[Heathkit] Any SB-102 Experts out there?

[Alex]

Hi Grant,

>1.  The S-Meter won't zero.  I know there are some resistors to check, etc.
>and hopefully that will be relatively easy to rectify.  Swapped out V3/V4
>with a couple of other tubes, to no effect.  I was surprised that this
>immediately obvious problem hadn't been noticed and fixed.

I have an HW-101 with exactly the same issue. Checked and replaced resistors (with higher power handling capability), including the one suggested by someone else on this list, all to no avail. I swapped tubes around in the rig (I don't have spare tubes), but that didn't help. After many hours of checking I concluded that the rig has some leaky tubes. Since the rig performs great in any other aspect, I've decided to ignore the issue and just enjoy it until I can get some new tubes. Studying the schematic, especially the AVC circuit, I realized it's not just the two tubes mentioned most often that can cause a drifting S-meter. Every time I transmit it takes 15 minutes for the meter to drop to zero. I can live with that. :-)

>2.  The receive and transmit audio are just a bit "rough around the edges".
>I don't know how else to describe it.

I had the same impression on SSB and I chalked it up to the fact that I have never owened a rig with crystal filters before. Maybe you can make an audio recording and post it somewhere for us to listen?

73,
--Alex KR1ST
http://www.kr1st.com