[Heath] UPDATE Re: Heathkit HW-100/101 S-meter trouble

[Dick KF4NS]

Hey guys, this a halleluiah message. It may have taken me 6 weeks but after much diligence and attention 
to detail, I have solved all problems and rig is working GREAT! I found that the cap from the crystal 
filter output was connected wrong (pilot error while testing) and resoldered so many connections that I 
am putting the iron away far out of sight. Of the 19 connections resoldered, 8 were wires on the chassic 
bottom that after just a wiggle, pulled right out. When I built the rig in '70 I used Heathkit solder and 
little flux except for heavy duty ground connections. Not sure if the solder or the wires or the flux was 
the cause. I think some of the factory wires were not acceptive to solder and I should have sanded the 
ends before soldering. On the final run test I heard some popping and found the last fault, it was a 
small bridge of solder which was caused by the short I  caused in the beginning and was the hardest to 
find. It left a pit in the circuit board mask so what can I use to add insulating to that section next to 
the trace?

The most important fix was wiring for the ALC and AVC. Those solved the most of the troubles.
Thanks for all the support as I went along with my testing. One huge lessen learned was when probing with 
the rig hot, be very vigilant and remove the probes with caution.

73, Dick KF4NS
St Petersburg, FL 33714 USA
Keep The Glow!



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dick KF4NS" <kf4nsradio at verizon.net>
To: "Dick KF4NS" <kf4nsradio at verizon.net>; <heathkit at mailman.qth.net>; "Heath puck list" 
<heath at puck.nether.net>
Cc: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 9:09 AM
Subject: UPDATE Re: Heathkit HW-100/101 S-meter trouble


| Gentlemen,
| One problem is solved, the constant S9+20, it was due to the replacement of the 2nd IF plate tap I made
| to connect to the SB-610. I removed the coax and changed the coupling cap to a 10pf but left the loose
| end floating on the bottom of the circuit board and that caused an interaction in the IF circuits and 
the
| S-meter to jump up.
|
| If only that had been the end of it. After the cap removal I found a new problem. Now I get no AVC
| S-meter
| reading at all. Rotating the RF Gain pot swings the needle top to bottom so the meter & RF gain pot is
| good. I did all the voltage and resistance tests on all tubes that might affect the AGC/ALC and found
| most very  close to spec. I did not dig into xmit-only circuits. Tubes all tested good. Soldered 
several
| connections that looked suspicious. Relay 2 is working fine and cleaned contacts & tested for 
continuity.
| CAL signal goes through on all bands (USB & LSB) as well as my sig gen signal at the antenna input.
|
| I will now concentrate on tracing the AVC circuit back from the IF. If anyone has any idea what I 
should
| see as a level of AVC voltage compared to increased signal level, please let me know. Heath does not
| cover that bit of info. All I know is the level now is insufficient to move the needle on the S-meter.
|
| Thanks and 73, Dick KF4NS
| St Petersburg, FL 33714 USA
| Keep The Glow!
|
|
| ----- Original Message ----- 
| From: "Dick KF4NS" <kf4nsradio at verizon.net>
| To: <heathkit at mailman.qth.net>; "Heath puck list" <heath at puck.nether.net>
| Cc: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
| Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 10:24 AM
| Subject: Heathkit HW-100/101 S-meter trouble
|
|
|| Ok guys, I am my own worst enemy lately. I can't seem to control my probe. While doing some testing in
|| the IF section of my 100 for gain problems feeding my SB-610, I had my DMM probe on the B+ and while
|| sweeping it away from the test point I caught it on a wire which caused me to lightly touch ground and
|| heard a pop.
||
|| Now the S-meter is messed up. Turning on the rig the meter swings to full then back down to zero
| (normal)
|| then immediately followed by a swing back up to 9 +20 and stays there.
||
|| With all the settings adjusted according to the receive voltage chart I read -.8-15.8vdc (variable 
with
|| the RF gain pot)  at the grid of V3 6AU6 1st IF and 289vdc on the plate, all normal. I read .52vdc at
| the
|| cathode. Swapped V3, tests good.
||
|| At the meter pins on any band I read .25vdc on one side .32vdc on the other with no antenna attached.
| If
|| I touch the grid with a probe there is a loud squeal, no change at the meter. Meter and meter switch
| are
|| fine. CAL sig ON shows no change is meter reading (maybe cuz it would not normally read that high). No
|| burned resistors in the circuit.
||
|| What the H_E double L did I do this time? It has to be in the AVC circuitry.
||
|| 73, Dick KF4NS
|| St Petersburg, FL 33714 USA
|| Keep The Glow!
||
|