Starting this week, I will be writing Ham Radio articles for Makezine.com . My posts beging with coverage of my trip to Dayton’s Hamvention this past weekend.
At the convention I started getting into vintage radios. WA3CEX had a awesome restored 1964 Collins Radio Company Communications Van. Then I found a Heathkit Twoer in the flea market. Heathkit was one of the first companies to make electronic kits right after WWII. They started with oscilliscopes and later made many kits including radios. Since Heathkits were kits, they eliminated the cost of assembly and were able to sell electronics much cheaper, making them accessible to everyone. The Twoer was part of the Benton Harbor Lunch Box series, cute little portable radios with a handle like lunch boxes. There were four versions the first was for CB, Citizen’s Band which anyone could operate on without a ham license (back in the day when getting a license was more difficult and required knowledge of morse code). Then there was a 10 meter (the Tener), 6 meter (the Sixer) and 2 meter (the Twoer) radio. The one at the flea market had some damage so I am going to scour the internet and ebay for a better one. All of the Benton Harbor Lunch Box series have the same case, so I am looking for a Tener, Sixer, or Twoer. I have not yet decided if I will restore the radio or gut it and put a new radio inside. Either way I like to operate from the park and it will be cute to sit in the park with my Benton Harbor Lunch Box radio while I am operating picnic table portable.
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I was cleaning out my garage this past weekend and came across a sixer I’ve had since the mid 80s! It’s in VG condition from what I can tell. I think I used it a little back in the 80s, but it’s been in storage since. As I recall, it is an AM unit which covers 50-54 MHz. I don’t remember much activity back then, but then again, I didn’t have much of an antenna and the band had moved to FM.
OH man! definitely restore that old Twoer! Its a classic! I used to have one myself. Good old Crystal control!
– Mike WB8ERJ
Diana, you really should restore that radio. It’s a classic, and they ain’t making any more of ‘em. As you know, Heathkit folded up once again, this time for good. Just be prepared to tolerate a lot of interference thanks to the supergenny receiver, which, although nominally AM, will probably detect FM just fine.
-Woody K3VSA