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Vintage Test Gear and Workshop Equipment For discussions about vintage test gear and workshop equipment such as coil winders. |
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29th Jan 2021, 7:31 pm | #21 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 4,924
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Quote:
It is easy to criticise Heathkit, but their competition wasn't up to much. I remember drooling over the adverts in PW for the "HAC" short wave kits, but some people in the local radio club persuaded me that was not the way to go, and I was always glad I didn't spend pocket money on an HAC kit. B
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30th Jan 2021, 9:29 am | #22 |
Triode
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 44
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
[Q
When very young, I used to read avidly any copies of PW I could get hold of and often perused the HAC advert which I found attractive, for some reason. I never knew HAC was a Heathkit offshoot. We learn something new every day - even if it takes 50+ years ! |
30th Jan 2021, 9:47 am | #23 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Stevenage, Herts. UK.
Posts: 1,515
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
HAC (hear all continents) was nothing to do with Heathkit. They just both produced equipment aimed at the home constructor.
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30th Jan 2021, 11:14 am | #24 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 9,428
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Often wondered what H.A.C. stood for, live and learn.
Heathkit was the catalogue I looked at, no chance of buying any though, still I got enjoyment thinking what could perhaps one day occur. Then teenage years came along and for some reason other things took precedence, ah hem.
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30th Jan 2021, 11:21 am | #25 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 5,738
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
The way I read it, Bazz didn't say HAC was a Heathkit offshoot - quite the opposite.
He said: 'It is easy to criticise Heathkit, but their competition wasn't up to much' so he was citing HAC as a competitor in a small way to Heathkit. HAC supplied an unexceptional one valve TRF receiver kit for many decades via the small ads in PW etc. As Bazz put it: "I remember drooling over the adverts in PW for the "HAC" short wave kits, but some people in the local radio club persuaded me that was not the way to go, and I was always glad I didn't spend pocket money on an HAC kit". The advice he was given was sound.
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30th Jan 2021, 4:33 pm | #26 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 4,924
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Sorry to confuse; I'm pretty sure there was no link at all between Heathkit and HAC, but simply pointing out that they were "rival" suppliers of kits, at least to the extent that HAC offered about 3 kits and Heathkit maybe 100 kits, over a period of time.
It's just occurred to me that another kit supplier was Codar, but again, quite a limited range of products, mostly nothing special, except for the 160/80 Tx, the "AT5" which is still very popular. B
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30th Jan 2021, 4:36 pm | #27 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK.
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Many Heathkit manuals on Paul’s site.
https://www.vintage-radio.info/heathkit
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1st Feb 2021, 12:52 pm | #28 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK.
Posts: 1,177
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Quote:
I can empathise with the issue you are having as my Heathkit signal generator also produces the same rubbish sine wave and modulation envelope. Have you checked the DC conditions of your generator? I'm combing through mine to see if I can improve it. Already I have found that grid bias is missing from V1A and the anode voltage is low. Were these like this from the factory? |
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1st Feb 2021, 1:47 pm | #29 | ||
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Resolfen, Wales; and Bristol, England
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
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1st Feb 2021, 3:06 pm | #30 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Stevenage, Herts. UK.
Posts: 1,515
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
I investigated when I first obtained the unit and at the time decided it was probably because the modulation is applied to the grid of the oscillator valve rather than than modulating its anode through a power supply inductor. At the time I couldn't find anything wrong, but maybe need to revisit.
Richard, I assume you're saying your AM modulation envelope looked OK. |
1st Feb 2021, 3:29 pm | #31 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 2,008
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
I was never happy with the mains input arrangements on some of their equipment. 2 core single insulated cable, single pole mains switch and no fuse.
These things may be OK for 110V supplies but not, in my opinion, for 240V. Al
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1st Feb 2021, 3:46 pm | #32 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Worthing, Sussex, UK.
Posts: 661
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
I have a digital clock from them. Had a 2 core mains lead without earth connected to the transformer. Transformer was fixed with screws through the plastic case!. The screws were resessed and painted, but I decided this was
not enough so I replaced with 3 core mains lead and earthed the metal components - eg switches, transformer etc. At least now I consider it safe. If built to the book it would never have made uk doube insulation standards |
1st Feb 2021, 3:53 pm | #33 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Reading/Fakenham, UK.
Posts: 1,320
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
I used a Heathkit IG-52 TV alignment generator to sort out a TV24. When used with a decent signal generator and 'scope it was very useful. But it would have been very clunky and hit-and-mis otherwise!
I have a soft spot for Heathkit stuff generally. They made some shockers (in all senses of the word) but also some really good stuff. My favourite is probably the HW-8 Morse code transceiver, which with a few very minor mods is still great fun to use. Whatever Heathkit designed, I get the impression that a couple more weeks in the lab would have made all the difference. |
1st Feb 2021, 4:34 pm | #34 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Stevenage, Herts. UK.
Posts: 1,515
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
A lot of their designs were tweaked versions of circuits published in US hobby magazines. I wonder if they paid any royalties to the original author.
However they did apparently pay Dinsdale a royalty for his transistor Hi-Fi amp design, whereas Leak etc just stole it. |
1st Feb 2021, 4:37 pm | #35 | |
Octode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 1,642
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Quote:
Mind you, casting my mind back to the 1940s, 50s and 60s radios that I've had, I don't think many (if any) of them had internal fuses either. Perhaps that's why we members of a certain age always feel that the plug fuse should be matched to what's on the end of the mains lead, and not to the rating of the mains lead itself. Mike |
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1st Feb 2021, 5:10 pm | #36 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Heathkit stuff is, IMHO, rather variable.
Not helped by the equally-variable skill-ranges of the kit-assemblers! Even the best components and design can be ruined if assembled in the dark by someone using a poker and an axe. Some Heathkit ham-radio gear was intriguing - I'd like to get my hands on a DX-60 or DX-100 transmitter or one of the later SB101/102 transceivers [think of these latter as a self-passembly KW2000] - but I'd want to see it in-the-flesh before buying rather than buying via an auction and ending up with something assembled by Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder that had clearly never worked properly. |
1st Feb 2021, 5:10 pm | #37 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Stevenage, Herts. UK.
Posts: 1,515
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Mike, (Boulevardier) what's your AM modulation envelope like?
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1st Feb 2021, 5:50 pm | #38 | |
Octode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 1,642
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Quote:
Mike Last edited by Boulevardier; 1st Feb 2021 at 6:05 pm. |
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1st Feb 2021, 6:40 pm | #39 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK.
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Another observation:
When I switch from EXT. MOD. to INT. MOD. the frequency stated on my counter drops! I'm not sure what is going on here. Also, the AF O/P is only about 300Hz. It should be 400Hz. I think that both issues could be down to an out of tolerance capacitor. |
1st Feb 2021, 7:56 pm | #40 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK.
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Re: Thoughts on Heathkit Equipment?
Hi!
Quote:
I suspect people are starting to twig this and selling them with really bad ones taken out of old radios, etc – I had one in a Taylor 110C you couldn't see at all, even with over 270V on it's target–anode!! Chris Williams
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