[Boatanchors] Comarison?

[Mark Johnson]

Bob, I have, or have had, all 3 types. Collins S-Line, Heath SB twins, and the Drake twins. As with all this ancient stuff, they all require work and repair. The absolute worst equipment to repair, from my perspective, is the Drake gear. Poor manuals are the biggest gripe. Heath is the best from a repair perspective as the manuals are The Best. 

 

I did like the fact that you could use either the transmitter or the receiver VFO for transcieve with the Drake gear but I did not like the Drake operational or ergonmic characteristics. Not user friendly, at least to me. 

 

The Heath twins, once you get them working, are fine. Easy to use, 500khz bandspread which to me is nicer than the 200khz on the S-Lines, and I like the 400hz CW filtering on the Heath gear. Fine on both CW and SSB. 

 

Collins S-Line set up is  nice to operate, other than that 200khz tuning bandwidth, and fine to repair with good manuals. Collins manuals are not as "novice friendly" as the Heath manuals. Further, Collins gear, if kept out the hands of the "replace all cap's theorists" are very well built and made to last.  Watch for badly installed field modifications. I have seen many of these rigs. 

 

If I had to pick one set...I'd go Heath. Bear in mind that even with superior manuals, Heath stuff can be tricky in that you never really know if the stuff worked right from the get go as some one, not a factory,  built the pieces.  Repairs, backing out modifications, intermittents, are all a challenge with Heath gear. However, once fully operational and working I prefer them. The tuning dials are not up to Collins spec., but they're fine; again if adjusted and installed correctly.

 

The other nice thing about the Heath twins - cheap and plentiful and no unusual parts. 

 

Just my thoughts

 

Mark V Johnson VE3DJU/VE3DDI
 
> From: macklinbob at msn.com
> To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:39:04 -0800
> Subject: [Boatanchors] Comarison?
> 
> I would like to know how the Drake R4/T4 twins compare to the Heath SB twins.
> 
> I have had a Heath SB-301/SB-401 pair for many years. The SB-301 has all three filters so it's as good as it gets.
> 
> My question is how do the Drake twins compare to the Heath twins. I have had friends that preferred the Drake twins over the Heath twins.
> 
> The Collins S-Line is outside my budget and I don't see a major improvement for the money required. I think the Collins thing is mostly SNOB APPEAL!
> 
> Bob Macklin
> K5MYJ
> Seattle, Wa.
> "Real Radios Glow In The Dark"
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