[R-390] Radio Mart burned my @#$%$ again

[Tim Shoppa]

Grant NQ5T wrote:
> More than once I've been ready to close a deal at a 'fest, with money in
> hand, when somebody else walks up and 'snipes' my offer.  I didn't want to
> pay that much, and walked.  I did NOT get sick.  There's always another
> Excelsior 3500X with SSB mod and extra front panel holes, or whatever,
> somewhere.  And half the time when you finally get your hands on something
> you just knew you couldn't live without, you find out it isn't quite what it
> was cracked up to be, anyway :-)

Believe it or not, while I own some fancy-pants radios, the radio I've
had the very most fun with in the past year is a Heath HW-16. Going
price seems to be in the <$25 range. In my 30 years as a ham, I don't
think I've had as much fun as the HW-16 and a handful of crystals have
given me. It's a wonderfully simple CW transceiver, and has the best
QSK I've ever used on any radio - it really feels like I can hear the
band while my key is down. (Having a front end that can take the
final's output without even sneezing probably has a lot to do with it!)

Tim.