
(infamous ) gear-and-pulley tuning as semblythe repair of which is a soberi ng experience .
Front panel controls i nclude audio gain, spot
H E .AT HK IT

r@ ~u•+SiU&EiJ
level, RF level, function, carrier balance, mode,
driver tune, final tune, frequency control, meter
adjust, and main tuning, while the output loading and coupling controls are inconveniently
placed inside the cabinet. Also on the front panel
are the mic and k ey jacks and a red panel light
that indicates "on air" status. Controls for the
adjustment of VOX and bias are located on the
rear apron along with an S0-239 for a 50-75 ohm
a ntenna, a gro und post , and an 11 pin "octal
style " accessory soc k et. Pin s on this socket
include four sets of contacts that open or close
with transmit, a switched 117 VAC output for
use with an antenna relay, and a chassis ground .
Alignment of th e HX-30 required a VTVM, a
dummy load, a scope , a sine wave audio generator, and a frequency meter. All things considered, the HX-30 was a very well -designed transmitter and produces a clean, stable signal with
great audio and solid CW. The unit is enclosed in
a copper-clad st eel cabinet and wears H eath's
"official" colors-two-tone green. The knobs are
polished aluminum, as opposed to the brushed
aluminum knobs used on the VHF-1. Also note
that the main tuning knob is a "spinner knob."
The HX-30 is de signed for 120 VAC, 50/60 Hz
operation. Rare in good condition.
Weight/Size: 46 lbs; 16.5" wide x 10" high x 10" deep
Related Products: VHF-1 , HA-20

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

159

:a:x~1ss1

IE=~ fif P§f §f Hii

meter function switch,
and mode switch. Rear
panel
connections
include phone jacks for a 50 ohm antenna,
receiver muting, and amplifier keying. A "linear"
mode is provided for use with an external amp.
In this mode, the receiver is muted continuously
during transmit with a selectable amount of
delay time being chosen by the operator. The
original units had a lot of trouble with key
clicks. Eventually, Heath offered a free modification to owners and incorporated the fix into new
units. An excellent modification to solve the key
click problem is described in the March 1981
issue of QST magazine. NOTE: The HX-1681
requires an external power supply such as the
HP-23 series. The HX-1861 was a good rig but
was not as successful as its companion receiver
and was pulled from production a year earlier
than the HR-1680. It would have been much
more popular had it been fully solid state with
an internal power supply. Power requirements:
700-850 VDC at 250 ma (1 percent ripple), 250
VDC at 50 ma (.05 percent ripple), -115 VDC at
10 ma (.5 percent ripple), and 12.6 volts AC or
DC at 2 .5 amps. Light green front panel with red
plastic dial window (illuminated) and a dark
green cabinet. Medium rare.

5 Band CW Transmitter
Manufactured: 79-82
Price: $239.95
Comments: The HX-1681 and its companion
receiver, the HR-1680, are the solid state
replacements for the aging tube-type DX-60B
and HR-lOB novice pair. In the fall of 1976, in
the ad featuring the new HR-1680, the HX-1681
(called the HX-1675 in the ad) was advertised as
"coming soon." It turned out that "coming soon"
was almost two years . It wasn't until the summer of 1979 that the transmitter was releasedprobably due to design problems and the distraction of Heath's problem-plagued HW-2026. The
HX-1681 is a CW only transmitter covering 500
kHz segments of the 80-15 meter bands and the
28.0 to 28.5 MHz segment of the 10 meter band .
There are no provisions for WARC band coverage. To call the HX-1681 a solid state rig isn't
quite accurate-it uses a 12BY7 driver and a
pair of 6146s in the final amp. Power output is
rated at 100 watts minimum on 80-15 and 75
watts minimum on 10. Features include full
break-in CW (QSK), a built-in VFO, solid state
TR switching, and an adjustable sidetone level.
As in the matching receiver, the transmitter is
built around several plug-in PC boards. The
card edge connectors on these boards are subject
to a little oxidation over time and may need periodic cleaning. Front panel contro ls include
sidetone level, CW level, band switch, tuning,

160

Weight/Size: 16lbs;12.75" wide x 6.75" high x
12" deep
Related Products: HR-1680, HS-1661

El.A.TH KIT

KL-1

~ ~tH+SiHi*fil

C operation requires at
least 40 watts of drive.
C la ss ABl output
power is about 900
watts PEP on SS B ,
about 300 watts on AM,
and about 750 watts
(class C) CW. The KL-1
uses a pair of 4-400s
and 7 other t ubes. Features include forced air
cooling , quarter inch
si l ver -pl ate d copper
tubing in the final tank
coil , full metering, and
a h eavy-duty plate paras itic choke assemb ly.
Front pan e l con tro l s
include m ain power,
meter function , grid
bandswitch (se l ec t s
t un ed or untun ed input), grid tuning, mo de
switch, bias, and fi nal
loading. There are two fro nt panel meters. One
reads plate current; the other may be switched
between grid current, screen current, and plate
voltage . WARNING: The entire 3000 volts plate
supply appears at the meter. Use extreme caution wh en working in this area. Adjust the meter
with an insulated screwdriver only. The KL-1
derives its basic power from the KS-1 power supply. But in spite of its obvious bulk, the KS-1
generates only the 3000 VDC high voltage. Filament voltage for the 4-400s as well as bias voltage are derived onbo ard the KL-1. All voltage
regulation is done onboard the KL-1 as well. In
a dditi on to hi gh voltage, the KL-1 a lso must
have a source of 115 VAC for its filament and
bias supplies. This 115 VAC comes from the KS1 via a set of interconnecting cables a long with
the high voltage . There is also a six-wire control
cabl e between the two units. The KS-1 has
wiring options for 11 5 or 230 VAC input, uses
old-style household fus es, h as a 60 second timedelay tube to ensure that the 866 rectifiers don't
see any high voltage until they have warmed up ,
and was not supplied with a top enclosure. The
KL-1 is exceptionally rare in any condition .

5 Band HF Linear Amplifier
"Chippewa"
Manufactured: 60-60
Price:
$399.96 (amplifier)
$169.95 (power supply)
Comments: This magni ficent l y over-designed

amplifier was H eath's first attempt at a linear.
A lth ough it was a good enough design and
worked well, it was very short lived. Almost as
soon as it was released (to favorabl e reviews),
Heath realized that it probably had been a mistake. It was too much of everything. Too big, too
heavy, a nd-most importantly-much too expensive to compete effectively. Almost before the ink
on the assembly manual was dry Heath started
work to design a more compact and less expensive replacement-the HA-10 (see listing). The
KL-1 itself was sold for less than a year, a lthough
its companion power supp l y (th e KS-1) was
released in June 1959- a bout six months prior
to t h e KL-1. The KL-1 was designed to match the
TX-1 transmitter (see listing) and is the same size
and color scheme of the TX-1. The unit covers
80-10 (but not 11 ) meters and can run class AB l
for SSB or AM (or CW) or class C for CW only. In
ABl, the amp can be run with tuned or untune d
input circuits depending on h ow much drive is
available . In the tuned configuration drive power
may be as low as 10 watts peak. With untune d
input at least 60 watts of drive is required. Class

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: (KL-1) 70 lbs; 19.5" wide x 11.5" high x
16" deep
Weight/Size: (KS-1) 105 I bs;17. 75" wide x 12" high x
13" deep
Related Products: TX-1, RX-1, HX-10, HA-10

161

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COMANC H E

dial drum as are u sed
in the MT- 1 (see comments under MT-1 ) and
are as difficult to fix. Check the dial drum for
cracks before you buy. Front panel controls
include mode selector, RF gain, AF gain/power
on/off, noise limiter on/off, AVC on/off selector,
main tuning, band switch, BFO tune, and antenna trimmer. Rear panel connections include an
S0-239 for a 50 oh m antenna, a phon o jack for
an 8 ohm speaker (there are no provisions for
h eadph ones ), and a 6 pin power connector. If
desired, power for the MR-1 can be taken from a
l oop -through mating connector on the MT-1.
Power requirements: 6 volts at 4. 7 amps or 12
volts at 2.35 amps AC or DC, -125 VDC at 20 ma,
300 VD C at 100 ma, and 500-600 VDC at 150
ma. In 1962 the MR-1 was redesigned to better
accommodate SSB operation. The new rig was
design ated the HR-20 (no In dian name used ),
but is almost identical in outward appearance.
Take care not to confuse them. The reader is
referred to the listing for the MT- 1 for additional
information. The MR-l 's paint color is Heath's
standard two-tone green. Good clean units are rare.

5 Band AM/CW/SSB Receiver
''Comanche"
Manufactu red: 59- 62
Price: $119.95
Comments: The MR-1 and MT-1 are matching
rigs designed primarily for mobile operation,
although fixed -station use is possible . The MR-1
receiver is an 8 tube, single-conversion superh eterodyne design coverin g 80-10 meters and
will receive AM, CW, an d SSB signals . No PC
boards are used-all wiring is point to point. It
u ses a crystal lattice filter and has a 3000 kHz
IF. Sensitivity was advertised as better than 1
uV on all bands . Selectivity is 3 kHz at 6 dB
down, 10 kHz at 60 dB down . It can be used as a
mobile or fixed -station radio with the appropriate power supply and is designed for use with
either the HP-10 or HP-13 series (for mobile use)
or the MP-1 , HP-20, or H P-23 series (for 120
VAC use). Features include a noise limiter, AVC,
voltage regul ation, and a n illuminated S -meter,
but no built -in s peaker. Additional features
include a built-in series ANL, front panel selection of fast and slow AVC action, and outputs for
an 8 ohm speaker and 500 ohm headphones. Two
different detectors are used-a conventional
diode type for AM and a product detector for CW
and SSB. The MR- 1 uses the same gear and pull ey tuning mechanism and the same rotating

162

Weight/Size: 19 lbs; 12.25" wide x 6.25" high x
9.25" deep
Related Products: HX-20 , HR-20, MT-1 , MP-1 ,
HP-20 , HP-23 series, HP-10, HP-13 series,
AK-7

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vide connection to the
power supply and loopthrough power to the
receiver. There are also
two S0-239s. One is RF
out for a 50-75 ohm
antenna, and the other
connects to the receiver. In addition there is
a quarter-inch key jack.
The microphone connector is on the right
side of the chassis . The
main tuning mechani sm involves a veritable constellation of gears
and pulleys . There are
also three sets of right
angle gears in the tuning, loading, and bands witch circuits. As
noted elsewhere in this
book, repair of these
mechanisms presents a
sobering challenge. Some Heath advertising
said the tuning ratio was 30: 1. That is incorrect.
The MT-1 (a nd MR-1 ) tuning mechanism i s
smooth but rather coarse-about a 14:1 ratio.
That works out to about 35 kHz per turn. Dial
markings are printing on a translucent plastic
drum that rotates to display band frequencies as
the bandswitch is turned. This drum can crack if
the unit is s ubjected to rough handling. Check it
carefully before you buy. It would be very difficult (but not impossible) to make a new one if a
salvaged drum could not b e found. Power
requirements: 6 volts a t 4.7 amps or 12 volts at
2.35 amps AC or DC , -125 VDC at 20 ma, 300
VDC at 100 ma , and 500-600 VDC at 150 ma. In
1962 the MT-1 was completely redesigned to
include SSB operation. The new rig was designated the HX-20 (no Indian name used), but is
almost identical to the MT-1 in outward appearance. Take care not to confuse them . The MT-1 is
dressed in Heath's standard two-tone green colors . Good clean units are medium rare.

5 Band HF Transmitter
"Cheyenne"
Manufactured: 59-62
Price: $99.95
Comments: The MT-1 and MR-1 were He a th's
first mobile rig s . They are a matched set
designed primarily for mobile use, though fixedstation operation is possible . QST reviewers
were very impressed with the pair. They noted
that in spite of their many features the
Cheyenne and Comanche combination required
"a mere cubic foot" of space. The MT-1 transmitter is a 7-tube design (including a 6146 PA) covering the entire 80-10 m ete rs bands. No PC
boards are used-all wiring is point-to-point.
The MT-1 will operate AM or CW (no SSB) with
an input power of 90 watts and must be used
with one of the following power supplies: the
HP-10 or HP-13 series (for mobile u se) or the
MP-1 , HP, 20, or HP-23 series (for 120 VAC use ).
Features include a built-in VFO with an illuminated slide-rule dial, a controlled carrier modulator, four RF stages, PTT (no VOX) operation,
and a spotting function. There are no provisions
for crystal control. The front panel meter reads
PA grid or plate current. Front panel controls
include main tuning, band selector, final tune,
final load , drive, audio level, mode selector, s potting, and meter function. Rear panel connections include two 6-pin connectors, which pro-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 23 lbs; 12.25" wide x 6.25" high x
9.25" deep
Related Products: HX-20, HR-20, MR-1, MP-1,
HP-20, HP-23 series, HP-10, HP-13 series,
AK-7

163

PlVL-1

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Field Strength Meter
Manufactured: 58-59
Price : $12.95
Comments: The PM-1 is a simple , self-power e d
field strength meter, a nd its design is oddly out
of place in Heath's product line. By the time it
was released in 1958 Heath was firmly committed to a design that included b ake d en amel twotone green paint and meta l cabinets . H ere then
i s a s mall bla ck B a kelit e box with a s hin y
chrome front panel. H eath had u sed small Bakelite boxes before -but not in its amateur product
line. It is not clear why H eath cho se thi s design,
but it was used for just under two years before
being repl acing by the PM-2, which conformed to
the basic amateur pro ducts de sign philosophy. It
is also the only Heath product to use the oval
n a m eplate sticker seen on the front panel. The
pa n el meter is a Simpson unit an d reads relative
power on a 0-10 scale with the H eathkit name.
Very rare.
Wei ght/Size: 1 lb ; 6.25" wide x 3. 75" high x 2" deep
Related Products : PM - 2, HD-1426

164

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PlVL-8

Field Strength
Meter
Manufactured: 60-75
Price: $17.95
Comments: The PM-2 is a simple, self-powered
field strength meter. It features a magnetic base
to hold it down and has a working range from
100 kHz to 250 MHz with .3 volts (not microvolts) RMS se n sitivity. It was sold for 15 years
and originally cost $12.95. Toward t h e en d of its
production life, it seemed increasingly anachronistic . For example, it was odd to see it being
sold side-by-side with the SB -104. Its two-tone
green design and sloping cabinet match t h e HD20 crystal calibrator. E arly units used metal
knobs while later ones u sed a small gray plastic
knob of the style used on the AC -1 (see listing.)
Collect both and h ave a n ice pair. Rare.
Weight/Size: 1 lb; 2.5" wide x 4.25" high x 2.75" deep
Related Products: PM-1 , HD-20 , HD-1426

A Guide to the Amateur R adio Products

165

QF'-1

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TUNING

Q Multiplier
Manufactu red: 56-60
Price: $9.95
Comment s: The QF-1 was Heath's first Q-multiplier and was designed for use with the "AR"
series receivers , though it will work with any
receiver having an IF between 450 and 460 kHz.
Designed around a single 12AX7 , the QF-1 has
no internal power supply and takes its power
from the receiver to which it is connected (or
some other external power source). Nate that
the QF-1 will not work with AC/DC type (transformerless) radios. The unit uses special high-Q
shielded coils to achieve an effective Q of about
4000. Front panel controls include peak, null ,
mode , and tuning. The tuning control has a 14:1
turn s ratio for easy adjustment. The QF-1 uses
the same dark gray knobs used on the DX-20, 35,
and 40. Note that there are no skirts on the
NULL or PEAK knobs. There are two cables
coming out the back panel of the QF-1. One is for
connection to the receiver IF and the other has
an octal plug for power input. This plug is compatible with octal sockets on the back of the AR

166

I /

MULTIPLIER

series receivers, but it would be worth the time
to check the wiring to be sure before you plug it
in - just in case someone has done a modification. The QF-1 was on the market for about four
years, worked very well, and was very successful. Power requirements: 150-250 VDC at 2 ma
and 6.3 volts AC or DC at 300 ma. In 1961 Heath
updated the QF-1 and fitted it with an internal
power supply. The new unit was designated as
the HD-11 (s ee listing). Still later the HD-11 was
updated and became the GD-125 (see listing) .
Through all of these updates, the basic circuit
never changed. The QF -1 uses the silver and
gray colors of the DX-100, et al. The QF-1 is still
fairly common at flea markets, though clean
units in good condition are seen a bit less often.
Wei ght / Size: 3 lbs ; 7.25" wide x 4. 75" hi gh x
4.25" deep
Related Products: HD-11 , GD-125 , AM -2, HD-19 , etc.

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meters) and has a sep7 Band SSB/AM/CW Receiver
arate band position
and dial markin gs for 6
"Mohawk"
and 2 meter coverage (with optional converters) .
Manufactured: 58-64
Price: $274.95
Comments: The RX-1 was Heath's first "ham
band only" rece iver and was one of the very first
kit-form communications receivers on t h e market. The RX-1 is designed as a companion to the
TX-1 (Apache ) transmitter (see listing), and at
first glance the two units are almost indistinguishabl e from each oth er. These two rigs were
the first Heathkits to wear the famous green colors - a color scheme that would last nearly a ll of
Heath's amateur radio life . The RX-1 is typical
of equipment designed in the 1950s: it is built on
a heavy gauge steel chassis and has a heavy aluminum front panel and a heavy steel enclosure.
The operative word here is "heavy." It weighs 52
pounds on the bench. The unit is designed
aroun d 15 tubes and wi ll receive upper and
lower si deband as well as AM and CW. It covers
from 1 60 through 10 meters (includ in g 11

A Guide to the A mateur R adio Products

Features include a buil t-in power s u pply, 5
switch able selectivity settings, a tunable notch
filter, a built -in illumin ated S-meter, and a 100
kHz crystal calibrator. The receiver is a double
conversion superheterodyne type with a first IF
of 1682 kHz and a second IF of 50 kHz. The front
end section, which inclu des the bandswitching,
RF, HF oscillator, and mixer stages, was preassembled, tested, and aligned at the factory.
This "sub chassis" is simply attache d to the
main ch assis with a few screws and connected by
a few plug-in cables. Th e pre-assembled frontend greatly simplified construction and tune-up .
In fact, the tune -up can be done with nothing
more than the RX-l's S-meter and crystal calibrator. Other wiring is simplified by a wiring
harness. Sensitivity is better t h an 1 u V. Selectivity can be adjusted in five steps-5, 3, 2, 1,
and .5 kHz. Th e notch filter has a depth of 50 dB .
Stability was never specified by Heath, but has
been found experientially to be as good or better
than most rigs of the genre. The front pan el pro-

167

~ ~ fHWiHHFI
vides controls for RF, IF and AF gain (with
power switch), notch tuning, notch depth, ANL,
AVC, BFO, and the bandswitch. Additionally
there are controls for main tuning, calibrator
set, calibrator on/ off, antenna trimmer,
receive/standby, mode, and selectivity. There is
also a standard quarter-inch headphone jack on
the front panel. The rear panel has an S0-239
connector for a 50-75 ohm antenna and screw
terminals for 50-75 ohm or 150-300 ohm antenna. There are also screw terminals for 8 ohm and
500 ohm audio output. CAUTION: Do not operate the receiver without a speaker or headphones connected. An octal accessory socket provide access to B+, 6.3 VAC, AVC, and receiver
muting. In addition there is a rear panel
switched 120 VAC receptacle and a 1.5 amp cartridge fuse. The dial mechanism is another of
Heath's gear and pulley assemblies and uses a
rotating drum with markings for each band .
This drum is illuminated and rotates as the
bandswitch is turned. The drum is pl astic and
can crack with rough handling. Be sure to check
it before you buy. The RX-1 is designed for 120
VAC , 50/60 Hz operation . The unit has a twotone green front panel with darker green copper
clad cabinet . Early RX-ls were shipped with
satin finish aluminum knobs, while later versions used polished knobs. Heath sold the RX-1
for about seven years, and although thousands
were sold, few remain. In 1963 the RX-1 was
replaced by the sleek SB -300 - patterned after
the Collins S line . Heath continued to sell the
RX-1 until supplies ran out early in 1964. Clean
RX-ls in good working order are medium rare.
Wei ght/Siz e: 66 lbs; 19.5" wide x 11. 75" high x
16" deep
Related Products: TX-1 , HX-10 , KL-1 , HA-10 , AK-5

168

H E .A..T HK IT

S.A-1480

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the HD-1481. The SA1480 can be used with
signals to 150 MHz and
with 50-70 ohm lines. Insertio n loss is less than
2 dB at 100 MHz. The switch is rated for "full
power" operation. Features include a special
shielded , weatherproof switch hou sing and silver plated switch contacts. In 1984 the SA-1480
was replaced by the HD-1481, but the two units
were sold side by side for a short time . This is a
well made unit and it is still in high demand. As
a result they doe sn't last long at flea markets.
Medium rare as most are still in u se.

Remote Antenna Switch
Manufactured: 79-84
Price: $84.95
Comments: This was the first of two remote
antenna switches made by Heath-and probably
the better of the two units. The SA-1480 will
remotely switch up to five antennae from a control box in your shack. The actual switch boxtypically tower mounted-is connected to the
control box via a length of 8 conductor cable. A
rotary switch selects which antenna will be
placed on-line, and five LEDs show which antenna has been selected . The 8 conductor cable may
sound like a disadvantage compared to H eath's
later version, the HD-1481 (see listing), which
sent switching signals through the coax line , but
the separate switching cable made the unit
immune from damage by high SWR, EMP, and so
on. As a result the SA-1480 is more coveted than

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 8 lbs; 5.25" wide x 3.5" high x
5.25" deep
Related Products: HD-1481

169

S..A.-8040

Antenna Tuner
M anufact ured: 79-83
Price: $149.95
Commen t s: The SA-2040 was the second in a
series of antenna tuners but was the first in a
very long time. The AC-1 was actually Heath's
first antenna tuner-made from 1953 to 1956
and deigned for use with the AT-1. See listings
for AT-1 and AC-1. Heath didn't make another
tuner until the SA-2040 in 1979 . It is not clear
why such an obvious product was overlooked for
so many years . At any rate , the SA-2040 is a well
designed tuner and was very popular. Like most
tuners, there isn't much inside - a couple of
large air variables, a roller inductor, and a
balun. Features include continuous tuning from
3.5 to 30 MHz, silver-plated straps and roller
contacts, large ceramic feed-throughs, bal anced
and unbalanced output, and wide range output
impedance . Other features include a continuously variable roller inductor with a mechanical
turns counter, a 4:1 balun, and an erasable front
panel on which you can write notes for quick
adjustment of the tuner on various bands . The

170

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SA-2040 is ideal for WARC operation, is rated
for 2000 watts PEP and 1000 w atts CW input,
and h as a n input impedance of 50 ohms. Rear
panel connections include S0-239 s for RF in and
out and ceramic standoffs for connection to balanced lines or a random wire . NOTE : When
adjusting the inductor take care that you do not
adjust it too far and run the roller off the end of
the coil-there is no "stop" to prevent this . This
is not fatal but is very inconvenient . The SA2040 is built on a copper plated steel chassis
with a light green front panel and the black cabinet. These are popular and many are still in use .
Medium rare.
Wei ght /Size: 15lbs; 14.75" wide x 5.75" hi gh x
14" deep
Related Products: SA-2060(A) , SA-2500

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Antenna Tuner
Manufactured/Price
SA-2060
81-83
259.95
SA-2060A 83-91
279.95
Comments: The SA-2060 and SA-2060A are the
same basic tuners as the SA-2040 (there was no
SA-2050), to which a number of additional fea tures have been added. (Refer to listing for SA2040 for basic specifications.) The most obvious
of these additional features is the dual
wattmeter and SWR bridge . The wattmeter
reads 0-200 and 0-2000 watts forward and 0-50
and 0-500 watts reflected with 5 percent accuracy. The wattmeter/SWR sensor is factory assembled and calibrated. Other added features
include an extension of the tuning range-the
SA-2 060 will cover down to 1.8 MHz. Front
panel controls include transmitter match, inductor, antenna matching, SWR sensitivity, and a
switch to select one of two coaxial lines or a
bypass (to a dummy load or resonant antenna,
for example). Three front panel push buttons
control the operation of the wattmeter. Rear
panel connections include an 80-239 input connector and three 80 -23 9 outputs (coax 1, 2, and
bypass ). There are also three standoffs for use
with a balanced line or random wire (not both).
The major difference between the SA-2060 and
the 2060A is the way the antennas are selected.
When you use the SA-2060 with a random wire
or balanced line you must have an open output

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

S.A-8060 (.A)

at one of the two coaxial line connectors. Otherwise you will have two antennas connected at
once. This precaution is not necessary with the
2060A. The styling was also changed in the A
version. The black cabinet and light green front
panel was changed to a two-tone brown to match
the SS-9000 transceiver. SS-9000 style knobs
a lso replace the familiar SB style knobs of the
2060. However, Heath also added a position to
the front panel antenna selector switch to
enable the selection of a longwire or balanced
line as well as the coaxial lines. There are no
additional connectors on the rear panel. NOTE:
When adjusting the inductor take care that you
do not adjust it too far and run the roller off the
end of the coil-there is no "stop" to prevent this.
This is not fatal but is very inconvenient. These
tuners are well designed and do a nice job. They
are still in demand and sell quickly at flea markets. As a result of their demand SA-2060s (and
especially 2060As) are scarce.
Weight/Size: 15lbs;14.75" wide x 5.75" high x
14" deep
Related Products: SA-2040, SA-2500

171

SA.-8500

ITf= ~ fH@SiifHiil
nas and a bypass position (for use with a
dummy load or resonant antenna). Manual
operation of the tuner
is possible with thre e
spring-return lever
switches-one for each
el e m e nt in th e tuner.
NOTE: When adjusting
the inductor t a ke care
that you do not a djust
it too far a nd r un the
roller off the end of the
coil-there is no "stop"
t o prevent this. This is
no t fatal but is ver y
inconveni e nt. As th e
roll er on the inductor
tak es about a 90 second s to make the trip
from one end to th e
other, 18 pre s et position s (2 for each of 9
bands ) are provided to speed the tuning process .
These preset positions are user selectable and
can be reconfigured at any time . Additionally,
you can assign mor e than two presets to one
band if desired. Front panel controls include
power on/off, SWR sensitivity adjust, SWR for ward/reverse , auto/manual tune , SWR alarm
on/off, linear amp on-line/off-line , and manual
tuning controls . There are also controls for
band, band high/low preset select, and antenna
select. Rear panel connections include an 80239 input connector and three 80 -239 outputs
(coax 1, 2, and bypass ). Standoff feed-throughs
are used with a random wire and balenced lines
(if the balun is installed). Other rear panel conn ectors include 12 VDC power, antenna relay (to
disable your linear when tuning) , and remote
bandswitching (if your transmitter can support
it). Automatic tuning time is about 15 seconds.
The auto-tuning system requires a minimum of
35 watts input for proper SWR set. The SA-2500
is two-tone brown in color (to match the 88 9000). Power requirements: 120 VAC, 50/60 Hz ,
or 12 VDC at 1 amp . The SA-2500 works very
well, but sales were held down because the $600
price tag was fairly steep for many operators. As
a result you rarely see these at flea markets.

Automatic A ntenna T uner
Manufactu red: 84-87
Price : $599.95
Comments: The SA-2500 contains the same basic
tuner design found in the SA-2040 and SA2060(A) (see listings) . But in the 2500, the
capacitors and the inductor are motor driven
and are controlled by an electronics package (on
two PC boards ) that senses minimum SWR. The
specifications of the SA-2500 are the same as the
SA-2060(A)-it tunes from 1.8 to 30 MHz and
has a dual wattmeter and SWR bridge that
reads from 0 to 200 or 0 to 2000 forward and 050 or 0-500 reflected; however, in the 2500 the
wattmeter is auto -ranging. The mechanical
turns counter of the 2060 has been replaced with
an electronic digital readout in the 2500, and
status lights have been added to indicated what
elements of the tuner are being adjusted. There
is also an audio warning that indicates when the
tuned SWR exceeds a user preset level. The 4:1
balun found as standard equipment in the SA2040 and 2060(A) units is offered in the 2500 as
an option . The pres ence of the balun can be
determined by checking the back panel for the
number of standoff insulator connections. If
three standoffs are seen, the balun is installed.
If only one is seen, no balun is pre sent. The
balun is really a must for the serious operator
and is required for use with balanced lines . A
front panel switch selects between three anten-

172

Wei ght / Size: 26 lbs ; 14.5" wide x 6.75" high x
20" deep
Related Products: SA-2040 , SA-2060(A)

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Antenna Matcher
Manufactured: 86-88
Price: $149.95
Comments: It is important to note that the SA2550 is not a "tuner." It is a "matcher" designed
specifically for use with single or mu lti-band
half-wave dipo l es, inverted -Vs, and quarterwave vertical antennas. It is not for use with 50
ohm beams, random wires, or balanced feed line
antennas. The SA-2550 allows you to effectively
double the bandwidth of your dipole so you can
work the phone or CW end of the band from a
single antenna while maintaining a low SWR.
The unit will operate with antennas from 1.8 to
30 MHz and is rated for full legal power. To use
the SA-2550 to its fullest requires you to lengthen your existing half-wave dipoles, inverted-V,
or quarter -wave vertical by 5 to 15 percent,
depending on the frequency. The control unit
contains a simple switching circuit, and the
remote unit contains a motor-driven high voltage variable capacitor. The SA-2550 is designed
for power cube operation (15 VDC at 1 amp ). The

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

SA.-8550

remote unit takes the place of the center insulator in your dipole or inverted-V, or can feed the
base of your quarter-wave vertical. The remote
unit can be controlled either through the coax
cable or from a two-wire cable connection. The
SA-2550 has no buil t-in SWR indicator and
proper operation requires an external dual
wattmeter or SWR bridge. The 2550's brown
color matches the "Little Brown Box" series .
Very rare.
Weight/Size: 2 lbs; 5.5.. wide x 2.5" hi gh x 4" deep
(cont rol unit)
Wei ght/Size: 8 lbs ; 8" wide x 16.5" hi gh x 4" deep
(remote unit)
Related Products: none

173

SA-5010(.A)

Electronic Keyer
"uMatic"
Manufactured/Price:
SA-5010
81-85
SA-5010A 85-91

$99.95

Comments: Although th e SA-5010(A) replaced
Heath's older (and very popular) HD-1410 keyer
and was (and still is) very popular in its own
right, the two keyers sold side by side for about 3
years. In a nutshell, the SA-5010(A) is a microprocessor controlled keyer with just about every
feature you might imagine . One rather unusual
feat ur e is t he paddle assembly. Unlike other
paddles of other keyers, the paddles of the SA5010(A) do not move. Instead they use touch sensiti ve e lectronics to operate the keyer cir-

174

® ~ 1 U¥fhi*il1
cuits . For many ops this will require
some getting used to. The speed is
user selectable from 1 to 99 WPM ,
and the keyer is iambic in operation.
Th e uMatic ( pronounced "micro matic" ) key er can store up to 240
characters in up to 10 CMOS memories . Since the memories are "softsectored" the operator can store as
many or a s few characters in each
memory as desired without wasting
space. In addition to sendable characters, the memories can also hold
"command strings." These may be
used, for example, to insert a pause
into which the op can manually send
an RST, to tell the k eyer to change
speed, or to link two or more memories together, to name only a few
applications. In addition, each memory messag e can automatically be
sent up to 9 times. The keyer is also
capable of inserting serial numbers
that are automatically incremented.
A clever operator could program the
SA-5010 (A) in such a way that an
entire simp l e QSO could be made
simply by pushing buttons. The SA5010(A) also can send code practice
sessions. The user can specify letters
only, letters and numbers , or letters,
numbers, and punctua tion. Groups
in these sessions are of random
length. Over 6,000 practice sequences
are available, so you don't have to
worry about memorizing th em, but they are
repeatable to allow for checking your copy. The
practice sessions operate the k eye r output so
they could be transmitted if desired . When not
connected to a power source the keyer memories
are retained by three "watch " type batteries
(Eveready A 76 or equivalent). Typical battery
life is one year. There is no battery drain unless
the keyer is removed from its power source. Virtually a ll operating parameters can be changed
from the 22-key pad . When turned off the SA5010(A) remembers the last configuration used.
A diagno stic program is run each time the power
is turned on. If the diagnostic fails , a ll the LEDs
light and the sidetone sounds continuously. The
paddles, which can be reversed (from the keypad ) for left-hand operation, are detachable and
can be stored in a drawer on the underside of the
unit. Although basic operation of the uMatic is
intuitive a nd simple instructions are printed on
H E .AT HK IT

r@ ~ fb¥Sii'H+ii1
the underside, the manual will be essential to an
understanding of the more complex operations.
Sidetone volume and pitch as well as separate
right-and left-paddle sensitivity can be changed
from access holes on the underside. The rear
panel contains two keying jacks. One is for positive keying (250 volts at 100 ma), and the other
is for negative keying (-200 volts at 40 ma).
These jacks are protected and will key the transmitter continuously if the wrong one is u sed.
NOTE: Use coaxial cable between the keyer and
the transmitter. There is also a miniature phone
jack for headphones , a 4-pin connector for an
external paddle, and a power jack . The SA5010(A) has a built-in full wave bridge rectifier
allowi ng it to run from either an AC or DC
source. Power requirements: 11-16 VDC at 200
ma (polarity not critical) or 8.5 VAC at 1 amp.
The membrane keypad is attach ed to the keyer
with self-stick backing and, over time, can begin
to peel off, especially on the paddle end where
the ribbon connector cable is attached. This condition is fixable with the careful application of a
variety of adhesives . Because the uMatic uses
CMOS chips it is subject to damage by static
electricity - static sparks from your fin gers
touching the paddles, for examp l e . Since the
microprocessor (a 3870) is custom-made for the
unit, a replacement could be very difficult to
find. Early versions were plagued by static damage problems. The A version is more immune but
both should be treated carefully with respect to
static. It is not uncommon to find these keyers
with factory repair labels on the bottom . The
SA-5010 h ad a number of minor glitches including being bothered by stray RF from the tr ans mitter. This could cause the unit to send random
dots or d ashes . Most of these probl ems were
cleaned up in the 5010A. Units are occasionally
seen with home brew paddles. The paddles are
removable and can be stored in a draw that pulls
out of the back. The SA-5010 has a beige case.
The A version is gray. Medium rare.
Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 4.25" wide x 1.75" high x 6" deep
Related Products: HD-10, HD-1410, HD-8999

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

175

SB-10

Sideband Adaptor
Manufactured : 59-64
Price: $89.95
Comments: The earliest references to the SE-10
can be found in some DX-100 manuals , where
the unit is referred to as the DX-10. The unit
was origina lly deigned to be used with the DX100 but because of significant d elays in engin eering the DX-10, it was renamed and restyled
to match the TX-1 when work on that transmitter began. As a r es ult the DX-10 never materia lized. The SE-10 is a phasing type SSE generator
designed to work with the TX-1, but with a simple modification of the transmitter, the SE-10
can be u se d with the DX-100 and lOOE and
almost any other similar transmitter. The SE-10
uses nine tubes and is placed in the transmitt er 's RF path betwee n the driver a nd the final
amplifier. It requires about three watts of drive ,
delivers about 10 watts of output, and will provide USE, LSE , or DSE-all with or without carrier. It covers 80-10 meters and is broadba nd in
design so that once tuned for a given band it
need not b e re-adjusted after norm a l excursions
in frequency within that b a nd . The RF phase
shifting is acc omplished by a set of precision

176

rE= ~1ua+tna+1
capacitors in a n RC network. A separate set is u sed for each band. The
a udio phase shift n etwork is a preassembl ed and wired , sealed plug-in
unit made by E & W. F eatures
include a front panel meter indicating r elative power output and is used
both in tuning a nd carrier suppression. There is a lso a built-in VOX circuit. Front panel control s include
carrier null contro l s, bandswitch,
mod e selecto r, balanced modul a tor
tunin g, RF output tuning, au dio
ga in , and VOX/ stan db y / manual
selector. There is also a front panel
connector for a high impedance mic.
Controls on the rear panel l abe led
"transmitter sen sitivity" and "receiver sensitivity" are for VOX sensitivity a nd anti-trip. The rear panel a lso
has S0-239 connectors for RF input
a nd output, an octal socket fo r power
input, and screw terminals providing
connection for receiver audio, speaker, k ey, a nd a ntenna relay. Since the
SE -10 has no internal power supply
a ll voltages must be derived from the
transmitter to which it is connect e d or s ome
other external source . When us e d with the TX-1
a ll ne cessary power may be t a k e n from the
transmitter's accessory sock et . Power requirem ent s: 35 0 VDC at 140 ma a nd 6.3 VAC a t 3.5
amps. The SE-lO's two-tone green paint scheme
matches the TX-1 , et al. Early units were supplied with s atin finish m etal knob s whil e later
versions used polished knobs . The SE -10 was
sold fo r about fiv e years a nd works pretty well.
SE-lOs a r e becoming quite rare -especia lly in
good, unmodifie d condition.
Wei ght/S ize: 12 lbs ; 6.75" wide x 10" hi gh x 13" deep
Relat ed Products: TX-1 , DX-100(8}

HE.A.TH KIT

SB-100

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meter bands . The 10
meter band is covered
in four 500 kHz seg ments. The 100 operates USB, LSB, or CW, with
no provision for AM. Transmitter input power is
180 PEP and 1 70 CW. RF output power is
around 100 watts (a bit less on 10 meters). The
receiver is a dual conversion superheterodyne
type with an IF of 3395 kHz . Both transmitter
and receiver use a 6 pole crystal lattice filter.
Selectivity is 2.1 kHz at 6 dB down. There is no
provision for a CW filter (although there is in
the 101and102). Receiver sensitivity is rated at
1 u V (better in the 101 and 102). Drift is less
than 100 Hz per hour after a 20-minute warmup . The SB-100 uses a type ofVFO Heath called
the "LMO" or Linear Master Oscillator. The
LMO is pre-assembled and aligned and housed
in a sealed box, and came with a stern warning
not to open it. The LMOs were made for Heath
by several subcontractors including TRW and
were both complicated and expensive to produce .
But they were linear from one end of the band to
the other and were cheaper to make and use
than the Permeability Tuned Oscillators used by
Collins . The LMO is accurate to 400 Hz after cal-

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured : 65-67
Price : $360
Comments: Introduced for Christmas in 1965 ,
the SB-100 was the first of three enormously
popular transceivers that included the SB -101
and SB-102 . Patterned after the Collins KWM2, the SB series of transceivers were among the
most popular ever made by any manufacturer.
They sold so fast Heath could hardly keep up
with demand. Indeed, for a while in the late 60s
it seemed as though every other person you
worked was running a "Sugar Baker" series rig.
The following is both a specific discussion of the
SB-100 and a general discussion of the SB-101
and 102-there are many similarities. For a specific discussion of the differences in the 101 and
102, see listings for those products. The SB-100
uses 20 tubes including a pair of 6146s in the
final amp and is built on nine PC boards including five main boards and four smaller "switchboards" used in the bandswitching assembly.
The SB-100 covers 500 kHz portions of the 80-10

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

177

~ ~ fHMii'Hil
ibration from the nearest 100 kHz point. The
dial drive mechanism is relatively simple, has a
good feel and good resetability, and is reasonably free from backlash. Basic features include
PTT and VOX operation, LMO or crystal controlled transmit or transceiver (one crystal position), built-in TR switching, and a built-in 100
kHz crystal calibrator. See listing for SB-640 for
crystal frequency formula for crystal controlled
operation. Front panel controls include main
tuning, driver tuning and preselector, final tuning, final loading, mic and CW level, mode,
band, function, frequency control (XTAL or
LMO), meter function, RF gain, AF gain, and a
dial calibration knob . The illuminated panel
meter will read ALC/S-units , relative power,
high voltage , grid current, and plate current.
Internal controls include VOX sensitivity, delay
and anti-trip, carrier null (control and capacitor), meter zero, CW sidetone leve l , relative
power meter adjust , PA bias , headphone gain ,
and neutralizing. Rear pane l connections
include quarter-inch key jack and phono connectors for an eight ohm speaker, 600 ohm output,
phone patch input, ALC input, RF output, and
receiver antenna input. There is also an 11 pin
"octal style" plug for power input and an antenna selector switch to select separate or common
antennae for transmit and receive. Many of
these rigs have been modified and fitted with an
S0-239 to replace the phono RF output connector. Other acceptable modifications include the
installation of phono jacks needed to operate the
SB-650 frequency display and addition (or use)
of spare jacks to support the SB-610 and/or SB 620. The SB-100, SB-101, and HW-100, as well
as SB-102s with the last four digits of the serial
number lower than 5446, have a minor problem
with the driver preselector peaking in a slightly
different spot for transmit and receive. To make
them peak in the same place Heath offered a
simple mod (much simpler than the one
described in QST). The presence of this mod can
be determined by checking for a three lug terminal strip soldered to one of the shields between
two of the small PC boards in the bandswitch
assembly. It should be noted that this preselector probl em is very minor and most ops don't
bother fixing it. Units with other modifications
should be avoided except for parts . NOTE:
Because of mechanical changes in the SB -102's
solid state LMO, it is not possible to retrofit an
SB-100 or 101 with an LMO from a 102. The 100
series of transceivers has no built-in power supply and is designed for use with the HP-13 and

178

HP-23 series power supplies . Power requirements: 700-800 VDC at 250 ma, 300 VDC at
1509 ma, -110 VDC at 10 ma, and 12 volts AC or
DC at 4.76 amps. The SB series of products all
use a two-tone green wrinkle paint scheme. The
paint color and texture varied from batch to
batch and from year to year, so finding two SB
units of the exact same paint shade and texture
may not be easy. By the time the SB-102 was
released in 1970, Heath had developed a full line
of accessories for the SB line , and no SB series
station is complete without all of them . These
include the SB -2XX series of amplifiers and the
SB -6XX series of accessories and are listed elsewhere in this book - see related products below.
Together with the SB transceivers they created
a high performance station without equal in the
hobby. Once common, SB -lOOs are now quite
rare - especially in good condition.
Wei ght / Size : 23lbs; 15" wide x 6.75" hi gh x 14" deep
Rel at ed Products: SB-101 , SB-102 , SB-200(201) ,
SB-220(221) , SB-300(301) , SB-303 , SB-310 ,
SB-313 , SB-400(401) , SB-600 , SB-610 ,
SB-620 , SB-630 , SB-640 , SB-500 , SB-650

HE.ATHKIT

SB-101

rr§ ~ fi'iiif Hi*fil

other things it requires
the removal of a rectangular knock-out on
the rear of the enclosure (above the ground
post), the installation of
a connector and its
mounting bracket on
the chassis just behind
the knock-out, and some
wiring changes. Inspection to determine the
presence of the connector is the easiest way to
see if the rig has been
modified for use with
the SB-640. NOTE: The
modification for the
SB-102 is slightly different-see listing for
SB-102 for details. Also
see the listing for SB640 for additional details.
A minor change to the
SB-101 was the addition of two "spare" phono jacks
on the rear panel. These jacks can be used for connection of the SB-610 or SB-620. After the release
of the SB-102 owners of the SB-101 were offered
an upgrade kit (for a small charge). This upgrade kit addressed only one of the improvements
found in the SB-102-receiver sensitivity. The
kit amounted to a new RF amplifier tube (6HS6
replaces a 6AU6) and a couple of new parts.
Checking for the presence of this mod is a bit
tricky. All of the changes made are made to the
component side of the RF driver circuit board.
This board sits directly in front of the final amplifier cage. Look between tubes VlO and Vll (these
are the tubes on the right-hand side of the board)
for the addition of a resistor and a small disk capacitor that have been tack soldered between other
existing parts. Also look for the space left by a
disk capacitor clipped out near VlO. These changes
indicate that the mod has been done. Note that
6HS6 tubes are very rare today and may have
been replaced by a 6AU6. The 101 is painted
with the classic SB two-tone green paint . For
additional information see listing for SB-100.
Also see related products listed under SB-100. SBlOls are much more common than SB-lOOs and
turn up at flea markets with some regularity.

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 67-70
Price: $380
Comments: In 1967 Heath upgraded the popular
SB-100 transceiver and renamed it the SB-101.
There were two significant improvements in the
SB-101. The first was the addition of a 400 Hz
CW filter OPTION. If this filter was installed
the operator could select either the SSB or CW
filter from a switch on the front panel. Heath
advertised that the SB-101 was "the first transceiver on the market with front panel selection
of SSB or CW filters." The filter selector switch
is a small lever switch located concentrically under
the RF gain control. The presence of the CW filter can most easily be determined by removing
the SB-101 from its enclosure . The SSB and CW
filters are mounted on a metal bracket located
on the underside of the chassis at the front of
transceiver. Both filters are small black rectangu l ar boxes about 2.5 inches wide and are
installed side by side. If two boxes are seen, the
CW filter is installed. The CW filter is usually
clearly marked as being a 400 Hz unit. The other
improvement was a change in the frequency control switch permitting the use of an external
LMO (VFO) . This gave the operator independent
control of the transmit and receive frequencies.
Although the switch position is provided for,
actual use of the remote LMO (the SB-640)
required a modification of the transceiver. Among

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 23 lbs; 15" wide x 6. 75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

179

s:s-1oa

If:

~ fif Mf §fi*fiJ

make do. The third
improvement was the
addition of an accessory jack for use with the SB-500 transverter. This
jack is installed, wired , and ready for use. Like
the 101 , the 102 must be modified for use with
the SB -640 remote LMO. The modification is the
same as on the 101, but it will mean placing a
second accessory jack below the existing jack
used by the SB-500 . Look for the knock-out
panel on the rear of the enclosure (just above the
ground post). If it has been removed, check for
two jacks just inside the opening. If two are present, the mod for the 640 has been done . The top
jack is for the SB-500 and the bottom one is for
the SB-640. SB-102s with serial numbers whose
last four digits are lower than 5446 have a minor
problem with the driver preselector. See listing
for SB -100 for details. The SB-102 was one of
Heath's finest products. It is dressed in classic
two-tone green. SB-102s are still fairly common
at flea markets.

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured : 70-75
Price: $380
Comments: The SB-102 was the most successful
of the SB series of transceivers and was the last
of Heath's classic vacuum tube rigs. The introduction of the SB-102 in 1970 marked the peak
of Heath's success, and when it was pulled from
production six years later, it marked the closing
of an era which began in 1963-the solid-state
SB -104 could never match the grandeur of the
elegant and venerable 102. The SB -102 has all of
the features found in the 101 and adds three
major improvements. The first was the repl acement of the tube -type LMO with a solid state
unit, which dramatically improved the stability
of the rig. This meant that the 102 has only 19
tubes. The second improvement is to the receiver's sensitivity. The SB-1 00 and 101 have a sensitivity of about 1 uV. The SB-102 is better than
.35 u V. This is due primarily to the use of a 6HS6
in the RF amplifier instead ofa 6AU6. Note that
6HS6 tubes are very rare today; in any given SB102 this tube may have been replaced with a
6AU6 , which will degrade the 102's sensitivity.
But unless you can locate a 6HS6 you'll have to

180

Weight/Size: 23 lbs ; 15" wide x 6.75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products under SB-100

HEATHKIT

~ fbi&f HH+iil

S:S-104 (.A)

problems were solved
with the release of the
SB -104A. A modification kit was offered to owners of the 104 to
upgrade their units to the 104A. Most of the
changes made in the modification kit are boardlevel parts changes a nd are not easily detecte d
with casual inspection. The upgrade kit included a new front pane l trim strip t h at was
screened with "SB -104A" and a new b lue an d
white stick-on serial plate with the new model
number. These make it difficult to tell a modified 104 from a genuine 104A-the preferred
unit. If the u nit you are looking at has two blueand-white serial plates, it is an upgraded unit.
In later versions of t h e 104A, H eath b egan to
ship t h e transceiver with some of the more critical PC boards pre-assembled and aligned. The
104 and 104A use more than 275 solid-state
devices including 31 ICs and was the first radio
Heath made t h at use d a built-in digital frequency displ ay. Th e SB-104 covers 80-10 meters (no
WARC bands) plus 1 5 MHz WWV and runs
about 1 00 watts PE P and CW output. The
104(A) will run USB, LSB, and CW and is built
on 15 PC boards. E leven of these plug in and can

5 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured/ Price:
SB-104
SB-104A

74-77 $699.95
77-82 $699.95

Comments: The SB -103 was to be a solid-state
version of the S B-102-solid-state except for the
final amplifier, which woul d have used a pair of
6146s. A prototype of the 103 was b uilt, but
never made it out of the l ab when it was decided
that solid-state finals would be a better idea.
The result was the SB-1 04 - Heath's first solidstate H F rig and its first real disaster. The SB104 uses bot h digita l and broadban d tech niques-two concepts that were relative ly new
and unfamiliar to Heath. What Heath ended up
with was a radio fraught with problems . The
receiver was full of birdies; the transmitter was
dirty; the fina l t ransistors would not take a high
SWR, not even briefly; t h e CW waveform was
much too abrupt; TR switching wasn't clean; the
digital display h ad the jitters; and the list goes
on and on. After four years of re -engineering and
many modifications, most (but not a ll) of these

A Guide to the Amateur R adio Products

181

li5
be extended for ease of servicing and adjustment
while the transceiver is operating. Features
include a broadband no-tune design, built-in CW
sidetone, push-button selection of most functions including meter function, VOX, mode, and
power on/off. There is also a QRP mode that
yields about one watt of output power. No crystal calibrator is required . Receiver sensitivity is
less than 1 u V. Selectivity is 2 .1 kHz at 6 dB
down . There is an optional 400 Hz CW filter, and
an optional noise blanker. Drift is less than 100
Hz per hour after a 30-minute warm -u p. TR
switching is done with a mechanical relay, so
true QSK is not possible. Front panel controls
include the aforementioned push buttons , AF
and RF gain, AGC fast/slow/off, VOX gain and
delay, bandswitch, mic/CW level, and main tuning. The main tuning knob is a "spinner" type
and slues at the rate of 30 kHz per revolution. In
addition to the digital display (seven segment
neon type), the front panel also sports a meter
that reads both S-units and relative power and
the call letters of the station. (The clever person
should be able to figure out a way to replace the
call letters with his or her own.) Rear panel controls include VOX anti-trip , sidetone level, and a
switch for selection of separate or common
antennas. Rear panel connections include a
standard quarter-inch key jack and phono type
jacks for phone patch in and out, linear amp
ALC input, a four ohm speaker, receiver audio
input, VFO input and output, IF output, driver
output, and two spares . There is also a ground
post , an 11-pin "octal style" power plug, and an
accessory socket (which includes relay output) .
The SB-10 4 comes with both an assembly and an
operations manual-try to get them both. Also
try hard to get the card extender boards that
came with the radio. They are a virtual necessity for working on the rig. Any SB-104(A) series
transceiver should be regarded as having one or
more problems solvable only by the most skilled
technicians, and claims of their being in good

182

~fH@SiHH+I

working order should be regarded with a degree
of skepticism. The SB-104(A) was an expensive
endeavor for Heath and one from which it never
saw a profit. The 104(A) is designed for use with
the HP-1144 power supply. Power requirements:
12 VDC at 20 amps maximum transmit, 2 amps
receive. The SB-104(A) used the classic SB twotone green wrinkle finish and SB series knobs.
Not too rare. Caveat emptor!
Weight/Size: 31lbs;14.5" wide x 5.75" high x
14" deep
Related Products: SB-230, SB-604, SB-614, SB634, SB-644(A), HP-1144

H E .AT HK IT

SB-110

[ ~ f# 1#¥iifl*f;i]

Selectivity is 2 .1 kHz
at 6 db down. There are
provisions for only one
filter. Less than 100 Hz drift after a 20 minute
warm up. RF power output is rated at 100 watts
PEP, and 90 watts CW. Features include switch
selection of USB, LSB , and CW, as well as PTT
and VOX operation. In addition the SB-110(A)
features ANL, AGC, a built-in sidetone, and a
built-in 100 kHz crystal calibrator. Note that
calibration of the calibrator is critical since a 5
hz error at 100 kHz will translate to a 2.5 kHz
error at 50 MHz. Crystal controlled operation is
provided for MARS or net operation. The SB110(A) can transmit on the crystal frequency
while the LMO tunes the receiver, or can be
made to transceive on the crystal frequency. The
SB-110(A) a lso has cross-mode capability transmit CW and receive USB. The CW is VOX
operated and us es grid block keying. Front panel
controls include main tuning, zero set, meter
function, AF gain (pull for ANL), RF gain, preselelector, band, final tune, driver, mode, function,
oscillator mode, and MIC/CW level. The mic and
headphone jacks are on eith er side of the main
tuning control. Internal chassis mounted con-

6 Meter SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured/Price:
SB-110
SB-110A

65-69 $299
69- 71 $299

Comments: Looking very much a like a mirror
image of the SB-100 series of transceivers, the
SB -110 was actually on the market about six
months before the SB-100 . The SB-llO(A) uses
the same (tube type) LMO as the SB-100 (see
SB-100 listing for a discussion of the LMO ), and
its specification are also similar. The SB-llO(A)
is built on five PC boards (six if you count the
tiny ANL board) and uses 17 tubes including a
pair of 6146s and a pair of 6DS4 Nuvitors. A single transistor is used as well-in the audio amp.
The SB-llO(A) will tune four 500 kHz band segments between 49.5 to 54 MHz and comes standard with crystals for coverage from 50 to 52
MHz-and front panel control legends to match.
The receiver section is a triple conversion superhet using Heath standard IF frequencies. Second IF is 3395 kHz . Sensitivity is rated as .1 uV
for a 15 db signal plus noise-to-noise ratio.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

183

~fHiif§fi*EiJ
trols include VOX controls, headphone level , Smeter zero a djust, relative power meter adj u st,
sidetone level, driver neutralizer, carrier null,
carrier balance, bias adjust, and ALC meter
adjust. A rear panel control selects between separate or common antenna inputs. In a ddition to
an 11 pin "octal style" power plug, rear panel
connections include phone j acks for 50 ohm RF
output, receiver input, 8 ohm speaker, phone
patch, ALC, and a spare. The key jack is a standard quarter-inch connector. There is no built-in
speaker or power supply. Differences in the llOA
include improvements in bypass ing and filtering, and an improved (but still tube-type ) LMO .
The modifications were made to eliminate a signal being radiated by the h eterdyne oscillatorpresent even in the rece ive mode . This signal
was getting into TV channel 6. Very few original
SB-llOs got out the door b efore the FCC came
calling on Heath and it is unlikely that you will
find one. IMPORTANT: It is difficult to tell the
difference between the 110 and the llOA as most
ch anges are at the PC board level and are not
easily detected with casual inpection. The front
panel of both the SB-110 and llOA are l abeled
simply as SB-110. To determine if the unit in
question is a llOA you must either check the
blue-and-white serial plate usually located on
the top of t h e LMO , or sometimes on the rear
panel, or check the assembly manual cover. Also
note that when the SB-500 is not connected to
the llO(A) a mating plug must be installed on
the rear panel connector for the llO(A) to function properly. The SB-llO(A) is de signed for u se
with the HP-23 an d HP-13 series power s upplies . CAUTION: Be sure to use the +2 50 volt
tap (or switch position) on the HP-23 and HP-13
series power s u pplies. Using the 300 volt settin g
will cause erratic operation in the SBllO(A). Heath (and the QST reviewer)
not ed that this was a challenging kit
recommended for those with previous
kit building experience. The SB-110 and
llOA are styled to match the rest of the
SB series and are medium rare .
Weight/Size: 23lbs;15" wide x 6.75" high x
14" deep
Related Products: SB accessories

184

HE.A.TH KIT

~ ~1ua&tna11

HF Linear Amplifier
Manufactured/Price:
SB-200 64-78 $200.00
SB-201
78-83 $449.94
Comments: The SB-200 was arguably the most
popular linear amplifier ever sold-kit or assemble d . In the SB-200(201)'s 20-year production
life He ath may well have sold more of them than
all other manufacturers' amps combine d. So succe ssful were the SB -200 and 201 that they outlasted all of the other SB products -even the
SB-104A. The success of the 200(201) was due in
part to its watts-per-dollar ratio. But it also succee ded because it was simply a great a mplifier.
It was well-engineered, compact , lightweight,
and well-behaved. It could withstand a certain
amount of abuse - and it kicked out the power.
The SB-200(201) is r ate d at 1200 watts input
PEP and 1000 watts CW u sing a pair of instanton, fan-cooled, 572B (T160L) tubes running in
parallel. It operates in grounded grid class B
and requires 100 watts (nominal ) of drive. The
200 has an input impedance of 50 ohms. The
amp fe atures a built-in, solid-state power supply
with a circuit breaker (mounted inside the cabinet under the top cover), full metering, ALC output, a built-in SWR bridge , and pre-tuned cathode input circuitry. The only differe nce between
th e SB-200 and the SB-201 is fr equ ency coverage . The 200 covers 80-10 meters. The 201 covers only 80-15 meters. This change was dictated

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

s:s-aoo/ao1

by a change in the laws
governing the manufacture of linear a mplifiers.
Front panel controls include a rocker-typ e on/off
switch ; tune , lo a d , a nd band switch; r e lative
power sen sitivity; and meter function. The illuminate d m eter will r ead grid , plate , relative
power, SWR, and high voltage. Rear panel conn ection s include a ground post, phono jacks for
RF input, antenna r elay, ALC, and an S0-239
RF out put connector for a 50 ohm antenna. The
SB-200 and 201 can b e wire d for either 120 VAC
(16 amp max) or 240 VAC (8 amp max) operation. 240 VAC is recommended. The SB -200 and
201 are styled to match the other SB-series gear
and wear the classic two-tone green wrinkle finish paint. The SB-200 remains as good a value
today as when it was last sold in 1983. The SB200 i s in greater d emand by virtue of its 10
m eter coverage. SB-200s and 201s are not rare,
but watch for modifications .
Weight/Size: 41lbs;15" wide x 6.75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: SB-220, SB-221 ,
see related products listed for SB-100

185

s:s-220/221

HF Linear Amplifier
Manufactured/Price:
SB-220 70-78 $369.95
SB-221
78-83 $599 .95
Comments: The SB-220 is probably the second
most popular amplifier on the planet, right
behind the SB-200 and 201. Larger and heavier
than the SB-200, the 220 is pretty much the same
amplifier. The SB-220(221) is rated at 2000 watts
input PEP and 1000 watts CW using a pair offancooled, instant-on, 3-500Z tubes running in parallel, and operated close to ground potential in
class B. The 220(221 ) can be driven with as little
as 65 watts, but to realize a full 1000 watts of
output power requires at least 100 watts of drive.
A double shielded RF deck keeps the TVI potential to an minimum. The amp features a built-in,
solid-state power supply with a circuit breaker
(on the rear panel), safety interlocks , full metering, ALC output, pre-t u ned broadband Pi-input,
and Zener diode regulated bias to reduce plate
idle current and help reduce operating tempera ture. The input impedance is about 50 ohms.
There is no built-in SWR bridge, as in the SB200. The only difference between the SB-220 and
the SB-221 is frequency coverage. The 220 covers
80-10 meters. The 221 covers only 80-15 meters.
This change was dictated by a change in the laws
governing the manufacture of linear amplifiers.
Front panel controls include rocker type switches for main power and mo de (SSB/CW); tune,

186

rE= ~tH?tS?UH+IJ
load, and bandswitch
controls; relative power
sensitivity; and meter
function . There are two
illuminated meters.
One reads plate current
and the other can be
switched between grid
current, relative power,
and high voltage. Rear
panel connections include a ground post, phono
jacks for antenna relay,
ALC, and S0-239s for
both RF input and output. The SB-220(221 ) is
designed for use with 50
ohm loads. The 220 is
not quite as reliable as
the 200(201 ) as far as
the power supply is concerned-and low highvoltage due to blown diodes in the stack are common. A simple test: when run from 240 VAC in the
SSB mode, the SB-220 high-voltage should push
the meter right up to the end of the scale and perhaps right to the peg. A reading much less than
full scale may indicate one or more bad diodes .
Also, the Zener diode regulating the bias is easy
to blow up with any significant arcing in an d
around the coils and caps. Plate idle current
should be around 7 5 ma. A higher reading may
indicate a bad Zener. The 220 was prone to a little
arcing, and Heath eventually came out with a
modification kit to fix the problem. This mod is
hard to spot but is most obvious in the loading
capacitor. The original loading cap has narrow
spacing between the plates, while the new cap
has a much wider spacing. The power supply and
capacitor probl ems have been fixed in the 221.
The SB-220 and 221 can be wired for either 120
VAC (20 amp max) or 240 VAC (10 amp max)
operation. 240 VAC is h ighly recommended. The
SB-220 and 221 are styled to match the other SBseries gear and wear the classic two -tone green
wrinkle finish paint. The SB-220 remains as
good a value today as when it was last sold in
1983. The SB-220 is in greater demand by virtue
of its 10 meter coverage. SB-220s and 22ls are
not rare, but watch for modifications .
Wei ght/Size: 50 lbs ; 15" wide x 6. 75" hi gh x 14" deep
Related Products: SB-200 , SB-201,
see related products listed for SB-100

HEATHKIT

s:s-aso

HF Linear Amplifier
Manufactured: 7 4- 78
Price: $469.95
Comments : The SB-230 was one of a family of
new products released in the Christmas 1974
catalog and is designed to match the SB-104(A)
transceiver. (See related products listed below.)
The SB-230 is rated at 1200 watts input PEP
and 1000 watts CW, which translates to about
600 watts output or about 400 watts for RTTY or
SSTV. It us es a single (and very expensive)
Eimac 8873 tube, which is convection cooled and
operated in grounded grid class B . Convection
cooling means the SB-230 requires no fan, and
that means very quiet operation. The amp fea tures a built-in solid-state power supply with a
circuit breaker (built into the power switch),
safety interlocks, full metering, and ALC output.
The final tube cathode is fus e d to protect it from
excessive drive. In addition the amplifier is thermally protected and will shut down if the final
tube gets too hot. A time delay tube provides a
60- to 90-second start-up delay to give the 8873

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

time to warm u p. During this delay the amp cannot be operated, except in the bypass mode.
There is no built-in SWR bridge as in the SB200. The SB -230 covers 80-10 meters. Front
panel contro l s include a rocker -type power
switch; tune, load , and bandswitch controls; relative power sensitivity; and a combination
meter and function control. The illuminated
meter reads plate current, grid current, relative
power, and high voltage . There are front panel
indicators for high temperature, delay mode,
and the "exciter only" mode. In the "exciter only"
mode is essentially a "standby" mode in which
the amplifier remains on but is bypassed. This
mode is provided since the amp is not an
"instant on" type like the SB-200 and 220 . Rear
panel connections include a ground post, phono
jacks for antenna relay, ALC and RF input, and
an S0 - 239 for RF output. The SB-230 is
designed for use with 50 ohm loads. The 8873
cathode fus e is also found on the rear panel. It is
a 3AG .75 amp fuse. The SB-230 can be wired for
either 120 VAC (14 amp max) or 240 VAC (7 amp
max) operati on. 240 VAC is recommended.
DANGER: The SB-230 contains a block of Beryllium
Oxide. Dust and fumes from this material are

187

lE ~ fHMiHHFIJ
DEADLY POISON! The Beryllium Oxide block is
used as part of the heat sink for the 8873 and is
located in a rear panel cut-out between the 8873
and the large finned heat sink on the rear panel.
DO NOT drill, chip, crush, saw, or file the Beryllium block. It should be handled only with protective gloves and eye wear. Also note that the
gooey heat sink compound is dangerous. Wash
your hands immediately after contact with the
Beryllium block or the heat sink compound. The
Beryllium and the heat sink compound should
be handled with the utmost care and treated like
the hazardous materials they really are. Another minor hazard (but one to watch out for) is the
temperature of the large heat sink on the rear
panel. In normal operation the temperature of
the heat sink may rise to as high as 7 5 0 F - as
hot as the tip of a soldering iron. Keep the amplifier clear of combustible materials and be sure to
provide adequate ventilation. The SB-230 is a
good basic amplifier and will perform well providing it is not pushed too hard. It is well protected from a variety of adverse conditions and
is easy to operate. The SB-230 fell victim to the
popularity of Heath's older SB-201 and 221
amplifiers, which continued to sell well. Poor
sales caused Heath to pull the 230 off the market in 1978-several years before the rest of the
SB-104 family. No doubt the toxicity of the heat
sink (and its potential liability) playe d a part in
the decision to discontinue the 230 as well. It is
interesting to note that Heath continued to sell
both the SB-201 and SB -221 until 1983-long
after the 230 was gone. Finished in classic twotone SB green. SB-230s are medium rare .
Wei ght / Si ze: 50 lbs ;15" wide x 6.75" hi gh x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products under
SB-104(A)

188

H E .A..T HK IT

SB-300

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the other, provided 1
kHz dial markings
with resetablility to
about 200 Hz , and was accurate to within 400 Hz
of the nearest 100 kHz marker. H eath used the
LMO in all but the last of the SB series rigs. The
300's sensitivity is rated at better than 1 u V for
15 db signal plus noise-to-noise ratio. Selectivity
is 2.1 kHz at 6 db down for SSB operation. The
SSB crystal filter was supplied with the 300, but
Heath also offered an optional 3.5 kc AM filter,
and an optional 400 Hz CW filter. The presence
of these filters may be determined easily by
opening the top cover. The filters are small,
b l ack, rectangular modules about 2.5 inches
wide mounted in a row between the LMO and
the S-meter and are (from front to back) CW,
SSB , and AM. A total of three filters may be
installed. Without the proper filters installed ,
the SB-300 will not operate with the mode
switch in the AM or CW po s ition ; however,
reception of these signals is still possible in the
SSB mode. Stability is better than 100 Hz after
warm-up. Features of the SB-300 include a
bu ilt-in solid state power supply, a built -in 100
kHz crystal calibrator, a lighted S -meter and

5 Band SSB/CW Receiver
Manufactured: 63-66
Price: $264.95
Comments: Although the SB-10 was the first
Heath product to wear the SB label, the SB-300
was r eally the first product in the classic Heath
SB series. The 300's companion transmitterthe SB -400 - would not appear for another 6
months. The SB -300 is designed around 10
tubes, and while two PC boards are used there is
still a great deal of point-to-point wiring-much
of it with a wiring harness. The SB-300 is a dual
conversion superheterodyne unit with a 33 95
kHz IF and covers 500 kHz portions the 80-10
meter ham bands . The 10 meter band is divided
into four separate piece s. The 300 u ses a crystal
controlled front end with tunable inputs. The
BFO is crystal controlled as well. At the heart of
the 300 is a pre-assembled and aligned VFO
Heath called an LMO or Linear Master Oscillator. The LMO was a remarkable piece of engineering. It had an output from 5 to 5.5 MHz on
all bands , was linear from one end of the band to

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

189

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tuning dial , and smooth backlash free vernier
tuning that provides nearly 5 feet of band spread. There is no built-in speaker and there
are no provisions for crystal controlled operation. The SB -300 can be configured to work separately from the SB-400 or to transceive with it .
In the transceive mode, the SB-300 determines
the operating frequency. Switching from separate operation to transceive requires that you
swap a couple of cables inside the SB-400 . This
clumsy chore was streamlined in the SB -401.
NOTE: Do not attempt to transceive using the
SB-400 with the SB -300's mode switch in either
the AM or CAL positions as the units will not
function properly. The SB-300 has provisions for
two plug-in converters-the SBA-300-3 for 6
meters, and the SBA-300-4 for 2 meters. These
converters are selected from a switch on the top
side of the chassis at the right rear corner of the
rig. Without the converters this same switch
coul d be used to select one of three different
antenna inputs. The presence of the converters
is easy to check for. The converters are built into
small metal boxes that attach externally to the
300's rear panel. They each have two tubes on
board. Front panel controls include main tuning,
function, mode, AGC (fast/slow/off), band, AF
and RF gain, and preselector. There is a lso a

190

front panel headphone jack. Rear panel connections include a two prong plug for a "cheater"
type power cord, an octal accessory power socket
for the VHF converters, and phono jacks for HF
antenna, VHF #1 antenna , VHF #2 antenna,
mute, anti-VOX, 8 ohm speaker out, heterodyne
oscillator out, LMO out, and BFO, as well as two
spare phono jacks. NOTE: Heath specifies that
the LMO, BFO , and HFO interconnects must be
24 inch lengths ofRG-62 . (It takes no fewer than
seven coaxial cables to connect the SB-300 to the
SB -400.) Simple alignment requires only a
VTVM. The SB-300 is finished in the classic SB
two -tone green wrinkle paint. In 1967 the SB300 was replaced by the SB-301 (see listing). SB 300s are increasingly rare at swap meets.
We ight/Size: 23 lbs ; 15" wide x 6. 75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

HEA.THKIT

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SE-301

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converters has been
simplified on the 301
by the addition of front
panel control. (On the 300 it was necessary to
reach inside the unit to switch the converters.)
This control switches between the HF antenna
input and the two converters and is mounted
concentrica lly on the RF gain control. The character of the optional CW and AM filters has been
changed a little. The AM filter has been widened
from 3.5 kHz to 3.75 kHz. The CW filter used to
be 2 .5 at the -60 db point; it has been narrowed
to 2 kHz. A few controls on the front panel have
been re-labeled to reflect these various changes.
The rear panel is essentially the same although
two more "s pare" jacks have been added. SB301s are still fairly common and are often found
alongside their SB-401 mates . In 1970 the SB301 was replaced by the solid state SB-303 (see
listing). Finished in class ic SB two-tone green
wrinkle. SB-301s are not rare.

5 Band SSB/CW Receiver
Manufactured: 66-70
Price: $260.00
Comments: While the basic specifications of the
SB-301 are the same as for the SB-300 (see listing for details ), the 301 represents a s ubstantial
refinement. Improvem e nts found in the 301
include the addition of an RTTY position on the
mode switch . When activated, a carrier at
3392.11 kHz is produced that causes detected
signals at 2125 Hz and 2975 Hz (85 0 Hz shift) to
fall within the SSB filter's bandpass. 170 Hz
RTTY can be tuned via the 400 Hz CW filter (if
installed). Another handy improvement is the
addition of a 15 to 15 .5 MHz range on the
bandswitch, permitting the reception of WWV.
An ANL circuit has been added to the 301 as
well. It is activated by pulling out the audio gain
control knob. The ANL operates within the IF
stage rather than the audio stage and uses a full
wave shunt across the second IF amplifier. It is
self-biased and self-adjusts to the level of the
incoming signal. Activation of the optional VHF

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 23 lbs; 15" wide x 6. 75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

191

S:S-303

rF~ fHWiUHEi

less than 10 Hz per
hour drift after a 20
minute warm -up . The
SB-303 a lso features an improved crystal cali brator. In addition to 100 kHz markers, the n ew
calibrator also provides switch selection of 25
kH z markers. And in addition to the standard
RF gain control, Heath has added an RF attenuator control with a 40 db range. As with the 301,
the 303 can be used to transceive with the SB400 a nd 401 and has provisions for two VHF converters. The 303 comes standard with a 2.1 kHz
SSB filter a nd has provisions for two optional
filters-a 3.75 kHz AM filter and a 400 Hz CW
filter. These are the same filters used in the SB 300 and 301. The unit will not function in the
AM or CW mode unl ess the a ppropriate filters
h ave been installed, alth ough reception of AM
and CW is still possible in the SSB mode. The
303 does not have a cabinet with the hinge d top
to permit easy access to the inside - presumably
because you wo uld not be changing bad tubes.
Therefore the only way to check for the presence
of the filters is to either remove the unit from its
case (by removing the r ubb er feet ) or to try to
look through the cabinet perforations . In any

5 Band SSB/CW Receiver
Manufactured: 70-76
Price: $345
Comments: The SB-303 was the first fully solidstate member of the SB series and was extre m ely popular. Using 27 silicon transistors, one IC , a
handful of diodes, and the same LMO and di al
assembly found in the SB-102, the SB-303 is
built on nine plug-in PC boards . Its basic features and specifications are very much like the
SB-301. It also looks very much like the 301, but
is 2 . 75 inches narrower. The conversion scheme
a nd IF frequencies are identical to the 300 a nd
301, and like the 301, the 303 covers 500 kHz
portions of the 80 through 10 meter hams bands ,
as well as 15 to 15.5 MHz for WWV reception.
The 10 meter band is covered in four segments.
The use of dual gate MOSFETs in the RF amplifier, mixer, and IF amplifier results in a significant improvem ent in sensitivity over the SB-300
a nd 30 1. The 303 is rated at better than .25 uV
for 10 db sign al plus noise -to -noise ratio. The
solid state LMO has improved stability as well -

192

El .AT HK IT

~ fH&fUi*FiJ

case, the filters are located just behind the
power transformer, which is located just behind
the S-meter. There is room for three filters and
they are (from l eft to right as view from the
front) SSE, CW, and AM . The CW and AM filters
may or may not be labeled as such. As mentioned
earlier, the PC board may be unplugged for service. But to unplug some of them requires that
the bandswitch control shaft be removed first.
PC board extender cards were originally supplied with the SB-303 but are rarely found with
the unit at flea markets. Front panel controls
include function, converter (for selection of HF
antenna or VHF converters), band, RF attenuator, main tuning, zero set, AGC (fast, slow, off),
mode, AF gain/power on-off, and RF gain (pull to
disable speaker) . There is no ANL. Internal controls include IF/Audio-bias adjust, meter zero,
meter full scale, BFO power supply adjust, 100
kHz adjust, RTTY wide/narrow shift, and CW
shift. Rear panel connections include a quarterinch headphone jack and phono jacks for HF
input, VHF # 1 input, VHF #2 input, mute, antiVOX, 8 ohm speaker (there is no built-in speaker) , HFO out, BFO out, LMO out, and CW shift.
There are also four spare jacks as well as an
"octal style" accessory socket providing power
for the optional VHF converters and input for a
RTTY keyboard . The 303's built-in power supply
can be wired for 120 or 240 VAC 50/60 Hz operation and is protected with a rear panel circuit
breaker. The 303 is a nice receiver-even by
today's standards. SB-303s are still fairly common and are often found alongside their SB-401
mates . Painted in classic SB two-tone green
wrinkle.
Weight/Size: 17lbs;12.25" wide x 6.75" high x
14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

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A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

193

S:S-810

rE= 3* fHR&f§fHfiJ
the 11 meter Citizens
Band to 13 and 15 meter
shortwave coverage. The
conversion is easy to spot
since it included a new
dial l ege nd plate on the
band switch. The 310 will
tune USB , LSB , AM , and
CW but came standard
with only a 5 kHz AM filter. A 400 Hz CW and a
2.1 kHz SSB filter were
optional , and the 310 will
not function in th ese
modes unle ss the appropri ate
filters
are
installed. The filters are
the same ones u sed in the
SB-300 and 301. The filters are small rectangu lar modules locat e d
between the LMO and the
S-met e r and are (from
front to back) CW, SSB,
and AM . All front panel
controls are identical to
the SB-300. Rear panel connections include
phono jacks for 50 ohm antenna input, mute,
500 ohm audio output, 8 ohm speaker, hi-fi output, and a spare. The SB-310 is finished in the
classic SB two-tone green wrinkle paint. In 1973
the SB-310 was replaced by the solid state SB313 (s ee listing). The SB-310 enjoyed moderate
success but never achieved the popularity of
Heath's low-cost, general coverage "GR" series
receivers. It's a pity Heath never made a full
general coverage SB series receiver-it would
have been a best seller. SB-310s have always
been scarce and because of their similarity to
the SB-300 and 301, 310s are easily overlooked
at swaps.

International Broadcast
Band Receiver
Manufactured: 67-72
Price: $267.95
Comments: The SB-310 was released for Christmas in 1967 and is an SWL version of the SB 300. It took very little re-engineering to convert
the SB-300 to an SWL unit, enabling Heath to
tap into a new market for almost nothing. The
310's basic 10 tube design (incorrectly stated as
11 in the '67 Christmas catalog) and specifications are the same as the SB-300, and physically
the SB -310 is, at first glance, indistinguishable
from the SB-300 . About the only things that differentiate these two rigs are the name plates
and the markings on the bandswitchs . For a discussion of the 3 lO 's specifications and design
please refer to the listing for the SB-300. The
310 is not a general coverage receiver. It is
designed to cover the 16, 19, 25 , 31 , 41 , and 49
meter international broadcast bands; the 80, 40, ·
and 20 meter ham bands; and the 11 meter Citizens Band . Specific frequency coverage is as follows: 3 .5 to 4.0; 5.7 to 6.2; 7.0 to 7.5; 9.5 to 10.0;
11.5 to 12.0; 14.0 to 14.5 ; 15 to 15.5 ; 17 .5 to 18.0;
and 26.9 to 27.4 MHz. An optional kit converted

194

Wei ght / Size: 17lbs; 15" wide x 6.75" hi gh x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

H E .AT HK IT

s:s-a1a

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meter internationa l
broadcast bands and
the 80, 40, and 20 meter
ham bands. T h ere are
some obvious differences b etween the 313 and
t h e 303 . For example, the 313 h as no pr ovisions
for external VHF converters and h as a muc h
simpler rear panel. Th ere are only fo u r ph ono
jacks on t h e rear p anel- antenna inpu t, 8 oh m
s peaker ou tput, mute, and a spare. Am ong t h e
items missing from t h e rear p ane l are a ll the
oscillator outputs nee ded for u se with the SB650 digital frequency display. The 313 is a very
good receiver but its price tag may h ave been a
little steep for a ll b u t t h e most h ard -core of
SWLers . Th e unit was pop ul ar enou gh t o keep it
on t h e market until '75, but it never sold very
well. SB -313s have a l ways b een scarce and
becau se of their similarity to the SB -303, 313s
are easily overlooked at swaps.

International Broadcast
Band Receiver
Manufactured: 72-75
Price: $339.95
Comments: The SB-3 13 is the solid state replacement for the SB-310 SWL receiver. Just as the
SB -310 is a direct copy of the SB-300, so too the
SB -313 is a direct copy of t h e SB -303. It is cu rious therefore that Heath waited a full two years
after t h e introduction of the 303 to introdu ce the
313. For a discu ssion of t h e 313's basic des ign
and specifications the reader is referred to the
listi ng for the SB -303, as the two u n its are
essentially identical except for frequ ency coverage. The 3 13's freq u ency coverage is the same as
the SB -310's except t h at t h e 26 .9 to 27.4 MHz
band of the 310 h as been replaced wit h the 21.3
to 21.8 MHz band. Like the 310, the 313 is not a
gen eral coverage receiver. The SB-313's coverage includes 3.5 to 4 .0; 5.7 to 6.2; 7.0 to 7.5; 9.5
to 10 .0; 11.5 to 12 .0; 14. 0 to 14.5; 15 to 15 .5; 17 .5
to 18 .0; and 21.3 to 21.8 MHz. Th ese frequenc ies
translate t o the 15, 16, 19, 25, 31, 41, and 49

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 17lbs;12.25" wide x 6.75" high x
14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

195

S:S-400

UNIT SHOWN IS SB-401.

E~ fff*Sii'&iil
having "break-in" CW, it
isn't QSK. I n fa irness,
t h e relay operates with
great speed, and most
ops won't have any problem with it. The CW
works by keying the
VOX with a built-in
sidetone. The sidetone is
also fed to the SB-300's
audio line where it is
u se d to monitor sending. The SB-400 can be
configured to work separately from the SB-300
or to transceive with it.
In the transceive mode,
the SB -300 determines
the operating frequency.
Switching from se parate operation to transceive requires that you
swap a couple of cables
inside the SB-400. That is how you disable the
400's LMO. This clumsy chore was streamlined in
the SB-401. The SB-400 is supplied with a ll needed heterodyne oscillator crystals so it can be used
with any other make or model of receiver. The
front panel is a mirror image of the SB-300. The
panel meter is on the right, and the placement of
the controls are likewise r eversed. Front panel
controls include driver t u ne, loading, function ,
main tuning, zero set , drive/ALC level, meter function, and mode. Internal controls include neutralizing, relative power adjust, bias adjust, sideband
amplitude balance, carrier null, ALC adjust,
sidetone output level , and VOX controls. Rear
panel connections include a quarter inch key jack,
phono jacks for receiver audio input, 8 ohm speaker output, anti-VOX, receiver mute, and receiver
antenna output. There is also an S0-239 RF connector for a 50-75 ohm antenna, a ground post, and
a 120 VAC standard two-blade receptacle used to
power an external antenna r e l ay. Alignment
requires a dummy load, a VTVM with an RF probe ,
and a CW key. SB-400s sold very well but are comparatively rare. They are often found at swap
meets alongside their companion SB-300. Because
the 400 and 401 are identical they often are overlooked. Standard SB two-tone green wrinkle finish.

5 Band SSB/CWTransmitter
Manufactured: 64-67
Price : $325 .00
Comments: The SB-400 transmitter was released
about six months after the SB-300 receiver; it was
designed as a matching unit and repres ents the
second product in the SB series . The SB-400 is
designed around 13 tubes (including a pair of
6146s in the final), and although two PC boards
were used , there is still great deal of point-to-point
wiring. The 400 will run USB, LSB , and CW, with
no provision for AM; employs a 2.1 kHz crystal filter; and covers 500 kHz portions of the 80 through
10 meter h am bands. Ten meters is covered in four
segments. Power input is about 180 watts PEP
SSB and about 170 watts CW. Power output is
about 100 watts from 80 through 15 meters and
abou t 80 watts on 10 . The fin a ls a re fully neutralized and are run in class ABl. Frequ ency stability
is typical of the era-the transmitter drifts less
than 100 Hz per hour after a 20-minute warm up.
Features include PTT or VOX operation, break-in
CW, a built-in TR relay (mechanical), Heath's standard LMO, a spotting function, and a built-in solid
state power supply. For a more complete discussion of the LMO , please refer to the listing for the
SB-300 . It is interesting to note that while the
operator can a lways choose to key the transmitter
by pu shing the PTT button on the mic, the VOX
circuit is always active. There is no way to shut off
the VOX short of turning the VOX sensitivity control (inside the cabinet) all the way down. It sh ould
also be noted that while Heath refers to the 400 as

196

Wei ght /Size: 36lbs ; 15" wide x 6.75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

HE..ATHKIT

S:S-401

K§ ~ B1¥SiUHfiJ

with its companion 301
receiver, Heath made
the heterodyne oscillator crystals optional. What this means is that if
the 401 you're thinking about buying doesn 't
have the crystals, it can't be used as a transmitter except with the 301. Determining ifthe crystals are present is easy. Open the top of the cabinet and look in the left front corner of the
chassis directly below th e final tuning control
shaft. There will be either a row of eight crystals
or eight crystal sockets. If the crystal s are
installed, all is well. If not , you have two choices -find some crystals, or find a n SB-300 or 301
to u se with it. The 301/401 combination was
wildly popular and Heath sold zillions of them.
401s are still fairly common at swap meetsoften found in the 301/401 combination. Don't
confuse the 40 1 and the 400. Like all other SB
products , the SB-401 is finished with the standard SB two -tone green wrinkle paint . .

5 Band SSB/CWTransmitter
Manufactured: 66-75
Price: $285.00
Comments: The SB -401 represents a general
refinement of the SB -400. Please see the listing
for th e SB-400 for a discussion of the basic
design a nd specifications. Althou gh the 401 and
400 are essentially identical, Heath made a few
significant improvements in t he 40 1. Most
no tab l e among these improvements is a front
panel switch to change from separate operation
to transceive operation . In the 400 it was n ecessary to open the hood and swap a couple of
cables. Now, on the 401, one need only flip a
switch-a major improvement to overall operating conveni e nc e. Other changes include th e
swapping of a 6BZ6 for the 6AU6 in the LMO
and the addition of a s id etone level control ,
which is mounted on the chassis . The 120 VAC
two-blade, external-antenna relay power receptacle of the 400 h as b een replaced by a nine -pin
molded nylon connector on the 401. Lastly, figuring that most purchasers would be using the 401

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Weight/Size: 36lbs;15" wide x 6.75" high x 14" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

197

S:S-500

2 Meter Transverter
Manufactured: 69-71
Price: $195.00
Comments: The SB-500 is de signed to permit
two-meter SSB or CW operation using H eath SB
or HW series HF transceivers. The SB-500 is
designed aro und 10 tubes including a pair of
6DS4 Nuvistors and a pair of 6146 final amplifiers. Only two small PC boards are u sed; the
bulk of the wiring is point to point. The SB-500
can be wired to work via the 10-meter band or
via the six-meter band-the choice is made during assembly. The receiver section sensitivity is
.2 u V for 10 dB signal plus noise -to -noise ratio.
The transmitter section will deliver about 140
watts PEP SSB and about 50 watts CW to a 50
ohm antenna with an SWR ofless than 2:1. Note
that the transmitter duty cycle is 50 percent.
The frequency range of the 500 is 144 to 148
MHz into 50-54 MHz or 28-32 MHz. Determining which frequency option was chosen for the
unit yo u are looking at is fairly easy. Check the
PC board in the left front corner of the unit. On
the end of the PC board farthest from the front
panel there is space for two metal can-type coils.
If the cans are present, the unit has been wired
for operation with the SB-110 and llOA sixmeter transceiver. If the cans are not in place,
the unit has been wired for operation on a 10meter band with the SB-101or102, the HW-100
or 101, or the SB -301/401 combination. Opera-

198

l® ~tH+SidHEI
tion with the SB-102 or
HW-101 is pretty much
a matter of plugging
the units together. Use
with the SB-101, HW100, or SB-301/401
requires some modification of those units.
Use with the SB-100 or
SB-300/ 400 combination is possible but will
require modification of
the transceiver, and
the SB -500 manual
does not cover this procedure . Use with other
makes of radios is also
possible for the more
technically inclined
operator. Alignment
requires your HF station, a dumm y lo ad,
and a VTVM. CAUTION: While the SB-500 is
connected to your HF station, a full 800 volts is
applied to the 500's final tubes even when the SB500 is off. An illuminated front panel meter
reads plate current or relative power. Front
panel controls include meter function/calibrate
switch, final tuning , on/off function, preselector,
final loading, an d driver tuning. Internal controls include relative power adjust and bias
a dju st. Rear panel connections include phono
jacks for RF output, ALC, linear r el ay, drive, low
frequency receiver output, and low frequency RF
input. There is a lso an octal power plug to pick
up some voltages and signals not provided by the
500's built-in supply. The SB-500 is built into
the same size cabinet as the SB-303 and 313 and
is finished in the stand ard SB two -tone green
wrinkle paint. The SB-500 is medium rare and is
often found alongside the radio for which it was
wired. Having the manual would be very handy.
Weight/Size: 14lbs;12.25" wide x 6.75" high x
13" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

H E A.TH KIT

~ ~ f¥ 1i3iif Hf;iJ

SB-600

Station Speaker
Manufactured: 66-75
Price: $17.95
Comments: The SB-600 station speaker was
introduced in 1966 as the first of a line of matching accessories for the SB (and HW) series rigs.
The SB-600 contains only a six-by-nine-inch, 8
ohm speaker. The rest of the cabinet is empty
but is designed to hold the HP-23 series of power
supplies for use with the SB-100 series of transceivers . There are holes in the bottom of the cabinet p ermitting the power sup ply to be secured
with screws. The SB-600 is finished in Heath's
standard two-tone green wrinkle paint. No
doubt Heath sold billions of SB-600s. SB-600s
are very common.
Weight/Size: 5lbs;10" wide x 6. 75" high x 11" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

199

S:S-604

r®~fHiSii'Hil

Station Speaker
Manufactured: 74-82
Price: $33.95
Comments: The SB -604 contains only a five -byseven-inch 3.2 ohm speaker. There are no indicators or displays of any kind behind the red plastic window. The rest of the cabinet is empty but
is designed to hold the HP-1144 power supplies
for use with the SB-104(A) transceiver. There
are holes in the bottom of the cabinet permitting
the power supply to be secured with screws. The
604 is finished in Heath's standard two-tone
green wrinkle paint. Curiously, SB-604s are not
all that common.
Weight/Size: 10lbs;10.25" wide x 7.25" high x
15.25" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-104

200

HEATHKIT

SB-610

[@ ~ 1 #f?dfifi*f'J

sen option, start by
removing the 610 from
its cabinet. While viewing the 610 from the top side of the chassis,
locate the vacuum tube closest to the front panel
and directly below the pilot light. Just behind
this tube is a metal-can type coil. Check the part
number of this coil. If the part number is 40-748,
the unit has been wired for the high frequency
IFs option for IFs between 3000 and 6000 kHz. If
not, skip to "Low frequency IF" below. Complete
absence (or disconnection) of the coil means the
unit has been wired for 1 to 150 kHz RTTY operation . To find the exact high frequency IF that
has been chosen, turn the unit over and view the
underside of the chassis with the front panel
toward you. Using the vacuum tube you located
as a reference, locate a coil just in front and to
the left of this tube socket. Check the value of
the mica capacitor wired across this coil: 4 70 pf
means an IF of 3000 or 3055 kHz; 330 pf means
an IF of 3395 (the Heath SB/HW IF); 100 pf
means an IF of 5000-6000 kHz. Low frequency IF:
If the part number of the metal can is 40-746,
the IF of the unit is 455 kHz . If the part number
is 40-7 4 7 check the value of the capacitor wired

Station Monitor Scope
Manufactured: 66-75
Price: $69.95
Comments: The SB-610 may well have been the
most popular of the SB accessories-perhaps
even more popular than the SB-600 station
speaker. The 610 is essentially an H0-10 (see
listing) put into a new cabinet-but there were a
few differences worth noting. The 610 uses only
three tubes (excluding the CRT) , and the power
supply is solid state . As in the H0-10, no PC
boards are used-all wiring is point to point. But
unlike the H0-10, Heath provided vertical
amplifier wiring options to accommodate any
receiver IF from 455 kHz to 6 MHz in addition to
an option for 1 to 150 kHz operation for RTTY
use-or for use as a simple oscilloscope. Since
the correct parts may be very hard to find, these
options are not easy to change after the fact , and
there is no simple field check to determine which
option has been chosen. However, conversion to
the scope/RTTY option is easy since it requires
only the removal of parts. To determine the cho-

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

201

l®~ fHR&fi'HEiJ
across the bottom of the IF: 200 pf means an IF
of 1000 kHz; 100 pf means an IF of 1600 to 1680
kHz; 56 pf means an IF of 2075, 2215, or 2475
kHz. In the end all this may be a moot point
since critical analysis of incoming signals displayed on the 610 isn't really possible in the first
place -th ere are just t oo many variable that can
effect the waveforms shown . The SB-610's greatest strength, however, is in the moniotring of
transmitted energy. The 610 will work on any
frequency from 160 to 6 meters. And there is a
low power option for use with QRP and CB rigs.
(N ormally the 610 requires a minimum of 15
watts of drive. ) The low power wiring option is
easy to spot. On th e undersid e of the chassis
look for a tunable type coil wired in and "floating" between the S0-239 jacks and the attenuator switch on the rear panel. The frequencies of
the two-tone generator have been changed to
1500 and 1950 Hz. You can choose a singl e tone
output (1500 H z) or the two-ton e signal. Because
they are subjected to high voltages, resistors in
the inte n s ity, focus , horizontal, and vertical
position circuits will degrade over time , usually
drifting up in value. The result will be an inability to effectively control one or more of these
functions. This is a common ailment in SB-620s
but one that is easy to cure. The tubes are also
s ubjected to voltages that will cause them to
fade faster that one might expect. Rear panel
connections include a pair of loop -through S0239s for RF input an d output, a pair of loopthrough phono jacks (exciter input for linearity
checks ), a phono jack for tone output, a nd phono
jacks for vertical and hori zontal input (fo r RTTY
of scope u se) . Ultim a tely, the SB -610 is mo st
u seful in monitoring transmitted RF or for
RTTY. The 610 is finished in Heath's standard
two-tone green wrinkle paint and matches the
rest of the SB line . Heath sold tens of thousands
of SB-610s. They are not rare, a nd they turn up
frequently at swap meets.
Weight/Size: 10lbs;10" wide x 6.75" high x 11" deep
Related Products: H0-10, H0-5404; SB-614; see
related products listed under SB-100

202

HE.A.TH KIT

[[

SE-614

~ 1 H&if'Hfil

be used with CB or QRP
equ i pment . In add i tio n
the 614 is advertised as
covering only 80 to six meters - no 1 60 meter
coverage as with the H 0 10 and SB -610 . Also miss i ng from t h e 6 14 is the
two -tone test generator.
IMPORTAN T :
W h en
changing transm i tter
power levels care m u st be
taken to keep t h e ver tical
height of t h e disp l ay
within the bounds of the
graticule (the markin g on
the screen). Failure to do
so may result in the overheating an d/ or d estruc tion of a resistor (R201)
and a coil (L201). To complicate m atters t h e potential for damage to th ese
components exists even wh en the 614 is t u rne d
off. It woul d be prudent, therefore, to keep the
vertical gain control in its fu ll counter-clockwise
position unless the 614 is on and the trace can be
seen . One more caution: Use of the 614 on sixmeters may present a high SWR (as h igh as 6:1) to
your transmitter. Front panel controls include power
on/off/intensity, mode, focus, verti cal position
and gain, horizontal position a n d gain, and
sweep speed (and vernier a djust). Indicator lights
behind t h e red window indicate SSB, T RAP, or
CROSS (RTTY) mode. Internal controls include
vertical and horizontal balance . Rear panel contro ls include astigmatism and a two -posi tio n
attenu ator. Rear panel connections include a pair
ofloop-through S0-239s for RF input and ou tpu t,
a pair ofloop-t h rough ph ono jacks (exciter inpu t for
linearity checks ), and phono jacks for vertical and
h orizontal input (for RTTY of scope u se). Th e
missing features combined with the price tag and
problems with the SB- 104 (for wh ich the 614 was
designed) h el d sales down, and t h e 614 never
ach ieved the popularity of its predecessors. Still ,
H eath sold the 614 for nine years, and t h e u nits
still sh ow up at swap meets. Th e 614 is finished
in the stan dard two -ton e green wrin kle pain t.

Station Monitor Scope
Manufactured: 74-82
Price: $199.95
Comments: The SB-614 is the solid state (except
for the CRT) replacemen t fo r the H0 -10 and SB 610 (s ee listings ), provides their same basic fea tures, serves the same basic purpose - to monitor transmitted RF energy-and is styl e d to
match the SB-104 transceiver. The SB -614 is
built on two PC boards and uses 26 transistors
and a handful of diodes. No ICs are used . The
major difference in the 614 is that Heath h as
given up the notion of being able to mon itor
incoming signals. T h e H 0-10 and SB-610 could
be tapped into the receiver IF to provide a look
at the other fe llow's signal. This idea is intrinsically flawed , however, as there are too many
things that can effect the waveforms you see di sp l ayed - including QRM, atmosp h eric noise,
AGC and any problems or shortcomings your
receiver might h ave. In the 614 Heath still suggests t h is can be done , bu t t h e connection used to
do it is to the station speaker. Thus the display seen
on the scope may be interesting to look at but is
useless for any practical pu rpose. The 614 can,
h owever, be useful for RTTY wor k and as a sim ple oscilloscope. As an oscilloscope the 6 14's vertical frequency res ponse is from 10 Hz to abou t
50 kHz, with reasonable sync capability. To monitor transmitted RF energy the 614 requires a
min imum of 10 watts of drive . Since t h ere is no
low power option as in the 610, the 614 cannot

A Guide to the Amateur R adio Products

Weight/Size: 10lbs;10.25" wide x 7.25" high x
15.25" deep
Related Products: H0-10, SB-610; see related products listed under SB-104

203

s:s-sao

Pan adapter
"Scanalyzer"
Manufactured: 66- 76
Price: $119.95
Comments: Easy to spot at a di stanc e because of
its bright yellow CRT, the SB-620 is an updated
and refined version of the H0 -13 (see listing)
and has a lw ays been one of the a uthor's favorite
Heathkits . Like the H0-13, the SB-620 is
designed to provide a visual presentation of the
band you are tuned to . The 620 will present a
portion of the band as wide as 500 kHz to as narrow as 10 kHz, depending to some extent on the
IF frequency for which it has been wired. The
presentation is centered on the frequency your
receiver is tuned to and allows you to "see" up
and down the band. Signals a ppear a long a calibrated line as "pip s" on a high persistence CRT.
The SB -620 is particularly u seful in spotting
band openings and for finding clear spots in a
crowded band. With some practice the user can
determine not only the frequency of signals else-

204

l®~fif¥SiUHfi

where on the band but their strength and emission type as well. The 620 a lso can be used as a
spectr um analyzer, but this use will not be
described here. The 620 is built around six tubes
(excluding the CRT), and has a built-in solid
state power supply. All wiring is point to pointno PC boards are used. The key thing to know
when considering the purchase of a 620 is the IF
frequency for which it has been wired. Unless
the right parts can be found , ch anging the IF
may be possible only by the most technica ll y
inclined. The kit was originally s upplied with all
the parts needed for all the optional wiring
schemes. Be sure to ask if the unused parts are
still around . NOTE: If you are going to change
the IF you will need the manual. H e ath designed
the SB-620 for use with more than a dozen common receiver IFs and there is no s imple field
check to determine the IF of the unit at which
you are looking, so unless the seller knows for
sure (and it may be unwise to trust his/her memory) you'll have to take it out of the cabinet and
do some digging. You will need to determine the
part number for coil L3 . Remove the 620 from its
cabinet and position it so you can examine the
underside of the chassis and so the front panel is
HE.A.THKIT

~ ~ f§f Mf Hi*fil
facing to your right. With the unit so positioned,
the area to examine is in the lower right corner
of the unit. In this corner locate two tube sockets . To locate coil L3 look to the 2 o'clock position
from the upper tube sock et. Use t h e fo llowing
chart to determine t h e IF.
L3 Part#
40-774
40-775
40-808
40-776
40-807
40-776

IF Frequency
455 kHz
1000 kHz
1600-2245 kHz*
3000 or 3055 kHz *
5200 or 6000 kHz*
3395 kHz (Heath SB and HW series)

'!' To make a precise determination will require
the manual. Also note that to re-establish the
Heath 3395 kHz I F it will be necessary to
change another coil (L2 ) from part number 40590 to part number 52 -101. For a ll IF changes
the values of a few resistors and capacitors will
need to be changed as well .
Because they are subjected to high voltages,
resistors in the intensity, focus, horizontal, and
vertical position circuits will degrade over time ,
usually drifting up in value. The result will be
an inability to effectively control one or more of
these functions. This is a common ailment in SB 620s but one that is easy to cure. The tubes are
also subjected to voltages that will cause them to
fade faster that one might expect. And, by the
way, there is no functional reason that the 3RP7
CRT can't be replaced with a standard persis tence 3RP1 (as fou n d in the SB-610 and 614 ).
The 620 uses a pair of not-so-easy-to -find NE -83
neon lamps. Note t h at an N E -2 or other neon
bulb will not suffice as a replacement. One is
used in the sweep generator and the other is
used as a voltage regulator that doubles as t h e
pil ot light. The alignment procedure is not too
complicated but does requ ire a high -quality RF
generator and an accurate audio generator. Connection to the receiver is done via the plate of

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

the mixer just preceding the first IF amp lifier
and will require you to tweak up your receiver a
bit to compen sate for t h e additional load. The
manual contain s exact hooku p instructions for
many com mon ra di os including Collins, Drake,
Eico, Hallicrafters, National, RME, and Swan.
Heath discontinue d the 620 in 1976 and it was n't unti l 1988 that another panada p ter was
re l ease d- the H0 -5404 monitor scope (the
panadapt er mo du le was optional) . The SB -620 is
finished in Heath's two -tone green wrinkle paint
an d ma t ches the rest of the SB line. I t is
designed for 120/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz operation.
The S B- 620 actua ll y works very we ll and
enjoyed moderate success. 620s used to be very
common at flea markets but have become much
more scarce in recent years.
Weight/Size: 10lbs; 10" wide x 6.75" hi gh x 11'' deep
Related Products: H0-13 , H0-5404, see related
products listed under SB-100

205

S:S-630

Station Console
Manufactured: 66-74
Price: $101.95
Comments: The SB -630 wa s a very popular acces sory containing a 24-hour (mechanical) digital
clock, an SWR meter, a hybrid phone patch, and
10-minute timer, and made an attractive addition to any station . It's hard to believe a gizmo
like this would have tubes in it, but it do es-two
of them-an OA2 voltage regular and a 6EW8
relay control , both used in the 10-minute timer
circuit. The timer circuit consists of an RC network that charges very slowly and fires a neon
lamp . The lamp in turn shoots a pul se to the grid
of the 6EW8 , which then conducts and closes a
relay. D epending on the setting of the timer
function switch, the relay will activate a l amp
and/or a buzzer. Calibrating the timer to operate
at 10-minute intervals is accomplished by the
trial-and- error a dju stment to two potentiome ters - a coarse a dju st and a fine adjust. A front
panel reset button restarts the timing sequence
each time it is pushed . The duration of the light
an d buzzer is about one second. The phone patch
section is based on the HD-19 , et a l (see listing
for details ). The SWR meter is based on the HM15 (see listing for details). The clock is a standard Numechron movement and there is no convenient way to set it . You have to reach in
through the open back of the cabinet and do the
bes t you can. After a few years of operation the se

206

lE= ~f hfif§fHfi
units often start making a lot of noise but
will generally continue
to work for many more
years-it just depends
on how long you want
to put up with it. The
industrious person
should b e able to find a
new (or at least quiet)
motor as a replace ment, and entire clock
movements can sometimes be found at swap
fests . SB-630s are
sometimes found with
e le ctronic
digital
clocks installed - a
most unfortunate modification - often with
equa ll y unfortunate
front panel holes added
with which to set them. The best advice to keep
the clock silent is to only run it when you have
guests in the shack. The phone patch and SWR
meter will continue to work without the unit
being plugged in. Front panel controls include
SWR sensitivity and forward/reverse, time
reset, timer function , mode (SWR or phone
patch), and phone patch receiver an d transmit
gain . The front panel meter is not illuminate d
a nd reads SWR or phone patch audio level.
There is a lso a pilot light that indicates when
the timer is on. Rear panel controls include
phone patch null adjust, a monitor/null switch,
an d timer adjustment controls. Rear panel connections include S0 -239s for RF connection to
the SWR meter, phono jacks for Hi-Z or 600 ohm
phone patch output to the transmitter, loopthrough receiver audio, and screw terminals for
co nn ection to t h e phone line (po l arity i s not
important). The SB -630 sold very well and still
can be found with some regularity. Standard
two-tone green wrinkle.
Weight/Size: 10 lbs; 10" wide x 6. 75" high x ff' deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-100

HEA.THKIT

~ f§f Rdf #fi*fil

Station Console
Manufactured: 74-83
Price: $199.95
Comments: The SB-634 is a solid state SB-630
(see listing). It provides the same basic features,
serves the same basic purpose, and is designed
to match the SB-104 transceiver. The SB-634 is
built on three PC boards and is really just a collection of existing Heath products put into a single box. The 634 contains a six-digit, 24-hour
clock b ased on the GC -1005 (see listing), a phone
patch based on the old (but reliable) technology
of the HD-19 (s ee listing), a 10-minute digital ID
timer, and a power/SWR meter based on the
HM-2140 (see listing). The power meter is a feature not found in the SB-630, which had only an
SWR meter. Overall the 634 is a very useful
accessory and represents a substantial improvement over the SB -630. The 634 has a built-in
power sup ply, but the only features that use it
are the clock and the 10-minute time. The rest of
the functions are self powered and can run with
the 634 unplugged. The 10-minute identifier
time appears alongside the main time readout
and is displayed in sma ll er numbers. The
counter starts at 0:00, co unts to 9:59, and resets
to zero. Then-depending in the setting of the
timer function switch-a light will light, or light
will light and an a larm will sound for a bout one
second. The timer can be reset at any point in
the cycle by means of a front panel button and

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

SB-634

can b e disabled if de sired. When first activated,
the tim er will indicate a random time and may
di s play some non-numeric characters until
reset. The power/SWR meter h as a range of 1.8
to 30 MHz and will read to 2000 watts in two
scales or 0-200 and 0-2000 watts. With a simple
front panel adjustment, power readings of 1-20
watts may also be made. SWR sensitivity is less
than 10 watts . CAUTION: A lo ad must be connected to the output connector on th e
power/SWR meter. Insertion loss is negligible.
Front panel controls include a row of push buttons for control of the power/SWR meter and
controls for timer function , phone patch transmit and receive gain, and SWR sensitivity. Rear
panel controls include phone patch null adjust, a
monitor/null switch, and three switches to set
the clock. Rear panel connections include S0239s for RF connection to the SWR meter, phono
j acks for Hi-Z or 600 ohm phone patch output to
the transmitter and loop -through receiver
audio, and screw terminals for connection to the
phone line (polarity is not important). Standard
SB two-tone green wrinkle paint. The SB-634 is
fairly common.
Weight/Size: 10lbs;10.25" wide x 7.25" high x
15.25" deep
Related Products: SB-604, SB-614, SB-630, SB644(A)

207

S:S-640

RemoteVFO
Manufact ured: 67-70
Pr ice : $99
Comments: Heath referred to the VFO used in
the SB series as a Line a r M as ter Oscillator
(LMO ). The SB-640 was made for only a short
time a nd has become the rarest and most elusive
of the SB series product line. It prove d to be less
popular that H eath had anticipated and was discontinued after only four years of production.
Discontinuing the 640 may have been a mistake
since the SB -102 (released in 1970 ) proved to be
eve n more popular that its predec essors and
would no doubt have boosted sales of the 640.
The SB-640 is designed to permit split frequency
operation with the SB-101 and 102 transceivers .
With the combination of the 101 or 102 and the
640, five modes of operation are possible; (1)
transceiving from the 101 or 102; (2) transceiving on the 640; (3) transceiving on the 640 crystals; (4) transmitting on the 640 LMO and
receiving on the 101 or 102 LMO; and (5) trans mitting on the 640 crystals and receiving on the
101or102 LMO. The SB-640 is largely an empty
cabinet. Inside is a standard tube type LMO the same one found in the SB-100 and 101 (see
listing for the SB -100 for a discussion of the
LMO ). The 640 has two tubes ins ide, one of
which is on the LMO itself. All wiring is point to
point, and there is no internal power supply. All
power is derived from the transceiver. Note that

208

lt= ~ fHMfUHEI
because of subtle
mechanical differences
between them, it is not
possible to replace the
640's tube type LMO
with the solid state version found in the SB 102. Also note that the
SB-640 is not designed
for use with the SB100 - or more precisely,
the SB-100 i s not
designed for u se with
the SB-640. Thi s is
because SB-100 does not
have any of the required
sw itching circuits,
though a modification
would b e possible by
the mor e technically
inclined operator. A
simple modification is
required even on the SB -101 and 102, but the
640's manual covers this in detail. The modification involves the installation of a nine-pin connector on the rear panel of the transceiver
through which the 640 is connecte d . IMPORTANT: You will need the manual to do the installation. Front panel controls include main tuning, zero set, LMO/XTAL, and XTAL 1/XTAL 2.
When connected to the 101 or 102 , the 640's dial
light comes on when the transceiver is switched
on, but a red light on the 640 lights only when
the 640 has been selected. The only rear panel
controls are two trimmer caps-one for each
crystal. The only rear panel connection is a nine pin plug for connection to the transceiver. Standard SB two -tone green wrinkle pa int. SB-640s
are very rare.
Wei ght/Size: 5 lbs ; 10" wide x 6. 75" hi gh x 11" deep
Related Products : SB-600 , SB-610 , SB-620 , SB630 , SB-650

HE.A.THKIT

fE ~ 1 HSf §fi*fiJ

RemoteVFO
Manufactured/Price:
SB-644 74-79 $134.95
SB-644A 79-84 $134.95
Comments: Just as the SB-640 permitted split
frequency operation with the SB-101and102, so
too the SB-644(A) permits split frequency operation with the SB-104(A). And like the 640, the
644(A) provides the same kinds of operating
modes. You may transceive from either the 104
or the 644. Unlike the 640, the 644(A) allows you
to control either the transmit or receive frequency from the 644 with the 104 controlling the
other. The 644(A) also permits operation on one
of two crystal frequencies. The 644(A) uses an
illuminated slide rule dial as a general frequency indicator, but whenever it has been selected
the 644(A)'s exact frequency is displayed on the
104's readout. When operating split frequency,
the 104's display will change when you transmit.
Other than the main tuning knob the only other
controls are two rows of front panel push buttons allow you to select the mode of operation.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

SE-644 (.A)

Status lights behind the red window indicate in
what mode the 644(A) is operating. There is no
internal power supply. All needed voltages are
derived from the SB-104(A). Rear panel connection include two phono jacks labeled "in" and
"out." These match up with jacks on the 104(A).
In 1979 the SB-104 was given a major overhaul
to fix a variety of problems-among these were
some minor problems with the VFO. The 104A's
new VFO was incorporated into the 644 and the
unit was renamed the 644A. The unit is finished
in the standard two-two green wrinkle. The SB644 and 644A are medium rare.
Weight/Size: 10 lbs; 10.25" wide x 7.25" high x
15.25" deep
Related Products: see related products listed
under SB-104

209

S:S-650

w=~tH&ii'Hii
RTTY mod e s ince the
BFO sign a l is not present in those modes.
Wh en op era t ing CW,
the 640 will rea d the
receive freq u ency but
will indicate the 1 k Hz
BFO offset upon key
down . Attempting to
use the 650 with other
makes of equipment is
not recommended . The
only front p a n el control
is a n on/off r ock er
switch. There are fo ur
internal controls. Three
of these are pots u se d
to set the levels of the
BFO , LMO , and HFO signal s. The fourth is a
trimmer cap u se d to calibrate the unit. Calibration is very simpl e. Ju st tun e the receiver to
CHU (7.3 35 0 MHz ) or WWV (at 15 .0000 MHz )
a nd a djust the trimmer for the correct reading.
The only rear p a n el co nnections are three phono
sockets-o n e for eac h sign a l. Interconnecting
cables should b e m a de from RG58A/U or equival ent a nd should b e no longer tha n 18 inches.
Whil e a rea dout to 100 H z is suppo sed to be possible, most units s uffer a little from jitter in the
right-mo st digit , but thi s is not a m ajor problem .
Ma x imum s t a bilit y requires at lea s t a 10minute warm-up . If the unit you bought does n 't
work right, the fir st course of action should be to
re-seat the IC s. With time, the pin/s ocket junctions may oxidize , cau sing erratic operation, a nd
re-seating th e chips is a simple fix . The SB-650
m anu a l is full of troubl e-shooting tips a nd has
do zens of voltage a nd wave form charts to a ssist
y ou . Mo st of the IC s a r e common TTL devices
a nd should be relatively simple to find should
a ny need to be replaced. The Nixie display tub es
are National NL-1220 or Burroughs B -5859A
miniatures with w ir e b ases -not th e p l u g-in
type. These tubes will be a bit h ard to find but often
can be scrounge d from various pieces of "boat
a nchor" test equipment (and old de sk calculators)
found at swap m eet s. CAUTION: The SB-650
r equires plenty of ventilation a nd should not be
placed directly on top of heat-producing equipment. The unit is fini sh ed in the standar d SB twotone green wrinkle. The SB -650 is fairly rare.

Digital Frequency Display
Man ufa ctur ed: 72-75
Price : $199 .95
Comments: The SB-650 was another very popular
accessory for the SB a nd HW series of receivers
and transceivers and caused quite a stir when
first released. It was, however, released fairly
la te in the life of the SB-102 and was m a de only
until the release of the digital readout SB-104 in
1975. The resulting short production life of the
650 has made it a very rare and highly sou ghtafter piece . The SB-650 is a full y s olid state
device (well , OK, the readout tubes a r en 't solid
state ) a nd is built on one l a rge double-sided PC
board . It u ses 3 6 IC s, s ix tr a nsi sto r s, a nd a
handful of diod es. The displ ay us es six Nixi e
n eon discharge tubes and provides a re a dout to
100 H z. The SB-650 does not read the operating
frequency directly but instead derive s the frequency from three s ignals picked off of th e
receiv er or tran sceiver . The se signals are th e
BFO , the LMO , a nd the HFO , and getting them
out of the SB or HW tran sceivers a nd rec eivers
requires a modification to th e units including
the drilling of up to three rear panel holes for the
installation of up to three phono jacks and some
attendant internal wiring. Note th at when u se d
in combination with the SB-400 or 401 transmitter, the transmitter r equires the a ddition of a small
choke. The 650's manual is very clear about the
proc e dure for all of th e SB a nd HW family.
IMPORTANT: You will n ee d the m a nu a l to do
the installation. Since the 640 depends on three
signals, the unit will not read properly under
certain conditions. For exa mple , when use d with
the SB-300 , 301 , or 303, the 640 will not r ead
correctly if the receiver is placed in the AM or

210

Wei ght/Size: 5 lbs ; 10" wide x 6" high x 10.25" deep
Related Products: see related products listed under
SB-100

HE.A.TH KIT

[§ ~ fi'?f#f Hi*fiJ

HF Linear Amplifier
Manufact ured: 87-92
Price: $739.95
Comments: In spite of its SB name, the SB-1000
is not a true Heath product. It is an Ameritron
amplifier repackaged in kit form by Heath-and
no one was ever really fooled. Still, the SB-1000
was reasonably attractive from both a buyer's
and a seller's perspective since it could be sold
for less than many commercial amps on the market. Thus Heath was able to revive, albeit
briefly, the dynamic that gave it its start. The
SB-1000 runs about 1000 watts PEP SSB output
and about 850 watts CW. It uses a single 3-500Z
in class AB2 grounded grid service. It will dissipate about 500 watts in continuous duty for
about 30 minutes and requires about 85 watts of
drive for full power output. Maximum permissible drive is 100 watts. The power supply uses a
22 pound hypersil steel E-I core transformer and
runs about 3000 volts no load and 2700 volts full
load at about .45 amps. Unlike the SB-200 series
of amps, the SB-1000 is not "instant on" and

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

SE-1000

requires a 10 second warm-up. Out of the box
and as assembled, the frequency coverage is
from 160 to 15 meters-including WARC bands.
However, the SB-1000 will cover 10 meters as
well. All the parts for 10 meter operation are
included and are put in place during assemblyincl uding an unlabeled position on the
bandswitch. To enable 10 meter operation
requires only the snipping of a black wire that
exits the input-network enclosure and is
attached to the ground lug secured to the plate
tuning capacitor reduction -drive mounting
screw. (See page 38 of the SB-1000 illustration
book.) When operating on 10 meters be sure to
turn the bandswitch past the 15 meter setting.
The WARC bands are not labeled on the front
panel bandswitch. To operate the SB-1000 on a
WARC band, set the bandswitch to the nearest
band position. For example, to operate on 12
meters, set the bandswitch to 10 meters. For 17
meter operation, set the bandswitch to 15
meters. Note that there are no input network
coils specifically for WARC bands and that the
output network is not tapped for these bands. As
a result, operation on WARC bands will result in
about 80 percent of rated power. The SB -1000

211

f®~'§f iSii'Hil
features a variable ALC providing a negativegoing ALC voltage from 0-20 volts . True QSK
operation is possible with the optional QSK
board. The QSK board mounts almost directly
above the power transfomer. Unless you can
remove the unit from its cabinet, the best way to
check for the presence of the QSK board is to
look for a rear panel screw that had to be added
to mount the board . This screw is located just
above and to the right of the S0-239 RF output
connector. There are two large illuminated panel
meters. One is dedicated to grid current and the
other will monitor plate current, plate voltage,
ALC, and power output. Front panel controls
include plate tune, load , band, meter function,
main power, and operate/standby. The only rear
panel control is the ALC output adjustment.
Rear panel connections include S0-239 RF input
and output connectors and phono jacks for TR
relay, ALC out, and -12 volts (also for TR relay) .
There is also a ground post. Although the SB1000 can be wired for either 120 or 240 VAC
operation, only a 120 VAC line cord and plug
were supplied. If you want to change to 240 VAC
operation (preferred) you'll have to find the correct plug, do a bit of re-wiring, and install the
correct fuses. The SB-1000 was the l ast amp
Heath ever sold, but because it is not a genuine
Heath product, it is not, in the author's opinion,
much of a collector's piece. It is, however, a reliable, well-designed product and should be considered by anyone in the market for a good
amplifier. Toward the end, Heath blew out its
remaining stock of SB-lOOOs with sub stantial
discounts. Finished in two-tone gray with red
dial pointers. Medium rare.
Weight/Size: 48 lbs; 14.5" wide x 8.25" high x 14"
deep
Related Products: SB-200, SB-201, SB-220, SB221, SB-230, HL-2200

212

HEATHKIT

l@ ~ fU?&iHH+i

S:S-1400

SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 88-91
Price: $799.95
Comments: The SB-1400 is not a Heath product
and was never offered in kit form. It was made
for Heath by Yaesu and was patterned after
Yaesu's FT-747GX. Because it was neither a
Heath product nor a kit, it will not be discussed
further.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

213

SS-9000

f=~ fHffiif§fH+il
ity with the SA-1480
Remote Coax Switch,
PTTNOX, RIT, adjustable speech processing,
bandpass shift, a noise
blanker, Fast/Slow/Off
ACG, 400 and 200 Hz
CW filters , and a fourfunction meter. Rear
panel connectors and
controls include an
S0-239 RF antenna
connector, linear ALC
in , linear ALC adjust,
low power enable, five
spares, DC power in,
CW key jack, external
transmit audio in, speaker, external receiver
audio, T/R in, T/R out,
mute , mute inverted ,
external relay (for a
linear), and an RS-232
port. The SS-9000
requires 11 to 16 VDC (13.8 nominal) with a
maximum current of 25 amps at 100 watts CW
output. Receive current is about 2 amps . The
PS-9000 power supply was liste d separately but
was almost always offered with the transceiver
in a package deal. The power supply features a
speaker and a digital clock with two readouts
(for GMT and local, for example). The SS-8000/
9000 project cost Heath in excess of $3,000 ,000
and in th e end the rig was way too expensive .
Although the rig worked well, its high price tag
combined with savage competition drove it off
the market in less than two years. Heath cut its
losses a n d blew out its remaining stock at huge
discounts. Only about 2000 were ever sold. The
SS-9000 and its "l ow end" companion , the
HW-5400, were the last big rigs Heath ever
made. Get the book-you'll need it.

9 Band SSB/CW Transceiver
Manufactured: 82-84
Price: $2795
Comments: The SS-9000, a fully assembled product , actually beg an life as the SS-8000, a
kit-form product. Development of the SS-8000
began in the mid 70s but in 1980, on the verge of
shipping, it was clear that the rig was way too
complicated for the average ham to assemble
and align . Heath decided to redesign the
SS-8000 for sale as a fully assemb led and tested
product, a process that took another three years .
The SS-9000 fina lly shipped in 1982. The computer-controllable rig performed well and was
loaded with just abou t every bell and whistle
imaginable at the time. It was advertised as "a
transceiver so feature-conscious, it has no
options ." The micro-processor controlled 9000
features coverage from 160 to 10-meters including the WARC bands and WWV at 15 MHz. Th e
rig runs about 100 watts SSE PEP, about 100
watts CW and RTTY, and tunes in 100 Hz steps
(5 kHz per dial revolution). Operation includes
split transmit/receive or tra n sceive from two
VFOs, each with its own display. Stability is
about 3 ppm from a cold start . Other features
include full SWR protection, 27 frequency memories (3 per band), a built -in terminal interface
(DTE) for full control from a terminal or com puter, remote control via modem, push -button fre quency slewin g (16 selectable rates), compatibil-

214

Weight/Size : 35 lbs ; 14" wide x 6" hi gh x 13. 75" deep
Related Products: none

HEATHKIT

::;:
~

3
~

;
~

s~-717

~ fHi5¥¥f i*+ i

HFfli.ii"'

will receive AM , CW,
and SSB signals but
does not have a selector for separate USB and LSB as is found on the
GR-54 . Because it is a solid state design the 717,
is considerably more stable than its predecessor.
It is not, however, considerably more sensitive
or selective. Heath does not specify the sensitivity of the unit. Suffice it to say that the sensitivity is typical of the genre. The 71 7 can be aligned
without instruments and is designed for
120/240VAC, 50/60 Hz operation . It is housed in
a gray cabinet and has white and green band
markings. Good condition SW-717s are becoming hard to find .

General Coverage Receiver
Manufactured: 71-82
Price: $139.95
Comments: The SW-717 is essentially a solid
state version of the GR-64 (see listing) , which it
replaced in 1971. The 717 was the last of the
slide-rule dial SWL receivers, but it was not the
first fully solid state SWL receiver He a th made .
That title belongs to the GC -l(A) (s ee listing) built in 1960 -and it makes you wonder why,
having built a very good solid state receiver way
back then, H eath would have clung to the tubetube type receivers of the GR family as long as it
did. The SW-717 us es nine transistors and is
built on a single PC board. It covers from 550
kHz to 30 MHz in four bands and features an
illuminated dial , electrical bandspread , BFO
control, a signal strength meter, ANL (the
switch is on the rear panel) , built-in speaker, a
headphone jack, a nd a built-in ferrite rod antenna for broadcast band reception. In addition,
there is a rear panel screw terminal connection
for an external antenna and ground. The 717

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Wei ght/Size: 10 lbs; 14.5" wide x 5.25" hi gh x 8"
deep
Related Products: AR-1 , AR-2 , AR-3 , GC-l(A) , GR64, GR-78 , GR-81 , GR-91 , SW-7800

215

s~-7eoo

~ ~f U¥iiiHil

transmitter. Selectivity is 2 .5 kHz for SSB ,
CW, and AM nar row,
and 5.5 kHz for AM wide. The manual does not
refer to the stability of the SW-7800. Since the
radio is fully synthesized and uses PLL circuits,
one could conclude that the stability should be
reasonable, though the unit owned by the author
does not seem to support that conclusion. Only a
VTVM is required for alignment. The unit will
run from 120 VAC or from 11-15 VDC (750 ma).
The SW- 7800 enjoyed only moderate success. It
was seen as expensive and featureless compared
to other ready-made shortwave receivers on the
market and was eventually pulled as part of
Heath's decision to exit the kit market altogether. Not too rare.

General Coverage Receiver
Manufactured: 84-90
Price: $349.95
Comments: There was a two-year gap between
the end of the SW-717 and the introduction of
the SW-7800. The 7800 is built on three main PC
boards plus a small board for the display. The
unit's design includes a broadband, up-converting, double-conversion mixer, and covers from
150 kHz to 30 MHz in 30 overlapping bands.
Features includ e fast and slow AGC, a
"loc al/DX" switch, a telescoping whip antenna,
and a front panel output (miniature phone jack)
for tape recorder. This output is unaffected by
the volume control. Other features include a
five-digit digital display that resolves to 1 kHz,
switch selection of USB/CW, LSB, or wide or
narrow AM. There are also a built-in speaker, a
standard quarter inch he adphone jack (monophonic), an S0-239 antenna connector for a 50
ohm antenna, a screw terminal for a hi-Z antenna (normally connected to the on-board whip
antenna), and a muting output for use with a

216

Weight/Size: 7 lbs; 11.5" wide x 5" high x 11" deep
Related Products: AR-1, AR-2, AR-3, GC-l(A),
GR-64, GR-78, GR-81, GR-91, SW-717

HE AT HK IT

TX-1

~ ~f§fifSiffiiffl

slug-tuned coil forms.
The Apache covers
from 80-10 meters, and
11 meters with crystal operation. The TX-1 will
not operate 160 meters, which is curious since
the matching receiver (th e RX-1) will. The TX-1
has a rated input power of 150 watts AM and 180
watts CW, and its Pi-Network output circuit will
match from 50-72 ohms. The unit features a
built-in power supply (with a solid state bias
sup ply ), adjustable low-level speech clipping,
"time sequence" keying for "chirpless break-in"
CW, heavy shielding, provisions for one crystal
frequency, and fan cooled finals. There is also a
front panel selector switch to route the signal to
a rear panel connector for use with the SB-10
SSE adapter unit (see listing). An illuminated
panel meter reads drive plate current, final grid
current, final plate current, final plate voltage,
and modulator plate current . There are a full
range of front panel controls. These include t h e
band switch , VFO main tuning, final amp tuning, driver tuning, frequency control (VFO or
crystal), mode, plate high voltage on/off, audio
gain, main power, tune/operate, meter function,
antenna loading, final amp drive l evel , an d a

5 Band AM/CW Transmitter
"Apache"
Manufactured: 58-64
Price: $252.50
Comments: The TX-1 and its companion, the RX1 (see listing), were released as a pair in 1958
and were the first Heath amateur products to
wear the now famous two-tone green paint. With
a shipping weight of 107 pounds, the TX-1 was
typical of transmitters of the day. "B i g and
heavy" was interpreted by most hams as "good
and stable." More than just a DX-100 in a new
box, t h e TX-1 was a substantial improvement
over the 100 and was marketed as a step up . The
TX-1 is designed around 19 tub es including a
pair of 6146 finals. Some of the biggest improvements were in the VFO , a Clapp oscillator (a
series tuned Colpitts ) in which the 6AU6 filament was left on a ll the time. The tube was
mounted outside the VFO housing, and liberal
use was made of temperature compensation
components including heavily doped ceramic

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

217

rE= ~ 1 u&&f Ui*il
spotting switch. The main modulation level control is adjusted with a screwdriver by reaching
in through the key jack. In addition to the various controls, there is also a high voltage indicator light. On the rear panel is an octal accessory
socket that provides an external duplication of
the plate switch and 120 VAC for use with an
antenna relay and/or receiver muting. Also
available on this socket is 350 VDC at 85 ma and
6.3 VAC at 3.5 amps . These voltages are primarily for use with the SB-10 SSB adapter. A pair of
screw terminal contacts near the center of the
rear panel provide a general purpose contact closure. There are two closely spaced S0-239 connectors on the rear panel. These are for use with
the SB-10 SSB adapter. As viewed from the rear,
the left connector provides RF to the SB-10 . The
right connector provides input to the final amp.
Since the RX-1 receiver had been designed and
prototyped before the TX-1, and since the two
units had to match, some tricky engineering was
needed to fit the TX-1 into the the RX-l's box.
Among other things, this required some complicated mechanical linkages that ended up working pretty well- even if they did look a little
strange. The nick name "scratchy Apache" (not
really heard much until recent years) refers to
the TX-l's audio quality and is probably undeserved. The TX-l's audio response is about 3003000 Hz and is really very clean. Any "scratchiness" heard may be the result of component
failure or drift due to age or operator error. As in
the RX-1, the plastic dial drum is fragile and can
crack with rough handling. Be sure to check it
before you buy. For 120 VAC 50/60 Hz operation.
Two-tone green finish with darker green cabinet. Early units were shipped with satin finish
metal knobs while later versions used polished
knobs. The RX-1/TX-l pair were the last
big/heavy radios Heath made and were replaced
by the SB series-a low cost (relatively speaking) series of products designed to appeal to
those who wanted, but could not afford, Collins
equipment. The TX-1/RX-l pair were very successful and Heath sold thousands of them. In
spite of this, relatively few remain in good condition. Clean TX-ls in good working order are
becoming quite rare .
Weight/Size: 107lbs;19.5" wide x 11.5" high x
16" deep
Related Products: RX-1, SB-10, KL-1, HA-10

218

H E A..T HK IT

~ f#f ?fiHHEiJ

External VFO
Manufactured: 52-61
Price: $19.50
Comments: The VF-1 was He a th's first externa l
VFO and was released in 1952 as a companion
unit for the AT-1. The unit outlasted the AT-1
and later was sold for use with the DX-20 , 35,
and 40, although it could be used with the DX-60
series and others. The VF-1 is the same VFO
design used later in the DX-100 . It covers 160-10
meters (including 11 meters ) with three basic
output frequency ranges and provides about 10
volts of RF drive. It uses two tubes: an OA2 and a
6AU6. The oscillator is an electron-coup l ed
Clapp type (a series tuned Colpitts). Features
include an illuminated dial, copper plated chassis, aluminum case, "profuse shielding,'' ceramic
coil forms, switch wafers, and tuning capacitor
insulation. The tuning vernier reduction drive
provides about two feet of bandspread . There is

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

VF'-1

no built-in power supply. The VF-1 is designed to
take its power from the transmitter and r equires
250 VDC at 15-20 ma and 6.3 VAC at .45 amps.
Although the VF-1 employed some basic temperature compensation techniques, many users
minimized drift by building a power supply that
would keep the VF -1 powered up all the time.
Front panel controls include main tuning , band
switch, and off-standby-on. There are two cables
on the rear panel: power in and RF out. The VF1 is painted in a two tone gray to match the AT-1.
The knobs are gray and are the same style used
on the DX-20, et al. The VF-1 shows up with surprising regularity, though often in poor condition.
Weight/Size: 7 lbs; 6.5 .. wide x T' high x T' deep
Related Products: AT-1, DX series transmitters

219

VF'-8081

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Catryl111 case and

exterul 11ike are
handy accessories

Your VF-2G31's alWays

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•
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& recharp-

ablt batteries

Ootioul Auto htch Eneodtr lets JO• •akl

phone calls tltNHIP rtpottn eqalpptd
With atltt-Jatclt mptlb.

2 Meter Hand-Held
Transceiver
M anufactured: 79-83
Pri ce: $199.95
Comments: The VF-2031 replaced Heath's original HT (the HW-2021) in 1978. The new unit features several significant improvements. First, it
has twice the output power-2 watts . Second , it
provides switch selection of simplex, plus 600,
or minus 600 kHz operation . Third, it provides
three additional channels for a total of 8 . The
VF-2031's total frequency coverage is from 143.5
to 148.5 MHz, but in practice the 8 crystal frequencies all must fall within a single 2 MHz section of the total range. As with its predecessor,
Heath cautioned that the VF-2031 was not for
beginning kit builders. The 2031 uses a 10.7
MHz IF and has a rated sensitivity is .5 uV or
less for 20 db quieting. Crystal formula : Receive
crystal frequency = (operating frequency - 10. 7) I
9. Top mounted contro l s include volume,

220

squelch, channel selector, and a three position
simplex/offset switch. Another switch controls
the optional sub-audible continuous tone
encoder. There is also a connector for an optional
speaker/mic. Other optional equipment includes
a touch tone pad and a leather case . The VF2031 apparently did not incorporate the battery
saver circuit employed in the 2021. Still, the 10
AA NiCads (solder lead type) will provide about
10 hours of "normal" operation. The 2031 is built
into a black plastic case with a liner of metal foil
covere d paper and was supplied with a drop -in
charger . The 2031 sold fairly well but suffered
from a variety of problems mostly related to difficulty in assembly. Tiny parts in tiny spaces
were more than many ops could take on. The VF 2031 requires only a VTVM for alignment. Rare .
Wei ght / Si ze: 2 lbs ; 3.25" wide x 9" hi gh x 2" deep
Related Products: HA-201, VF- 2021 , HW-6502

HE.ATHKIT

VF'-7401

[§ ~fh&iUHEiJ

In both cases the unit
will only scan 1 MHz
portions of the band.
Three front panel push buttons allow you to
enter any frequency you want, and the unit can
be wired to "power up" on a pre-programmed frequency of your choice . This frequency is chosen
during assembly and can be rewired later. There
is also a front panel switch to select an offset of+
or - 600 kHz,+ 1 MHz, or simplex. The 7401 will
scan a full 4 MHz portion of the band between
143.5 and 148.5 MHz-the entire band-with a
rated power output of 15 watts. Power output is
continuously variable. The 7 401 is built on six
PC boards and borrows heavily from its predecessor, the HW-2036. The receiver features a
double tuned front end with an RF amp, dualconversion, an 8-pole crystal IF filter, IC limiting, and Quad detection. Receiver sensitivity is
better than .5 uV. Bandwidth is 6 dB down at 15
kHz. All birdies are less than 1 uV equivalent.
Heath advertised that the synthesizer had been
substantially improved and no longer required a
front panel indicator to tell you it's locked on frequency. Heath did, however, put a PLL lock indicator light inside-just in case. The transmitter
is protected from high SWR and has a 100 percent duty cycle. Deviation is adjustable from 0-7
kHz. Mobile users may wis h to note that the

2 Meter FM Transceiver
Manufactured: 80-83
Price: $369.95
Comments: The VF-7401 was Heath's last kittype two-meter transceiver. It was a very nice
rig with lots of power and features, but it had
cost the company a bundle to develop, and by
this time Heath was coming under heavy pressure from competition. Sales were never as high
as Heath had hoped for, and it is likely that
Heath lost money on the 7401. It was the last of
the line that began with the HW-202 (see listing). The VF-7401 is a scanning rig but that
l abel is a little misleading. The 7401 has no
"memory channels" as we have come to understand them today. It scanned standard channel
spacings. Heath advertised that it has "800
channel capacity." Again this is somewhat misl eading. What Heath meant was that while
scanning in 5 kHz steps , it would scan the 800
standard channel allocations between 144 and
148 MHz. There are two basic scanning modes.
In one mode the rig will scan until it comes upon
a signal, at which point it will stop until told to
continue. In the other mode it will stop and then
resume scanning at the end of the transmission.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

221

rE= ~ fUMfifiif IJ
operating temperature range is from +15 to
+125 F. Depending on where you live, these limits could easily be exceeded in your car. The 7401
features a CTCSS CPL) tone encoder. The user
can choose from three tones via a front panel
switch. Tone frequencies are selected during
assembly. Front panel controls include volume,
squelch, offset, tone , scan mode, scan/manual,
display brightness, a 5 kHz select, and three
tuning buttons - 1 MHz, 100 kHz, and 10 kHz.
The front panel also features a red LED indicating 5 kHz selection, a green LED indicating a
unsquelched or "channel busy" condition, and a
three digit LED frequency display. Unlike the
HW-2036, the mic on the VF-7401 is detachable.
The mic connector is a standard 4-pin DIN connector. Rear panel includes power amp tuning,
power level controls, a 12 VDC power connector,
an external speaker jack, and an 80-239 antenna connector. The 7401 requires 12.6 to 16 VDC
(13.8 nominal) and is polarity protected. Receive
current consumption is 550 ma (squelched), 750
ma maximum . On transmit the current consumption is 4 amps maximum. Heath packaged
the 7401 in a black cabinet with a light blue
front panel , and this was the only Heath radio
product to use this color scheme besides the rig's
matching power supply. The VF-7401 is among
the rarest of Heath products and is seldom seen
at swap meets.
Weight/Size: 12 lbs; 8.25" wide x 2. 75" high x 10"
deep
Related Products: HW-202, HW-2026,
HW-2036(A), HWA-202-1, HA-202, HM-2102

222

HE.A.TH KIT

~fH&SiUH+iJ

•

6 and 2 Meter AM/CW
Transmitter
"Seneca"
Manufactured: 58-62
Price: $159.95
Comments: Released about the same time as the
TX-1, and looking very much like a miniature
version of it, the Seneca was Heath's first serious
piece of VHF gear. Th e Sen eca covers from 50-54
MHz and from 144-148 .3 MHz and will operate
AM or CW. The rig is b u i l t around 11 tubes
including a pair of 6146 finals and h as a rated
power input on six-meters of 140 CW and 120 AM.
On two -meters the inp u t power rating is 110
watts CW and 95 watts AM. Featu res include carrier controlled AM operation and frequency control from the built-in VFO or one of fo u r crystal.
Although Heath advertise d that the rig included
"two power suppl ies" only one transformer is
used , and it supplies both high and low voltage .
The VFO used is the same one used in the TX-la 6AU6 running as a Clapp oscillator (a series
tuned Colpitts). The output is from 8 .000 to 8.222
MHz on two-meters and 8 .333 to 9.000 on sixmeters. On six-meters the crystal frequency
times 6 equals the operating frequency, and
ontwo-meters the multiplier is 18. Obviou sly, on
two -meters any drift in t h e VFO is going to show
up in a hurry. A QST reviewer noted that when

A Guide to the Amateur R adio Products

using the Seneca for twometer CW, "you'd better
use a crystal if you want
other CW men to think
highly of you." The VFO
dial drive mechanism and
the bandswitch linkages
are frightening but actua ll y work quite we llt h ough trying to repair
them may lead to an as yet
unnumbered Exce d rin
headache . Neutralization
of the 6146s is accom plished with a pair of
wires running a l ong the
outside each of the tube.
During initial tune-up
these wires are bent and
moved to a position that
yields t h e lowest reading
on a grip dip meter. The
sch eme works quite well.
Front panel contro l s
include freq u ency control,
meter function, buffer
tune, fin a l tank coupling, multiplier (tunes m ultiplier pl ate circuit to 2 times input freq u ency for
s ix-meters, 3 times for two-meters), l oadin g,
drive tune, final tune, functio n (off, CW, standby,
AM), bandswitch, main tuning, and "spot." Th e
illuminated front panel meter reads multiplier
grid current, driver grid current, final grid current, final plate current, and final plate voltage .
Rear panel con nections include a mic connector,
S0 -239 antenna connector, a standard quarter
inch key jack, and a ground post. Th ere is a lso a
rear p anel octal accessory socket. This socket provides a remote means of keying the transmitter, a
120 VAC outpu t for an antenna relay, and contacts for receiver m u ting (wired normally closed).
The Seneca is painted with the same t wo -tone
green as the TX-1 and is hou sed in a one-piece
copper-clad steel enclosure. Th e knobs are satin
finish aluminu m as opposed to the polished alu minum knobs u sed later on the HX-30. Th e VH F1 is designed for 120 VAC , 50/60 Hz operation . In
spite of the fact that Heath kept it on t h e market
for a lmost five years, interest in the VH F -1 was
never very h igh and comparatively few were sold.
Senecas are quite rare in good condition.
Weight/Size: 59 lbs; 16.5" wide x 10" high x 10" deep
Related Products: HX-30 , HA-20

223

-V-L..-1180

~ ~ fi'MiH&+I

relay chatter on SSE or
a one-second TR dropout delay on FM. The
technically inclined op
co uld install an external switch to make sel ection of the delay possible. In spite of the fact that the amp worked very
well, got great reviews , and had respectab l e
sal es, Heath sold the unit for only three years.
For a detailed discussion of the amplifier, please
refer to the listing for the VL- 2280. The VL-1180
was a bargain in 1981 and is even more of a bargain today. The units are very rare and seldom
show up at swap m eets.

2 Meter Mobile Linear
Amplifier
Manufactured: 81-83
Price: $139.95
Comments: This is the mobile version of the VL2280 75-watt, all -mode linear amplifier (see listing). The two units are essentially identical in
terms of the amplifier electronics . The difference is that the 1180 has no built-in power supply and no metering circuits. With these two
items removed, the weight and physical size of
the amp shrink considerably. The 1180 requires
12 VDC (nominal ) at 11 amp s. With a suitably
h efty power supply the 1180 can be u sed for base
station as well as mobile operation. Unlike the
base station version, which features switch
sel ection of an SSE TR relay drop -out de lay, a
relay drop -out delay (or lack thereof) in the 1180
must be chosen during assembly by means of a
jumper wire. This isn't a big problem if you operate only one mode, but if you switch between FM
and SSE, you have to put up with either some

224

Weight/Size: 5 lbs; 4.75" wide x 2.5" high x
10.5" deep
Related Products: VL-2280, HA-202(A), HA-201(A)

El .AT HK IT

~ ~ f i'?&fUi*f'J

2 Meter All-Mode
Linear Amplifier
Manufactured: 81-83
Price: $279.95
Comments: This big box o' watts was a truly great
product: a 75 watt 2-meter all-mode base station
linear amplifier for under $300. It got rave
reviews and worked extremely well. Heath discontinued the unit s as part of a long-term decision to phase out its amateur product line.
Heath also sold a mobile version of this amplifier-the VL-1180 (see listing). The VL-2280 covers 144-148 MHz and requires from 1to10 watts
of drive . It will operate FM, SSB, and CW providing a nominal 75 watts out with 10 watts inand will do so from one end of the band to the
other without retuning. One watt of drive will
yield nearly 20 watts of output. The 2280 has a
well regulated power supply and is built on
three PC boards. The RF board uses a single
MRF247 power transistor and incorporates
"strip-line" construction as well as air-wound
inductors. Large heat sinks allow the amp to run
with a 50 percent duty cycle - 10 minutes on, 10
minutes off. These same heat sinks eliminate
the need for SWR protection circuits. The unit
will withstand a 30:1 SWR at full power. CAUTION: Do not exceed drive or duty cycle specifications. The illuminated front panel meter reads
drive power, power output, and DC voltage.

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

vi..-aaao
Front panel controls
include main power,
mode, standby, and
meter function . The
mode switch selects
between SSB and FM
and simply adds a TR
relay drop-out delay to
prevent relay chatter
in the SSB mode . Two
front panel LEDs
(green) indicate "power
on" and "amplifier on"
status. Rear panel connections include two
80-239 RF connectors ,
a connector for supplying 12 VDC at up to 4
amps to an external
device (an exciter for
example), and an
accessory socket for
remote keying of the
amp. There are a l so
two standard cartridge
fuse holders on the
rear panel. One of these is for the 120 VAC input
and the other for the 12 VDC supply. The amp
may be keyed remotely or by RF sensing and has
a built-in TR relay. RF is bypassed around the
amp when it is off or in the standby mode . Insertion loss is about .6 db . The 2280 requires either
120 VAC at 4 amps or 240 VAC at 2 amps and
also can run from an external 12 VDC source . 12
volt current consumption is 11 amps. Tune-up
requires only an exciter and a wattmeter. The
VL-2280 was a very popular amp and sold well.
Today they are virtually impossible to find and
are a lmost never seen at flea markets . Most
units probably are still in service.
Wei ght/Size: 30 lbs ; 13.5" wide x 5.5" high x
12.75" deep
Rel ated Products: VL-1180 , HA-202(A) , HA-201(A)

225

~fhffiff§'Hfil

-V-X-1

ELECTRONIC VOICE CONTROL
STAND-BY

TIME DELAY

MANUAL

MODEL VX-1

painted in a silver and
gray style to match the
DX-100, AM-2, and
others. The top and sides of the cabinet are perforated to provide ventilation. The VX-1 is one of
the rarest H eath products ever made and finding one will require a special effort.

Electronic Voice Control
(VOX)
Manufactured: 58-60
Price: $23.95
Comments: The VX-1 is one of a series of small
accessories Heath made to go along with the TX1, RX-1 , et al. It is built into the same box as the
AM -2, the CA-1, and others. Although we now
take VOX for granted, in its day the VX-1 was
regarde d as something of a luxury. Connection
and operation of the unit is simple. The station
mic connects to the VX-1 via a front panel connector. A terminal strip on the rear panel provides connections to the receiver, speaker, transmitter mic input, and a 120 volt TR relay. Front
panel controls include power on/off, receive a nd
transmit sensitivity, and delay. The VX-1 is

226

Weight/Size: 3 lbs; 7.25" wide x 4.75" high x
4.25" deep
Related Products: AM-1, CA-1, QF-1

HEATHKIT

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LI.I

Heath Master Product Index

by Model
MODEL #

TYPE

AC-1
AK-5
AK-6
AK-7
AM-1
AM -2
APACHE
AR -1
AR-2
AR -3
AT-1
B- 1
CA- 1
CANTENNA
CB - 1
CHEYENNE
CHIPPEWA
C0-1
COMANCHE
CROSSFIRE
DX- 20
DX-35
DX-40
DX-60
DX-60A
DX-60B
DX- 100
DX- 1OOB
EK -2
GC - 1
GC - 1A
GC-1000
GC-1005
GC - 1107
GC-1094
GC-1108
GCW-1001
GCW- 1001 - 1
GD-1
GD-1A
GD-lB
GD-125
GH-12
GH-12A
GP-11

Antenna Coupler
Speaker
Misc
Speaker
Impedance Meter
SWR Meter
Transmitter
Rece iver
Receiver
Receiver
Transmitter
Balun Coil
CONELRAD Alarm
Transceiver
Transmitter
Am plifier
Code Practice Os ci llator
Rece iver
RTTY Tuning Indicator
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitte r
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Receiver
Re ceiver
Receiver
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock
Grid Dip Meter
Grid Dip Meter
Grid Dip Meter
0 Multiplier
Microphone
Microphone
Power Supply

NOTES /
SPEC IFICATIONS

For RX-1
Mobile Mounting kit for MT- 1 and M R- 1
Mobile for MR-1 and HR-20
HF
See TX-1
SWL 550kHz-20MHz
SWL 535kHz-35MH z
SWL 550kHz-30MHz
80/40/20/ 15/11I10 CW
80- 10 meter 200w
See HN-3 1
"CB" "Lunch Box"
See MT-1
See KL- 1
See MR-1
See HD -3006
80- 10 meter 50w CW
80- 10 meter 75w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 75w AM/CW
80-10 meter 75w AM /CW
80-10 meter 75w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 75w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 100 Watt AM /CW
HF 80-10 AM CW
SWL educati onal super regen
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-32M Hz "Mohican "
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-32MH z "Mohican "
"Most Acc urate Clo ck"
6 dig it 7 se gment neo n
4 digit fluorescent
Same as GC-1005
Replaces GC-1107
"Most Accurate Clock II " - assembled
Slave clock for use with GCW- 1001

"Low boy " styling
PTT mobile
PTT mobile - new color/dark green
1 2 VDC for Lu nch Box mobile

FIRST YEAR

MADE

53
58
59
59
52
57

FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE*

LAS T

LAST YEAR

SOLO FOR

MADE

14.50
9 .95
4.95
5 .95
19 .50
15.9 5

56
60
63
63
60
62

FA
FA
FA

23 .50
25 .50
27.9 5
29.50
8.95
13 .95

51
55
61
56
63
60

42.95

7.9 5

35 .95
56 .9 5
64 .95
82.95
79 .95
79 .9 5
189.50
189 .95
19.95
99 .50
89 .50
249 .9 5
29 .50

60
57
60
64
67
76
57
60
67
62
68
92
77
84

24 .9 5
349.95
149.95
19.50
19 .50
19.50
14.9 5
6.95
6 .9 5
16 .88

91
92
92
52
53
60
71
66
79
69

49
52
56
52
57
57

57
56
58
61
65
67
55
58
61
60
62
83
73
77
84
92
92
52
53
53
66
66
69
63

1
FA
FA

5
1
6
SP
5
6
6
XM
SU

SP
SP
3
3
FW
3

*First catalog appearance by season (W l=winter, SP= sprin g, SU= summer, FW=fall/winter, XM=Christmas) or month ( 1= Jan uary, 2= February, etc.).

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

227

HE.A.TH

z
c

1'11

s
0

1'11

])l.[.ASTER.

PRODUCT

MODEL II

TYPE

GR -5 4
GR -6 4
GR-78
GR-81
GR-88
GR-91
GR-98
GR - 110
GR-740
GR-1131
GR- 1132
GR- 1133
GW-30
HA- 10

Receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Recei ve r
Receiver
Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Transceiver
Ampl ifier

HA- 14
HA-20
HA-20 1
HA-20 1A
HA-202
HA-202A
HA-2 513
HD - 10
HD - 11
HD - 15
HD - 16
HD-19
HD -20
HD-1234
HD- 1250
HD - 1410
HD- 1416
HD-1416A
HD-1416H
HD-1418
HD - 1420
HD - 1422
HD - 1422A
HD - 1424
HD - 1424A
HD-1426
HD - 1481
HD - 1515
HD - 1530
HD - 1780
HD - 1982
HD - 1984
HD- 19 86
HD-3006
HD-3 030
HD -4040
HD-8999
HDP-21
HDP-12 1
HDP- 121 A
HDP-242
HDP-444
HDP- 1228
HDP- 1340
HFT-9
HFT-9A
HG-10
HG - 10B

Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Antenna
Keyer
0 Multiplier
Phone Patch
Code Practi ce Oscillator
Phone Patch
Crystal C alibrator
Coaxia l Switch
Grid Dip meter
Keyer
Code Practice O scill ator
Code Practice Oscillator
Code Practice O scillator
Audio Filter
Converter
Antenna Noise Bridge
Antenna Noise Bridg e
Antenna
Antenna
Field Strength Meter
An ten na Switch
Phone Patch
Tou ch-Ton e Decod er
Antenna Rotor
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Pre-amp
RTTY Tuning Indicator
RTTY Terminal Unit
TNC
Keyer
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Speaker
Microphone
Antenna Tuner
Antenna Tuner
VFO
VFO

228

INDEX

])l.[ODEL

NOTES /
SPECIFICATIONS

FIRST YEAR
MADE

65
SWL 550kHz-30MHz delu xe
64
SWL 550kHz-30MHz
69
Solid -state SWL 1 90kHz - 30M Hz portable
61
SWL 140kHz-1 BM Hz super regen
69
VHF 152- 174MHz FM tunable
61
SWL superhet 550kHz-30MHz
69
VHF Aircraft band tunable
73
8 ch VHF highband - digital readout
84
40 ch prog - A Bearcat kit w/Heath name
76
8 ch VHF highband 8
76
8 ch LO/HI / UHF 8
77
8 ch aircraft band
10 meter or CB Walkie-Talkie - can be either
60
HF KW amp Repl aces KL-1 - has internal power supply
61
65
KW Kompact line ar 80-1 0 meter
62
6 meter 70 watts PEP
74
VHF(143-149MHz 10w)
78
VHF (improved HA-201)
73
VHF (143-149MHz 40w)
78
VHF (improved HA-202)
87
Di sco ne - 2 5-1 300M Hz
65
61
Improved OF-1
"low boy" styling
Replaces C0 - 1
Phone Patch
100 kHz stand alone general purpose
Repl aces GD-1 B
Repl aces H D-1 0
Repl aces H D - 1 6
Repl aces H D-1 41 6
Repl aces H D-1 41 6A
Active audio filter
VLF to HF

Activ e Ant enna
Acti ve Antenn a Replaces H D- 1424
Repl aces PM -2
4 position - Repl aces SA-1 480
Phone Patch
Tou ch-Ton e Decoder
"lntelliRotor"
"Micoder" touch-tone mike
"Micoder" Replaces HD - 1982
"Microli zer"
"Crossfi re "

CW Keyboard ("Ul tra Pro ")
Base type for SB/HW series
B ase type for SB / HW - Repl aces HDP-2 1
Base type for SB / HW - Repl aces HDP- 1 21
Base type SB/HW Replaces HDP- 1 21 A
Base type new design for SB / HW
po rtable for use
PTT mobile
1.8-30MHz 50w with 4 : 1 balun
Repl aces HFT-9
8 0-2 meter matches DX-60
8 0 -2 meter matches DX-60

r@~fUiSii'&+i
FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

6
XM
FW
11
11
SU
SP
XM
XM
XM

6
5
5
10
XM
FA
SP
FA
SP
XM
11

66
67
60
60
73
75
75
75
85
88
83
86
85
89
85
89
77
84
85
85
90
77
78
84
84
84
85
83
62
76
78
82
87
77
80
83
87
61
67

3
6
XM
SU

WI
XM

SP
SP
SP
FA

XM
SP
SP
FA
FA
SP
XM
10
SP
SP
SP
SP
FA
XM
XM
SP
11

LAST

LAST YEAR

SOLD FOR

MADE

84.95
71
39.95
71
141.95
76
24.95
72
54.95
77
39.95
64
54.95
76
129 .95
76
249.95
84
89.95
78
269.95
79
Never Released
32.95
62
229.95
99.95
99.95
29.95
39.95
64.95
79.95
79.95
39.95
14 .95
24.95
8.95
34.95
14.95
11 .95
69.95
59.95
12.95
24.95
19.95
129.95
49.95
49 .95
49.95
49 .95
59.95
12.95
89.95
49.95
79.95
279.95
54.95
39.95
39.95
59.95
249.95
199 .9 5
249.95
29.40
44 .9 5
44 .9 5
49.95
59.95
9.95
15 .9 5
54.95
4 9.95
34.95
37.95

65
68
64
77
83
77
84
87
74
64
83
74
65
75
91
91
84
84
90
91
91
91
89
91
89
91
80
91
87
90
92
77
83
87
86
87
87
88

66
77
81
82
90
79
81
91
90

66
76

H E AT H K I T

~ ~f#'Mfffi*+'J
MODEL#

TY P E

HK-2 1
H K-232
HK-232 A
HL-2200

TNC
TNC
TNC
Amplifier

HM -9
HM -10
HM - 10A
HM-11
HM - 15
HM- 102
HM -2102
HM- 2103
HM -2140
HM -2140A
HM-2 141
HN -3 1
HN-3 1A
H0 - 10
H0 - 13
H0-5404
HOA-5404- 1
HP-10
HP- 13
HP- 13 A
HP- 13 B
HP- 14
HP-20
HP-23
HP-23A
HP-23 B
HP-23 C
HP-24
HP- 1144
HP- 1175
HR- 10
HR- 10B
HR-20
HR- 1680
HRA- 101
HS- 24
HS- 1661
HW-7
HW-8
HW-9
HW- 10
HW-12
HW- 12 A
HW-1 6
HW-17
HW- 17A
HW- 18-1
HW- 18-2
HW- 18-3
HW- 19
HW-20
HW-22
HW-22 A
HW-29
HW-29 A
HW-30
HW-32
HW-32A

HEATH

Wattm eter
Tunnel -Dipper
Tunnel -Dipper
SWR Meter
SWR Meter
Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Du mmy Load I Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Dumm y load
Dumm y Load
Scope
Panadapter
Scope
Panadapter Module
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Powe r Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Crystal Calibrator
Speaker
Speaker
Transceiver
Tra nsceive r
Transce iver
Transceiver
Transce ive r
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceive r
Transce iver
Transceiver
Transce iver
Transce iver
Transceive r
Transceiver
Transceive r
Transceive r
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Tra nsceiver

:r.l.I:ASTER

NOTES /
SPECIFICATION S

"pocket packet "

PRODUCT

INDEX

FIRST YEAR

MADE

88
mu~ - mode
87
mu~-mode
88
HF (2kw linear matches SS-9 000 Repl aces SB-221)
83
50w HF OR 6 meter OR 2 meter-choose one
83
61
62
HF
62
1.8- 54M Hz - "low boy" stylin g
66
3 .5-30 MHz 2000w w/SWR bridg e
70
50-160 MHz 250w
73
1.8-3 0 M Hz 1OOOw air cooled
73
1.8-30 M Hz 2000w dual reading
79
HM-2140 with new paint
84
50- 1 7 5 MHz 300 w dual read ing
79
0- 450 MHz 2000w "C antenna"
61
Re-designed H N-3 1
83
Station monitor for TX- 1 etc
62
Pan adapter for RX-1 etc
64
Station Monitor - see HOA-5404 - 1
85
Panadapter Modul e for H0 -5404
85
Mobile supply for various
60
Mobil e for SB series
63
Mobil e for SB series
70
Mobil e for SB series
73
Mobile fo r HA-14
65
Replaces UT- 1
61
120 VAC for SB series
63
1 20 VAC for SB series
68
1 20 VAC for SB series
73
1 20 VAC for SB series
78
120VACfor HA-14
65
For SB- 104 & HW-104
74
For HW-2036A & HA-202A
78
80 - 10 meter I matches DX-60
61
80- 10 meter I matches DX-60
67
SSB AM CW mobile replaces MR- 1
62
80- 10 meter I re places H R- 1OB
76
1OOk Hz fo r HR-10
67
Mobile for HW series incl. Singlebanders
64
For HW- 104
75
40/20/15 meters CW QRP
72
80/40/ 20/ 15 meters ORP- improved HW-7
76
80/40/ 20/ 1 5 meters QPR - improved HW-8
84
6 meter mobile "S hawnee"
61
80 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singleb ander"
63
80 meter 200w PEP SSB Replaces HW- 12
66
80/40/ 1 5 meters CW
67
2 meter AM
68
2 meter AM
69
4450-4650kHz 200w SSB Civil Air Patrol
68
MARS SSB
68
1 60 meter SSB
68
10 meter 5w AM "Tener" - "Lunch Box"
60
2 meter mobile "Pawnee"
61
40 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singleb ander"
63
40 meter 200w PEP SSB Replaces HW-22
66
6 meter 5w AM "Sixer" - "Lun ch Box"
60
6 meter 5w AM "Sixer" - "Lun ch Box"
61
2 meter 5w AM "Twoer" - "Lun ch Box "
60
20 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singlebander"
63
20 meter 200w PEP SSB Replaces HW-32
66

A Guide to the Amateur R adio Products

B Y :r.1.I:ODEL

FIRST CATA LOG
APPEARANCE *

LAST

SOLD FOR

LA ST YEA R
M AD E

SP
FA
XM

2 19.95
279.9 5
279 .9 5

91
91
90

SP
XM
11
10

849 .9 5
49.95
34.95
34.9 5
15 .9 5
14.95
34.95
3 4 .9 5
69 .95
74 .95
99 .95
79 .9 5
9.95
24 .9 5
59 .9 5
79.00
249.95
99.9 5
44 .95
59.95
78.95
78.95
89.95
29.95
39 .9 5
59 .50
59.95
62.95
49.95
99.95
64 .9 5
82.95
75.00
134.95
239 .95
8.95
7.00
22 .95
79 .95
139 .95
249.95
199.95
11 9 .95
99.95
99 .50
129.95
12 9.95
11 9 .95
10 9.95
109.95
39.95
199.95
11 9.95
104.9 5
39.95
44 .9 5
44.9 5
11 9.9 5
104. 95

84
91
62
70
65
70
81
81
75
83
91
83
83
91
66
66
88
86
63
70
73
79
68
63
68
73

XM
SP
SP
SP
XM
SP

7
7

6
7
SP
XM

5
5
5
5
XM
SP

5
XM
SU
11

6
3
FA

7
XM
FA
SP
SP

5
10

5
FW

3
3
3

5
7
10

5
6
7
10

77
79
68
78
79
67
75
64
82
73
78
82
75
83
91
65

66
74
76
69
70
72
69
69
62
65

66
74
60
71
71

66
74

229

...J

LLI

HE.A.TH

ITI

-:s:
x

ITI

JY.[.ASTER

PRODUCT

NOTES I
SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL #

HW-9 9
HW- 100
HW- 101
HW- 10 4
HW-202
HW-202 1
HW-2026
HW-2036
HW-2036 A
HW-54 00
HW-6502
HWA-9
HWA- 17- 1
HWA- 17-2
HWA- 202- 1
HWA-202 -2
HWA-203 6- 3
HWA-5400- 1
HWA-5400-3
HWA-6 5 02 -1
HWA-650 2-2
HX- 10
HX- 11
HX- 20
H X-30
HX- 168 1
10- 13 90
ID - 1390A
ID - 1390 B
ll M-4180
IM-4 190
KL- 1
KS- 1
LUNCH BO X
MARAUDER
MI C ROLI Z ER
MOHAWK
MOHI C AN
MP- 1
MP- 10
MR- 1
MR- 11 34
MT- 1
PAWNEE
P M- 1
PM -2
PS-23
PS- 1144
PS- 11 75
PS-9000
PSA-9
Q F- 1
RM - 1
RX- 1
SA- 14 80
SA-20 4 0
SA-2060
SA-206 0A
SA-2 500
SA-2550
SA-5 0 10
SA-5 0 1OA
S B- 10

230

I N D E X :SY JY.[QDEL

Transceive r
Transceiver
Tran sce ive r
Tra nsceiver
Transceive r
Transceiver
Transceiver
Tra nsce ive r
Transce iver
Tra nsce iver
Transceiver
Band Pack
Power Suppl y
FM Ad apter
Power Supply
Tone Burst Encoder
Power Suppl y
Power Supply
Frequency En try Keypad
Am plifier
Misc
Transmitter
Transm itter
Tran sm itter
Transmitter
Transmitte r
Th ermometer
Thermometer
Th ermometer
FM Deviation Meter
Wattmete r
Ampl ifier
Power Supply
Transceiver
Transmitter
Microp hone Pre -amp
Receiver
Receiv er
Power Supply
Inverter
Receiv er
Scanner
Transmi tte r
Tra nsceiver
Fi eld Strength Meter
Field Strength Meter
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Power Supply
Q Multiplier
Ante nn a
Receiver
Antenna Switch
Antenna Tun er
Antenna Tu ner
Antenn a Tuner
Antenna Tu ner
Antenna Matcher
Keyer
Keye r
Sid eband Adapter

50 watt HF C W
8 0-1 0 meter 180w PEP SSB /CW HF
8 0 - 10 mete r 18 0 w PEP SSB /CW HF
Solid-state 80- 10 meter 1OOw PEP SS B /CW H)
2 meter 6 ch 10 w FM base/mobil e
2 meter HT 1 watt
2 meter 1Ow synth base/ mobi le
improved HW-20 26
im proved HW-2036
HF syth w/WAR C rep laces SB - 104
2 meter HT w/th umb wheels - assembled
WAR C crsytal pack fo r HW-9
Mobile fo r HW- 1 7
For use with HW- 17
For HW-20 2
For HW-202
120 VAC for HW-203 6A
1 20 VAC fo r HW-5400 w/speaker & clock
Frequency Entry Keypad for HW-5400
Am plifi er (25 watt 2 meter - assembled)
Mobile Console for HW-6502 HT
8 0 - 10 meter SSB / AM /CW
80- 10 meter 50 watt novice
SSB 8 0-1 0 mobil e re pl aces Ch eyenn e
6 meter SS B AM C W 10 watt PEP
HF/OSK matches HR- 1680
Di gital thermomete r - 7 segment neo n readout
Di gital thermometer - 7 segment neon re adout
Di gital thermometer - 7 segment neon readou t
Bi -di recti onal
HF KW - requ ires KS- 1 power supp ly
for KL- 1
Se e HW- 19 , HW-29 , HW-3 0 , C B- 1
See HX- 10
See HD - 1986
See RX- 1
See G C -1 and G C - 1A
Mobile fo r MT- 1/ M R- 1
1 2 VD C to 1 15 VAC inverter
"C om anche" mobi le 80 - 10 AM /CW/SS B
8 ch VHF marin e band 1 56- 163 MH z
"Ch eyenn e" mobile 8 0 - 10 meter 90w AM
See HW-20

FIRST YEAR
MADE

85
68
70
75
73
75
75
76
78
83
85
84
68
69
73
73
78
83
83
85
85
62
61
62
62
79
73
77
82
79
78
59
59

60
60
59
76
59

l@ ~ fHPdi#i&il
FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

3
XM
XM
SP
XM
XM
XM
SP
WI
SP
5
FW

SP
WI
WI

3
10
SU
XM
XM
SP
WI
SP

6
6

6
XM

58
59
same as HP-2 3 C
1 20 VAC for S B- 10 4A
1 20 VAC for 2 meter gear
1 20 VAC for SS-90 00
1 20 VAC for HW-9
HF mobile
1 60- 10 meter "Mohawk "
5 position remote
8 0 - 10 meter 2kw
1 60- 10 meter deluxe w/watt & SWR mete r
1 6 0- 10 meter 1 kw repl aces SA-206 0
1 60-1 0 meter 1kw autom ati c
1 6 0- 10 meter 1 500 PEP
"uM atic "
Re places SA-5 01 0
For use with TX- 1 etc

sp ·

82
84
56
60
58
79
79
81
83
84
85
81
85
59

XM
SP

3
FA
XM
SU
SP
FA
FA

LAST
SOLD FOR

LAST YEAR
MADE

299.95
250.00
399.95
569 .95
189 .95
179 .95
299.95
269 .95
297.95
699 .95
19 9 .95
39.95
29 .95
2 1.50
34.95
29.95
39.95
199 .95
5 9.9 5
49 .95
89.95
334.95
4 3. 5 0
199 .95
189 .95
239.95
64 .95
64.95
79.95
169 .95
11 4.95
399 .95
169.95

87
70
83
77
77
77
76
77
79
84
86
91
69
69
77
77
79
84
84
86
86
65
63
64
65
82
77
81
92
87
81
60
60

4 4 .95
29.95
119 .95
9 9 .95
99.95

60
68
62
77
62

12.95
12.95
69.96
99.9 5
74 .95
295 .00
39 .95
9 .95
36 .95
274. 9 5
84.95
149 .95
259 .95
279.95
599.95
149 .95
99 .95
99.95
89 .95

59
75
83
82
83
83
91
60
60
64
84
83
83
91
87
88

??
g1
64

HE.ATHKIT

g ~fU@iHi*ii
MODEL#

SB - 100
SB- 101
SB - 102
SB-104
SB - 104A
SB- 110
SB-1 lOA
SB -200
SB-20 1
SB-220
SB-22 1
SB -230
SB -3 00
SB -30 1
SB -303
SB-3 10
SB-3 13
SB-400
SB- 40 1
SB -500
SB-600
SB-604
SB -6 10
SB -6 14
SB -620
SB-630
SB -634
SB-640
SB -644
SB-644A
SB -650
SB-1000
SB- 1400
SBA- 100- 1
SBA-401-1
SCANALYZER
SENECA
SHAWNEE
SI XER
SP-99
SS -9 000
SW- 7 17
SW-7800
TENER
TWO ER
TX- 1
ULTRAPRO
UT- 1
VF- 1
VF-203 1
VF-7401
VFA-7401-1
VHF- 1
VL- 1180

HEATH

:r..l.I:ASTE:R

PRODUCT

NOTES I

rYPE

Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceive r
Transceiver
Amplifi er
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Receiver
Receiver
Rece ive r
Receiver
Rece iver
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transverter
Speaker
Speaker
Sco pe
Scope
Panadapte r
St ation Console
Station Console
VFO
VFO
VFO
Freq Di splay
Amplifi er
Transceiver
Misc
Misc
Panadapter
Transmitter
Tra nsce iver
Transceiver
Speaker
Transceiver
Receiver
Rece iver
Tran sceiver
Tra nsceiver
Transmitter
Keye r
Power Supply
VFO
Transceiver
Transce iver
Power Supply
Tra nsmitter
Amplifier

SPEC IFICATI ONS

80- 10 meter 18 0 PEP SSB /CW
8 0 - 10 meter 18 0 PEP SSB / CW
80- 10 meter 180 PEP SSB /CW
80- 10 meter 1OOw SSB /CW solid-state
Replaces SB - 104
6 meter
6 meter replaces SB-11 0
HF linear 1 200 PEP
Rep laces SB-200 - no 10 meter
HF lin ear 2kw PEP
Replaces SB-2 20 - no 10 meter
HF lin ear 1200 PEP
8 0 - 10 meter SSB /CW optional AM
80- 10 meter SSB /CW option al AM
80- 10 meter solid state SSB /CW
SWL 4 9 /41 /31 / 25 / 19/ 16m + 8 0 /40/ 20/ 11 m
SWL solid state ver of SB-310
80- 10 meter 18 0 PEP SSB /CW
80 - 10 meter 18 0 PEP SSB /CW
For 2 meters for use with SB-se ries
Matches SB-1 00 et al
Matches SB- 104
Station monitor matches SB-100 et al
Station monitor matches SB-104 et al
"Scanalyzer" panadapter matches SB - 100 et al
Matches S B-1 00 et al
Matches SB-104 et al
Remote for SB-101 / 102
Remote for S B- 104
Replaces SB-644
For SB-1 00 et al
HF linear 1000 PEP
Not a Heath product or kit
Mobil e Mounting braket for SB seri es
Crystal Pack for SB-401
See SB-620
SeeVHF-1
See HW- 10
See HW-29 and HW-29 A
Matches HW-99 I HW-9
WARC 1OOw SSB /CW assembled
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-30MHz
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-30MHz digital readout
See HW- 19
See HW-30
80-1 0 meter 1 50w AM /CW "Apa che "
See HD-8999
1 20 VAC for MT-1 / MR- 1
VFO (80- 10 meter for use with DX series)
2 meter HT 2 watt 8 ch
2 meter scanning repl aces HW-2 036A
1 20 VAC for VF-7 401
6 & 2 mete r "Seneca"
2 meter 75 watt mobile

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

INDEX

B Y :r..1.I:ODE:L

FIR ST YEAR

FIRST CATALOG

MADE

APPEARAN CE*

65
67
70
74
77
65
69
64
78
70
78
74
63
66
70
67
72
64
66
69
66
74
66
74
66
66
74
67
74
79
72
87
88
68
67

XM
3
SP
XM
SU
6
7
XM
SP
XM
XM
10
10
XM
XM
XM
7
10
FW

3
XM

7
XM
10
10
XM

6
XM
WI
SP
FA

82
71
84

XM
XM
FA

60
52
79
80
80
58
81

FA
XM
SP
XM
SU

LAST
SOLO FOR

LAST YEAR
MADE

360.00
360 .00
380.00
699 .9 5
6 99.9 5
320.00
299.00
3 89.9 5
44 9.9 4
36 9.95
5 99 .95
46 9.95
264 .9 5
260.00
345 .00
249.00
339.95
325 .00
285.00
195.00
17.95
33 .9 5
99 .9 5
19 9.95
15 9 .95
74.9 5
199 .9 5
99.0 0
134 .9 5
134.9 5
199.9 5
73 9 .95
799.95
14.95
29 .9 5

67
70
75
77
82
69
71
78
83
78
83
78
66
70
76
72
75
66
75
71
75
82
75
82
76
74
83
70
78
83
75
92
91
73

29 .9 5
2795.00
139 .9 5
349 .9 5

91
84
82
90

229 .50

2 8 .95
19 .50
199.95
369 .95
44 .95
159 .95
139 .95

60
61
83
83
82
62
83

231

..J
I.LI

~ ~f U¥SfHi*+il

Heath Master Product Index

by Type
UJ

NOTES /

FIRST YEAR
MADE

MODEL#

TYPE

SPECIFIC ATIONS

CHIPPEWA
HA- 10

Amplifier
Amplifier

See KL-1
HF KW amp replaces KL- 1 - has internal power supply
61
KW Kompact linear 80-1 0 meter
65
6 meter 70 watts PEP
62
VHF(143-149MHz 10w)
74
VHF (improved HA- 20 1)
78
VHF ( 143- 149MHz 40w)
73
VHF (improved HA-202)
78
HF (2kw linear matches SS -9 000 rep laces SB-221)
83
Amplifier (25 watt 2 meter - assembled)
85
HF KW - requires KS-1 power supply
59
HF linear 1200 PEP
64
Replaces SB-200 - no 10 meter
78
HF linear 2kw PEP
70
Replaces SB -2 20 - no 10 meter
78
HF linear 1200 PEP
74
HF linear 1000 PEP
87
2 meter 7 5 watt mobile
81
2 meter 75 watt base station
81
87
Di scone - 25 - 1300MHz
Act ive Antenn a
85
Active Antenna replaces HD - 14 24)
89
HF mobile
60
53
160- 10 meter 1500 PEP
85
85
89
"lntelli Rotor"
90
4 position - replaces SA-1 480
84
5 position remote
79
1.8-30MHz 50w with 4 : 1 balun
83
87
Replaces H FT-9
80- 10 meter 2kw
79
1 60-1 0 meter delu xe w/watt & SWR meter
81
1 60- 10 meter 1 kw replaces SA-2060
83
160-10 meter 1 kw automatic
84
Active audio filter
83
80-1 0 meter 200w
57
WARC crsytal pack for HW-9
84
"Most Accurate Clock "
83
6 dig it 7 segment neon)
73
Same as GC-1 005
Replaces GC-1107
84
"Most Accurate Clock 11 " - assembled "
92

HA-14
HA-20
HA-201
HA-2 01 A
HA-202
HA-202 A
HL-2200

Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifi er
Amplifier
Amplifier

HWA-6502-1
KL-1
SB-200
SB-201
SB-220
SB-221
S B-230
SB- 1000
VL-1180
VL-2280
HA-2513
HD-1424
HD- 14 24 A
RM - 1
AC-1
SA- 2550
HD - 1422
HD - 14 22A
HD-17 80
HD - 14 81
SA- 1480
HFT-9
HFT-9A
SA-2040
SA-2060
SA-2060A
SA-2500
HD -1418
B- 1
HWA-9
GC-1000
GC-1005
GC-1094
GC-1108
GCW-1001

Amplifier
Amplifi er
Amplifier
Amplifi er
Am plifier
Amplifi er
Amplifier
Amplifier
Amplifi er
Am plifier
Antenna
Anten na
Antenn a
Antenna
Antenn a Coupler
Antenna Matcher
Antenn a Noise Bridg e
Antenna Noise Bridg e
Antenn a Rotor
Antenna Switch
Antenna Switch
Antenna Tun er
Antenn a Tuner
Antenn a Tun er
Antenn a Tuner
Antenna Tun er
An ten na Tuner
Audio Filter
Balun Coil
Band Pack
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock
Clock

FIRST CATALOG

APPEARANCE *

l.AST
SOLO FOR

LAST YEAR
MADE

-.....:
5
5
10
XM
FA
SP
FA

229.95
99.95
99 .9 5
29 .9 5
39.95
64.95
79.95

65
68
64
77
83
77
84

849.95
49 .9 5
399.95
389 .9 5
449 .94
369 .95
599.95
469.95
739.9 5
13 9 .95
279 .9 5
79 .95
49.95
59 .95
36.95
14.50
149 .9 5
49 .9 5
49.95
279.95
89.9 5
84.95
54.95
49 .95
149 .95
259 .9 5
279.95
599 .9 5
12 9.95
8.95
39 .9 5
249 .95

84
86
60
78
83
78
83
78
92
83
84
87
89
91
60
56
88
89
91
92
91
84
91
90
83
83
91
87
91
63
91
92
77

24.95
349 .9 5

91
92

6
7
XM
SP
XM
XM
FA
SU
SU
SP
SP
3
WI

SP
XM
FA
FA
XM
SP
XM
SU
SP
FA
XM
FA
SP
XM
SU

*Firs t Catalog Appeara nce by seaso n (Wl=winter, SP= spring , SU= s ummer, FW=fall /winter, XM=Christmas) or month ( 1= J anua ry, 2= February, etc.).

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

I-

233

HE.A.TH

MODEL#

-z
c

><
.....
.,,-<
m

GCW-100 1-1
HD - 1234
C0 - 1
HD16
HD - 141 6
HD-1416A
HD - 1416H
CA- 1
HD - 1420
XC -2
XC -6
HD -20
HRA- 101
HN- 31
HN -3 1A
HM-2103
HD - 14 26
PM-1
PM-2
HWA- 17-2
IM-4180
SB-650
HWA-5400-3
GD-1A
GD-1B
HD- 1250
AM - 1
MP- 10
HD-10
HD - 1410
HD -8999
SA-5010
SA-501 OA
ULTRAPRO
GH-12A
HD-1982
HD-1984
HDP-21
HDP- 121
HDP- 121A
HDP-242
HDP-444
HDP- 1340
GH- 12
HD - 19 86
MICROLIZER
AK-6
HWA-9
HWA-5400-3
HWA-6502-2
HWA-6502-2
SBA- 100- 1
SBA-401-1
H0 - 13
SB-620
SCANALYZER
HOA-5404-1
HD - 15
HD - 19
HD - 1515
GP-11
HP-10

234

:r..1.1:.ASTER

PRODUCT

TYPE

Clock
Coaxial Switch
Code Practice Oscil lator
Code Practice Osci llator
Code Pra ctice Oscillator
Code Practice O scillator
Code Practice Osci llator
CONELRAD Alarm
Converter
Converter
Converter
Crystal Calibrator
Crystal Calibrator
Dummy load
Dummy Lo ad
Dummy Load I Wattmeter
Fi eld Strength Meter
Field Strength Meter
Field Strength Meter
FM Adapter
FM Deviation Meter
Freq Display
Frequency Entry Keypad
Grid Dip Meter
Grid Dip Meter
Grid Dip meter
Impedance Meter
Inverter
Keyer
Keyer
Key er
Key er
Key er
Keyer
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Pre-amp
Microphone Pre-amp
Misc
Misc
Misc
Misc
Misc
Misc
Misc
Panadapter
Panadapter
Panadapter
Panadapter Module
Ph one Patch
Ph one Patch
Phon e Patch
Power Supply
Power Supply

INDEX

NOTES /
SPECIFICATI ONS

Slave clock for use with GCW-1001

Replaces C0 - 1
Replaces H D-1 6
Replaces H D-1 41 6
Repl aces H D-141 6A
VLF to HF
2 meter for M R- 1
6 meter for M R-1
100 kHz stand alone general purpose
1OOkHz for HR-10
0-450 MHz 2000w "Cantenna"
Re-designed HN -31
1.8-30 MHz 1OOOw air cooled
Replaces PM -2

For use with HW-1 7
For SB - 100 et al
For use with HW-5400

Replaces GD-1 B
1 2 VDC to 1 15 VAC inverter
Replaces H D-1 0
CW Keyboard (" Ul traPro ")
" uMatic 11

Replaces SA-5010)
See HD -8999
PTT mobi le - new co lor/dark green
"Micoder" touch -tone mike
"Micoder" replaces H D- 1982
Base type for SB / HW series
Base type for SB / HW - rep laces H DP-21
Base type for SB / HW - rep laces HD P-1 21
Base type SB / HW replaces H DP-1 21 A
Base type new design for SB / HW
PTT mobile
PTT mobile
11

[[$= ~1

TYPE

Microlizer 11

See HD - 1986
Mobile Mounting kit for MT- 1 and MR- 1
WARC crystal pack for HW-9
Frequency Entry Keypad for HW-5400
Mobile Console for HW- 6502 HT
Mobile Console for HW-6502 HT
Mobile Mounting brake! for SB series
Crystal Pack for SB-40 1
Panadapter for RX-1 etc
"Scanalyzer" panadapter matches SB-1 00 et al
See SB-620
Pan adapter Module for H0 -5404
"low boy " styling
Phone Patch
Phon e Patch
1 2 VDC for Lun ch Box mobile
Mobile supply for va riou s

FIRST YEAR
MADE

92
73
59
67
75
85
88
57
86
60
59
60
67
61
83
73
77
58
59
69
79
72
83
53
53
75
52
60
65
75
83
81
85
69
77
78
62
76
78
82
87
80

FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

MADE

6.95
54.95
39.95
29.40
44.95
44.95
49.95
59.95
15.95
6.95
39 .95

79
77
83

63
91
84
86
86
73

7
10

4.95
39.95
59.95
89.95
89.95
14.95
29.95
79.00
15 9 .95

3
6

99.95
24.95
34.95
49.95
16. 88
44.95

86
83
65
87
69
63

6
3

WI
FA

SP
SP

FW
WI
SP
WI
SP
SP
FA

6
XM
SU
XM
FA

FW
SP
SP
10
SP
SP
SP
SP
XM

3
FA

SP
WI

66
60
85
63
60

LAST YEAR

92
91
67
74
84
90
91
60
91
60
60
75
73
83
91
75
80
59
75
69
87
75
84
53
60
91
60
68
74
84
88

LAST
SOLO FOR

149 .95
11.95
7.95
8.95
12.95
24.95
19.95
13.95
49 .95
36.95
26.95
14. 95
8.95
9.95
24.95
69.95
12.95
12 .95
12.95
21.50
16 9 .95
199.95
59.95
19 .50
19.50
69.95
19.5
29.95
39.95
59.95
249.95
99.95
99.95

84
59
84
83
85
85
68
67
64

nestHH+IJ

??
91

66
77
81
82
90
81

66
87

66
76

HEATHKIT

l@ ~ fHi&ii'i*Eil
MODEL#

TY PE

HP-13
Power Supply
HP-13A
Power Supply
HP- 13B
Power Supply
HP-14
Power Supply
HP-20
Power Supply
HP-23
Power Supply
HP-23A
Power Supply
HP-2 3B
Power Supply
HP-23C
Power Supply
HP-24
Power Supply
HP- 1144
Power Supply
HP-1175
Power Supply
HWA- 17-1
Power Supply
HWA-202 - 1
Power Suppl y
HWA-2036 -3 Power Supply
HWA-5400-1 Power Supply
KS-1
Power Supply
MP-1
Power Supply
MP-10
Power Supply
PS-23
Power Supply
PS-1144
Power Supply
PS- 1175
Power Supply
PS-9000
Powe r Supply
PSA-9
Power Supply
UT-1
Power Supply
VFA-7401 - 1
Power Supply
GD-125
Q Multipl ier
HD-11
Q Multiplier
QF-1
Q Multiplier
AR- 1
Receiver
AR-2
Receiver
AR-3
Receiver
COMANCHE Receiver
EK-2
Rece iver
GC-1
Receiver
GC-lA
Receiver
GR-54
Receiver
GR-64
Receiver
Receiver
GR-78
GR-81
Receiver
GR-88
Receiver
GR-91
Receiver
GR-98
Receiver
HR- 10
Receiver
HR-10B
Receiver
HR-20
Receiver
HR-1680
Recei ve r
MOHAWK
Receiver
MOHICAN
Rece ive r
Receiver
M R-1
RX-1
Receiver
SB-300
Receiver
SB-301
Receive r
SB-303
Receiver
Receiver
SB-31 0
SB-313
Receiver
SW-71 7
Receive r
SW-7800
Receiver
RTTY Termin al Unit
H D-3030
CROSSFIRE RTTY Tuning Indicator
H D-3006
RTTY Tuning Indicator
G R-1 10
Scanner

HEATH

;r.,1,IASTER

PRODUCT

NOTES /
SPECIFICATIONS

Mobile for SB series
Mobile for SB series
Mobile for SB serie s
Mobile for HA- 14
Replaces UT- 1
120 VAC for SB series
1 20 VAC for SB series
120 VAC for SB series
1 20 VAC for SB series
120 VAC for HA-14
For SB- 104 & HW-1 04
For HW-2036A & HA-202A
Mobile for HW- 1 7
For HW-202
1 20 VAC for HW-2036A
1 20 VAC for HW-5400 w/s peaker & clock
for KL- 1
Mobile for MT-1 / M R-1
1 2 VDC to 1 1 5 VAC inverter
same as HP-23C
1 20 VAC for SB-104A
120 VAC for 2 meter gear)
120 VAC for SS-9 000
120 VAC for HW-9
120 VAC for MT-1 / MR- 1
120 VAC for VF-7401)
"Low boy " styling)
Improved QF- 1
SWL 550kHz-20MHz
SWL 535kHz-35MHz
SWL 550kHz-30MHz
See MR- 1
SWL educational super regen
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-32MHz "Mohican "
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-32MHz "Mohican "
SWL 550kHz-30MHz delu xe
SWL 550kHz-30MHz
Solid-state SWL 1 90kHz - 30M Hz portable
SWL 140kHz-18M Hz super regen
VHF 152-174MHz FM tunable
SWL superhet 550kHz-30MHz
VHF Aircraft band tun able
80-1 0 meter I matches DX-60
80-1 0 meter I matches DX-60
SSB AM CW mobile replaces MR- 1
80-1 0 meter I replaces H R- 1OB
See RX- 1
See GC- 1 and GC - 1A
"Comanche " mobile 80-1 0 AM /CW/SSB
160-10 meter "" Mohawk"
80-1 0 meter SSB /CW optional AM
8 0 - 10 meter SSB / CW optional AM
80- 10 meter solid state SSB /CW
SWL 49 /41 / 31 / 25 / 19/ 1 6m + 80/40/ 20/ 11 m
SWL solid state ver of SB-310
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-30MHz
Solid-state SWL 550kHz-30MHz digital readout

INDEX

FIRST YEAR
MADE

63
70
73
65
61
63
68
73
78
65
74
78
68
73
78
83
59
60
60

FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

7
SP
XM

5
5
5
5
XM
SP

5
XM
SU

5
SP
WI

6
6

82
84
60
80

XM
SP

66
61
56
49
52
56
61
60
63
65
64
69
61
69
61
69
61
67
62
76

XM
3
11

BY TYPE

LAST
SOLD FOR

59 .9 5
78.9 5
78.95
89.9 5
29.95
39 .95
59.50
59 .95
62 .9 5
49.95
99 .95
64 .95
29.95
34 .95
39 .9 5
199 .95
169 .95
44.95
29 .95
69.96
99 .95
74 .95
295 .00
39 .95
28.95
44 .95
14.95
14.95
9 .95
23 .50
25 .50
27.95

LAST YEAR
MADE

70
73
79
68
63
68
73

77
79
68
78
79
69

77
79
84
60
60
68
83
82
83
83
91
60
82
71
64
60
51

55
61
67
62
68
71
71
76
72

11
6
3
FA

19.95
99 .50
89 .50
84 .95
39 .95
141 .95
24 .95
54 .9 5
39 .95
54 .95
82 .95
75 .00
134.95
239.95

62
64

70
67
72
71
84
84

10
10
XM
XM
XM
XM
FA
SP

119.95
274 .95
264 .95
260.00
345 .00
249 .00
339 .95
139 .95
349 .95
249 .95

84
73

FA
SU

59 .95
129.95

59
58
63

6
6
XM
FW
11
11

77
64
76
67
75
64
82

66
70
76
72
75
82
90
87

See HD -3006
11

Crossfire"

8 ch VHF highband - digital readout)

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

86
76

235

HEA..TH

~A..STER

MODEL#

TYPE

GR-740
GR- 1131
GR-1132
GR- 1133
MR-1134
H0- 10
H0-13
H0 -5404
SB-610
SB-614
SB-620
SB- 10
AK-5
AK-7
HDP- 122 8
HS-24
HS- 1661
SB-600
SB -604
SP-99
SB-630
SB-634
AM -2
HM- 11
HM-15
ID-1390
ID-1390A
ID - 1390B
HD-4040
HK-21
HK-232
HK-232A
HWA-202 -2
HD - 1530
CB-1
GW-30
HW-7
HW-8
HW-9
HW-10
HW- 12
HW- 12A
HW- 16
HW- 17
HW-17A
HW- 18-1
HW-18 -2
HW- 18-3
HW-19
HW-20
HW-22
HW-22A
HW-29
HW-29A
HW-30
HW-32
HW-32A
HW-99
HW-100
HW- 101
HW- 104
HW-202
HW-2021
HW-2026

Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Scanner
Scope
Scope
Scope
Scope
Scope
Scope
Sideband Ad apter
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Station Console
Station Con sole
SWR Meter
SWR Meter
SWR Meter
Thermom eter
Thermom ete r
Thermom eter
TNC
TNC
TNC
TNC
Ton e Burst En coder
Touch-Tone Decoder
Tran sceiver
Transce iver
Tran sceiver
Transceive r
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transce iver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Tran sceive r
Tran sceiver
Transceive r
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver
Tran sceiver
Tran sceiver
Tran sceiver
Transceiver

236

PRODUCT

INDEX

rE=~fh@ih&il

TYPE

NOTES /
SPECIFICATIONS

40 ch prog - A Bearcat kit w/Heath name
8 ch VHF highband 8
8 ch LO/ HI / UHF 8
8 ch aircraft band
8 ch VHF marine band 1 5 6-1 63 MHz
Station monitor for TX- 1 etc
Panadapte r for RX-1 etc
Station Monitor - see HOA-5404-1
Station monitor matches SB-1 00 et al
Station monitor matches SB-1 04 et al
"Scanalyzer" panadapter matches SB-1 00 et al
For use with TX- 1 etc
For RX- 1
Mobile for M R-1 and H R-20
portable for use
Mobile for HW series incl. Sing lebanders
For HW- 104
Matches SB- 100 et al
Match es S B- 104
Matches HW-99 I HW-9
Matches SB-100 et al
Matches SB - 104 et al
HF
HF
1 .8-54M Hz - "low boy" styling
digital thermometer - 7 segment neon readout
digital thermometer - 7 seg ment neon re ado ut
digital th ermometer - 7 seg ment neon reado ut

FIRST YEAR
MADE

FIRST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

LAST
SOLD FOR

84
76
76
77
76
62
64
85
66
74
66
59
58
59

SP
XM
XM
XM
XM

249.95
89.95
269 .95
Never Released
99.95
5 9.95
79.00
249.95
99.95
199.95
159 .95
89.95
9.95
5.95
9.95
7.00
22.95
17.95
33.95
29.95
74 .95
199.95
15.95
15 .95
14.95
64.95
64.95
79.95
199 .95
219.95
279.95
279.95
29.95
79.9 5
42 .95
32 .95
79.95
139.95
249.95
199 .95
119 .95
99.95
99 .50
129.95
129 .95
119.95
109 .95
109 .95
39.95
199 .95
119 .95
104.95
39.95
44.95
44.95
119 .95
104.9 5
299.95
250.00
399.95
569.95
189.95
179.95
299.95

64
75
66
74
66
74
57
62
66
73

77
82
85
88
87
88
73
85
59
60
72
76
84
61
63

"pocket packet"
multi-mo de
multi-mode
For HW-202
Tou ch-Ton e Decoder
CB "Lunch Box"
10 meter or CB Walkie-Talkie - can be either
40/20/15 meters CW QRP
80/40/20/ 1 5 meters QR P - improved HW-7
80/40/ 20/ 1 5 meters QPR - improved HW-8
6 meter mobile "Shawnee"
80 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singlebander"
80 meter 200w PEP SSB replaces HW-1 2
66
80/40/ 15 meters CW
67
2 meter AM
68
2 meter AM
69
4450-4650kHz 200w SSB Civil Air Patrol
68
MARS SSB
68
1 60 meter SSB
68
10 meter 5w AM "Ten er" - "Lunch Bo x"
60
2 meter mobile "Pawnee "
61
40 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singlebander"
63
40 meter 200w PEP SSB replace s HW-22
66
6 meter 5w AM "Sixer" - "Lun ch Box"
60
6 meter 5w AM "Sixer" - "Lun ch Box "
61
2 meter 5w AM "Twoer" - "Lunch Box"
60
20 meter 200w PEP SSB "Singlebander"
63
20 meter 200w PEP SSB replaces HW-32
66
50 watt HF CW
85
8 0 - 10 meter 180w PEP SSB / CW HF
68
80-10 meter 180w PEP SSB/CW HF
70
Solid-state 80- 10 meter 1OOw PEP SSB /CW HF) 75
2 meter 6 ch 10 w FM base/mobile
73
75
2 meter HT 1 watt
2 meter 1Ow synth base/ mobile
75

7
7
7
XM
10

7
XM

3
XM
10
XM
FA

XM
XM
SP
SP
FA
XM

6
6
FA
SP
SP

5
5
10

6
5
FW

3
3
3

5
7
10

5
6
7
10

3
XM
XM
SP
XM
XM

LAST YEAR
MADE

84
78
79
77
66
66
88
75
82
76
64
60
63
79
78
82
75
82
91
74
83
62
65
70

77
81
92
87
91
91
90

77
90
62
62
75
83
91
65

66
74
76
69
70
72
69
69
62
65

66
74
60
71
71

66
74
87
70
83

77
77
77
76

HEATHKIT

r8 2* 1§f¥5¥Hi*+i

HEATH

MASTER

PRODUCT

NOTES /

MODEL#

HW-2036
HW-2036 A
HW-5400
HW- 6502
LUNCH BOX
PAWNEE
S B- 100
S B-1 01
SB - 102
SB-104
S B- 104A
SB - 110
SB-1 lOA
SHAWNEE
SI XE R
SS-9000
TENER
TWO ER
VF-2031
VF-740 1
APACHE
AT- 1
CHEYENNE
DX-20
DX-35
DX-40
DX-60A
DX-60 B
DX-60
DX- 100
DX- 1OOB
HX- 10
HX- 11
HX-20
H X-30
HX-1 68 1
MARAUDER
MT-1
SB -400
S B-401
SENECA
TX- 1
VHF- 1
SB-500
HM - 10
HM-10A
HG- 10
HG-10B
SB-640
SB-644
SB -644A
VF- 1
VX - 1
HM-9
HM- 102
HM -2 102
HM-2140

TYPE

Transceiver
Tra nsceiver
Transceive r
Transceiver
Transce iver
Transceive r
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transce ive r
Transce ive r
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transce iver
Transceiver
Transceiver
Transceive r
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Trans mitter
Trans mi tter
Trans mitter
Transmitter
Transmitte r
Transm itte r
Transmitter
Trans mitter
Transm itter
Transm itter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transm itter
Trans mitter
Tr ansmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transmitter
Transverter
Tunnel-Dipper
Tunnel -Dipper
VFO
VFO
VFO
VFO
VFO
VFO

SPECIFICATIONS

improved HW-2026
improved HW-2036
HF syth w/WARC replaces SB- 104
2 meter HT w/ thumb whee ls - assem bl ed
See HW- 19 , HW-29 , HW-30, CB - 1
See HW- 20
80- 10 meter 180 PEP SSB /CW
80- 10 meter 180 PEP SSB / CW
80 - 10 meter 180 PEP SSB /CW
80- 10 meter 1OOw SSB/CW solid-state
Replaces S B- 104
6 meter
6 meter
See HW- 10
See HW-29 and HW-29A
WARC 1OOw SSB / CW assembled
See HW-19
See HW-30
2 meter HT 2 watt 8 ch
2 meter scanning replaces HW-2036 A
See TX- 1
80/40/20/ 15/ 11 I 10 CW
See MT- 1
80- 10 meter 50w CW
8 0-1 0 meter 7 5w AM/CW
80-10 meter 75w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 75w AM /CW
80-1 0 meter 7 5w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 75w AM /CW
80- 10 meter 100 Watt AM / CW
HF 80-1 0 AM CW
80- 10 meter SSB / AM /CW
80- 10 meter 50 watt novice
SS B 80- 10 mobi le replaces Cheyenne
6 meter SS B AM CW 10 watt PEP
HF/OSK matches HR-1680
See H X- 10
"Cheyenne " mobile 80 - 10 meter 90w AM
80- 10 meter 180 PEP SSB /CW
8 0 - 10 meter 180 PEP SSB /CW
See VHF-1
80- 10 meter 1 50w AM / CW "Apache "
6 & 2 meter "Seneca"
For 2 meters for use wit h SB-series

8 0 -2 meter matches DX-60
80- 2 meter matches DX-60
Remote for SB-101 I 102
Remote for SB- 104
rep laces SB-644
VF O (80- 10 meter for use with DX series)

vox
Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Wattmeter
Wattmeter

50w HF OR 6 meter OR 2 meter- choose one
3.5 -30 MHz 2000w w/SWR bridge
50 - 160 MHz 250w
1.8-30 MH z 2000w dual reading

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

INDEX

FIRST YEAR
MADE

FI RST CATALOG
APPEARANCE *

E-Y T"YFE

LAST

LAST YEAR

SOLD FOR

MADE

76
78
83
85

XM
SP
WI

269.95
297.9 5
699.95
199.9 5

77
79
84
86

65
67
70
74
77
65
69

XM
3
SP
XM
SU

360.00
360.00
380 .00
699 .9 5
699.95
320.00
299 .00

67
70
75
77
82
69
71

2795 .00

79
80

XM
SP

199.95
369 .95

83
83

29.50

10
SU

3 5 .9 5
56 .95
64 .9 5
79 .9 5
79 .95
82.9 5
189.50
189.9 5
334 .9 5
43 .50
19 9.95
189 .9 5
239.95

60
57
60
67
76
64
57
60
65
63
64
65
82

7
10

99.95
325 .00
285 .00

57
56
58
65
67
61

58
62
61
62
62
79
59
64

66
58
58
69
61
62
61
67
67
74
79
52
58
83
70
73
79

6
FW
11
10
11

6
6
XM
WI
FA
XM
XM
SP
SP

229 .50
15 9 .95
195 .00
34 .9 5
34.95
34 .9 5
37.9 5
99.00
134.95
134.9 5
19.50
23.9 5
49 .95
34 .9 5
34.95
74 .95

62
75
64
62
71
62
70

66
76
70
78
83
61
60
91
81
81
83

237

LIJ
0..

I-

IE ~fU@SiiBifi

Product References

his list contains references to H eat h
products as found in two popula r h obby
magazines; QST an d CQ. These references
include everythin g from product reviews an d
articles about m odifications , to new product
announcements and brief mentions. Every reasonable effort has b een made to ens ure the accu-

DATE

Oct-5 9
O ct-59
Mar-59
Jan-66
Jan-60
Apr-60
Jun-61
Jul-61
May-62
Jun-56
Nov-5 6
May-57
Dec-57

PUB.

ca
ca
OST

PAGE

52
52
54

MODEL

AK-6
AK-7
AM -2

OST
OST
OST
OST

20
47
11
41
20
76
70
36
22
65

AM -2
AR - 1
AR - 1
AR -3
AR -3
AR -3
AT- 1
AT- 1
AT-1
AT- 1

Jun-59

OST

AT-1

Aug -60
Au g-69
Oct-69
Jul-59
Jan-60
Jan -86
Arp-5 7
Sep-56
Jun-58
Jan -5 9
Dec-60
Apr-61
Jul -61
Jul-61
Au g-61
Jan-62
Feb-62
Jun-62
Jun-6 2
Dec-62

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

78
53
73
83
80
49
96
28
71
48
52
78
77
76
96
74
83
32
32
65

CB-1
CB - 1
CB-1
C0-1
C0 - 1
DX-20
DX-20
DX-35
DX-35
DX-35
DX-40
DX-40
DX-40
DX- 4 0
DX-40
DX-40
DX-40
DX-40
DX- 40
DX-40

OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

OST

ca
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

racy of these listings , but some errors and omissions have no doubt crept into the process. This
list is by no means exhaustive, as it references
only two of many possible sources. The r eader is
invited to send additions and correction s to the
author, whose address can be fou nd in the front
of this book.

SUBJECT

DATE

PUB.

Incid ental info
Incide ntal info
Use as a modulation
mon itor
Mod ification
Stabi li zing
Stabili zing (Correction)
Im provements
Correction
Band spread improvement
Use on 160 meters
Modu lato r for
Use on 6 meters
Modifi cation - ve ry brief no detail
Use VF-1 to drive on 15
meters
Ad din g squelch
Convert to 6 meters
Use on 10 meters
Review
Use as keying monitor
Use on 30 meters with VF- 1

Jan-63
Feb- 65
Mar-65

ca
ca
ca

Review
Improve ments
Improvements
Pl ate modulation for
AF distortion
AF gain
TVI precautions
Fin al modification
Use on 6 meters
Pl ate modulation for
Use on 6 meters
Use on 6 meters
Modification

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Sep-66

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJEC T

74
87
67

DX-40
DX-40
DX- 40

Modulation problem s
Use on 6 meters
Intermitten t operati on
(brief)
Output drops off after
1 min key down
Blows fu ses
Spurious signals
RFI on standby
PTT with H0- 170A
PTT for
Use wi th SB-640
Use wth Alli ed A-251 6
Receive r
Bandswitch replace ment
More switch replacement
info
Review
New product
announcement
Modulation problems
Errat ic keying
Audio hum
Di stortion
Dri ve/tun e peaking on 8 0
Fu se blowing problems
Only loads on 40
Use with SB-10
Hi nts
PTT for
Pl ate modulation tip
Key clicks fix
B urned out meter
Use with tuner (very brief)
Straight-through VFO
operation
Use on 30 meters
Review

DX-40

Dec-66
Feb-71
Oct-72
Jan-68
Oct-70
Oct-7 1
Apr-72

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

78
64
12
117
77
79
10

DX-40
DX-40
DX-40
DX-60A
DX-60B
DX-60 B
DX-60 B

Sep-87
Sep-88

OST
OST

43
48

DX-60B
DX-60B

Jul-6 1
Apr-61

OST

42
80

DX-60
DX-60

Jul- 62
Sep-62
Oct-62
Oct-62
Oct-62
Oct-62
Oct-62
Jan-63
Feb-63
Jul-63
De c-6 4
Sep-65
Sep-66
Sep-66
Jan-69

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

80
68
65
65
65
65
65
74
82
57
101
51
88
90
85

DX-60
DX- 60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60
DX-60

Mar-85
Mar-61

ca
ca

90
36

DX-60
DX- 100B

239

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REFERENCES

DATE

PUB

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

DATE

PUB.

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJEC T

Dec-55
Jun-56
Aug-56
Aug -59
Feb-57
Feb-58
Apr-59

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

49
76
34
53
59
69
35

DX-100
DX- 100
DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX- 100
DX-100

Jul-62

HA-10

Sep-62
Feb-66
Nov-65

ca
ca

67
76
89

HA- 10
HA- 10
HA- 14

OST
OST
OST
OST

62
55
50
56

DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX- 100

OST

DX-100
DX-100
DX- 100
DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX- 100
DX-100
DX-100
DX-100
DX - 100
DX- 100
DX- 100
DX - 100
DX-100
DX-100
DX- 100
GC-lA
GC-lA
GC-lA
GC-1A
GC-1
GC-1
GC-1000
GC-1005
GC -1 107
GD-18

Feb-66
Jul-67
Jul-78
Nov- 78
Jul-75
Aug-73
Jul-7 5
Jan-67
Jan-67
Feb-68
Sep-68
Jun-69
Aug-69
Aug-72
Feb-74
Jan-71
Jul-78
Au g-78
Apr-83
Jun-66
Jan-76
Oct-78
May-79
Dec-75
Feb -8 1

ca
ca

Jun-59
Nov-59
Feb-60
Aug -62

Review
Notes
Improved keying
SB- 10 modification for
More keying hints
Keying
Diode time-sequence
keying
Correcting grid current
Audio circuit change
Improved keying and drive
High modulator stand -by
current
Modification
SSB for
Improved keying
Fi xing HV rectifier arcing
Adding VOX
Adding VOX (correction)
Tips
Tips
Modification references
Final modifi cation
FSK for - reference only
RF output indicator
Fu se blowing problems
Rectifier replacement (brief)
Use with Johnson 6N2
TVI problems
Improved stability for RTTY
Keying modification
Keying modification
Review
Improved noise limiter
Review
Use with wide band pre-amp
New product announcement
Converter for 2 meters
Review
Review
Setting the seconds
Use as a 1 44 MH z
transmitter
Use as a CONELRAD
monitor
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Use on 10 meters
Review
Notes (by Heath 's
Al Robertson!)
Very brief
Review
Improved bias circu it
Mod ification
Better bias filter
Recifier noise
Bi as improvement

52
68
32
32
51
52
51
45
45
56
51
50
34
52
41
18
34
31
38
84
38
37
48
46
37

HA- 14
HA- 14
HA-201
HA-20 1
HA-2 01
HA-202
HA-202
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD -10
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD-1 0
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD - 10
HD - 19
HD - 1250
HD-1250
HD - 1250
HD - 1250
HD - 1250

Use with TX- 1/SB1O/phone patch
Impulse interference fix
Use on 6 meters
Review (Incorrectly ca ll ed
HW-1 4 in review)
Review
Improvements
COR
COR
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Improved performance
Use with externa l paddle
Protecting from RF
Modification
Speaker cha ng e
Modification
OSK mod for SB -series
Positive key lin e
Squeeze paddle
Use with so lid state rigs
General information
Review
Carrying case
Improved response
Review
Add-on for greater
versat ility

Ju l-8 1
Mar-78
Nov-79
Oct-80
Dec-8 0
Sep -77
Mar-84
Nov-8 6
Nov-86
Nov- 76
Feb -85
Nov-84
Nov-85
Apr-8 4
Jul-84
Jun-70
Jun -70
Oct-63
Jan-68
Jul- 76
Nov-88
Jan -88
Sep-63
Feb -63
Nov-66
Dec-71
Nov-71
Dec-76
Feb -77
May-78

CO
OST
OST
OST
OST

16
38
57
25
52
58
42
40
40
37
38
60
54
46
41
57
76
54
103
42
48
43
61
36
44
44
45
30
43
38

HD - 1250
HD -14 10
HD - 1410
HD - 1410
HD -14 10
HD - 1416
HD - 141 8
HD -1420
HD - 1422
HD - 1982
HD -3030
HD -3030
HD -4040
HD -8999
HF-T9
HG- 108
HG-108
HG- 10
HG- 10
HG-10
HK-232
HK-232
HM- 10A
HM -10A
HM- 15
HM- 102
HM - 10 2
HM-102
HM - 102
HM - 102

Sep-62
Feb-59
Apr-59
Jul -6 4
Aug -60
Oct-60
Jan -61
Jan-61
Feb -61
Aug-61
Aug -62
Jul -63
Nov-64
Mar-65
May-69
May-70
Jun-72
Aug -77
Sep-77
De c-60
Jul-62
May-62
Aug-69
Mar-60
Jan-61
Jan-86
Dec-73
Jan-82
Jul-56

OST
OST
OST
OST

34
44
46
80
54
26
71
71
68
96
95
58
113
67
83
80
12
49
51
32
53
44
79
61
72
46
43
49
152

De c-57

OST

GD-18

Sep-77
Oct-70
Aug-73
Mar-72
Jan-85
Dec-82
Nov-62
Nov-60
Feb-6 1

27
48
58
57
36
46
72
46
48

GH-17A
GR-78
GR- 110
GR-371 MX
GR-740
GU - 1820
GW-2 1
GW-30
GW-30

75
44
62
38
100
99
84

GW-30
HA- 10
HA- 10
HA- 10
HA-1 0
HA- 10
HA-1 0

Dec -6 1
Jun-61
De c-6 1
Feb-62
Oct-61
Nov-6 1
Feb-62

240

ca
ca
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
CO

ca
ca

OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
CO
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
CO

ca
ca

OST

OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
CO
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

Revie w
Ideas for
External paddles for
Th oughts on
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Revie w
Review
Review
Review
Review
Use on MARS 3 .2 MHz
Review
Use with Globe Scout 680
VFO output
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Modification
Added switch
Extra meters for

HEATHKIT

rr§ ~ 1 H?dff'i*fi1

PRODUCT REFERENCES

DATE

PU B

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

DATE

Sep-73
Feb-91
Feb-80
Sep-80
May-8 4
Mar-66
Aug -70
Dec-63
Jun-64
Nov-64
Sep-65
Jan-87
Mar-64
Dec-69
Oct-81
Mar-73
Feb-66
May-66

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

46
35
40
41
42
79
53
58
37
54
57
30
61
51
70
57
72
75

HM -2 103
H M-2 140A
H M-2140
HM-2141
HN -3 1A
HN -31
HN -3 1
H0-10
H0 -10
H0 - 13
H0 - 13
H0 -5404
HP- 13
HP-13
HP- 13
HP-23A
HP-23
HP-23

May-74
Oct-77
Sep-69

OST
OST

HP-23
HP-23
HP-24

Jun-82
Oct- 82
Jul-85
Apr-88
Oct-88
Dec-88
Mar-90
Sep-62
Oct-62
Mar-6 5
Feb-66
Jan-67
Jan-64
May-66
Dec-66
Dec-66
Jun-68
Sep-68
May-69
Jan-66

49
46
53

May-70

HR- 10B

Jul-63
Mar-63
Jun-66
Jan-77
Oct-76
Nov-82
Apr-80
Oct-88
Jan-77
Jan-73
Dec-73
Jan-74
Jul-75
Dec-75
Jul-76
Nov-76
Apr-73
Dec-75
Apr-76
Jul-77
Nov-77
Jan-78
Mar-78
Oct-7 8
Dec-78
Apr-79
Jun-79
Nov-79
Jan-81
May-81
May-77
Aug -77
Oct-77
May-84
Jan-8 1
May-81
May-82

OST
OST
OST
OST

48
58
74
35
43
22
89
39
35
48
23
35
38
45
42
41
60
45
31
22
20
40
36
20
38
47
18
57
45
46
32
48
62
44
48
52
98

HR-10
HR-20
HR-20
HR- 1680
HR- 1680
HR- 16 80
HR- 1680
HR- 1680
HS-166 1
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-7
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8
HW-8

Re view
Comparisons
Review
Review
Review
Use as an RF Wattmeter
Oil for
Review
Review
Review
Review
Re view
Review
Modification
Cooling
117/ 230 vo lt switch for
Review
Use with HW-1 2 and
SB- 100
Improved grounding
Low low-voltage fix
Modification for use with
screen-grid tubes
Won 't work on 10/1 5/20
meters
Review
Review
Di al pointer
Review
Review
Modification
New product announcement
Use as a CW monitor
Review
Review
New front end for
Modificatio n
RIT for
A small amp for
Hum reduction
Sidetone level control
Re view
A small amp for
Review
Full break-in and RIT
Full break-in and RIT
RITfor
Notes
2 5 kHz calibrator
RIT for
"Boots " for
"Boots" for
S-meter for
Ideas for
Use with "Accu -keyer "
Review
Contest Machine Part 1
Contest Machine Part 2
Use on 30 meters
Modification
Add s speaker/amplifier
RIT board

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
OST

ca
ca
ca

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

ca
ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

46
50
37
26
43
32
43
62
98
67
76
86
48
75
49
49
36
51
53
70

HW-8
HW-8
HW-9
HW-9
HW-9
HW-9
HW-9
HW- 10
HW- 10
HW- 10
HW-10
HW-12 A
HW- 12
HW-12
HW- 12
HW- 12
HW-12
HW-12
HW- 12
HW- 12

48
36
18
45
53
18
51
117
84
20
96
35
72
48
29
50
43
35
49
49
38

HW- 12
HW-12
HW- 12
HW-12
HW-16
HW- 16
HW- 16
HW-16
HW- 16
HW-16
HW-16
HW- 16
HW- 16
HW-16
HW- 16
HW-16
HW-16
HW-16
HW-17A
HW-17A
HW- 17A
HW-17A
HW-17
HW- 181
HW- 182
HW-18 3
HW-19
HW-19
HW-20
HW-20
HW-20
HW-20
HW-22A
HW-22A
HW-22A
HW-22
HW-22
HW-22
HW-22

Bandswitch lights
Modification
Review
Improvements
Tips
Tips
AGC threshold controler
Increasing spotting signal
Alignment problems
Squelch trouble (brief)
RF output indicator
New product announcement
Review
Use with HP-23
Fi xing a rattle
Low voltage equalization
Dial modification
Carrier null adjustment
New gain control
Adding bands (reference
only)
Power supply for
CW modification
CW coverage with
Use as ORP
Review
Review
Use on 20 meters
Use on 20 meters
Use with SB-200
Ad apting VFOs for
Use on 20 meters (brief)
Use on 20 meters
Use on 20 meters (more)
Sidetone level adjust
Improvements
Help for
Calibration control for
Use on 20 meters
Review
Review
Rel ay switching for incr.
sens. and output
Modification for FM
Modification for FM
Review
Review
Review
Review
Fin al tuning tip
Review
Notes
Alignment problems
Review
New product announcement
Extended coverage
Extended coverage
Review
Dial modification
Adding band s (reference
only)
Power supply for

Mar-66
Feb-67
Jul-71
Sep-77
Jan-68
Dec-67
Aug -72
Nov-68
Feb -69
Nov-74
Oct-71
Nov-75
Dec-71
May-77
May-78
Aug -79
Feb-76
May-76
Apr-69
Jul-69
Apr-70

ca
ca
ca

Feb-72
Feb-72
Dec-68
Dec-68
Dec-68
Nov-60
Aug-65
Jan-62
Aug-64
Oct-62
Nov-62
Jan -67
Jun-81
Jan-79
Jan-64
Jun-68
Jan-66

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

14
14
25
25
25
153
71
50
64
98
37
86
37
65
48
36
70

Mar-66

OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
ca
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
OST
OST
OST

OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
OST

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OST
OST

241

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PRODUCT

DATE

"''"
"'z

Feb-67
Oct-74
Jul-7 1
Oct-60
Apr-63

Nov-60
Au g-65
Jan-67
Apr- 63
Sep-63
May-68
Apr-63

Mar-61
Aug-65
Aug -6 1
Oct-63
May-68
Feb-69
Mar-65
Jan-67
Dec-70
Jan-64
May-66
Jun-68
De c-65
Dec-65
Jan-66

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OST

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OST
OST

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OST

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co
OST
OST

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OST

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OST

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ca
OST
OST
OST

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ca

PAGE

MODEL

36
3g
18
50
48

HW-22
HW-22
HW-22
HW-29
HW-29

153
71
50
67
34
28
48

HW-29
HW-29
HW-29
HW-29
HW-2 9
HW-29
HW-30

52
71
99
34
28
41
35
86
76
48
74
36
75
75
70

HW-30
HW-30
HW-30
HW-30
HW-30
HW-30
HW-30
HW-32A
HW-32 A
HW-32
HW-32
HW-32
HW-32
HW-32
HW-32

48
36
18
41
51
20
45
108

HW-32
HW-32
HW-32
HW-99
HW- 100
HW-100
HW- 100
HW-100
HW-100
HW- 100
HW-1 00

Mar-66
Feb-67
Jul-71
Jul-89
Jan-69
Nov-71
Aug -68
Oct-68

ca
co
ca

Mar-69
Jul-69
Jan-74

co
co
OST

47
86
44

Feb-70

HW- 100

Feb-70
May-70
Jun-70
Jun-71

co
ca
co
co

88
32
33
87

HW- 100
HW- 100
HW- 100
HW- 100

Aug -72
Mar-7 3
Apr-79
Mar-8 4
Jan-72
Sep-72
Oct-74
Mar-75

co
ca

16
12
44
22
59
53
38
19

HW- 100
HW- 100
HW- 100
HW-100
HW- 101
HW- 101
HW-101
HW- 101

49
12
16
44

HW- 101
HW- 101
HW- 101
HW- 101

Aug-75
Apr-72
Aug -7 2
Jan-77

242

OST
OST
OST

co
co

OST

co
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

co
co
OST

l®~fHP&fHHEiJ

REFERENCES

PUB.

SU BJECT

DATE

CW modification
Extended coverage
CW cove rage with
Modification
Motor tunin g to "scan"
the band
Revi ew
Final tun ing tip
Add a final tun ing knob
DSB for
Modification
Some usefu l modifications
Motor tuning to "scan"
the band
Review
Fin al tuning tip
Hum fix
Modification
Some useful modifications
More changes
Improvements
New product announcement
Use in the CW band
Review
Alignment
Di al mod ification
Modification to final
0 Multiplier for
Adding bands (reference
on ly)
Power supply for
CW modifi cation
CW coverage with
Curing thermal drift
Review
Improved selectivity
Review
Review correction refer to
8168
Di al modification
Incremental tuning for
Deactivated XOV for CW
operation
Better connection to SB620
Drift and mic gain problems
Split frequency operation
Variable AF bandwidth
Use with Ameco model
PCL RF pre-amp
In creasi ng capabilities of
Hum fi x
Holding th e relay
Modification
Review
Tone oscillator repair
RIT for
Offset tuning and
keying mods
Modification
Sidetone gain control
Increasing capabilit ies of
VOX relay respon se in CW
operation

Jan-73
Feb-77
Aug -77
Sep-77
Mar-78
Apr-79
Aug-79
Mar-76
Feb-81

Feb-83
Mar-83
Feb-83
Mar-88
Mar-84
Nov- 90

OST
OST

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST

MODEL

90
43
49
51
41
44
50
43
47

HW- 101
HW-101
HW- 101
HW- 101
HW- 101
HW-101
HW-101
HW- 101
HW- 101

OST

54
42
31
41
22
38

De c-76
Jan-80

OST
OST

37
54

Jan-80
Mar-80
Jul-74
Au g-75
Sep-75

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

16
49
40
49
45

Jan-76
Oct-76
Jun -74
Jul- 75
Jan-78
Apr-78
Apr-79
Jan-77
Jun-76
Oct-77
Aug-79
Mar-78
Oct-84
Dec-87
Sep-88
Sep-88
Jul-90
Mar-87
Sep-76
Mar-76
Mar-87
Sep-8 8
Oct-62
Sep- 62
May- 63
May- 63
May- 80

OST
OST

43
40
25
24
39
27
44
36
22
46
51
51
34
18
43
42
37
46
39
26
46
48
55
68
71
94
41

Mar-63
Mar- 66
Ap r-66
Jun-66
Dec-63
May- 65
Oct- 68
May-63
Mar-8 1

ca
OST

ca
ca
OST
OST
OST
OST

co
OST
OST

co
OST

co
OST
OST
OST

co
OST

co
ca
OST
OST

co
co
co
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
co
co
OST
OST

SUBJECT

PAGE

59
44
44
74
60
75
48
51
48

Sidetone gain contro l
Better looking dial
WWVm od
WWVm od
CW modification
H old ing th e relay
Elimin atin g TVI
Improve ments
Modification for zerobeating
HW-101
Troubleshootin g chart
HW-10 1
Osci llation problem
HW- 101
Modification for 30 meters
Drive dial slippage fi x
HW-101
HW-101
Modification
HW- 101
Use with W 6 0WP keying
interface
HW-104
Review
HW-104
Modification PC board
etching pattern
HW-104
RIT for
RIT for
HW- 104
Review
HW-202
Protecting transistors
HW-20 2
Antenna plug caution ary
HW-202
note
HW-202
Tone pad co nnections
HW-202
Remote co ntrol
HW-202
Review
Modification
HW- 202
HW-1 g32
Micode r
HW-1982
"Mycoder" better design
HW- 1982
Better battery
HW-2 021
Review
HW-2021
Review
HW-2036
Modification
HW-2036
Ch annel switch visibility
HW-2 036
Review
HW-5400
Review
HW-5400
Review
HW-5400
Frequency slewing speedup
HW-5400
Improved RIT and split-freq
HW-5400
Battery backup for
HW-6502
Review
HW-series
VFO slippgae and backlash
HW-series
A receiver pre-a mp for
HW-A6502-2 Review
HW-S24
New product announcement
H X-10
Review
H X-10
Normal grid current
HX- 10
FSK for
Key click filter
H X-10
H X-10
Spurious radiation from
mi saligned traps
H X-20
Review
H X-20
Modification
H X-20
Improved CW operation
H X-20
Di al pointer
HX-20
Nulling carrier
HX-20
Use of 6146B (brief)
HX-20
Improved carrier supression
HX-30
Review
HX- 16 8 1
Review

HE.ATHKIT

® ~1ue+tnH11

PRODUCT REFERENCES

DATE

PUB

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

DATE

PUB

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJEC T

Apr-80

HX-1 681

Mar-61

SB- 10

Dec-85
Ju l-60
Jul-60
Dec-55

OST
OST
OST
OST

50
42
42
29

HX-1681
KL-1
KS-1
LG-1

Aug -61
Oct-61
Jun-62
Jul-62

co
co
co
co

96
83
35
80

SB- 10
SB-10
SB-10
SB - 10

Dec-55

OST

LS- 1

Apr-60
Oct-59
Apr-60
Oct-59
Jan-6 1
Oct-61
Jun-64
Mar-65
Apr-67
Apr-60
Oct-60
Oct-59
Mar-60
Aug-60
Apr-61
Mar-66
Dec-66
Nov-68
Feb-76
Apr-56
May-58
Jan-64
Jan-6 0

OST
CO
OST
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
OST
OST
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
OST
OST
OST

41
52
41
52
67
83
55
67
86
41
51
52
58
79
112
65
79
115
29
39
77
62
61

MP-1
MP-1
MR-1
MR-1
MR-1
MR- 1
MR-1
MR-1
MR-1
MT- 1
MT-1
MT-1
MT-1
MT-1
MT-1
MT- 1
MT-1
MT-1
MT-1
OF-1
OF- 1
OF- 1
RF-1

Jan-63
Nov-63
May-64
Oct-64
Nov- 64
Mar-65
Jul-69

co
co
co
co

74
97
41
80
114
65
86

SB - 10
SB-10
SB-10
SB - 10
SB- 10
SB-10
SB-10

OST
OST
OST
OST

22
16
75
45
49
49
40
53
40
54
47
42
90
40
73
10
48
38
44
45

SB- 10
SB-10
SB-100
SB-100
SB-100
SB-100
SB- 100
SB- 100
SB-100
SB-100
SB- 100
SB- 100
SB-100
SB- 100
SB- 100
SB-100
SB-1011
SB-101
SB-101
SB-101

Nov- 68
Mar-69

OST
OST

50
46

SB-101
SB-101

Feb-70

SB- 101

Jan-75
Feb-75
Apr-71
Apr-71
Aug-72
Feb-77
Feb-77
Sep-77
Dec-80

OST
OST

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

RX-1
RX-1
RX-1
RX-1
SA-14 80
SA-1480
SA- 1480
SA-1480
SA- 1480
SA-2040
SA-2040
SA-2060
SA-2500
SA-2500
SA-2550
SA-5010
SA-5010
SA-5010
SA-7010
SB- 10
SB-10
SB - 10
SB-10
SB-10

May- 70
Apr-73
May- 66
Sep-66
Dec -66
May- 67
Nov-67
May-68
Sep- 64
Dec-64
Apr-69
Oct-70
Nov- 69
Jun-71
Aug -68
Nov-73
Jun-80
Jun-68
Oct-68
Oct- 68

CO
CO
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
CO
CO
OST
OST
CO
OST

41
53
101
38
43
43
46
41
69
49
52
40
39
18
43
41
41
37
45
53
61
45
48
48

OST
OST
OST
OST

44
46
72
72
16
43
44
44
53

SB-101
SB- 101
SB-101
SB-101
SB- 101
SB-101
SB-101
SB-101
SB-101

Feb-71
Aug -71

OST
OST

48
43

SB- 102
SB-102

OST

SB- 10

Aug-72
Sep-72
Feb -77
Apr-73
Apr-73

co
co

Aug -62

16
48
44
51
50

SB-102
SB-102
SB-102
SB-102
SB-102

Feb-60
Feb-6 0

co
co

48
30

SB-10
SB-10

New product
announcement
Alignment
Review
Review
Modification for antenna
measurements
Modification for antenna
measurements
Review
Review
Review
Review
Power supply for
Tips
Upgrading
Intermittent BFO (brief)
Drift problems
Review
Modification
Incidental info
Review
Crystal control
Reduce heating
Use on 6 meters
Modulation problems
Crystal control
Use on 1 60 meters
Review
Variable bandwidth for
Extending rang e
New product
announcement
Review
10 kHz markers for
Fuse blowing problems
Amplifi ed AGC for
Revi ew
Review
Increased control voltage for
Lubrication for sticky relays
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Review
Shorting fi x
Avoiding static damage
Review
Modification for DX-1 00
Extra VOX sesitivity for
Review
Audio filter for
Use with Johnson Viking
Valliant
Make it a complete
transmitter
Audio peak limiting
Use with Johnson Viking II

Jun-77
Jul-73
Aug-79
Sep-79

OST

47
35
28
23

SB-102
SB-102
SB- 104A
SB-104A

Use with Johnson Viking
Rang er
Filter modification
Distortion
Use on 6 meters
Use with TX-1 /HA1O/ phone patch
Use with DX-60
Use on 6 meters
Use with Johnson Ranger
Trouble spots
Drive problems with TX-1
Lots of general information
Useon44675kHzCAP
freq
Upgrading
Problems (brief)
Use with HP-23
Review
Low voltage equalization
Incremental tuning for
Modificatio n
Improvements
Review
Revi ew
WWVmod
External VFO for
Hum fi x
Fixing audio hum
Upgrading
Improved AVC
For th e 75S-3
CW sidetone pitch mod
FMing fix
Use with SB-640 and not
lose XTAL control
Improvements
Receive r only tuning
modification
Better co nnection to SB620
Use as a separate reciever
OSCAR reception
MARS operation with
Use with 6146B
Increasing capabilities of
Faster relay response
Perking up
Hints for owners
Low sensitivity and RF
drive fi x
Review
Fixing VOX and ALC
problems
Increasing capabilities of
External VFO for
Elimin ating AC buzz
Hum reduction
Rec eiver only tuning
modification
Birdies
Improved CW break-in
Improvements
Improvements

Dec-58
Dec-60
De c-64
Apr-69
Jul-8 0
Jul-80
Jan-83
Mar-83
Oct-80
Nov-8 0
Jul-80
Jul-82
Mar-85
Jun-8 5
Aug-88
May-82
Jun-84
Sep -89
Aug-80
Aug -56
Jul-59
Aug -59
Aug-60
Aug-60

co
OST

co
co
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

co
OST

co
OST
OST

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

CO
CO
CO

co
co

co
co
co

OST

co
co
co
OST
OST

243

La.I
0:::
La.I
LL
La.I
0:::

PRODUCT

lE=~fH@f§'EiiJ

REFERENCES

PUB

DATE

PUB

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

DATE

May-80
Mar-80
Oct-75
Dec-77
Aug -75
Jan-80

OST

41
20
43
45
28
54

SB-104A
SB-104A
SB- 104
SB-104
SB-104
SB-104
SB-104
SB-104
SB - 104
SB - 104
SB-104
SB-110
SB- 110
SB- 110
SB - 110
SB-110
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB -200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB -200
SB-200
SB-200
SB-200
SB -200
SB-200
SB-201
SB-201
SB -220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB-220
SB -220
SB-220

De c-64
Jan-69
Sep-65
Apr-66
De c-66
Apr-68
Jul -68
Jan-69

16
49
53
20
43
72
72
59
10
75
89
40
44
84
62
76
75
75
10
52
45
32
51
45
44
48
37
48
36
51
45
29
47
12
40
56
25
44
46
38
37
45
45
42
38

Jun-69
Nov-75
Mar-67
Jan-69
Jan-70
Sep-70
Jan-69

Jun-69
Au g-69
Mar-7 1
Ju l-79
Jul-71
Jul-72
May-73
Apr-71
Oct-7 1
May-79
Jul-79
Sep-79
Jan-65
Jan-65
Dec-66
Nov-68
Dec-6 4
Oct-65
Jan-69

ca
ca
ca

Mar-67
Jan-69
Jan-70
Sep -70
Sep-70
De c-71
Jan-69

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

48
43
36
42
51

SB- 220
SB-221
SB-221
SB-230
SB-230

Improvements
Review
Review
Relay hangs up
Review
Modification PC board
etching pattern
RIT for
RIT for
Improvements
Refinements
Refinements
Review
Review
Review
Modifi cation for AM
AM operation
Review
Tips
Use on 6 meters
Use with HW- 1 6
Review
Grid current problems
Adjust able ALC threshold
Use wi th 32S-3
Intermittent output
Instant break-in for
Balanced grid circuit for
Use on 1 60 meters
1 60 meter mod
"No holes" STBY switch mod
Panel labeling idea
Use with solid state XCVRs
Use with solid state XCVRs
Power supply modifications
Review
1 60 meter mod
Review
Review
Use on 6 meters
Use with Swa n 500
Modification
Upgrading
Solid-state OSK for
Comments on modification
Adding 1 60 meters
Balanced grid circuit for
Tips
Use with solid state XCVRs
"No holes" STBY switch mod
Improvements
Panel light problems with
1 60 meter mods
Power supply modifications
Review
Review
Review
Tuning aid and protective
circuits

33
82
21

SB-230
SB-300
SB-300

ca
OST
OST

ca
OST

Jan-80
Mar-80
Dec-80
Mar-82
May-82
Feb-66
Feb-66
May-66
Nov-66
Aug-67
May-65
Aug -67
Jan-69
Feb-69
Jun-69
Dec-69
Dec-70
Dec-70
Nov-73
Mar-8 1
Dec-86
Nov-87
Jun-84
Sep-88
Dec-88
May-89
Jan-91
May-87
Feb-83
Jun-84
Aug -70
Mar-70
Dec-74
Jul-72
Nov-78
Nov-79
Jan -80
Feb-80
Feb-69
Aug -86
Aug -86
Jan-88
Sep-88
Feb-89
Feb-91

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

May-87
Mar-80
Feb-83
Feb-76
Jan-80

Apr-7 7
Jul-64
Dec-66

244

ca
ca
ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

OST

ca
OST
OST

OST
OST

Review
Mod ifi cation

May-79
Jul-79
Jun-8 1
Sep-70
Sep-69
Sep-66
Jul-72
Dec-72
Oct-69
Jun-76
Aug-76
Jan-82
Apr-68
Feb-68
Jan -73
Oct-69
Feb-70

OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
CO

OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
ca

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJEC T

1o1
16
84
79
79
61
1 12
96

sB-300
SB-300
S B-300
s B-300
sB-300
SB-300
sB-300
S B-300

79
37
43
16
28
50
96

SB -300
SB-300
SB-30 1
SB-301
SB-301
SB-301
SB -30 1

79
95
108
49
48
21
39
43
79
45
49
45
54
21
51
54
74
96

SB-301
S B-30 1
s B-301
SB -30 1
S B-303
S B-303
S B-303
s B-303
SB-303
SB -303
SB-303
SB -303
SB -400
SB -400
SB -400
S B-400
s B-400
S B-400
S B-400

AGC trouble
Notes
60 Hz hum
Improve ments (very brief)
Increase BFO output (brief)
Front panel conve rter switch
MARS reception on
Operation outside the ham
bands
Improved AM
Improved stab il ity
Review
Notes
Instant frequency change
Du al frequ ency operation
Operation outside th e ham
bands
Improved AM
Noise blanker info (brief)
Apparent sensitiv ity
Sidetone for
Review
Improved CW reception
Improved CW reception
Review
Intern al noise fix
Sidetone and AGC mods
Sidetone for
Noise blanker for
Review
Review
Modification
Improved spottin g

42
16
28
50
53
40
96

SB-401
SB -401
S B-401
SB-401
S B-40 1
SB -401
S B-40 1

45
49
35
43
59
49
49
46
74
37
40
36
50
26
52
72
89

SB -401
S B-401
SB-401
SB-500
SB -500
SB -600
SB -610
SB -6 10
SB -610
SB -6 14
S B-614
SB-614
S B-620
SB-620
SB-620
S B-620
SB-620

No LSB (brief)
Operation outsid e the ham
bands
Review
Notes
Instant frequen cy change
Dual frequency ope ration
Foot switch operation
VOX adj ustment
Ope ration outside the ham
bands
Sidetone and AGC mods
Sidetone for
High plate curren t fix
Revie w
Review
Revie w
Review
Redu cing baseline ripple
Use with SX- 101 A
Revie w
Re view
Exte nd the vers itility
Review
Re view
Use with other receive rs
Info on sensitivity fi x
Better connection to
SB-101 / HW-100

H E .AT HK IT

l& ~fH¥SiHH+@
DATE

PUB.

Ju n-70
Dec-76
O ct-68

Oct-71
Aug-79
Sep-79
May-80
Aug-72
Oct-72
Mar-77
Sep-78
Feb-88
Jul -88
Oct-89
Ju l-65

Jan-7 1
Jan-7 1
Sep-76
Jul -73
Jun-78
Oct-78
Feb-80
Mar-76
Aug-77
Aug -77
Aug-67
Apr-79
Dec-79

ca
ca

Feb-84
Feb-84
Apr-85
May-85
Mar-59
Jun-59
Dec-59
Mar-60
Nov-60
Aug -59
Mar-6 1
Mar-61
Jul-6 1
May-62
Jun-62
Jul -62

OST

OST
OST

OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
CO

OST

ca
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca

PRODUCT

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

DATE

88
42
45

SB-620
SB-630
SB-640

79
28
23
41
56
58
24
37
33
47
34
25

SB-640
SB-644A
SB-644A
SB -644A
SB-650
SB-650
SB-650
SB-650
SB - 1000
SB - 100 0
SB-1400
SB-series

Dec-62
Oct-64
Nov-6 4
Aug-66
Jan-6 8
Oct-69
Jul-70
Jun-72
Jun -59

18
16
39
35
44
14
44
26
33
33
52
47
57

SB-series
SB-series
SB-series
SB-series
SB-series
SB -series
SB-series
SB -se ries
SB-A1041
SB-A 1041
SB-A 100-2
SB-A101-1
SB-A101 - 1

41
18
45
47
44
62
52
48
54
55
66
66
76
76
35
80

SS-9000
SS-9000
SW-7800
SW-7800
TX- 1
TX-1
TX- 1
TX-1
TX- 1
TX-1
TX- 1
TX- 1
TX- 1
TX- 1
TX- 1
TX- 1

Use as an RF monitor
Digit al clock modification
Use wit h S B-101 and not
lose XTAL co ntrol
Use wit h DX-60 B
Improve ments
Improvements
Improvements
Review
Review
Use with FT- 101
Use with AX-1 90
Review
Comments on
Review
Ad provides a look in side
SB tube-type LMO
OSK mod for SB-series
OSK Mods
VFO slippg ae and backlash
Im proved CW Break- In fo r
Better s/n and gain
Better s/n and gain
Dial zero modification
A receiver pre-amp for
Mod ificat ion
Use with HW- 10 1
Xtal filte r mod kit
More on adapting
Ad apting Heath noise
blanker for 7 5S series
Review
Review
Review
More info on
Review
Correcting grid current
Spotting switch modification
Adju stments made easy
Mod ificat ion
Review
Fin al grid current problems
Tips
TVI precautions
Chirp fix
Cap acitor problems
Use with HA- 1O/S B1O/phone patch

A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products

Nov- 5 9
Feb-60
Mar-64
Dec-72
Jan-86
Oct-79
Nov-8 1
Jul-83
Jan-61
Sep-60
Jul-61
Mar-65
Jul- 73
May-82
Jun- 82
Feb-59

PUB

ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
OST
OST

ca
OST
OST
OST
OST
OST

ca
OST

ca
ca
ca
ca
OST
OST
OST

REFERENCES

PAGE

MODEL

SUBJECT

66
79
114
90
78
73
84
12
62

Tx- 1
Tx- 1
Tx- 1
TX- 1
Tx- 1
Tx-1
Tx- 1
Tx- 1
VF- 1

55
59
64
18
49

VF- 1
VF-1
VF-1
VF-1
VF- 1

47
43
40

VF-2031
VF-7401
VF-7401

48
41
76
67
14
38
48
48

VH -F1
VH -F1
VH-F1
VH-F1
VH-F1
VL- 11 80
VL-2280
VX-1

Improvements
VFO drift
Dri ve problems with S B-1 0
Conversion (very brief)
Use on 1 8 1 5 kHz (b ri ef)
Use on 6 meters
Chirp problems
Excess ive drift fi x (brief)
Dri ving the AT- 1 on 1 5
meters
Use on 14 MHz MARS freqs
Use on 6 & 2
Modification to stab lizing
New life for
Use on 30 meters with
DX-20
Review
Review
Programmable power-up
freq mod
Review
Review
TVI precautions
Dri ve troub le (brief)
Chirp fi x (brief )
Review
Review
Modification for CW break-

Nov-60
Sep-60
Oct-5 9
Feb-7 9

OST
OST
OST

55
47
41
52

Feb -62

Mar-62

Apr-67
Jun-78
Jan-79

ca
ca

85
39
27

Mar-79

Apr-79

Jul-79
Jan-84

55
19

OST

VX - 1
XC-2
XC-6

Cl)

LIJ

Adding squelch
Review

(.)

All About Kits Part 2 (not
Heath specific)
Story on kit transm itters
part 1
Story on kit transmitters
part 2
H eath vs Collins (brief)
Review
All About Kits Part 1
(not Heath specifi c)
All Ab out Kits Part 3
(not H eath specifi c)
All About Kits Part 4
(not Heath specific)
Review
Kit building tips
(not Heath specific)

Q:::

LIJ

245

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About the author
Chuck Penson has been licensed since 1966 and holds
an Advanced class ticket. His interest in the Heath company began in 1958 when his father bought an AR-3
receiver. Penson has been collecting Heath products
(primarily amateur equipment) since 1983 and maintains a "pure Heathkit" environment in his shack. He
has almost no interest in DXing but can often be heard
rag-chewing on the 20-meter phone band or the 40meter CW band. Chuck has worked in commercial
broadcasting but for the last 15 years has worked for
the Science Museum of Minnesota where he is director
of the Computer Education Center. His other interests
include astronomy, hiking, and solar energy.

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