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You can
write your own review of the Heathkit SB-220/SB-221.
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KH6VP
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 27, 2009 07:43
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Absolutely great amp!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought this SB-220 from a ham living in the Ottawa, Canada area who decided to move back to the UK.
As I live in Luxembourg (am also LX1QF), I removed the tubes and transformer, packed them in my luggage (the xformer, main unit and tubes in different suitcases - tubes were in hand luggage) and after removing the countless TSA tapes (for those that don't travel much, the TSA hand checks all luggage arriving or leaving the US) re-installed them at the QTH. Also cleaned it inside out. Will remove the capacitors and install new ones (I have 450V/400uF capacitors that are 1/4 of the original size) at some point in the future.
Worked staight off.
Great workmanship and whoever built it did a great job.
The only mod is a switch to keep in standby, without having to cycle the power supply every time.
It was a great use of C$400 (yes, that's how much I paid).
If you can find one, get it fast. Tubes should be with no discolorations and power should be 1500W on 20m (seen with a bird meter).
All in all a great piece of simple engineering.
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K3RAP
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 7, 2009 10:00
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Great Amp - Super Value - a Classic
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got a SB-220 years ago from a friend. It has the following mods from Harbach Electronics: RM-220 Replacement Rectifier/Metering Board,PS-220 Parasitic Suppressor Kit,FM-220 Replacement Fan & Motor (moves a lot of air quietly, runs real cool); FB-220 Replacement Filter Capacitor Block, SK-220 Soft-Key,SS-221 Soft-Start. With all of this, it's like a new amp at less than half the price. This baby just hums along. It runs abt 1300 watts PEP on ssb and about 1 KW on CW, and it'll do it all day long. Power is a bit less on 10M and 12M. Yes, it loads up nice on 17M (15M position)and 12M (10M position), but you may need the rigs tuner in line. It's a real work horse. It lacks 160M and a QSK vacuum relay, but other than that, it's everything you could want in an amp. It doesn't have a standby switch, but with the 3-500zg tubes (no warm-up time) it's not really needed. In my opinion, if you want to run QRO, and don't care about 160M, this is the best bargain in ham radio. They were built from kits, so construction quality can vary. The assembly manuals, which include schematics, are readily available. The stuff from Harbach also comes with good instructions and schematics, so if you know how to solder, there's almost nothing you couldn't recover from.
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KE4ZHN
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 2, 2009 03:05
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Time proven classic
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I love my SB220! With a few updates you can have yourself a fine amp for a modest investment. Its hard to justify spending thousands more on an amplifier when nobody on the other end will see or hear the difference anyway.
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N8MUS
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 31, 2008 18:40
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5++++
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Wrote a review a few months back and just had to add what a difference having an amp has made for working DX. In almost 30 years of hamming I've always run barefoot. Last few months using the amp when needed. In the last 2 weeks I have worked a dozen european countries on 80m phone and the other day worked ZS6CCY in South Africa on 3.795 first or 2nd call with the amp @ 700 watts (low power) using a full wave loop that is resonant at about 3.6 mhz so use a Dentron super tuner to have the swr at 1:1 for the rig. Even happier now that I have some hours on the amp and its still going strong in stock configuration! (zero mods). Also have enjoyed some nice ragchews on 75m and running the 600-800 watts often makes the difference from partial copy and a qso ending to solid copy and an enjoyable ragchew. If you find a nice one grab it!
73
Jon
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N2QQF
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 15, 2008 06:42
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Work Horse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had a few amplifiers and this is a workhorse. The amplifier packs a punch and works great. I have the Harbach fan mod installed which is important because as expected the amplifier does generate a lot of heat and the upgraded fan manages to keep it running cooler. I plan to install all the other mods but this amplifier will probably wind up staying here as long as I do and I am only 33yrs old.
I bought this amplifier used from a friend who never used it for $500 bucks and it was well worth the money. I get about 1200 - 1300 watts out on peaks with 100w on 110v. I am moving my shack to a custom built radio room where I will be able to feed her 220v/ but to be honest I always run in tuned mode 800-900 watts out. If you find one for a reasonable price pick it up, you will not regret it.
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KA6PSD
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Rating: 5/5
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May 3, 2008 09:37
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Rock Solid Amplifiers !
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I am the fourth owner of a SB-220. I run a Icom 746-pro, and a Tarheel 200(Screwdriver Antenna) at 35ft off the deck. The SB-220 has let me talk the distance I can hear, not so with only 110 Watts Out. It only needs 40 watts drive to achieve 975 watts out. I once forgot to turn down my excitter level and was seeing well in excess of 1500 watts. OUCH ! Not good for the amp I'm sure.With a little massaging I can tune anything from 80 all the way to 10 meters, 75/80 is my favorite area to play in. Mine uses 220 VAC with a 20 amp breaker for a supply line. Most of the usual mods have been done such as softstart, new cap bank & power regulation board, Paracitic Isolation kit, softkey & relay.
Really a great amp and can't go wrong for the price. If you need a good solid amp and like nostalgic amps like I do this would be a great starting point and possibly a life long piece of equipment. See One Buy One. If I can hear them I can work them.
KA6PSD Robert
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AD4C2006
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 16, 2008 07:21
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I real work horse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is one of the strongest work horse amps I have seen,it will resist the abuse of an unskilled op and will never quit.I got mine about 3 years ago from a local guy in Tampa,FL in a trade we did,its black painted,front panel and case as well,it matches the color of my 756Pro3 as brothers,I don't have 220V at home but even at 120V with 100W in I can get easy clean 1200W but I never run it over 800 to 850W,mine has all the harbach mods done and with the new fan it runs cool even at high power.I will not detail all the good specs,everything has been said here.This is a keeper at my home.Its a shame that heathkit went out of business so long ago,they always made good radios and amps.Good luck to all users of this well designed amp.
AD4C
Lake Worth,FL
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N2RRA
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 12, 2007 20:13
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Agree to be one of the best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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What can I say positive that has'nt been said by other posts. This is the best amp., and bang for the buck.
Luckly I found mine in excallent condition, and intend on keeping it that way. Will never get rid of it, because I know as time goes on they will be harder to find, and should be worth more.
Great Amp!
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N6KYS
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 12, 2007 19:23
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Finest linear ever made
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It was a sad day when Heathkit quit making the SB-220/221 and then later folded. This was the finest linear ever built. No, I'm not putting it against an Alpha ceramic tube monster, but this thing was solid, heavy, and durable. It was the gold standard....I hope the owners today keep them restored.
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W4HEY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 31, 2007 07:10
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What An Amp!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased my SB-220 off eBAY for $500. back in March. It had been built in 1972 and sat unused since 1977 in a garage, so I was a bit skeptical. When I received it, I was amazed at its pristine (minus the dust) condition and quite excited to crank it up! I put it on a VariAC for a couple of days just to be safe. Then came the test, a bit nerve-wracking I might add, but it had been up to 115v for a full 10 hours so now I hooked it up to my FT-990. Standing back and holding my ears, expecting the worst, nothing happened except a relay-click and needle movement. After tuning to the best of my ability, I was getting a solid 850W on 110V. Not bad I thought, so I continued its use. About 3 months later on a stormy day, after everything subsided, I powered up the station as normal and when I snapped the old SB-220's power switch, BANG! POP! click click click click, negative plate voltage and all... a resistor finally gave out. I ended up ordering all 7 of the 8 available Harbach mods ($245.) and gave it to a local friend and Amp Guru. He installed them and got her working again for $100. -- So now my better than new SB-220 sits proudly above all, even the 756ProIII, atop my shelf in the shack, waiting on a moments notice to be called into service. Under $900. for a SKW Amp -- Definitely a KEEPER!
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