Fun with an HW-8
Video Release – Our first video featuring the HW-8 along with the 3CPO code oscillator/keyer and CALF audio filter looking for the CBLA (Color Bust Liberation Army) on 3.579545MHz.
You Light up My Life
Brighten up the HW-7, HW-8, and HW-9 with HW-8 light boards over the dial and meter.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
QSK Mods for the HW-8 and HW-7:
Here are a few mods found in the HW-8 handbook. They are also highly recommended for the T/R switch below.
 Change C92 to 1uF – Located between the relay and delay trimmer. |
 Change R27 to 470K – Located under the Audio output jack. |
 Add a .47uF capacitor between the Base and Collector of Q1 |
And a mod to fix keying issues for the HW-7 – A great find from Rich KR7W via Frank K0JQZ.
It appears the HW-8 and HW-7 use the same relay driver circuit. The only difference on the HW-7 is R14 which is 10x too big (should be 4.7K). Also on the HW-7 C19 is 25uF but on the HW-8 it is a mere 10uF. The simple resistor fix seems good enough where I have not bothered trying to change C19 as well. However……. When installing the TR board in the HW-8 it is recommended to change C92 to 1uF per the HW-8 handbook QSK circuit so if it’s still not fast enough QSK then you may want to consider lowering C19 down to 10uF or even 1uF.
T/R Switching:
T/R Switch kits are available in the store.
2015-03-17 – Update – 4 boards now built. 1 stand alone and the other 3 in my HW-7 & HW-8’s. All seem to be operating great. Pretty cool hearing between the characters. Kits are made up and ready. Just need some time to update the web site now.
2015-03-05 – Update – The PCB’s are in and 2 boards built. First board was an outboard T/R switch. Was able to handle 100W when it started smoking! Not bad for a 10-20W design!! Switch was working so good board #2 went into the HW-8. So far it’s working as planned. Rx isolation in transmit mode is > 40dB and the receive loss is < 3db (less than 1/2 an S-unit).
| HW-8-TR Board | HW-8-TR Installed in HW-8 | HW-8-TR installed in the HW-7 |
 |
 |
 |
2015-01-25 – The annoying click-click-click of the HW-8 relay finally provoked me into replacing it with a more modern circuit. To make things more interesting I also plan on using this design in a future rig with a 10W output.
The initial breadboard test was from the HW-8 handbook using diode switching. But there were a few issues. One was the high amount of current consumption in both transmit and receive. Another was the isolation was mediocre but probably acceptable. There was also 3-6dB losses involved in both receive and transmit. So on to the next design…….
The next version was a MOSFET one based somewhat on the N5ESE design and also used in the OpenQRP.org project. The breadboard did not seem to have the isolation as in the diode design. I have also read that the 2N7000 MOSFETs can be destroyed under high SWR/abuse conditions. The OpenQRP project used a ZVNL110A which helps that problem. Unfortunately only 2N7000’s were in the junk box. So they say the third time’s the charm………
A hybrid of the 2 designs by placing one of the diode sections from the first design in front of the MOSFET’s of the second. Isolation seemed better (>50dB) with no Tx loss and <3dB (1/2 an S-unit) Rx loss, low current consumption over the first design, and protection of the MOSFETs, A good compromise.
For the low power of the HW-8 you can probably jumper out the diode T/R section leaving only the MOSFET section. However, the design is for other uses later on, such as a 10W amplifier.
Audio Boards:
Audio Replacement kits are available in the store.
Back in 2013 ago I purchased a Heathkit HW-8 e-clunker from Ebad. It took some work to get it running, and I still have an issue with microphonics, but I am having a blast with it. One of my caveats is the original audio board can’t directly drive a speaker or 8 ohm headphone. So I decided to give it some more oomph and replace it with a basic LM386 audio amp and PCB designed to fit in it’s place. It’s nice to hear it off a speaker now.
Download the assembly manual and schematic: HW-8-LM386-V4-Manual.
Download the assembly manual and Schematic for the new V3 version: HW-8-LM386-V3-assembly.
HW-7 Owners
This board also works on a HW-7 with a few modifications (Note: these are older instructions before terminal blocks, just secire the resistor and wires in the terminal block positions where mentioned):
- Disconnect the “Phones” wire going from the PCB to the phones jack.
- Connect a wire from the Phones jack GROUND to the GND hole on the audio board.
- Connect a wire from the power switch to the +12V hole on the audio board
- Connect a wire from the OUT hole on the audio board to the phone jack tip.
- On the audio board place a 1K resistor across the IN hole to one of the GND holes (do not solder the IN hole yet!)
- Place one end of a 33K resistor also in the same IN hole. Solder.
- Connect the free “Phones” wire to the other side of the 33K resistor.
- Set the audio board trimmer to half way. Turn on your rig and enjoy!
MC1496 Adapter board
MC1496 Adapter kits are available in the store.
If you smoked your MC1496G IC1 you will find it’s getting harder to find now days and the prices can be anywhere from $16-27 EACH on Ebay! The 14 pin DIP is available but also getting harder to find and is pretty large for the circuit. I found the SMD version of the part is small, CHEAP, and fits well using a circular carrier board. I have a few spares available in my store area. The assembly manual can be found here.
Reduce Audio Popping in the HW-8 by KC9ON
Improve the HW-8 Audio (quick and easy mod!)
Thank you Georges, F6DFZ, for this great mod!
This modification used to remove some of the raspy sound by reducing the gain of the op amp from infinite to a more reasonable value. This in turn removes the clipping of all audio into square waves.
a) Remove the wire from the center terminal of the Wide/Narrow switch.
b) Clip one end of the 4.7K resistor so only about 1/2″ of lead remains.
c) Solder the clipped end to the center terminal of the Wide/Narrow switch.
d) Clip the other end of the 4.7K resistor so only 1/2″ lead remains.
e) Solder the removed wire to the end of the resistor.
f) Make sure the resistor and soldered wire do not touch the chassis or other components. Optional – Tape or shrink wrap the resistor and connection.
Repairing loose slugs (Bad drifting and micro-phonics)
I noticed my VFO tuning coil, L9, was extremely loose and very touchy when trying to adjust it. I found a post on the QRP-L group which NN6CW suggested wrapping Teflon plumbers tape around the slug to make it tighter. I ended up putting about 2 turns of thin tape on. The coil adjusted very smoothly! In addition the micro-phonics is now eliminated and my drift is less than 1KHz over the first hour and around 100Hz drift up to 9 hours later!
Shorting pre-selector capacitor lets the smoke out of Q1
I had a problem with one of my HW-8’s where turning the pre-selector capacitor fully clockwise, C301B section would short out and kill the front end MPF102 transistor. I just could not figure out where it was shorting and how to repair it. So instead of spending big bucks for a new cap, or trying my hardest not to put the pre-selector fully clockwise, there is a simple fix. Cut the wire going from the pre-selector C301B to point A on the circuit board. Insert a .1uF capacitor in line. Don’t forget the shrink tubing or electrical tape. Problem solved!
Improving Receiver Sensitivity (as suggested by F6DFZ)
A Simple way to improve receiver sensitivity is to replace the front end transistor Q1 with an MPF102.
Add an S-Meter to the HW-8 (WB7OVJ via QST Hints and Kinks)
Only 4 simple parts and a hunk of wire to add a simple S-meter. I didn’t have a 12K resistor handy so used a 10K, which seems to work.
Keeping the HW-7 and HW-8 from loosing the magic smoke!
This is a simple mod to prevent these rigs from going up in smoke when you accidentally swap the power supply lines. All you need is a rectifier diode and piece of shrink tubing. I use 1N4007’s but any of the 1N400x’s will work. Just cut the wire between the power connect + lead and the power switch. Slide on the shrink tubing. Solder in the diode, banded end (cathode) going toward the switch. Then slide the shrink tubing over the diode and exposed leads and shrink. You will loose .7V (diode drop) going to the board but you probably won’t miss it and prevent an accident from happening.
UPDATE – I no longer use 1N400x series diodes for blocking. These have been replaced with a reverse polarity protection board (P-MOSFET).
Reverse Polarity protection kits are available in the store.
A host of mods from WB9CYY
-
-
-
-
- Simple headphone mod
- 440Hz shift, Audio Bandpass, and Sidetone mod
- 100KHz Calibrator
- Frequency Counter Mod
- Improving the Audio band pass filter
- QSK Mods
- Better Muting Mod
- A Better Sidetone mod
-
-
-
More HW-8 MODS and tips:
If you know of a good tip or mod for the HW-8, please let me know and I will post it on this page!
HW-9 Mapping
Recently I had to repair and re-align an HW-9 for a friend. While in there I decided to save O-scope screen shots along the way. This is a nice companion to the HW-9 schematic when poking around and the folders are laid out in the order of the alignment instructions!
You can find it right here: hw-9-mapping
HW-7 & HW-8 BNC Mod
Changing the RCA antenna jack to BNC is a fairly easy modification.
Requirements: BNC Chassis Connector, Wrench/Pliers, Solder Iron / Solder, Drill and/or File, and DMM.
First unsolder the 2 wires going to the RCA jack. Bend the ground tab flush with the chassis, then with pliers or a wrench remove the RCA nut and pull out the old RCA connector.
Second open up the hole slightly. Go a little at a time until the BNC just fits in. I used a step drill a couple turns at a time which ended up just shy of the 3/8″ mark. File smooth any burrs or to remove a little paint in the area for a good electrical connection. Make sure NOT to go too far into the unit with the drill/file and end up hitting parts inside. ALSO – Make sure all those filings are GONE! – we don’t want any shorts!
Finally install the new BNC connector with ground lug, lock washer and nut. Tighten as best as possible. I found an adjustable wrench on the nut while holding the connector with pliers worked good. Then solder the two wires back onto the BNC connector. Test connector ground to chassis with a DMM to make sure it is electrically grounded.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
You must be logged in to post a comment.