Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Heathkit HW-8

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Heathkit HW-8
Reviews: 36MSRP: 150. used
Description:
1970s portable 2-watt direct conversion txcvr for 80/40/20/15m
Product is in production
More Info: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lapthorn/hw8.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00364.6
NP4ZB Rating: 2008-04-21
QRP FUN Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well I bought mine from ebay. The radio is in great shape for it's age. I was lucky to buy one without any mods. A real holly grail. I retune the the caps and coils, power out put is about 2.5 watts on all bands. I have had made some great qrp contacts with it no problem at all. Thwe cw tone sounds great I was told. Rate it a 5 because it soild as a rock no drifting. This radio is a keeper. If you are able buy one you can't go wrong with this one. It makes a great radio for base or camping with four bands to choose from. Long live QRP and CW forever.
N2OLP Rating: 2006-06-16
Great little rig. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It was my first rig as well, getting it around 1979-1980 also while waiting for my Novice license to arrive. I literally used thin magnet wire taped to the ceiling of my second floor apartment, bent every which way to get a low SWR and then began to work whoever would answer me. My next radio was a Century 21 and was certainly better by far, but still, for being a rig that you can build, the HW-8 is tops.
KA4DQJ Rating: 2005-06-06
Memories Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The HW-8 was my first ham radio. I built it in the summer of '78 while waiting for my Novice license to arrive.

By the time the license finally arrived in September, I was already set up with the HW-8 feeding a single band dipole up at 30 feet. The first ham contact of my life was on the little HW-8 with KA6APE that day.

That was 27 years ago. I eventually went on to bigger and better things, but wish that all things in life brought as much excitement as that little rig.
N7EKX Rating: 2005-01-25
23 Years of Fun Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased and built this kit in 1982, shortly before it was replaced by the more modern HW-9. The direct conversion receiver certainly won't please everybody (with double-sideband reception, a pretty obsolete design), but this rig was never meant to be state-of-the-art, even in 1978. It was designed to be a quick, cheap way for hams to enjoy the thrill of QRP, and for that mission, it was (and still is) enormously successful. The only tricky part of construction for me was the push-button bandswitch, which seemed overly crammed with wiring, but even that worked OK the first time. Over the past 23 years the rig has never missed a beat, and it's hard to describe the thrill of working DXCC with 2 watts output, something most hams can't relate to. Of course the design is dated, the audio filter is a joke, and those funky green headphones make you scream, but who cares? When you work rare DX with this thing, all is forgiven!!
KC8AAG Rating: 2004-05-23
My first love Time Owned: more than 12 months.
of a radio of course. I agree that I wouldn't make this your only radio... true qrp finatics will want something more and the rest will want a full featured rig as well. However this radio has always proved true and fun for me ever since my grandfather gave it to me for passing my novice code test.
K4IJ Rating: 2003-03-19
Great lil' rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought an HW8 from a friend of mine who had discovered the thrill of QRP. I had always wanted one so when I got it I was excited. Mine was stock except for a different antenna connector. I have used to make contacts all over the world running about 2-3 watts. I added the S-meter mod and a couple of lamps which can be switched off to conserve power. It's a classic and a radio I am proud to have in mt collection.
KU4QW Rating: 2002-10-10
WoW! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The first time I used my HW-8 I was going WoW, I came up from an HW-7, this radio is hot, the receiver is 1st class for this designe, and the transmitter is super clean. If you want a tough package that can go anywhere and work the world, this is for you
K0KL Rating: 2002-06-19
A good radio after mods Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this little gem for about 8 years now. Given to me by a pal. Needed modification to make much better; replaced output transistor to get 4 watts out. Replaced RX RF transistor, very hot, less hum from common mode. Add output xfmr for small headfone, BNC RF output, piston trimmer for xmit offset to zero with audio filter. Add Curtis keyer into radio, diode protect DC input, etc. It is now a great fun radio. Used it in last SS for about 5 hours, had a ball. Too bad Heathkit closed up. Thank God for Elecraft, they go the Old Heathkit 2 steps better at least, but don't knock the HW-8 it's a fun rig!
WB7QQR Rating: 2002-01-09
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: 2002-01-06
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.