Amateur Radio Lab

Building, Troubleshooting, and Connecting Through Amateur Radio

Page 2 of 2

HW-101 Refurbishment – 5. Resistors – Check and replace out of tolerance

The next step in the refurbishment process is to check all of the resistors to make sure that they are within tolerance. The Heathkit HW-100 series radios use carbon composition resistors that as they age can come out of tolerance…. Continue Reading →

HW-101 Refurbishment – 4. General Cleanup

In this step of the process we further remove the panels and knobs from the radio and perform a general cleanup including a soapy wash, rinse cycle followed by “baking” the rig . Cleaning Preparation Prior to washing down the… Continue Reading →

HW-101 Refurbishment – 3. Tubes – Pull, Clean and Test

The next step in the process is to start depopulating the vacuum tubes. As the tubes are depopulated feel free to use the section as a reference. Tube Locations, Part Number and Functions Reference designators are a short hand identifier… Continue Reading →

POTA – US-1487 – Belle Isle State Park

It was a bit of a chilly activation with the temperatures in the mid 20°Fs. Even with the colder weather this is one of my favorite parks to activate, due generous amount of open and available space. In the summer… Continue Reading →

HW-101 Refurbishment – 2. Power up (optional)

If you talk with different Elmers this step will likely lead to much debate. The next step in the refurbishment process that I follow is completely optional and is an initial power up and rough functional check. The real question… Continue Reading →

HW-101 Refurbishment – 1. Visual Inspection

Introduction – Prior to performing any work on a boat anchor I perform a simple visual inspection to look for obvious issues before we get into the “meat and potatoes” of cleanup. In many cases a through visual inspection should… Continue Reading →

POTA – US-4487 – Hiawatha National Forrest

I spent a recent trip in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to enjoy the winter weather and some of ice formations in Munising, near Picture Rocks National Lakeshore and found some time on my hands for an activation.  In past summers I… Continue Reading →

HW-101 Refurbishment – Preface

Introduction In 2003 with my General class privileges in hand, I picked up my first HF radio at a ham swap, a Heathkit HW-100. At the time of purchasing the radio I had no experience working with vacuum tubes and… Continue Reading →

Bird Termaline Wattmeter Model 6154

Background In the fall of 2024 I acquired a Bird Termaline Wattmeter-dummy load from an estate of a former electronic tinker. This specific gentlemen’s estate included a sizable allotment of test equipment, components and many scattered Motorola radios all in… Continue Reading →

Welcome to Amateur Radio Lab!

Whether you’re an experienced operator or a beginner, this site will become a go-to resource for documenting my experiences into the world of amateur radio with topics including hands-on projects, experimentation, and learning. Here, we’ll dive into everything from the… Continue Reading →

Newer posts »

© 2026 Amateur Radio Lab — Powered by WordPress

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑