Heathkit HW8 QRP CW transceiver

 

A few days ago I posted that Heathkit is trying to make a comeback. So far, the kits are a poor imitation of the kits of old. These (to me) seem overpriced and poor. It is rumoured that some amateur band kits are planned.

Many years ago I owned an HW8 which was an HF QRP transceiver. I had great fun with mine. 

These days there is less CW activity, with FT8 better suited to QRP modes. However, FT8 needs a PC. With CW some very simple rigs can be made.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

Heathkit HW8

Many years ago I owned an HW8 transceiver from Heathkit. This had a direct conversion receiver and a QRP HF CW transmitter. With simple wire dipoles it worked some remarkable DX.

I think it was sold back to its original owner when I bought an FT7 in 1979. In its day it was a fine rig.

Mine was totally unmodified, but there are plenty of "improvements" on the net. In my experience, this was a great transceiver as it is. I am not sure how easy they are to find nowadays.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8

Heathkit HW8

One of my favourite transceivers was the Heathkit HW8 QRP CW rig.  I bought this ready built from a local who later bought it back!

This rig covered the main HF bands and produced about 1.5W. It had a direct conversion RX. For a while it was my only rig.

You occasionally see these for sale and lots were modified, although mine was fine just as it was.  I liked it and worked some good stuff with mine using just low wire dipoles.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8

Heathkit HW8 QRP Transceiver

Some years ago, I owned one of these rigs and worked some impressive DX with it. It was a joy to use. I think it was sold when I bought a Yaesu transceiver many years ago. It went back to its original owner.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8

Heathkit HW8

Some years ago I owned an HW8 transceiver. It worked very well and I managed several DX contacts. Working stations with a very modest wire antenna was remarkably easy. I know QRP CW is not for everyone, but I was surprised.

In recent years Heathkit is making a comeback. I hope this is successful.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

Heathkit HW8 QRP HF CW Transceiver

Looking back on all the rigs I have owned over the years, the Heathkit HW8 must be up there near the top of the list. I bought mine secondhand ready built in totally unmodified state. It stayed in its original state all the time I owned it. It was eventually sold back to its original owner when I bought a Yaesu FT7 I believe.

https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8/hw8a.jpg?attredirects=0

I could go on the air most days and be sure to work something including plenty of DX on 15m. There are lots of mods on the net but as it is it performs pretty well.  It gets a good score in the reviews on http://www.eham.net . The power out was around 2-3W and the RX a decent direct conversion design. Style-wise it was typical Heathkit - very neat on the desktop. I used mine with the Heathkit PSU.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

These days, the HW8 is hard to find and not cheap, for good reasons.  I liked the looks and performance of mine and regret selling it. I actually preferred it to the 4-band superhet based Elecraft K1 CW rig. If you own no other radios, you can do a lot worse than the HW8. It just works well.  A couple of watts of CW is quite enough to work DX on 20 or 15m as well as loads of UK and EU stations on the lower bands.

DSB mod for the Heathkit HW8

When looking around for ideas for DSB rigs I found a page which shows how to modify the HW8 for DSB operation by adding a balanced modulator and audio stages.  KL7R reports that he worked New Zealand using the modified HW8 on sideband.