heath HA-10 - just committed for $90

[Opcom]

A friend called me and said his buddy the antique dealer found an HA-10 at a gar(b)age sale and can get it cheaply so I agreed. Not that I need it but for the cost it should be worth trading unless it's a rustbox. They are said to have poor cooling, no TR switch, and a vulnerable HV choke, plus the fact of four 811A's makes the manufacturer's KW claim a bit suspicious, however it has merits if not abused.

Input spec in the manual says B+ 1500V, 1KW PEP on SSB, 400W AM, 650W RTTY, which I would assume to be a CCS rating for 'single tone'.

I should be able to fix up and make a little boot selling it to a SSB enthusiast. Not sure if it's worth putting (buying) Chinese 572B's in.

Another possibility is to strip and rebuild it for higher voltage tubes and replace the LC filter with a capacitor bank. Not sure if it is worth that, unknown how decent the plate iron is or its resistance.

Or - parting it out as someone might need the choke or other parts.

I guess we'll see what I got, how clean it is, when it gets here. eham reviews aside, I'd appreciate comments and criticisms on this model of amp from here, as I have never owned one.

[K5UJ]

The HA-10 "Warrior" is a battleship amp sold by Heath in the 1960s, so the 1 KW is most likely a power input spec.  Stock, that is an amp with a choke input filter and a pair of 866As but most have been modified by now.

Put in 572Bs.  If the power supply has not been modified, I'd check the caps and put in Xenon rectifiers and run it with them.  It won't win any power contests but it will sit there and put out 500 w. continuous duty. 

If you decide to sell it, here is a tip:  I am told that amp is sought after by RTTY ops because it is so robust in terms of high duty cycle.  I'd start out offering it for sale on the greenkeys email list.

rob

[WQ9E]

I agree with Rob.  The HA-10 and KL-1 are very different from the later SB series in overall design philosophy.  There is nothing wrong with the various SB series amps but weight and size were clearly important design issues unlike the first generation amps.

My HA-10 is stock except for SS replacements for the MV rectifiers and it behaves as it should.  For $90 you got a great deal.

[Opcom]

I think you guys are right. A good checking and cleanup, a test, and it should be good for trade. I should find out what they sell for. There used to be a site that listed buy/sell prices of ham gear.

I may have some good 811's if replacements are needed. 572B's prices seem high, $35 - $80 each for China - Russia. Several sites say "call". That always seems a sucker deal. Would I actually get the tube money back if I did re-tube with them?

One nice thing, vertical tube mounting..

[N8ETQ]

  Yo'


       I took this thing in trade for repair work with the
same thought in mind. Kinda attached to it now, though
I've never used it. It's cool. Let the buyer re-tube it if
required.

/Dan

[WQ9E]

Dan,

The HXL-1 is another well built vintage amplifier.  I think the 1500 watt PEP rating may be a little optimistic but they get creativity points for using the rationale that each of the 572B tubes is equivalent in plate dissipation to three 811 tubes so a pair of 57B is equivalent to six 811 tubes in parallel

I acquired mine to go with a HQ-170A/HX-50 station.