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write your own review of the Heathkit SB-1400.
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KB7ZNV
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 2, 2010 11:10
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Excellent older transceiver.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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What can I say? I like my Heath SB-1400. It sits beside my Yaesu FT-450AT and it's an excellent 100 Watt rig.It's been around for decades and it works flawlessly. It looks great. It sounds great. It's easy to use, and just like my 1981 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup, It's extremely reliable and it's paid for. It's here to stay.
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N8NKC
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Rating: 3/5
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Sep 4, 2007 12:32
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Needs Speech Processor
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This rig will get you on the air for little money.I bought one on Ebay for $300 including the power supply.I don't think that you can get any used transciever for such a price. It is a good value.
I have worked stateside and some DX with it with some success, but the contacts would come alot quicker with a speech processor. Average power out is low, and the most I can get sideband is 70 watts peak.
It might need some reconditioning. A good place to send it for this is RTO Electronics in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Cost is $158 plus parts.
This radio will get you on the air for little cost, but for some more money you could get a more modern rig with speech processing, easier tuning, and built in keyer.
Overall it is not a bad radio, and it has general coverage receive, but there are others out there that have greater performance and features.
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K7VO
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Rating: 2/5
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Feb 18, 2005 19:21
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Muddy audio, no QRM fighting tools, high noise floor
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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The Heath SB-1400 ("kit" was not part of the name of this rig) was a slightly reworked version of the Yaesu FT-747GX. Both the Yaesu and Heath versions of this rig get rave reviews. I really fail to understand why.
Is it reliable? Sure. Lots of memories? Yep. General coverage receive? Yes. Is the receiver sensitive? Very. It also features a relatively high noise floor from a truly noisy synthesizer. Had I not had better radios to compare it to I might have thought it had a good receiver but in A/B tests it failed miserably. The slightly older Kenwood TS-670 could pull out stuff on 40 and 15 that the combination of high receiver noise floor and just plain muddy audio made impossible to copy on the Heath. If you like a very bassy sound with lots of presence the SB-1400 has it. The high end is just plain missing, and not just in AM mode. This was true both with the internal speaker and the lousy external speaker in the matching SB-1400-4 power supply (a Yaesu FP-757HD with a Heath nameplate). The external speaker sounded no better than the internal one. I'd take my relatively ancient, analog Shimizu Denshi SS-105S over this Yaesu/Heath toy any day.
The rig has two tuning rates: too fast and too slow. Thankfully I had the optional spinner knob so I could tune around a band at a reasonable rate. The fact that Heath found it necessary to offer this option makes it clear they were aware of the need for it.
IF Shift? PBT? Anything at all to get rid of QRN or QRM? Heck no! The Heath version at least allowed you to choose fast/slow ALC independently of mode, something the Yaesu version lacked.
I think the people who like this rig haven't tried a better one. That or what they value in a rig isn't what I value: receiver performance. I sold mine after five months.
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W7JBJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 2, 2005 11:01
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Enjoyable!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I used this rig for about two years without a single problem before selling it. It worked for me flawlessly and was a very easy rig to use. I operated both CW and SSB on all bands with great signal, and audio reports! I would not hesitate to acquire another one if the opportunity arose as a back-up rig!
73,
Gil Larson, W7JBJ
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KU4QW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 21, 2001 22:40
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This is a Yaesu FT-747
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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SB-1400 Huge pileups, big city QRN, no spare parts, and a long way to anywhere. You probably couldn't find a better test of the new SB-1400 All-Mode Transceiver than Heath's expedition to Taipei in the Republic of China. When working DX, you need sensitivity to dig for the weak ones, but still need dynamic range so the guy down the block doesn't clobber you in the middle of a QSO. Sure, the SB-1400 worked thc S9+ 30 signals, but out of the pile- ups it also worked a number of stateside stations running 5 watts or less! And that's not bad for a short path distance of 7600 miles!
SB-1400 A proven transceiver.
The technology that worked the world can work for you, too, in your own ham shack 1he SB-1400 is a fully assembled all-band, all-mode (FM optional), continuous duty, 100-watt transceiver. It incorporates an impressive general coverage receiver with dual VFOs for split operation and 20 memories to store your favorite frequencies. The unit includes standard SSB filter plus a n and 500 Hz CW filter and wideband AM filter. It also features clarifier (RIT), front panel AGC, noise blanker, all mode squelch, 20 dB attenuator, computer interface, and a clean, "operator preferred" front panel layout. The transmitter's PA is cooled by a quiet, thermostatically controlled internal fan and is enclosed in its own diecast aluminum heat-sink chamber, which allows for full power operation in CW, SSB, FM and RTlY, AMTOR, SSTV, and Packet.
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