| N8WGM |
Rating:      |
2022-11-02 | |
| 3-500 powerhouse |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just picked up the Heathkit SB220 and it is one hell of an amplifier. Has most of the Harbach mods and outputs around 1400 watts on 80 meters.
Been getting great signal reports using this amp and a home brewed hex beam. It outputs about 1200 watts on 17 meters and 1300 on 20 meters. I really like the tubes, specifically the Eimac 3-500Z tubes that are the originals for this amp. Even though they are over 30 years old, because they were used lightly for most of their lives, they are still strong after all these years.
The original colors of light green and darker green are kind of ugly and so when this amp came up for sale (Black face plate and light gray case colors) I bought it. The amp has all the mods except for soft start. Probably does not need it as the amp and tubes can handle the current surge easily. I may end up adding it anyways as insurance.
This amplifier deserves the "5" of all the reviews. Probably one of the best amps ever made for the price. If money is no object, then the Alpha's would be the amp to get but for the rest of us, the Heathkit SB220 is an amp that can hold its own against all the others.
Update 11/2/22: I recently replaced the factory transformer with a Peter Dahl / Hammond version which is the larger version which required cutting away the side and top inner cover. My voltage is now 3,300 and the output of the amplifier is now from 80 meters to 10 over 1600 watts. Nice to be able to run 65 watts for 1500 watts output. Also put vernier dials on for a more precise tune. The RF parts graphite 3-500 z's work well and all the Harbach updates have been installed. Next up will be installing 160 meter capability. Still one the best amplifiers around. The 3-500's are still available at a reasonable price. |
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| N0GV |
Rating:      |
2021-03-02 | |
| Best Amp out there - some may be as good, but none better! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The SB-220 is one of the classic amps. It is durable, tubes are reasonably inexpensive and available, and it performs for decades.
I have had mine, bought used about 20 years ago, in service with the same tubes for that entire time. When I bought it, it was already over 20 years old. It will be 50 years old this year as near as I can tell. It still works, breaks pile ups with the best of them and gives the room a soft warm glow.
If you haven't used it for a few years use the exhaust of a shop vac to spin up the fan for a few minutes before powering it up. That will get the fan turning and when you fire it up it will continue to turn nicely. Let it idle for a couple of hours to reform the capacitors and it will be ready to chug along for another decade or three.
Great amp and well worth three times the price! If 1200 Watts doesn't get the job done, trust me, 1500 Watts won't do it either! |
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| KB9FMV |
Rating:      |
2021-02-14 | |
| BEST AMP FOR THE MONEY 10 STARS |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Own the Heathkit SB 221 did the harbach mods and now run out board transformer with 4500 volts on the plates! Only run it 4200 on the plates and can get full 2200 out but I dont run it anywhere near that ! This is one of 6 I have owned in a number of years and have to say for the money these amps go for well worth it for a pair of 3-500z's Grab one if you can worth the rebuild ! GREAT AMP! |
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| W0BKR |
Rating:      |
2021-02-02 | |
| Great Amp, yes, even today |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Had a couple of these 220's over time and still have one. Never fails, very reliable. Some folks who don't know amps say, this amp is old, prefer something newer, blah blah blah. I have an ACOM that I have frequent issues with. Not with teh 220. You can't compare amps like that. The build on mine is great and even if it wasn't you can easily rectify it without great skills. I have had to go back to ACOM technical repeatedly over nit issues with what could have been a great amp for me. SB220, money well spent. Will likely outlive me. A really good amp and just wish it had either 160 meters on it or 6 meters. But heck, plays great all the time. |
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| W5ZYX |
Rating:      |
2019-05-16 | |
| An even better amp with the Harbach mods |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| A cousin, who hadn't been active on the ham bands for a long time, recently gave me his factory made SB-220 which had been wrapped up under his desk for many years. The finals were gassy and arced internally about 5 seconds after we took it out of retirement, which of course smoked a few components. I shipped the amp to Cal at hamradiorepair.com in Carrollton, TX, who did all the current Harbach mods, installed new finals from RF Parts, new parasitic suppressors (available on eBay from a ham in France), and a standby switch which is something Heathkit omitted from amps of that vintage. I got the SB-220 back today and am extremely pleased with both its on air performance and Cal's fine rehab work. I've decided to only load it up to 1 kw out, which should help ensure that the beast keeps on performing for many years to come. My cousin never had a minute's problem with the SB-220 during his several years of use and neither of us were aware of the reputation of the 3-500's to get gassy and spectacularly fail if sitting for a long time without high voltage applied to getter the internal gas build up. |
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| KE5GGY |
Rating:      |
2018-08-12 | |
| So Good I Bought a Second One! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought an SB220 about 3 years ago after being impressed at how good they sounded on the air. I bought the amp from its second owner, who said that the original owner was an engineer who was meticulous about detail when he built the amp from a kit as well as taking care of this amp. The amp was very clean with almost no wear at any place, including the front panel.
I've been using this amp for almost 2 years on the 3.916 nets on 80 meters, where I regularly participate. It puts out around 1,100 watts with around 90 watts of drive and does this all night long.
I really like the small footprint of the SB220 and 221, relative to other amps. I also like the fact that the 3-500Z tubes are readily available at a reasonable cost. And, there are plenty of people around that can work on the amp. I was so impressed with the amp that I bought a second one as a back up. It was also very clean and was a Heathkit 'store built' amp, based on a certification on the back of the amplifier.
If you can find one that's clean, I recommend buying it. If it hasn't had some of the more common and needed updates/mods completed, you'll want to adjust your offer down to account for the upgrade costs. The more common Harbach mods can really make this amp work well for years.
If you have further questions, join us on 3.916 MHz any night between 7-10P Central or email me at ke5ggy at gmail.
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| N4UE |
Rating:      |
2018-03-22 | |
| Fun to 're-do' |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Last year I was in the process of up grading my 6M position. I had the bones of an Amp Supply LK-500 that I bought years ago with the intention of building (another) 6M amp.
I did a WTB ad here and purchased a very nice SB-220 from a local chap for cheap, minus the tubes.
The amp was in very nice shape and I was going to modify it for just 50 MHz. The front panel, knobs were perfect. And NO shipping!!!!
However, after checking the transformer, etc, I decided to do a full rebuild. I disassembled the amp down to every screw and nut. I'm retired and this was a great project. I had a copy of the Manual and started from Page 1. Polished all the aluminum sheet metal (with flat black paint in the RF area!). All the hardware was replaced with SS.
As I rebuilt it, I added the Harbach mods with my own caps. I even added a fan shroud below deck to cool the tube pins. Directly grounded the grids, etc. Added the Harbach HV fuse (no cost), new cover paint, just a fun project.
I had several spare 'older' 3-500Zs from another amp. Even a few 3-400Zs.
Results, a beautiful, classic amp that works perfectly and produces excellent power as indicated by my LP-100.
Great, older boatanchor.
I just shelved it and did the LK-500 amp which with the Peter Dahl transformer and new 3-500Zgs produces GREAT power.
ron
N4UE |
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| HK3PJ |
Rating:      |
2017-05-20 | |
| EXCELLENT AMPLIFIER |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
20 years ago, I bought a SB 220 used, built in 1980's. I made all the modifications available in Harbach Electronics. 1200 Watts with the original tubes.
No problem at all, low Price, and it is nice.
Now I have an ACOM 2100. I am keeping as a back up. |
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| VK2LC |
Rating:      |
2017-05-02 | |
| built like a tank |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought a used SB-220 and it had an interesting history, it spent 12 months on an Antarctic station by an Australian Amateur.
It had most of the mods done, I replaced the tubes with new 3-500zg's replaced the caps and rectifier boards and fitted upgrade suppressors. It had a non genuine plate voltage meter but I found a pair on Ebay so it is now original in looks. It idles along at 750W with 50W in so I don't drive it hard as the Australian maximum is 400W.
I replaced the caps because I figured 40 years for high voltage caps is long enough and Harbach Electronics make an excellent kit for caps and diodes.
Machlett Tubes from Ebay are quite reasonably priced and mine had original Eimac tubes which were getting a bit on and not quite up to the power. I recommend doing Harbach upgrades as it gives it a new lease on life especially the soft keying so it runs with new transceivers.
If you can find a good one, grab it. Might be 40 years old but a set of caps, diodes and tubes with a couple of mods and you have an amp that is well made and performs like the best |
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| W1UFL |
Rating:      |
2016-07-11 | |
| Built like a tank |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Purchased an SB220 off of Ebay from a reputable seller. They produced a video showing all bands into a dummy load which allowed me to watch the tune process and the grid and plate's on the various bands. It had the original Eimac tubes. I replaced both with 3yr warranty RF Parts 3-500zg's. I will cycle the Eimac's in occasionally to help prevent gassing. I can easily produce 1100+ on 120v with about 80 watts of drive. I usually run about 70-75 in and easily cruise at 1100w. It has a few upgrades, new caps, soft start, soft key, parasitic suppressors. Couldn't be more pleased. I owned one back in the early 2000's and when I saw the opportunity at the price I was comfortable with, I grabbed it. The individual who assembled this did a fantastic job. You can't go wrong with an SB220. For efficiency I still think the best bang for the buck is a single 3-500 setup, such as my SB-1000, another masterpiece! |
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