HW-16 WTB PLASTIC TUNING DIAL

[W6PJJ]

Greetings:

I have a Heath-Kit HW-16 that has a flat spot on the Plastic Frequency Tuning Dial and when the dial reaches this area it stops. I am looking for a replacement. My first choice is one that is in Excellent Condx. Second choice is one that has been removed from a Transmitter/Receiver unit and is in very good condition. If you have such an animal or know where I might appropriate one... please contact me at ( donrighello@comcast.net ). Thanks for looking at my WTB Post.

[N4NYY]

Can you post a pic? Maybe someone can give you an alternative solution.

[KB4QAA]

Have you considered gluing in some plastic or wood sheet, or building up the flat spot?  Model aircraft materials might be useful.

[W6PJJ]

Greetings:

And thanks for the quick responses. Yes I have considered purchasing a flat thin piece of plastic from our local Plastic Supplier Tap Plastics. However, I would prefer to locate an original and keep the HW-16 factory original. We will see if we can locate one. Maybe someone will give me some alternate URLs where I may find what I am looking for.

TNX AGN,

Don
W6PJJ
 

[W6PJJ]

Can you post a pic? Maybe someone can give you an alternative solution.

I have considered this... I could purchase some thin but very strong plastic that I can glue behind the present tuning dial. I may go that route if I cannot locate an original. The HW-16 is Factory original and we hope to keep it that way if possible.

Thanks for your reply,

Don-W6PJJ
 

[N4NYY]

Post one if you can, just to see if we can offer any advice.

[W6PJJ]

Well, Well. that would mean that I lug the D3 down stairs and actually photograph this plastic failure. Every time I look into this rig I wonder what they called the guy that Engineered that mechanism. A direct drive from the Tuning Capacitor to the front panel knob would have solved many headaches Oh! but, then a low gear drive would be necessary to spin that large plastic dial slowly enough to tune in a station without screaming past it's operating frequency. I may do this but, I dare change a factory rig that is Stock... especially if I want to sell it one day I have the matching VFO too and have used the rig many times but old plastic gets hard with age. Too bad we would not have the same problem. I will try and post several images tonight. I think the D3 will do much better with the 105Macro lens hanging under its nose providing some real closeups of the problem. I'm actually motivated now and will grab the Camera Gear and Speed Light and head for the work bench in a cold garage.

[W6PJJ]

Greetings N4NYY:

I took a few shots... But after I got through with the original message I looked for a way to download the JPG file or paste an Image here but to no avail. I must search the help menu's and see if I can locate the method for inserting a photograph in the Text. This is the first Site I have been on where the insert function was not visible near the Message Function Icons. ?? I even tried a direct drop and paste and no luck.

[N4NYY]

Oh, I should have mentioned. You can upload the pictures to a photo server website (free) like Photobucket. I use Photobucket all the time, and have gotten considerable help after pics were posted, especially from AC5UP. Pictures speak 1,000 words. Nice thing is you do not have to convert them or anything. Just upload from the camera.

[N2EY]

The reason the dial was done that way is to save money. The HW-16 sold for $99.95 in the late 1960s, and if you add up the price of all the parts in the thing it's pretty amazing that Heath could meet that price point.

IIRC, the HW-16 has 9 tubes, several SS diodes (back when they weren't cheap), six crystals, two variable capacitors, a meter, a chassis and cabinet, a PC board, a band switch, a complete power supply, and more.

Here's what I'd do:

1) Get a piece of thin plastic that is as much like the original dial as possible.

2) Remove the original dial carefully.

3) Scan it into your computer using a 3-in-1 printer, flatbed scanner, etc. Play with the settings until you get it really nice. Might have to touch it up with Paint or similar software. Be sure the various holes show up in the scan.

4) Get some clear or translucent adhesive "paper" that the printer can print on.

5) Print the scan onto it. (Do a couple of dry runs on paper to be sure the scale is exactly 1:1 and the color is right.)

6) Adhere the print onto the new plastic.

7) (This is the hard part) Cut out the new dial and drill the holes.

Install the new dial and put the old one in a safe place.

You now have an exact replica dial without making any unreversible mods.

----

Now, if you're REALLY looking for a project:

Draw a new dial scale using Autocad or similar software. Adjust the calibration marks to match your particular HW-16.

73 de Jim, N2EY

[W6PJJ]

Jim, N2EY:

Well that was quite a dissertation on the HW-16. TNX for the rapid reply. I have considered all manner of mods, remakes etc. I have a plastic outlet and specialty shop TAP Plastics here in Sacramento, CA. They have all sorts of plastic... I use them for Delrin and Teflon when making plate and parasitic chokes and pieces for 1,296MHz Liners. Great place to hang out while all sorts of plastic fall into your basket. As you know by my original post the #1. is a Factory Original maybe from a unit that was never assembled. After that, I engage the brain and do some of the things you suggested. I can scan and use the Mac with Photoshop and make a dial on a thin lexan plastic but getting the real McCoy is still on my wish list. Thanks for the suggestions... in fact, you might want to take on some Kit Manual design and text, you seem very knowledgable and organized. 

[W6PJJ]

Oh, I should have mentioned. You can upload the pictures to a photo server website (free) like Photobucket. I use Photobucket all the time, and have gotten considerable help after pics were posted, especially from AC5UP. Pictures speak 1,000 words. Nice thing is you do not have to convert them or anything. Just upload from the camera.

About the uploading images. If I cannot open a task like uploading a file activated by a Icon... I don't take the time to jump through hoops. I belong to several Professional and Non-Professional Photography Sites,  in my spare time I work Professionally in Graphic Arts and Photography. Computers were designed and built to make life easier and be able to perform tasks quickly with a interactive interface. Somewhere we inserted a link called the Webmaster... they give you some frills but get in the way of speed and system management. If I have to go here.. then go there and waste time I usually choose the Time Value Mode. Linking to images is done often usually because the Site servers and driver applications are not capable of managing large chunks of Image Data, so they hand off images from URL's that have a very small skill set... they offer files, repositories have their place but offer little more than File management, they are actually a Web Drive of sorts. 

[N2EY]

Well that was quite a dissertation on the HW-16. ..... As you know by my original post the #1. is a Factory Original maybe from a unit that was never assembled.

Thanks for the kind words!

The reason I posted all that was because the chances of finding an unbuilt HW-16 are very, very small. And if one is found, the selling price will be very high, and the owner won't want to part it out.

Unbuilt Heathkits do surface once in a while. Some years back, in the early days of eBay, an unbuilt 1956 AT-1 appeared. It went for $5100. That's not a typo!

ISTM that the best approach is to keep an eye out for a parts-unit HW-16 - one that's too far gone to restore, and use a homemade dial until one shows up. I think it's OK to mod the '16 as long as the mod is reversible.

Three HW-16 mods I have seen work well:

1) Replace the 2 xtal filter with a 4 xtal CW filter from an HW-101 or SB-101. Mount it on a bracket so there are no new holes.

2) Add a gain control for the sidetone

3) Convert the 15 meter position to 20 meters. This has been in QST at least 3 times. Main problem is finding a 19.545 MHz heterodyne xtal. Can be done so that it is totally reversible, but all the HW-16s I have encountered were not very good performers on 15 anyway.

Still more:

It is possible to use a 6DQ6 instead of the 6GE5 final, by changing the socket. I did this years ago rather than shell out cash for a new tube when I had a bunch of good 6DQ6s. Converted it back, too.

And one last idea (I have not tried this, nor known anyone who has, but I see no real problem with it:

When the HW-16 was designed, the 250 kHz tuning range made sense because of where the Novice bands were. Nowadays, however, the non-phone parts of the bands are much narrower, and a much narrower tuning range (150 kHz) would be fine.

The tuning rate of the stock HW-16 is 25 kHz per turn, which is rather fast IMHO. By a judicious use of series and parallel capacitors, it could be reduced to 150 or even 125 kHz, giving a tuning rate that's about half of the stock version - a big improvement, I think, and totally reversible. Such a mod requires a new dial, of course, but if you're making a new dial anyway....

73 de Jim, N2EY

[W6PJJ]

N2EY:

In this World we probably do not receive all the Kudos we deserve. I know I complemented you on your writing form but I did not really see how good a writer you are because I used the old College Fast Scan method of reading your response. If you are not already in the business of writing you may want to consider this. I love writing... always have and more than reading. On most Sites finding someone who knows how to describe in detail is a lost Art. I learned how to write in Catholic School, if you made mistakes you received the ruler. I learned very quickly but was always interested in telling or writing stories. I choose Engineering but have done my fair share of writing.. Just thought I would pass along a Kudos, I expect you can do real well with stories.

[N4NYY]

Jim is a master homebrewer and would now all fixes for problems like these. But I would still like to see a pic, as I think it would help, you, I, and other find an alternative solution if we ever come across it. Half the solution I get for restorations come from people here on this board.