N2EY wrote:


One of their most amazing feats was the HW-16. In some ways it was
the very best Heathkit ham rig ever made, because it gave a Novice
*exactly* what was needed, at a low low price. Good CW receiver and
Novice gallon transmitter in one box with sidetone, TR switch, etc.
Nothing else needed but a key, speaker, antenna and xtals. No
frills but no shortcomings either. For a nickel less than $100.

I snipped all the stuff about "investment vehicles" because that topic
doesn't interest me as much as a good rig.

Like many I have scaled back due to my flagging interest in hamming. My
wonderful but worn out IC-745 went the way of ebay and I started
hunting for a good old CW boatanchor setup that most suited my
needs...basically 40/20 CW and tube type. (antique radio restoration is
my other hobby)
I went thru a bunch of various pieces and all were nice but had
shortcomings in one way or another. External power supply, external
antenna relay, too bulky, too tempramental, futzing around with wannabe
sidetones and mutes and so forth.
Thought about homebrewing but had a hard time justifying the expense vs
satisfaction for my casual operating.
I landed on the HW-16 (and a VFO) for less than $65 total and I'm happy
as a pig in mud with it. I converted 15m to 20m....well, that popped
me 20 more bux for the xtal. It may be a cheap little rig but it does
everything right for me even after being a ham for 30+ years and DXCCing
300+ countries.

-BillM WX4A