I had time to spend in the shack today, and several hours ago I turned on the old Heathkit HW-16 transceiver. I let it warm up a good while, hoping it would work! I hadn't had the old rig on for … months? How many? …. Geez, I dunno, its been a quite a while.
I haven't operated the HW-16 for a while, and to be honest, I wasn't sure the old girl was still in shape. Talk about a study in contrasts! Right below the HW-16 is my Yaesu FT-2000, My IC-706 and my FT-450. A span of technology of about 40 years!
I'm running the HW-16 with my Datong FL-3 multimode filter, and that filter really makes the rig competitive during busy band conditions.
I had been tuning across 40 cw with the FT-2000 and heard a number of stations in the old Novice band segment. I took the HW-16 through the same area and found WD1J calling CQ. I had to remember the proper procedure for tuning the HW-16 to make sure I was on the right side of zero beat with the receiver, and then get the HG-10 VFO spotted correctly. The spotting signal from the VFO sounded shakey and warblely, so i rotated the bandswitch through its full range about eight times. That seemed to help.
Tuning the HW-16 is a pip: There's only one adjustment, and that's the “Tune” control. You can adjust the power level if you wish, but the HW-16 is only getting about 35 watts out anyway. The final tube may be soft, it allegedly is 90 watts input, so I should see about 40-60 out, depending on the efficiency. I figure 60 percent efficiency would be good.
I called WD1J, and he came right back, giving me a 599 report. He was about the same (its hard to tell since there's no S-meter), with a little QSB. He was running an Icom IC-756PRO and a ground-mounted vertical. I was running my Vibroplex Lightning Bug DeLuxe on the desk for the key.
We had a nice QSO, the HW-16 ran strong and solid. There was a guy who tuned up nearly on top of us, and it made sending a little tough because his signal was mixing with my sidetone and confusing my ears. I enjoyed the ragchew a lot, and using the HW-16 was a nice bit of nostalgia. I'm going to have to fire up the rig a little more often.
I also have my Hallicrafters FPM-300 here in the shack, and I have operated on both CW and SSB. I have a D-104 to use with it, and it gets pretty good reports when I use it. Like any tube/hybrid rig, it takes some warm-up time.
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I think the nostalgia bug has bitten again. I have that Hammarlund HQ-110 and speaker that needs repair (most likely a bad tube). I also need to clean up the shack and put my Hallicrafters SX-101A on a table and enjoy it. I also have an NC-300 National receiver that I've not setup either. I have to make some room first.
Enough nostalgia. More to come …