Building Heathkit or other radios

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Has anyone here built their radio from scratch or by a kit?

There use to be Heathkit radios that were very good and could be purchased as a kit. I didn't get to build one, but I'm use to my Dad building radios and amplifiers with tubes from scratch.

And I've soldered on a few boards in my day. And coax connectors.
 
Angie said:
Has anyone here built their radio from scratch or by a kit?

There use to be Heathkit radios that were very good and could be purchased as a kit. I didn't get to build one, but I'm use to my Dad building radios and amplifiers with tubes from scratch.

And I've soldered on a few boards in my day. And coax connectors.
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Are you talking about HAM radios? I do think Heathkit is out of business, but there is a great business idea for those who have electronic knowledge and skills.

I never built any Heathkits, but my ex, who was an electronic technician did, but not for radios. He had a kit on his wiper blades so that they wouldn't freeze up with ice in North Dakota. He also had an early cruise control that he added on. I think they were Heathkits, but maybe they were something else.
 
There are still a few manufacturers of kits for enthusiasts. I used to listen on a receiver and built my own antennas but I never got into the sport. I built some electronic projects for myself and even a crystal radio but never felt the desire to transmit other than on CB for fun. I lost the receiver along the way but I might get another. I do like to listen.
 
SheepDog said:
There are still a few manufacturers of kits for enthusiasts. I used to listen on a receiver and built my own antennas but I never got into the sport. I built some electronic projects for myself and even a crystal radio but never felt the desire to transmit other than on CB for fun. I lost the receiver along the way but I might get another. I do like to listen.
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Whats the difference in CB and Ham? Can you still get contact with CB ? Or maybe even ship to shore radios forgot what you call those. We had one on our boat years ago.
KISS is the only plan I would even consider tackling now. Not to speak of all the foolish finacial mistakes we had made lately.
 
Ham radio legally can use more power and has tests (use to be harder) to receive a license to use more band of the radio spectrum. CB, is more local and when used legally has a very low power allowed, therefore less distance covered and no tests and less band width allowed.

BUT, many CB's have been known to bootleg on the ham frequencies or use way illegal power. Many CB;ers take the Ham tests and do things legally, to get more bandwidth, frequencies and power allowed.

Also, they speak different radio languages.
 
Angie said:
Ham radio legally can use more power and has tests (use to be harder) to receive a license to use more band of the radio spectrum. CB, is more local and when used legally has a very low power allowed, therefore less distance covered and no tests and less band width allowed.

BUT, many CB's have been known to bootleg on the ham frequencies or use way illegal power. Many CB;ers take the Ham tests and do things legally, to get more bandwidth, frequencies and power allowed.

Also, they speak different radio languages.
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Thanks Angie. I just know we can't afford Ham plus we already have too many irons in the fire so learning to set up and operate Ham would not be a good thing for us. But local communication would be nice IF of course others had one too.
But Ham radios I've heard nothing but good things about havign them. And if a younger person was here with some money, I'd love to have one too.
 
I all the sudden decided about 3 years ago to up and pass the Tech portion for the Amateur radio license. and the next year pass the test for General, I really wanted to have legal access to the HF freqs. you can find some less expensive HF+6 radios on the market. Just stick with the major brands Kenwood makes a 2000 base model that is excellent and is very affordable cause of newer and more complex are hitting the market. A lot are lookin to sell just to upgrade. O BTW the federal govt just passed a ruling that an HOA cannot restrict antenna usage to a licensed HAM in the community.
 
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Weedygarden said:
Aren't there some less expensive hand held radios that can be used for HAM? Maybe the coverage isn't as good.
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The Chinese Baofeng radios are the go-to intro HT’s ( handheld transceiver). Not like the big name brands but for $25 you can’t beat it. You really need to get the programming cable and the CHIRP programming software is free to download. You need an FCC license to transmit but none to use as a receiver.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H4VT7A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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CB is a recreational radio that operates at 5 watts. In a noisy environment or place that has obstructions you can be limited to a broadcast range of about a mile. Under the best of conditions you can get almost 10 miles range. Under the legal use CB (citizens band) cannot be used for business or professional purposes. It is used for conversations between mobiles and base units along with truckers chatting and pirates (those that run illegal power) running power wars.
With ham radio and the proper license and radio you can send and receive from around the world. Operators identify themselves and provide contact data for folks to put into their log books. There is CW, pulse, data and voice communication (and probably video now). CW (code work) and a rhombic antenna will get you very directional communication well beyond the horizon. Burst is used to send digital signals in a short time and used to be used on military channels a lot. Especially the VLF (Very Low Frequency) band. I used to listen to radio free Europe and the USSR equivalent just for fun and to get differing views (propaganda) from the two sources. I also listened in on search and rescue operations and exercises on 80 meters. I never wanted to participate but it was fascinating to hear what was going on.
 
Ham radio can be started with a tech license and a hand held radio that can hit repeaters that amplify and send the signal out again, or connect with another repeater and cover more real estate (as in states worth). Here is one similar to what I have, but have not set up for local repeaters yet. Less that $100.

https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174MHz-400-520MHz/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519091314&sr=8-1&keywords=handheld+amateur+radio&refinements=p_89:BaoFeng

and one like mine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015D9OQDE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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In the line of this thread, I saw this on a Facebook Group "Amateur Radio Funnies" (copyright notice is on the top to give credit to the creator of it).

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As a prepper having a "Ham" HF or all mode unit has many pluses even if you do not have a "Ticket" yet. BY all means at least get the Tech , it is not difficult to obtain. I bought the Yaesu and a 7 band 135 ft OCD antenna right after I got the Tech. Even being restricted to voice transmission to the upper reaches the 10M at the right time of day I have contacted people as far south as Ecuador and Chile , Texas and Newfoundland. Having just the beginning basics with the Tech ticket, practizin on 10M and listening to the lower HF freq I motivated me to expand my privileges. Even if you do not earn a general ticket having the basic knowledge and reference material will sharpen your skills even in tuning and listening. Just one more skill in your tool box that you can "bring to the table". OH BTW I started with a Galaxy 959 40 channel SB CB.
 
took my test 2 yrs ago as a winter project. took the general test along with the tech test, just to see how close I could get to passing tbe general test. surprise! got my general! using baofengs to start with, looking for some reasonable kits to expand things. heathkit still exists as a company but no ham kits anymore like I remember fron the 60s...my uncle was a ham. my next goal is to get my code cert...never know when it could come in handy and cw radios are simpler, cheaper, and transmit much further on less power. what's not to love??
 
The only downside to CW is that the very low % of people who will be able to understand what cha sayn. and a CW transmitter alone is not very good at the job of FM comms, Get a regular all band HF unit and it has the CW components inside , Just get a key pad and switch over. Now ya got both.
 
There used to be a bunch of folks using computers and CW for burst code work. The burst is too fast to get without recording it and running it through the computer but if you are set up for it it is a great way to send and receive more "private" communications.
 
I have marveled at the anachronism of people who are in the amateur radio world and the prepping community embracing a form of communication that depends on the internet and censorship. SEE I'm doing it right now!!!!
 
Well, if you provide your address we could use the USPS or carrier pigeon.:ghostly:
 
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