|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the Heathkit HW-8.
|
WB7QQR
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jan 9, 2002 16:38
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good Classic
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
Tough to find your way between the QRM on a noisy night. Wild guesses required for knowing what frequency you're on too. Overall a good rig for a beginner though. No drifting, and good tone reports. I don't get more than 2 watts out of it. I like my SST much better though.
|
|
KA3POY
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Jan 6, 2002 20:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
frustrating if only rig
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
If you're buying an inexpensive multiband cw rig, look hard at HW-9's or Century 21's before buying an HW-8.
The direct conversion receiver (i.e. cw dits and dahs on both sides of the carrier) combined with a relatively wide "narrow" bandpass, no RIT, and very low power make this rig fine for casual use during low band-noise periods, but extremely frustrating in noisy, crowded conditions.
My HW-9 and TT Century 21 are both many, many times more effective rigs, for not much more money. Less experienced QRP ops especially should look to the less noisy WARC 30 mtr band - not available on the HW-8 but possibly available on some HW-9s. Novices especially are prone to frustration after the 20th missed contact - this isn't the rig for them.
|
|
WD4MFB
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Dec 21, 2001 13:27
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
A great classic.
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I first had my HW8 in 1982. Worked some DX on 15, but mostly used it on 40 meters with an inverted V. The biggest thrill was working a G5 one night on 40 with 3 and 1/2 watts from my QTH in Florida. I worked a lot of other QRP stations on 40 in the early mornings. The receiver is fairly wide as direct conversion is normally wide, but the sound is clean. I gave the rig to a young ham this past year. I hope he has as much fun as I did. The HW8 was replaced with a K1. The HW8 chugged along for 18 years without any repairs and no modifications.
|
|
N4EJG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 19, 2001 13:58
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
THE Classic QRP rig
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
This rig has to have the most fun per buck of any rig ever. I built mine in 1979. When I dusted it off a couple of months ago it fired right up after 16 years of inactivity. The direct conversion receiver is one of the best DC designs ever. While it won't compare with a modern Superhet, it has a wonderful, natural sound. You will be surprised at what you can hear on this rig too. The VFO is rock steady.
I recently acquired another one, slightly modded. You can really make a career out of mods for this rig. No matter what accessory or operating feature you want, someone has done it before. There are many resources on the Web to guide you on adding RIT, an S meter, a hotter front end to the receiver, more power etc etc.
There is lots of room inside for keyers etc. The board is exceptionally well laid out and easy to work on.
If you come across one of these, take a look under the hood.....it is worth fixing though.
|
|
KC0GXX
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 8, 2001 16:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great little Rig!
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
I have had this rig for four months now and it has been my main rig now, almost replacing my venerable Drakes! This little radio is FUN! It has a couple of nice mods, which I understand are available practically anywhere, and really has a nice receiver. Had one problem that I found to be somewhat annoying...The main tuner is "press fitted" on the tuning shaft and will COME OFF if you try to "extend" the available tuning range. Stay inside the boundries, or the rotor portion of the capacitor will literally be "stripped" off the stator. Again, this problem is well-documented, only I found out about it too late! No worries, it is a relatively simple trick to get the rotor "pressed" back on, just a bit frustrating if ya don't know about it.. Be forewarned!
|
|
KG5IF
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Oct 10, 2000 03:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great portable CW rig low power consumption
|
Time owned: months
|
|
Had my rig since new. Great never a problem. Very stable. Would reccomend picking one of these up. Too bad Heath went by the wayside. Rig is layed out well controls are easy to use. Have to turn a easy on the vfo as you can scoot across the band with a turn. There are a few mods out such as solid state qsk and rit. I have both installed. Ive spent two years in VQ9 land and have worked the US on 1 watt and several times on 500mw. Highly reccomend this rig
|
|
M0AIR
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Aug 11, 2000 17:04
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good Rig - Great Fun
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I got the HW8 a few months ago - practically un-used from new and un-modded. After this time, I can say it is a joy to use. People are always suprised when I tell them that i am using a HW8. The Rx is very sensitive although the tuning is a bit critical and needs a steady hand. the VCO is rock solid and free from hand capacity effects - so once on station - it will stay there. The Tx put out about 2 - 3 watts and get complimentary reports. Dx stations are not too difficult given that the antenna is spot on. ( I have become interested in antenna's lately !)
If you see one, check it over inside as it was a kit and may have suffered in its construction. If its good - get it - a lot of fun for the money !! M0AIR
|
|
VK3YE
|
Rating: 4/5
|
May 18, 2000 19:13
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good for home and portable
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
The HW8 is an excellent rig for portable operation. The recieve current consumption is
the lowest of any multiband rig I've seen.
The VFO is stable and operation smooth. The
case is rugged and a good size. This makes it
very good for portable operation.
The coverage has been set up to cover the wide US
CW segments. This makes the VFO tuning rate
too fast. Fitting a bigger knob is a pertial
cure, but a finer tuning rate would improve the
rig's operability. Also the dial resolution could
be better.
The receiver is generally good. However in good
locations there is some breakthrough of HF SW
broadcast stations on 20 and 40m. In practice
this is not too much of a problem, and turning
down the RF gain control helps. I have never had
this breakthrough prevent a DX contact being made. Also it doesn't stay for long - only when
propagation is absolutely at its peak. It is
certainly much superior to the HW7, which had
many problems in this area. The CW filter is
very effective. Of course it is a direct conversion set and you will receive QRM on the
audio image when the band is crowded.
In its standard form, the set lacks an RIT and
S-meter. However there are many mods published
that allow you to add these.
How does it go on the air? I have worked a fair
amount of DX with it - mostly on 20 metres. The
antenna used was normally a 1/2 wave wire or a
full-sized delta loop, both supported on a 9
metre pole. In a bay side location, 13 QSOs
were had in a 2 1/2 hour operating stint. These
included 11 contacts to 10 European countries.
20 metres was used for most of these contacts.
Signal reports given varied from 449 to 579.
Operation has also taken place with the HW8 from
other places not beside water. Again contacts
with Europe have almost always been possible with
the HW-8's 2 watts on 20 metres and the above
mentioned antennas. At times one wishes for a
superhet receiver, but generally the HW-8 is a
pleasure to use.
I cannot comment on the buildability of the HW8
as I bought it pre-built. Quality of the documentation is excellent.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
