| I have a Heathkit HW-9 QRP transceiver.
Of all of my many ham radios... it is my favorite. I've completed many
modifications to this little rig... and because of this effort I have messed
it up and caused it NOT to work. Using the Heath HW-9 build it manual
to figure out what was wrong was a challenge because there is not a block
diagram of the little radio's signal flow. So, I did a lot of reading
and came up with these diagrams:
HW-9 Trouble Shooting Block Diagram PDF
(one big sheet)
HW-9
Trouble Shooting Block Diagram PDF (two 8.5 x 11 sheets to paste
together)
Note: These diagrams do NOT show the keying
circuit... just signal flow on RECV or XMIT.
Heathkit Catalog
Advertisement of HW-9
HW-9 dis-assembly advice: To remove the T/R board to
unsolder/solder... ya gotta remove the band selector nylon switch shaft.
There are couple of caveats to consider:
A. Make sure that the switch rotors are not moved from their original
position. The switch can be 180 degrees off if not careful.
I know, I've done it.
B. The nylon shaft can be hard to pull out and return. I put some
silicone grease lubricant on the shaft and it made it a whole lot easier to
push it back into the switch rotators. Otherwise it seemed like I was
gonna break one of the phenolc switch wafers when pushing on the shaft.
More HW-9 Info:
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HW-9 Index of
Articles in ARRL publications...
"Heath HW-9 Deluxe QRP CW Transceiver" (Product Review), QST, July
1985, pp. 37-39
"Improving the HW-9 Transceiver," QST, April 1988, pp. 26-29
"HW-9 Tips" (Technical Correspondence), October 1988, p. 43
"HW-9 Tips" (Feedback), QST, December 1988, p. 32
"AGC-Threshold Control for the Heath HW-9 Transceiver, An" (Hints and
Kinks), QST, March 1990, p. 43
"Narrow IF Filter for the Heath HW-9 Transceiver, A" (Hints and Kinks),
QST, June 1990, pp. 40-41
"Modifications and Improvements to the HW-9," QEX, October 1990,
pp. 3-9
"HW-9 Modifications Update" (Correspondence) QEX, May 1991, pp.
16-17
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But Wait... There's More...
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You can get Cynthia's book at
Amazon.com
CLICK HEREThe ARRL used to
sell this book... but I can't find it on their
website. However, they sell Cynthia's other books.
CLICK HERE
Oh yah... the fine print:
Disclaimer: I do not know Cynthia Wall
KA7ITT. I simply like her book, Night Signals.
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If you have never
read Cynthia Wall's (KA7ITT) book, "Night Signals"...
then I say you are not a "HW-9 Enthusiast".
I will even go out on thin ice and accuse you of not being a "QRP
operator who uses Morse Code enthusiast".
Some old curmudgeon might tell you it is a sappy teenage romance novel
type of book... but most young people who have any interest in ham radio
really like this book. I am over 55 years old... and I enjoyed the
book for many reasons. The story line in Night Signals is very much like
this one:
Article
from September 23, 2008, The Everett (WA) Herald Newspaper:
Hiker safe with help of ham radio
The man, who used a
radio to send out a call for help, was one of two rescued on Sunday.
By
Jackson Holtz
Herald Writer
A series of
dots and dashes bouncing off the ionosphere Sunday helped save a hiker
stranded on Buck Creek Pass east of Glacier Peak.
The hiker who broke his leg used a low-voltage portable radio and Morse
code to send out a call to help.
Six hundred miles away in Bozeman, Mont., Robert Williams was testing
his ham radio Sunday when he heard the call signal, "W-7-A-U."
Williams replied and quickly learned, in the dashes and dots, that he
was talking with a 62-year-old Corvallis, Ore., man, who had slipped and
hurt himself in the high Cascades of Western Washington.
"I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams, 65, said
Monday. "It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great."
Williams called 911 and was connected to Snohomish County
search-and-rescue officials. He spent much of Sunday and Monday relaying
information including GPS coordinates from the hiker to rescuers.
"It was quite an experience," Williams said. "I'm just glad that he was
a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It made the
difference for him."
On Sunday, rescue crews reached the man who had set up camp on Buck
Creek Pass, at about 6,000 feet just west of the Chelan County line.
He was taken to safety Monday on horseback.
The call set in motion one of two mountain rescues Sunday.
ARRL's version of the story CLICK HERE
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