[Heathkit] Good idea...really!

[Joe Filice]

I've "reverse kitted" several Heathkits too.  I possibly took it to a
ridiculous extreme when I did it to an Apache transmitter.  I worked on
disassembling it a little at a time over about a two year period.  I
took it completely apart, down to the last solder lug.  Then built it
back up with new components where it made sense.  It works great, though
I've only run it into a dummy load.  I hope to have it on the air in a
month or two.  

The thing is, every time I do this to a Heathkit, they work perfectly
when I'm finished.  And it's a lot of fun.  Sometimes you get a nice
looking unit, which was well built by the original kit builder, but has
problems.  It can be quite difficult (not to mention frustrating) to
chase all the problems down.  "Reverse kitting" takes all the thinking
out of debugging.  It's the brain-dead way to fix your Heathkits!

I'm currently working on a Mohican.  Actually two Mohicans which have
enough parts between them to make one good receiver.

Joe, KQ6GL