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| Reviews Summary for Heathkit HW-99 |
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Reviews: 1
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Average rating: 2.0/5
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MSRP: $299.95
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Description: Four Band (80-40-15-10 Meter) 50-watt CW-only transceiver, offered in kit form from 1985-1986, had built-in power supply for 120 VAC
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Heathkit HW-99.
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N7EKX
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Rating: 2/5
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Jan 23, 2005 01:05
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Shaky at Best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased this rig at a flea market, from a gentleman that assured me everything worked fine. Because of my great love for Heathkits (and some Navy experience in electronic repair), I paid him the $150 in 1996, and took the rig home, only to find it didn't transmit or receive on any band! After replacing countless parts, and performing numerous alignments, the power supply exploded as a grand finale to my efforts. Not to admit defeat, I quickly rebuilt the power supply with upgraded diodes, and eagerly put my newly rebuilt HW-99 on the air. Imagine my disappointment when the rig drifted so badly that normal QSO's were almost impossible! Upon investigation, I found out that this serious drift is a design problem in the rig, and Heath's own specs admit that it drifts badly! Around the time of production, Heath's amateur radio division was really on the ropes, and this product apparently got sold with a poor VFO design. I feel embarassed to use it on the air, except for hit-and-run contest contacts, when the drift isn't so noticeable. Even if you warm it up for 90 minutes before usage, the VFO will still start serious drift because of the heat radiated from the heat shield. If any readers know of a solution to the drift problem, no matter how technical, I would certainly appreciate an E-mail.
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