True that the Sig Forum is a very diverse knowledgeable of folks ... !

When I posted this thread I thought it would be that the topic was older than an old dino (-saur) like myself ... but I was so wrong.

Tons of tips here. Agree with the replacing of the capacitors. I actually did not think of that.

The kit that I got is mostly plug in parts with a few ( I think ) solder parts. I will post a pic in the next couple days of exactly what I got in the box.

Gonna be fun winter project. Thanks for all the help.

Looking forward to a road trip to South Dakota. The wife has been talking for months now about buying a place with acreage.

I think you may find a bit more soldering than you think. (pictures are not of mine)

https://www.hamradioqrp.com/20...101-lives-again.html

http://radioremembered.org/HW-101.html

Thank goodness I am not a stranger to soldering ... everything from copper water pipes to circuit boards.

Note my earlier rig picture showed the Heath HP-23C power supply on the right side. The meter shows only a bit over 300 hours use but like in the youtube video above, it should have all the caps, etc. replaced before use.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
Note my earlier rig picture showed the Heath HP-23C power supply on the right side. The meter shows only a bit over 300 hours use but like in the youtube video above, it should have all the caps, etc. replaced before use.

Coy "sir".

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Looking for knowledgeable minds to enlighten me.

First off, unbuilt Heathkits are a real treasure. It's like finding an unfired S&W revolver from that era. seriously.

second. toss the capacitors and find a recap kit or just order new caps from Mouser.

Tubes should be easy to find (still) and knobs are easy if you don't care about getting the original knob set.

This is good advice. I don't know a thing about radios, but I do have guitar amps from the same era, and the caps drift a lot. I'd replace them all. They are pretty cheap, for the most part.

jhe888 ... interesting you say this about guitar amps. I have an old amp from the 70s from my grandfather (with an electric accordiam). I will get the make and model and share here in this thread ... maybe I need to do the same to this amp too.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
second. toss the capacitors and find a recap kit or just order new caps from Mouser.

This, in spades. Once you have the kit assembled and on the air, you really, really want it to STAY assembled and on the air.

All of their projects were a blast, even for a relatively dumb kid like me (just old enough to remember their full line, and their demise.)

Thanks for all the great comments to get me going in the right direction. I have saved the mouser.com website ... really appreciate it.

quote:

my belt line is up just below my nipples

As long as it doesn't push the spudgers and colored pencils out of your pocket protector.

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
jhe888 ... interesting you say this about guitar amps. I have an old amp from the 70s from my grandfather (with an electric accordiam). I will get the make and model and share here in this thread ... maybe I need to do the same to this amp too.

Old Dino, you probably know this, but for anyone else: Electrolytic caps in particular, with their gel and liquid electrolytes, degrade over time. They often need to be replaced as the decades go by. In guitar amps, these are the big, can-shaped, caps that filter the power and pass signals from one section of the amp to another. Some of the big can caps in an amp are actually several capacitors in one housing.

Don't screw with them unless you know what you are doing. They can store enough electricity to hurt or kill you even if the amp is not plugged in.

The film or ceramic capacitors are more stable over time.

My 50 year old Fender Princeton is probably due for a re-cap. It works and sounds okay, but sometimes you don't notice the slippage in tone as it happens slowly.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
jhe888 ... interesting you say this about guitar amps. I have an old amp from the 70s from my grandfather (with an electric accordiam). I will get the make and model and share here in this thread ... maybe I need to do the same to this amp too.

Old Dino, you probably know this, but for anyone else: Electrolytic caps in particular, with their gel and liquid electrolytes, degrade over time. They often need to be replaced as the decades go by. In guitar amps, these are the big, can-shaped, caps that filter the power and pass signals from one section of the amp to another. Some of the big can caps in an amp are actually several capacitors in one housing.

Don't screw with them unless you know what you are doing. They can store enough electricity to hurt or kill you even if the amp is not plugged in.

The film or ceramic capacitors are more stable over time.

My 50 year old Fender Princeton is probably due for a re-cap. It works and sounds okay, but sometimes you don't notice the slippage in tone as it happens slowly.

I did know about capacitors storing electricity and being dangerous ... and thought about this with both the HW-101 and the guitar amp.

Do not have any experience working with changing capacitors. Since the guitar amp has been plugged in probably at least 10 years ago, I should probably leave that up to someone with the experience.

Since the HW-101 has not ever been put together nor plugged it ... would I be safe changing those out ?

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
jhe888 ... interesting you say this about guitar amps. I have an old amp from the 70s from my grandfather (with an electric accordiam). I will get the make and model and share here in this thread ... maybe I need to do the same to this amp too.

Old Dino, you probably know this, but for anyone else: Electrolytic caps in particular, with their gel and liquid electrolytes, degrade over time. They often need to be replaced as the decades go by. In guitar amps, these are the big, can-shaped, caps that filter the power and pass signals from one section of the amp to another. Some of the big can caps in an amp are actually several capacitors in one housing.

Don't screw with them unless you know what you are doing. They can store enough electricity to hurt or kill you even if the amp is not plugged in.

The film or ceramic capacitors are more stable over time.

My 50 year old Fender Princeton is probably due for a re-cap. It works and sounds okay, but sometimes you don't notice the slippage in tone as it happens slowly.

I did know about capacitors storing electricity and being dangerous ... and thought about this with both the HW-101 and the guitar amp.

Do not have any experience working with changing capacitors. Since the guitar amp has been plugged in probably at least 10 years ago, I should probably leave that up to someone with the experience.

Since the HW-101 has not ever been put together nor plugged it ... would I be safe changing those out ?

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

I think the caps in the radio, having never been in a circuit are, fine.

For that matter, the caps in the amp, not having been charged recently may have discharged on their own, but I'd still discharge them safely. I wouldn't discharge a big one by shorting the leads with an insulated screwdriver, but I'd get or make a discharge tool. That is basically two probes with some resistors between them. Google for instructions, as you are now exceeding my knowledge.

What kind of amp is it?

There is zero chance of a capacitor in a circuit that hasn't been plugged in for years carrying a dangerous charge. In many circuits, even a few minutes is plenty of time for the charge in a capacitor to fully dissipate, but especially in vacuum tube electronics, this is a place where something like the "treat every gun as if it is loaded" rule is not inappropriate.

Most consumer solid state electronics have operating voltages under 12V, many under 5V. At those voltages, a charged capacitor can give you a burn, but unless you're sticking the leads through your skin, they aren't really dangerous. Some things, like audio amplifiers that can put out a lot of power, can go up to maybe 50V, which is where there starts to be some danger.

Vacuum tube circuits are a whole different animal. I'm not sure about the power supply details of the Heathkit HW-101, but lots of vacuum tube audio and instrument amplifiers have big honking power supply capacitors that operate at 250VDC or more. They can be pretty dangerous in a way that you just don't get in most solid state electronics.

You also have to be very careful about having them plugged in with the chassis open. Transformers putting out 500VAC are not uncommon.

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:

I have built numerous computers from the chassis up since the late 80s. I am confident I can handle this project.

Have a band-aid holding the bridge of my glasses together and my belt line is up just below my nipples.

Am golden.

Not that it adds anything to this thread, but one of my brothers worked for Heath for several years in the 60's and early 70's after he got out of the Air Force.

PHPaul ... that is cool ! I remember growing up in the 60s and seeing Heath kits in catalogues so am familiar with their products. One of the reasons I threw my hat in the ring on Nextdoor getting this kit for free.

I am not a stranger to working with electricity and have a great respect. I wired my own house back in the 80s with 400 amp service. Recently when upgrading wiring and breaker on my daughter's house I wore natural rubber latex Class 0 insulating gloves since I was working alone in the panel. Better safe than sorry.

I feel confident enough testing and discharging a capacitor, just have not done it before. I have the right tools to do so. Also have been reading up making sure capacitor is less than 10v.

I've got a HW 101 and converted the 20 meter band to 30 meters.

I've had it for a long, long time. Great little radios for QRP enthusiasts like me.

I used to look over their catalog when I was younger. I love Heathkit and always wanted a set of anything from Heathkit. You should be able to get universal replacement knobs and tubes online. Please share and display your creation when you have completed it !!! God Bless !!!

quote:

Originally posted by VBVAGUY:
I used to look over their catalog when I was younger. I love Heathkit and always wanted a set of anything from Heathkit. You should be able to get universal replacement knobs and tubes online. Please share and display your creation when you have completed it !!! God Bless !!!

I will try today to post pics of the components that I have and will be installing, Maybe some of you all will notice what is missing and needed.

Looking at the kit I need 20 vacuum tubes ... could be a bit pricey but then again some hobbies are worth it.

I did send a note to the folks that gave me the kit if they happened to find any vacuum tubes too. Hopefully that will help out, if not, then will figure out which ones I need and buy. Did not see any vacuum tubes on mouser.com
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