[Elecraft] Heathkit Returns!

[Don Wilhelm]

Dave,

Most parts to do "leaded component" HB are easily available, just look 
at Mouser or Digikey, or Newark or Allied, or many other major 
distributors.  It is rare not to find what is needed.  If you are 
working from an older parts list, you may encounter some difficulty in 
that the stated part numbers are not available - mostly because of the 
switch to ROHS compliance a few years ago.  Many distributors  changed 
their part numbers to be able to distinguish between the new RoHS 
compliant parts and the older non-compliant equivalents.

You don't even need an etched PC board to do HB - just a piece of single 
or double sided PC board material will provide the platform for either 
Wes Hayward's (W7ZOI) 'Ugly construction' or Manhatten construction 
techniques - a good solid ground plane is produced with both these 
methods, so they are ideal for RF work, DIP or SMD ICs can be used, 
mounted either 'dead-bug' style (glued upside down on the board), or you 
can purchase "carrier boards" for these from QRPme, or make your own 
carrier boards from small pieces of PC board with a series of cuts with 
spacing to match the leads of the device.
The nice thing about either ugly construction or Manhatten construction 
is that it lends itself to making changes in the design easily, so a lot 
of experimenting can be done at very low cost.  Also with Manhatten 
construction, you can do a mix of SMD and leaded passive components if 
desired.  Since SMD capacitors usually have lower lead inductance than 
leaded equivalents, it is easier to produce a repeatable design at VHF 
and/or UHF with those construction methods.

Yes, more and more available small kit boards are being made available 
for SMD components, but if you are doing "from scratch" homebrew, or 
following someone else's schematic and doing your own physical layout, 
you will find Manhatten construction can use your pick of either leaded 
or SMD components, you get to decide.  HB is not dead, and does not need 
to use SMD components.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/11/2011 12:15 PM, Dave KK7SS wrote:
> Ed,
>
> I beg to differ on one point
>
>>> So SMT did not take it from hams -
>>> the hams took HB out of hamradio.
> In my opinion, what took the 'HB' out of Ham radio was the decline in descrete parts that you could see and handle.
> I think that the electronics industries ubiquitous use of SMTs, LSI's, GPA's etc. caused the decline in demand in manufacturing of the more expensive and labor intensive items like tubes, variable caps, resistors. etc.
>
> Add PCB's and flow soldering to the equation and it became no longer cost-effective to manufacture parts for a relatively small private(?) market.
>
> 73 de
>
> --
> Dave G  KK7SS
>   Richland, WA
>
> '59 Morris Minor 1000 - working on it..
> '65 Sprite - running with a bad valve guide :(
> '76 Midget - co-owned with #4 Son :)
> '06 Honda Civic Hybrid
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