Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 — After my family’s Christmas party yesterday, I had time for 
some down time in the shack while everyone else was sleeping off turkey and ham. I ran across my Heathkit HD-8999 Ultra Pro CW keyboard that I picked up on eBay sometime ago but hadn’t really put through its paces.
The problem was that the keyboard did not come with a power cord, and it uses a two-pin molex connector on the keyboard, which isn’t exactly a common connector you can pick up at the Dollar Store these days. I don’t even know if I could still find it at Radio Shack. I ordered one from eBay, but have never connected it to anything. Last night I had time to complete the connector and try it out.
The HD-8999’s power requirements are something like 11-16 vdc as well as some variety of AC voltage. It’s handy, but I intended to run it on 12vdc. Once I assembled the connector, I connected it and turned it on … no smoke and the display lit up. But where was the sidetone? Turned the volume up all the way, still nothing but clicks. Clicks? Just electronically created keyboard clicks, no indication of CW. :/
It took a little experimentation and more than a little muttered profanity before I realized the CW sidetone had to be selected. It’s funny, but the tactile feel of the keyboard reminds me a great deal of the Commodore 64. The key action is … chunky. It takes a good deal of finger action to fully engage each key, at least compared to the keyboard I’m using now, an IBM Thinkpad laptop.
The HD-8999 played perfectly, though I don’t have a cable yet to connect it to a rig. I’m not sure when I’ll try it on the air, I still prefer my bugs. Why buy the thing then? Good question! I have wanted one since I saw them advertised new in the Heathkit catalog all those years ago. I guess this is an extension of my retro-Heathkit fetish that began with my purchase earlier this fall of the Heathkit active audio filter for use with my BC-348Q. I have really put the filter to good use, and find it a valuable addition to my library listening post.
MORE WINTER PROJECTS. I have several other winter projects that I want to address; I have a Drake TR-7 I haven’t put on the air yet, and plan to do that. And as goofy as it sounds, I would like to pair my Hallicrafters HT-18 transmitter with my BC-348 receiver. Might make a good Straight Key Night project, eh?
Another winter project is my antenna here at my library listening post. I would like to extend it another 75 feet to the end of the barn. The antenna will be an end-fed longwire … not ideal, but it’ll work. I also have my FT-817 here at my listening post as well. I would like to work some CW on 80 and 40 in the evenings.
I also have a fairly nice Hammarlund HQ-129X that I would like put in the place of the Hallicrafters SX-130 now on my bookshelf. That may give way to the Drake TR-7, but we’ll see how all of that shakes out.
In the meantime, I have turkey and ham to eat, and plans to make.
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