KCØGXX Radio Gallery

These are my Heathkit rigs. These ones are CW (Morse code) only. Heathkit was a company that in the 50's and 60's produced tons of home electronic equiptment and were a real friend of the home-builder. They made test equipment as well as radios. Loads of these rigs were built and they too, make many a ham dream for the "good old days". I recently put my HW-16 on the air again after a long hiatus, and made several QSO's (contacts) in one night. It really sounded great! They really built these old rigs well! BTW, the Heath company still exists, but they no longer make kits for amateur radios. As with so many of these old "glow-bugs", there is TONS of information available as well as parts on the internet. Several people have sites just for this purpose! Old radio is NOT dead!

Heathkit HW-16

This next item is a VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) Heathkit made this as an option to several of its radios. Hw-16 and other radios were "rock-bound", which meant they could only transmit/receive on the frequency of the crystal that was installed. Look at the upper left hand corner on the HW-16. See the two "sockets"? That is where the crystals plug in. Most hams had several different crystals in several frequencies, but it was a real hassel to plug/unplug crystals and retune. The VFO pictured below makes it possible to select ANY frequency in a range of several hundred kilohertz, a real plus in those days. This particular unit could work on 2, 6, 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 meters. The HW-16 only operates on 15, 40, and 80 meters so it could only partially utilize the VFO. The VFO plugs directly into the Heath HW-16 (or whatever), and you then need to select the receiving frequency, then "zero beat" (match) the sending VFO frequency to the receiving frequency so you are sending on the same one you are receiving. (Actually offset a few hundred hertz so you can hear the tone.) Modern radios do this almost automatically. It takes some time and listening skills. As with the HW-16, it has a beautiful "glow" when plugged in!

Heathkit HG-10B VFO

Heathkit HW-8 "QRP"

"QRP" means "low power". This is my fun radio. It puts out maybe 2-3 watts, but really jams! I have had more fun with this rig! I've contacted hams from Washington on this rig. That's the state, not the city. The hams who had this radio before me modified it heavily. This was one of the most heavily modified rig built by Heathkit. My modifications include something called "Receiver Incremental Tuning" or RIT, which allows you to "offset" your receiving frequency a few hundred hertz or so so you can actually listen and transmit at "slightly" different frequencies. This allows you to work contests when there are several people trying to contact somebody at once and a "pileup" occurs. It sounds like hounds baying at a fox when it is a CW (morse code) contact! RIT allows you to "break" from the "pack" and maybe find the contact (bag the fox). It also has a neat "frequency announcer". Hit a button, and you hear the frequency announced in your headphones. The neatest modification is a KC1 keyer. It is loads of fun, and my first experience with anything except a "straight key" (traditional key) It uses something called a "paddle" that has "dits" on one side and "dahs" on the other. You move the center switch or "paddle" to touch a contact on the right for "dahs" and to the left for "dits". You can really jam on this thing. Cool beans!

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