[Elecraft] OT - Heath CW Twins

[Stephen W. Kercel]

David:

In 1977 (Good Heavens! That's 30 years ago.) I built a HR-1680 and 
used it for several years. As a strictly CW guy, and preferring 
separate units, the 1680/81 combination was just what I was looking 
for. The HR-1680 was not a high performance receiver compared to 
modern rigs, but I worked an awful lot of DX with it.

The real beauty of the HR-1680 was that Heath had a scheme that let 
you use the VFO as a signal generator and the S-meter as a tuning 
indicator, and you could align the receiver with no other instruments 
except a VOM. It was easy for a relatively inexperienced person to 
build it and get it running correctly.

I used a Viking Ranger as a transmitter.

As far as I know, Heath never actually sold the HX-1681 at retail. 
After I built the 1680, I really wanted the companion transmitter, 
but it never showed up in the Heath catalog. In 1978, I saw a 
finished HX-1681 on display at a Heath retail store in the Boston 
suburbs, and asked when it would be for sale. The Heath people told 
me they were having trouble getting it type accepted by the FCC. 
Evidently they never did.

Thus, I'm not sure how you managed to acquire a 1681. You must have 
gotten one of the old display units. Given that Heath was having 
trouble meeting FCC requirements I'd be concerned about the spectral 
purity of the HX-1681. I would look at the output on a spectrum 
analyzer before I put the thing on the air.

Anyway, the pair would be fun and simple to use, but the 
HR-1680/HX-1681 is no match for the K2.

73,

Steve Kercel
AA4AK



At 08:19 PM 10/5/2007, David Wilburn wrote:
>Since there are CW and Heath enthusiasts in one place, I was curious 
>about a set of twins I picked up 4 or 5 years ago.  You are welcome 
>to reply off lists if it is not appropriate, as I do not wish to offend.
>
>I picked up a Heathkit HR1680, and HX1681, complete with all manuals 
>and power supply / speaker.  I have operated with them a bit.  I 
>picked up some matching Heathkit paddles, and manuals, though I 
>haven't tried them out.  I have only used the twins with a straight key.
>
>I like the setup, but for now, I do not have the time to devote to 
>going back over it and checking it out.  I was just curious about 
>the opinions on these rigs from the folks that have experience with 
>them.  I have not gotten much out of them, power wise, but assumed 
>they just needed some attention.
>
>The ham I got them from, was still using them, was retiring from the 
>hobby, as he was up in age, and had to slow down to 35 wpm.  That 
>was killing me as I was struggling at about 10wpm at the time.  I 
>got the impression he was going to live with his daughter, but he did not say.
>
>It was fun learning how to operate a split system and it was with 
>these rigs that I learned, what little I have learned, about zero 
>beat.  In one sense, I would like to keep these rigs for the day 
>when I will have more time to pay attention to them, and go through 
>and check them out. On the other hand, I have a bit of a situation 
>here at home, and I may not really get a chance to do those sort of 
>things, and it would be a shame for them to sit around when someone 
>else could be enjoying them.
>
>I'm hoping that hearing about the rigs, what they were capable of, 
>and how well they worked, will help me tip the balance which way I 
>want to go with them.  I really do like how they look on the bench, 
>especially powered up with all the red lighting.  They are in my 
>shack pic on QRZ, http://www.qrz.com/k4dgw , though they were not 
>powered at the time. They do not sell for that much, as most folks 
>are not interested in CW only rigs, so they would not do much to 
>help me towards a K3.  Did I mention they looked cool? ;^) I sold my 
>other rigs, TS-570, and IC-718, to pay for the K2 and all the 
>goodies.  The 706 that is in the picture was put in the vehicle with 
>a 20m hamstick, so I can listen to CW while I am driving.  Thanks.
>--
>
>David Wilburn
>dave.wilburn at verizon.net
>K4DGW
>K2 #5982
>
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