Fw: RE: [Heathkit] Good idea...really!

[windy10605 at juno.com]

I haven't "reverse kitted" a Heathkit but I have taken several SB/HW-10x
units apart. Sometimes you find one which is extremely well built, no
excess solder and flux, wires routed well, etc. Those I repair and use.
However, it is amazing how many times I've found unsoldered connections,
arcing points, actual burn marks, wires with insulation burned off
(soldering iron), broken switch decks, loose board ground screws, wrong
tubes, shorts, etc as part of the disassembly process. When I have
checked boards closely, I've found missing components and wrong value
components. You always have to keep that in mind when repairing a kit
.....you never know for sure if it EVER worked correctly. When built
right, and with good components, Heathkits are great. 

Used to think that seeing a late Heathkit service sticker was a GOOD sign
...."at least it was sent to the factory where it received all the latest
mandatory upgrades and was working correctly at one time" was my
thinking. Not so, I came across a HW-101 with FOUR factory repair
stickers ......what a dog.  So now I've changed my thinking to
..........seeing a late Heathkit service sticker is a good sign if there
is only ONE. 

Good to hear about rebuilding the Apache ....what a project, what a rig.

73 Kees K5BCQ

 
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Joe Filice" <jpf at photon.com>
To: <Heathkit at mailman.qth.net>
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:49:53 -0700
Subject: RE: [Heathkit] Good idea...really!
Message-ID: <53D50E71E9894C49BC3B9F9650C049DA011692D7 at tyros.photon.com>
 
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
 
 
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