[Heathkit] Heathkit SB Essay.

Wed Jul 11 23:23:34 EDT 2007

I just have to add my 2 cents worth here as well.  I loved the Heathkits because they were affordable for me as a teenager and early adult.  They allowed me to get on the air affordably, with a more than adequate receiver and a transmitter that if anything went wrong, I could service.  I have, and regularly use the 301/401 series and accessories as well as the Mohawk/ Marauder/ Warrior series and I wouldn't trade them for anything. 

But, before I get off my soapbox, one more thing, I read and studied lots to get my general (35 years ago now) and quite honestly I learned more about electronics and construction from putting together my Heath station that all the study combined.

Add me to the list of grateful Heath assemblers and owners.

Dave, W8QW

-----Original Message-----
>From: "James M. Walker" <chejmw at acsu.buffalo.edu>
>Sent: Jul 11, 2007 10:10 PM
>To: heathkit at mailman.qth.net
>Subject: Re: [Heathkit] Heathkit SB Essay.
>
>Well I guess I will throw my two cents in here.
>
>This Essay seems like a serious case of 'Monday Quarterback' Syndrome.
>
>The object behind the SB series wasn't to make "THE BEST", but the most
>usable whether built from a kit or factory assembled. I have to say I have 
>"SB"
>gear here, and use it, and enjoy the capabilities they provide.
>
>I found that buying used kit type equipment came with its own unique 
>hazards,
>not the least of which, was indeed bad solder joints, or no solder on the 
>joint
>ever, making the unit intermittent at best. As for alignment problems I have 
>not
>experienced any so far, with the units I have. If you find that the parts 
>are not
>to your standards, the solution is simple, 'make new ones' , mass production
>is a subject unto itself, and I won't go into that here, but it was intended 
>to get
>amateurs that wanted a reasonably stable radio set into that capability. In 
>all the
>alignments I have done for these units, I don't remember ever reading that 
>to
>align it you will need a frequency counter, a signal generator with an 
>accuracy
>of 1 part in 10 to the 9th to accomplish said alignment.
>
>Nope they were made for fairly savvy folks that knew which end of the iron 
>is
>hot, were not color blind, and could follow instructions to accomplish a 
>task.
>They had abilities, that were theirs by right of earning/learning them. Sure 
>anyone
>can come along after the fact, and say this or that was a bad idea, but lets 
>see
>you put together a kit of that genre, make it functional, and low cost, 
>require a
>minimum of tools to assemble and align, for the same cost the folks at Heath 
>did
>and then produce so many of them, and sell them!
>
>I like my Heath gear from the DX-100 to the the SB-series, Salude Heathkit
>Engineers, on a job well done!
>Jim
>WB2FCN
>http://eshop1.chem.buffalo.edu
>
>"If you can't do it, don't complain about someone that can!"
>
>
>Subject: Re: [Heathkit] Heathkit SB Essay.
>
>
>> My goodness!  With that report I am really surprised they sold more then 
>> ten of anything!  Geez, I am going to start selling off my Heathkit 
>> collection (including an unbuilt SB220!)   Van, K7VS Medford,
>>
>>>I wrote this the other day, here is a fresh edit:
>>>
>>> On Heathkit SB's.
>>>
>>> The problem with Heathkit's SB transceivers isn't the soldering.
>>> That's an old-ham's saw.  It's not quite up there with the "Acid Core"
>>> urban legend, but it's close.
>>>
>>> While I have encountered poor solder jobs, I have only seen one
>>> problem that was clearly solder based and that was in a factory,
>>> machine-made part.
>>>
>>> The problem with Heath are the mechanicals.  The design is clever;
>>> the parts are mediocre; the mechanical build quality is generally
>>> horrible.
>>>
>>> A case in point is the LMO pinch drive and the tension on the rings.
>>> I've spent hours cleaning, polishing, and adjusting the drive and when 
>>> it's right, it's terrific.  It's light, smooth, precise, no backlash. I 
>>> have a Heath SB tuning knob with lead weights in it.  It's a perfect 
>>> match for the LMO drive.
>>>
>>> I had an SB pinchdrive shaft that was dragging. 35 years of corrosion 
>>> will do that to metal. I hand polished the shaft with 1200 grit, oiled 
>>> it, got it turning right in the brass sleeve.
>>>
>>> I carefully cleaned the LMO dial ring and tensioned the drive disks. Then 
>>> it takes several times of trial and error to get the disks on the right 
>>> part of the ring.
>>>
>>> Even when you have the pinch drive adjusted right, the 100 kHz
>>> indicator is off.  That's a 30 minute trial and error adjustment where
>>> 1/64 inch position shift of a piece of metal under a machine screw is
>>> amplified by an articulated arm.    After the fine tuning, you're
>>> fighting the play in stamped parts.
>>>
>>> Then there's the fiduciary on the LMO.  What's with that?
>>>
>>> Every fiduciary knob is corroded.  I polished one until it shines.
>>> It's still just a knob on a 1/8 inch shaft in a hole drilled in plastic, 
>>> no fore-aft stop, driving a piece of wobbly plastic with friction.  The 
>>> plastic hairline may have chips on the edge.  Nothing you can do about 
>>> that.
>>>
>>> Another problem with Heath are the thin skirts on the knobs.  The
>>> skirts could be thicker and more precise.  When I put the knobs back
>>> on a Heath, I use a feeler gauge to space the skirt from the front
>>> panel. 1/8th inch is about right. That's after I find the low spot on the 
>>> skirt.
>>>
>>> This is after I clean the dirt out of the knob flutes with a wood 
>>> toothpick and polish the plastic with a silk cloth.
>>>
>>> The bezel on the SB's should be more like Collins.  That was a bad
>>> place for Heath to cut corners. A thick solid bezel would give the
>>> fiduciary's drive shaft more bearing surface.
>>>
>>> How did Heath get the bezels on the DX-60 and the HW-16 so right and
>>> the SB so wrong?
>>>
>>> The phenolic circuit boards are mediocre.  The design is fine.  Thick
>>> FR4 glass epoxy would have made the Heath's much better.
>>>
>>> On sheer performance, the Heath's are up there. The 6HS6 (or FETs in the 
>>> SB-303)) give .25 microvolt sensitivity. Hot receivers, 6 pole
>>> crystal filters, rock-stable, 1 kHz readout, etc. Transceiver slaved to a 
>>> full Receiver. Drake and Halli couldn't do that well until they went 
>>> digital.
>>>
>>> de ah6gi/4
>
>
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