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Reviews For: Heathkit HW-12

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Heathkit HW-12
Reviews: 6MSRP: 120
Description:
75 Meter SSB only transceiver.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0064
W4CAS Rating: 2013-03-26
A Fun Radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently acquired a really nice HW-12A via an internet purchase. After minimal tweaking, I finally got the nerve to put the little rig on the air and, to my surprise, got some really good reports! Receive audio was good, and even though I was using a D-104 mike which is notorious for sounding "pinched", I got a lot of compliments on my xmit audio. Most of my contacts were really surprised to hear that I was using a "Hotwater 12A". The main problem with this radio is mechanical - it's not very robustly constructed and the VFO control is touchy - but it is surprisingly stable after a half hour or so warmup. Anyway, I'm having a ball on our local "tube net" and still getting good reports!
KG6UTS Rating: 2011-04-12
Fun little box Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
My HW-12A was picked up at a parking lot swapmeet with a bunch of other Heath gear. I finally got around to working on it with hopes to get on the local 'Vintage' SSB net. It cleaned up ok and after replacing some caps in the radio and power supply the RX came up. After some tweaks the TX was pegging the 100 W Bird meter. Audio sounds good on RX and TX. I'm glad it does USB because sometimes I check into some Mil Surplus nets on 40 and 75. Its a fun little set getting a 4 instead of a 5 just because of the usual Heath physical weakness. Well worth the effort!!

73
EdZ KG6UTS
KB2FCV Rating: 2007-06-25
Fun little rig! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I picked this rig up a few years ago on ebay for 25 bucks. I think someone built it and then put it in a box for 30+ years.. it was that nice. It basically sat on my shelf for 2-3 years until this weekend when I decided to pull it out for Field Day.

I had one or two minor issues to fix on it (loose tube) but I quickly had it up and running. Operation is simple as can be. Just tweak the finals once in a while and make sure your ALC is set and you're good to go. The rig performed very well and for the 3-4 hours I had it on 80m Sideband it made plenty of Q's. If you like old tube gear, I'd reccommend one or one of it's 40 or 20 meter cousins. I'll now be looking for more excuses to bring the little rig out.
FJGH Rating: 2003-10-01
very average Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I built one of these radios back in the early sixties. It was a very basic radio. But it was dirt cheap. Its performance was poor (xmit audio, receive selectivity). The sweep tubes were not very sturdy. Didn't have a loading control so it was fussy about the load you connected. Overall, I would call it barely average
KA2IWR Rating: 2003-06-03
Great Little Rig! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
While I love this little rig, the receive audio has become quite weak and tinny. Does anyone know what tubes should be replaced? I can not locate the manual or schematic for it. I would appreciate any help.

Originally, I bought it as I was mostly a 75 meter operator and loved the simplicity of the radio. I've had a number of them over the years and was always sorry when I got rid of them. I prefer the HW-12 over the 12-A
N1KGY Rating: 2001-10-19
Simple and fun to operate Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Bought this rig back in June, and have been using it since. With a pair of 6GE5's in the final, this little radio has enough output to be well heard, and the audio is full and strong. Finals apear to be original and are still giving full output, so I expect one set will last a lifetime. How often do you hear that? Receive b/w is about 3.6 Khz, which gives a really enjoyable sound, but allows a little more adjacent signal in when you're being crowded. It's a trade off I'm willing to make for having a simple, good sounding rig to leave on '75 all the time.
I wish there was an HW rig for 160 meters!!!