Jeff, I've got one of these gems _and_ your book. Thank you so much for this! My dad built a lot of Heathkit stuff in the 1950s, and I'm atoning for the loss of that equipment now by acquiring examples today. He was a curious fellow, my dad. He built a lot of stuff that would baffle Rube Goldberg only to understand the how and why they worked.
Jeff, your comment at around the 10:00 mark about frozen vernier drives is pure gold. Having owned the infamously awful TSG-17, I thought my SG-8 was behaving normally and you just had to nudge the dial back and forth several times to hit the desired frequency. Sprtizing a little Deoxit into that gummed-up grease freed up the vernier in about 10 seconds, and transformed the unit into a different class of equipment. I might have gone for years assuming that it was operating as-designed. None of the other numerous SG-8 vids on UA-cam mention this. Thanks for highlighting this problem.
I was an avid kit builder in the 1950's and 60's. Most of my kits were from EICO , with a few Heathkit items in there too. Both manufacturers were super and made good affordable products. Sadly there is nothing like it today. What a bargain the kits were. I owe my basic electronics education to kit building as I progressed through RCA Techical Instutute, Sylvania advanced school and my Army training?
I remember seeing the Eico kits in the Radio-Electronic Master catalogs. My dad built all of his test equipment for use in his business. I sure wish I had talked to him about it, but that's life, until it's death.
I bought one of these used off of ebay. I re-capped it, and replaced the Se rectifier with a 1N4007. While the AC power switch on mine initially worked it eventually failed and cleaning did not help. I ended up drilling a hole under the band switch and installed a small toggle switch in place of the broken power switch. The original line cord was falling apart and was replaced with a three wire grounded type. The knobs on my unit were all brittle and the set screws did not grab anymore, so I replaced all of the knobs with ones from Radio Shack. It's a nice unit for general testing of old radios, and I usually double check the frequency calibration with a frequency counter, thought the dial is close enough for use on the broadcast band.
A three prong line cord puts you in danger of shock. Leave well enough alone as the equipment is isolated via a transformer power supply. Using a three prong line cord puts the chassis and metal case on one side of the line cord, which could lead to a major disaster.
you prolly dont give a shit but if you are bored like me atm then you can stream pretty much all the latest movies and series on InstaFlixxer. Been watching with my gf for the last few months =)
as i posted elsewhere, there are differences between kits and factory build of same model. mine uses chicken head knobs on all selectors except freq adj. my filter cap is a metal can mounted sideways and its values are 50-30 mfd. mine has a 10k 1/2 watt res on pin1 12au7 plate circuit.(not on kit schematic) try as i may i have cleaned, lubed tuning cap bearing and shaft assy. being springy it is difficult to maintain chosen freq as it shifts when releasing tuning knob. i have 2 units factory built with similar tuning prob
I have one of these. However, it has three tubes (2) 12au7 and (1) 0A2. It has no internal power supply. Instead, it has a multipin round cable through which the filament and B+ voltage are fed via an external power supply. I can't find a schematic to support this version. I intend to mount a small transformer behind the 0A2 and create a B+ power supply. A schematic and or advice on this unique unit would be welcome!
Do you have a unit with a yellow light? Sometimes the "jewel" for the lamp was yellow rather than green, either because Heathkit used a different part or the owner replaced it.
@@jefftranter Wasn't Heathkit known for using whatever they got a good deal on (without compromising quality too much, of course)? For example some kits using quite odd tube types .. because they secured a truckload of those somehow, and did a model revision when it ran out?
@@VintageTechFan Yes, at least in the vaccoum tube days. They started their first kits (an oscilloscope and VTVM) using a lot of World War II surplus parts.
Yes. You'll typically want to get the alignment procedure for the receiver and you may also want to use an AC voltmeter rather than adjusting it for maximum output by ear.
Jeff, I've got one of these gems _and_ your book. Thank you so much for this! My dad built a lot of Heathkit stuff in the 1950s, and I'm atoning for the loss of that equipment now by acquiring examples today. He was a curious fellow, my dad. He built a lot of stuff that would baffle Rube Goldberg only to understand the how and why they worked.
Jeff, your comment at around the 10:00 mark about frozen vernier drives is pure gold. Having owned the infamously awful TSG-17, I thought my SG-8 was behaving normally and you just had to nudge the dial back and forth several times to hit the desired frequency. Sprtizing a little Deoxit into that gummed-up grease freed up the vernier in about 10 seconds, and transformed the unit into a different class of equipment. I might have gone for years assuming that it was operating as-designed. None of the other numerous SG-8 vids on UA-cam mention this. Thanks for highlighting this problem.
I was an avid kit builder in the 1950's and 60's. Most of my kits were from EICO , with a few Heathkit items in there too. Both manufacturers were super and made good affordable products. Sadly there is nothing like it today. What a bargain the kits were. I owe my basic electronics education to kit building as I progressed through RCA Techical Instutute, Sylvania advanced school and my Army training?
I remember seeing the Eico kits in the Radio-Electronic Master catalogs. My dad built all of his test equipment for use in his business. I sure wish I had talked to him about it, but that's life, until it's death.
I bought one of these used off of ebay. I re-capped it, and replaced the Se rectifier with a 1N4007. While the AC power switch on mine initially worked it eventually failed and cleaning did not help. I ended up drilling a hole under the band switch and installed a small toggle switch in place of the broken power switch. The original line cord was falling apart and was replaced with a three wire grounded type. The knobs on my unit were all brittle and the set screws did not grab anymore, so I replaced all of the knobs with ones from Radio Shack. It's a nice unit for general testing of old radios, and I usually double check the frequency calibration with a frequency counter, thought the dial is close enough for use on the broadcast band.
Outstanding presentation, will look forward to reading the book
Very good... I miss Heathkit!
A three prong line cord puts you in danger of shock. Leave well enough alone as the equipment is isolated via a transformer power supply. Using a three prong line cord puts the chassis and metal case on one side of the line cord, which could lead to a major disaster.
Great video Jeff! I am a big fan of Heathkit!
you prolly dont give a shit but if you are bored like me atm then you can stream pretty much all the latest movies and series on InstaFlixxer. Been watching with my gf for the last few months =)
@Benjamin Azariah Yea, have been using InstaFlixxer for since november myself :D
as i posted elsewhere, there are differences between kits and factory build of same model. mine uses chicken head knobs on all selectors except freq adj. my filter cap is a metal can mounted sideways and its values are 50-30 mfd. mine has a 10k 1/2 watt res on pin1 12au7 plate circuit.(not on kit schematic) try as i may i have cleaned, lubed tuning cap bearing and shaft assy. being springy it is difficult to maintain chosen freq as it shifts when releasing tuning knob. i have 2 units factory built with similar tuning prob
I have one of these. However, it has three tubes (2) 12au7 and (1) 0A2. It has no internal power supply. Instead, it has a multipin round cable through which the filament and B+ voltage are fed via an external power supply. I can't find a schematic to support this version. I intend to mount a small transformer behind the 0A2 and create a B+ power supply. A schematic and or advice on this unique unit would be welcome!
I knew a Jeff Tranter when I was growing up in Bristol, Pa.
Good video, as usual, Jeff. I enjoy your book, too. 73 de ka8syv
I peered inside mine and found a remarkable thing: the tubes were marked, "Made in Japan for DAYSTROM NICHIMEN"
I just fund one of these in my basement.
Why do I get a yellow light instead of a green light ?
Do you have a unit with a yellow light? Sometimes the "jewel" for the lamp was yellow rather than green, either because Heathkit used a different part or the owner replaced it.
Yes sir , I do have a yellow light . Thanks for the response !
@@jefftranter Wasn't Heathkit known for using whatever they got a good deal on (without compromising quality too much, of course)?
For example some kits using quite odd tube types .. because they secured a truckload of those somehow, and did a model revision when it ran out?
@@VintageTechFan Yes, at least in the vaccoum tube days. They started their first kits (an oscilloscope and VTVM) using a lot of World War II surplus parts.
My daughter want to align her Shortwave Radio, will RF Generator work for this purpose ?
Yes. You'll typically want to get the alignment procedure for the receiver and you may also want to use an AC voltmeter rather than adjusting it for maximum output by ear.
Turn this generator to regenerative receiver.
ola amigo jeff td bem vc pode me enviar o esquema deste desse rf signal gerador te agradeço muito leiderwanwer22@gmail.com