[Heathkit] HW-100 Interest

[greg mijal]

Hi Scott:

I have had a HW 101, SB 101 and am now using a SB 401, 303, 220 station. I
found the magic combination of Heath gear that does what I want it to and keeps me coming
back to the shack.
My feelings are why buy a HW when you can buy a better performing Heathkit like
the SB series?.  The perform much better in the vfo and reliability department.  They are
more reliable because the parts quality is a little bit better than the HW series.  Sounds
funny since they came from the same company but it's true.  Heathkit used a lower grade
of crystals for the HW's and makes them harder to align when they are long in the tooth.
The HW 101 vfo readout is not so hot compared to similar stuff.  The SB 101's is good
and the SB 102's is absolutely excellent. My sb 303 uses the SB 102 LMO and is within 1.5
khz end to end with only a worm screw adjustment to get it there.  Pretty good for a kit
radio (the LMO came assembled)
Another thing I have noticed about the HW's is that there were scads of them sold and some
of them went to people with less than adequate soldering skills.  It shows up mostly with the soldering on
the boards.  Not to say the SB's don't suffer, they do but not as much.  On the other hand
Heathkits are easy to fix compared to other marks.

Here's a thought for you:  Consider a SB 303 / SB 401 rig.  You get a sharp eared
solid state receiver and many are loaded with filters.  The SB 401 will transceive with it
even if the 401 has no crystals in it (except for the cw crystal) A crystaless 401 is typically
around $100 and has a stout power supply built in.  I paid $250 for my pair and am very
pleased with the performance.
Of course everyone's experience is different, some may disagree with my comments but hey, it's
cool.  The one thing I know for sure is my Heathkit station ain't going no where.  The Hw's have
been traded or sold or put out to pasture but I won't disrespect it, thousands of new hams have started
out with them and that says alot.
Hope this helps
Greg-WA7LYO
in sunny Feenix






"Freeberg, Scott (STP)" wrote:

> For some oddball reason I have a desire to buy an HW-100 or an HW-101 to actually use on the air.  I guess its a nostalgia thing and the desire to experience probably the most successful US transceiver ever made.
>
> I'm curious.  Does anyone on the list actually use an HW-100 or HW-101 on a regular basis?  What's it like on cw and ssb?   Thanks.  73 Scott WA9WFA
>
> WA9WFA Scott in Saint Paul Minnesota
> ARRL Life Member, CCA 962, AWA
> Licensed since 1967
> http://www.qsl.net/wa9wfa
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