[Johnson] Is the Johnson Viking II better than Heathkit DX 100 ?

[GALE STEWARD]

As I recall, the Viking I and II were available as a
kit or factory wired. I'd have to check some of the
adds in an old ARRL handbook or QST to be sure. I had
a factory wired Viking II from about 1965 to 72. It
was a beautiful radio! I sold it around 1972 (dummy!).
There were guys that could wire a Heathkit DX-100 and
it would look as nice as a factory wired job but there
were a lot that couldn't. I've seen some that were a
real mess!

73, Stew K3ND



--- "Todd, KA1KAQ" <ka1kaq at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 7/15/05, Sherrill Watkins
> <Sherrill.Watkins at dgs.virginia.gov> wrote:
> > Gentlemen: I would like to offer my observations
> on this subject. While I
> > have never owned a DX-100, <snip> To repeat
> myself,
> > this is just SPECULATION on my part as I have not
> seen any tests performed in
> > this area. - 73's - Sherrill W. k4own.
> 
> I think you're pretty much on the money, and
> probably no one would
> argue that overall quality of Johnson vs. Heathkit
> falls in favor of
> the E.F. Johnson gear.
> 
> What we're basically doing is looking at some 1950s
> radio gear through
> 2005 eyes, with the intervening years of testing,
> experience, and
> modifications on our side. If we put ourselves back
> into that time
> frame, we'd see that makers like Heath and WRL sold
> a lot of cheaper,
> lesser build-quality gear despite their limitations.
> 
> Example: the Viking II needed a separate VFO, the
> DX-100 did not. This
> means additional expense to a ham who probably
> didn't have the extra
> money to throw around or he'd be buying Collins or
> some other
> whizbang, feature-filled box. Limited funds, maybe
> limited space, the
> all-in-one-cabinet DX-100 would probably win out.
> Better audio out of
> the box, too. As someone said, people have their
> favorites, and both
> rigs have their pros and cons. "Better" is a lot
> like the truth; views
> vary on both. Facts are a different matter, of
> course.
> 
> Johnson gear was, without a doubt, some of the best.
> If you check
> inside the bigger Collins transmitters, you'll find
> Johnson air
> variables as well as other EFJ parts included.
> Heathkit was some of
> the cheapest gear available and quite popular for
> that reason alone.
> Despite being cheap some of it actually worked
> pretty well, too. Same
> with Leo's WRL gear. I wasn't around then for the
> Golden Age of ham
> radio, but I've read a lot and talked with many,
> many hams who used
> the gear. I've owned a Viking II w/VFO and a
> DX-100B, neither of which
> I ever got on the air. The Viking was with N1HUT
> last I knew, maybe he
> took it to KL7 land with him. Sold the 100B at a
> hamfest, the Emerald
> green paint job certainly didn't help its cause.
> Yes, the Johnson
> transmitter was better built.
> 
> BTW, I'm still looking for the top wooden trim piece
> for the Desk KW,
> the part that sits inside on the top panel and holds
> the cover in
> place. Anyone have a spare kicking around?
> 
> de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ
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