On Jul 8, 8:29 pm, Doug wrote:


What do you mean by "What a thing to consider"???

I mean, "BEST Tube-Type Transceiver" is a strange and difficult
consideration. It's the topic of this thread.

The problem with Heathkit's SB transceivers isn't the soldering.
That's an old-ham's saw. It's not quite up there with the "Acid Core"
urban legend, but it's close.

While I have encountered poor solder jobs, I have only seen one
problem that was clearly solder based and that was in a factory,
machine-made part.

The problem with Heath are the mechanicals. The design is clever;
the parts are mediocre; the mechanical build quality is generally
horrible.

A case in point is the LMO pinch drive and the tension on the rings.
I've spent hours cleaning and adjusting the drive and when it's right,
it's terrific. It's light, smooth, precise, no backlash. I have a
Heath SB tuning knob with lead weights in it. It's a perfect match
for the LMO drive.

Even when you have the pinch drive adjusted right, the 100 kHz
indicator is off. That's a 30 minute trial and error adjustment where
1/64 inch position shift of a piece of metal under a machine screw is
amplified by an articulated arm. After the fine tuning, you're
fighting the play in stamped parts.

Then there's the fiduciary on the LMO. What's with that?

Every fiduciary knob is corroded. I polished one until it shines.
It's still a knob on a 1/8 inch shaft in a hole drilled in plastic, no
fore-aft stop, driving a piece of wobbly plastic with friction.

Another problem with Heath are the thin skirts on the knobs. The
skirts could be thicker and more precise. When I put the knobs back
on a Heath, I use a feeler gauge to space the skirt from the front
panel. That's after I find the low spot on the skirt.

The bezel on the SB's should be more like Collins. That was a bad
place for Heath to cut corners. A thick solid bezel would give the
fiduciary's drive shaft more bearing surface.

How did they get the bezels on the DX-60 and the HW-16 so right and
the SB so wrong?

The phenolic circuit boards are mediocre. The design is fine. Thick
FR4 glass epoxy would have made the Heath's much better.

On sheer performance, the Heath's are up there. Hot receivers, 6 pole
crystal filters, stable, 1 kHz readout, etc. Drake and Halli didn't do
that until they went digital.

-C