American QRP CW Classic! Heathkit HW8

Heathkit HW8 found on a VK3 Hamfest table. Clean and well kept but modded and receiver dead. Can it be fixed? And is it a gem or a dog?

[@PapasDino]

Great little rig...I've added quite a few mods and upgrades to mine. KC9ON at 3rd Planet Solar has a number of upgrade kits available. TNX for sharing! 73 - Dino KLØS

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Hi Dino, thanks for appreciating the HW8. It is such a classic little rig. In the short time I have owned it I did discover the KC9ON content. 72, 73 Paul VK3HN.

[@OleJoe]

I built one of these back in about 1979 or 80. Wish I still had it. I sold it to another ham for $50 in about 1982.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

I can understand selling old radios, they go through a stage where they are considered old and superceded, which they are. But eventually, if they are well enough made, they come back as people get older. It's all about nostalgia for one's youth!

[@ianliston-smith7921]

Great little rigs. They don't compare to simple modern rigs, but with a few minor mods to reduce noise and increase stability they are a whole lot of fun.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Yes they are nostalgic and fun. But crude! It takes me back! The DX Bands have been firing up in the last few months, I worked Italy last weekend on 5 watts, I wonder how far the HW8 2 watts would get under these conditions. 72!

[@loughkb]

Way back in the early 1980's, I had just obtained my novice license at the age of 16. My dad gifted me an HW-8 for Christmas and I spent two solid days at my little work bench putting it together. I made many mods to mine as well. I used the then new LM386 audio amp in mine for an internal speaker. I lived in Michigan here in the U.S., and made a contact all the way over in Hawaii on 15 meters. Over 4000 miles with the 1.5 watts it put out on that band. Loved the little rig, wish I'd kept it.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Thanks for telling your story Kevin. HW8 would have been a great choice foe novice hams back then. It would have taught you so much of what you needed to know to build and operate a simple station. The 1.5 watts seems small but maybe back then with a fair to good antenna it was enough. 73 and good luck to you.

[@alainbibi0047]

9:43 Thanks a lot for this important (fondamental) precision. 73

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Best to be honest in reviews.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

Nice. We shall forgive you for drilling further holes on the back panel 😁. These are nice rigs. I know if I spotted one at a hamfest, it would be hard to resist. DC receiver sounds good. Thanks for sharing.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Thanks Steve, I had never seen one till that day, so it was not something I was expecting to see, they are not common here. It's basic but highly useable. 72!

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

I have an HW-7 and an HW-8. Concerning audio- I use a computer speaker with a built-in amplifier for more than enough audio. Thanks for a fine review. de W8YI

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Thanks Jeffry. Yes and external powered speaker, such as the ones used with iPods, is an excellent solution.

[@EC5ABG]

Un gran clásico!!, siempre deseé tener uno,muy bueno. 73.👍

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Yes, un grand classico indeed! Thanks for commenting and long live the HW8!

[@andrewd4890]

Very neat rig, the original builder of this kit did a great job assembling the PCB. The mods were done well too. I’d keep it too! 73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Hello and thanks Andrew. I realised after publishing the video that I didn't even mention a significant mod whic is fully enclosed inside the PCB box on the right side panel, it's a 21MHz receive preamp, for more 15m receiver PEP. I plan to take this to a drive-up summit sometime and see how if performs on the higher bands. 72 VK3HN.

[@TheArtofEngineering]

A thing of beauty!

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Yes it is, if you have that kind of eye. It has classic features and it's nice and small which gives it the 'cute' factor.

[@janetwinslow2039]

There's a good S-meter mod with adjustable sensitivity (so you can set it at say 4.5 for 50uV/S9) by G4JQT.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Thanks for that suggestion, I'll look at it, probably well worthwhile.

[@georgealbertacanadaeh1038]

I have one of these but in no comparable condition as this unit shown in the video. I powered it and it worked great for about an hour then just died. I have been checking voltages as it came with the original kit book and schematic but cannot find any problems at this time. The PCB is very dirty, transistor legs look rusty, I may have to rebuild if I can't find the problem. If you have any suggestions or directions I would appreciate it. Thanks for your video was relly good! George from Alberta Canada.

[@Paul_VK3HN]

Hello George, good that you have one but not so good that it has not been stored well. All I can suggest is that you trace first an audio signal, then an RF signal from the speaker back. That way you will isolate the fault. Its bad condition may be an ongoing problem. I would drop a note into this group, there are 350 members so you will find the expertise there! groups.io/g/HW8