The Heathkit SW-717 General Coverage Receiver
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video we look at the Heathkit SW-717 General Coverage Receiver. I look at the history of the radio, it's features, and take a look at it inside and out. I discuss the restoration of this particular unit and demonstrate it being operated.
Hello Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to set up, record and post your videos. A video museum of working classic Heathkit instruments. Most appreciated. Take care. Mike VE3XLF
Jeff you are a Heathkit expert. The GC1A is my favorite of the Heathkits . I watch all your videos. Thanks a lot Jeff.
A friend of mine, in Ottawa as it happens, just gave me this model radio, today. He built it as a teenager. I haven't turned it on yet. Looking forward to trying it out.
This was my first venture into BCB and SWL back in 1972 and was the receiver that encouraged me to get into amateur radio in 1974 as WN4JAT. I used it to learn and copy code before I took my first novice test. I just found and bought one on Ebay yesterday in fairly good shape except the rear cardboard is warped from what I could see and looking forward to recalling some great memories. I already downloaded a manual so I will go through it with a fine tooth comb once it arrives soon. Take care, 73 de WA4JAT
My dad and I also put one of these together in around 1975 or there abouts. I still have it and bring it out from time to time. Due to not having a signal generator, my alignment was always done using the WWV transmissions. As a result, it was notoriously out of alignment. Unfortunately, I stripped one of the tuning capacitor screws at one one, and will have to figure out a source for a replacement.
The reason that the feet were missing on your unit is probably the same reason that mine had to be replaced. The feet were hard plastic buttons into which you screwed a screw into the bottom of the case. After a few years, the plastic degraded and all of the feet split and fell off around the screws.
The AM rod antenna on the back of mine was broken in half during one of the many moves that I made while I was a college student. I'll have to source a replacement for that as well.
This was a great unit for a kid to fiddle with and it gave me hours and hours of enjoyment as a kid.
Thank you for doing the review. Your radio is in considerably better condition with respect to scratches and dings compared to mine.
Hi Jeff, thankyou for a interesting and informative video,I bought this radio off eBay,recently,so far I just switched it on and checked it powers up, after watching your video,I am now going to test drive it many thanks Derek.
I got one of these for Christmas when I was 12.. either 1976 or 1977..I enjoyed building it, wasn't good at soldering but I got her done.. bought a book on shortwave and quickly lost interest.. but it sure is great to see one after all these years!
Wonderful Vintage Receiver, I have a Same.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a good night and beautiful weekend.
73's from F-15413 Bernard & SWL Flamby, my little Dog, in JN38IT.
See you soon.
Thanks for your video. I just picked one up for $40 and very good condition.
Great video as always. There is one being sold locally for $60. But is an entry level radio. Good for SWling. Learned it from your video. Your example is in pristine condition. Take care 73. YS1RS.
Jeff tranter your Hathkit sw_17 general coverage reciver is cool
Very useful video, many thanks.
Very good video. Very clear.
I'll have to get my SW-717 off the top shelf sometime (I think that's where I stored the manual which should have my date written in it) but that was not billed as a mid range receiver but rather something like "Low Cost General Coverage Receiver" that initially cost $39.95 as a kit, not $139.95. It was their cheapest desktop SW receiver that they offered and it went up in list price $10 every year or two...can't remember exactly as I was a teen in high school when I built it and I'm now 57.
I just acquired one by way of ebay.Mine has a howl to it on AM and the reception isn't as good as my GR 91,GR 54 and GR 64 receivers.Someone mounted the speaker on the top of the cabinet rather than on the side.The receiver is in overall nice shape.I gave $40 for mine.I didn't like the knobs on it so I put some knobs from an old Hallicrafters 5R10 on it.As with my other Heathkits,the shortwave bands are totally dead.
Nice video, Jeff.
You convinced me to not buy this radio... It hums badly, there is no RF preamp and the "BFO" turns out to be regen control?!
BTW I owned an SW-7800. It also hummed, but in that case it was due to lack of shielding. It also was not great for SSB, since the selectivity was barn-door wide and the BFO drifted continuously. I put a lot of effort in that rig, including mechanical filter and new BFO circuit, but could never justify to myself why I'd use it for monitoring ham bands vs. a rock-solid Drake 2B.
Heathkit needed to make serious changes to their ham and shortwave products ca 1970 due to technological advancements by the competition. Unfortunately they had financial issues around that time and ended up with compromise units like the SW-7800, HW-5400 and SS-9000.
Not unlike Hallicrafters and other major companies that could not make the transition.
Hi Jeff I inherited this exact radio from my dad when he passed away last year. He had an antenna up on a pole at his house, it just looked like a long wire but I do not want to climb up there to get it. What kind of wire would I need to buy and how long should it be? I live in the country and our property is about 2 clear acres and the rest is woods. Would I need a tall pole for the wire as wel? Any info is appreciated thank you.
The traditional shortwave antenna is just a long wire - the length and height are not critical but the longer the better. Pretty much any wire is suitable. Just make sure it is away from any power lines and does not touch anything that is grounded like rain gutters.
Hey Jeff is it necessary to connect the two hubs(ground & antennae) enabling the FM band "C" stronger signal strength , please?
For the shortwave bands B, C, and D you do need an external antenna, which could be as simple as length of wire. A ground is not absolutely required, but will normally improve reception. The built-in ferrite rod antenna on the back is only used for the AM Band A.
Jeff tranter lam thinking about getting my ham license
I say go for it. A lot has changed since I got involved back in 1974 and so many more modes to choose from now 🙂
I was just wondering what the possibility of this unit being mine at one point. I painted the case with a black wrinkle paint and I had a mark pretty similar to the one above the 550 on band A.
+Rudy Koch I bought the radio at a garage sale in Ottawa, Canada (in the neighbourhood known as The Glebe) on May 23, 2009 for $5. I assumed the black hammertone paint was original because it looks professional, but I can see now that other units on the Internet has a more flat finish. I didn't find any other particular marks that might identify the radio's previous owners. Any possibility your radio ended up in Ottawa?
+Jeff Tranter I guess there is always the possibility, I sold it in Connecticut back in the late 1980's. I still have the original dated manual and receipt. The only number I see is 40-1028 I don't think that is the serial number. You can't beat the price it's in great shape.
Tnx for sharing!
Greetz
CoolAM Radio
Nice radio, excellent review.
Tom (hamrad88)
My first kit as a 14 year old
Me, too!
@@markbrooky3819 I built one too when I was that age. It was challenging to build and the hours just flew by when I was putting it together. It was also a blast to listen to radio stations from all over the world on it. Back then, Radio Shack sold an antenna kit, copper wire and insulators, for around $8.00. Mounted it in the attic and it worked pretty good. Fun times.
I was about 15 in high school in 1972 and it was my first real kit to build.
These radios had better sound than today's radios (most of the time). They are clearer. Why?
My dad & I built one of these in the '80s. We finished assembly, but it never worked. I just dug it out of the attic and hope to get it working. Anyone know where I can find a complete manual? I downloaded a 15 page PDF but the complete manual is over 68 pages.
I didn't find any complete manuals on the Internet. I bought a manual from Data Professionals, which is now part of Heathkit.
Thanks. I already checked there. The Data Professionals site just references Heath. Heath has a link for manuals which is broken. I have sent them an e-mail. I have noticed that the bandspread variable capacitor does not actually turn when the knob is turned. The tip of the shaft seems to turn independently of the actual capacitor. Not sure if this is common or what I may need to do to repair it.
John, try: www.mods.dk/manual.php you'll have to join for a free account and they allow a free download every couple of weeks.
Five years later ( Dec 2022 ) and I downloaded a full manual in PDF.
@@marknesselhaus4376 great! Can you provide a path or even email it to me?
do recepitor heathkit sw 717
Typical of receivers of this price range, that is, not very good. The limited selectivity means that it can be hard to separate CW and SSB signals on a ham band if the band is very active.