[Heath] AR-3 stories.

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

First of all, thank you all for your AR-3 stories. 

One reason I have asked about this receiver is that my very first receiver, 
bought in 1956, when I was a new Novice and still 13 years old, after working 
all summer as a water-boy for my step-father's general contracting company, 
was an AR-3. 

Not knowing any better, I first bought a DX-35 which I built, and which 
worked immediately, THEN I thought about a receiver, and not having much 
extra money, and not knowing anything, bought an AR-3, but no cabinet.

After completing the receiver, I never could get the BFO to work, and during 
my entire Novice year, made exactly two contacts, one a local, and another a 
W6 on 15 meters, by listening to the "shhh" sound.

I was too shy to ask my favorite Elmer, Woody Davey W7CJB, for help as I 
really didn't like to bother him. In retrospect, I should have.

The two contacts was despite filling page after page of my logs with CQs. 
Undoubtedly, there were many, many stations who were frustrated by my 
deafness.

After my Novice license expired, I then brought my code speed up to 13 
WPM using a borrowed Instructograph over the following summer, then 
studied for and passed the test for the Conditional Class license, 
adminstered by Woody.

Eventually, one of my step-father's sub-contractors gave me an S-41G which 
he had found in the basement of a rented house, which I fixed, and finally 
had a REAL receiver with a REAL BFO that REALLY worked. I made many 
contacts using that poor-excuse for a receiver.

My next receiver was a borrowed S-38D, on which I made my very first DX 
contact with a "G" station on New Years Day on 20 meters.

Finally, my Mother took pity on me and bought me a BC-348 from one of my 
Elmers, and I was finally making some real progress. That receiver was a 
real delight to me.

Within the last few years, I have 1) been very interested in leanring how well 
the AR-3 actually worked when the BFO actually worked, and 2) am 
interested in getting my original Novice station working for use in the 
upcoming CX "contest" on January 31 this year. There are a considerable 
number of "points" given for using your first Novice setup AND for using 
Heathkit gear.

I now have a working, refurbished S-41G and am amazed that I could ever 
have used such a truly marginal receiver to ever make contacts, yet I made 
hundreds of them at the time using it.

Now I want to try a working AR-3. I have two here now, both needing 
refurbishment. The best-looking one was very-poorly constructed and 
doesn't work at all, other than hum, while the crappiest looking one works 
fairly well with phones, although the voice-coil in the speaker is open.

I'll "re-kit" both and build one, hopefully, working one from the remains, then 
will see how it works.

Thanks again for all the stories and information.

vy 73 to all for now.

Ken W7EKB