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Heath of the Month #92 - SW-717 Communications Receiver

Heathkit of the Month #92:

by Bob Eckweiler, AF6C

AMATEUR RADIO - SWL

Heathkit SW-717

General Coverage Communications Receiver.

Introduction:

Over its lifetime Heathkit Company manu-

factured 17 general coverage (GC) communi-

cations receivers. To be considered in this

arbitrary category the receiver must cover

the AM broadcast (BC) band and a signifi-

cant portion of the frequencies above it in the

HF range that ends at 30 MHz. The coverage

should be mostly continuous, though gaps for

technical reasons are acceptable

1

. Additional

coverage, such as the LW band below the BC

band or frequencies above 30 MHz, is al-

lowed. Some of the included Heathkit GC re-

ceivers only cover to 10 MHz and others only

to 20 MHz. Superheterodyne receivers make

up 14 of the 17, the other three being super-

regenerative receivers. Ham-band only and

even band-oriented SWL receivers are not

considered general coverage, so you won’t see

the SB receivers on the list.

Evidently, general coverage kit receivers

were a profitable product; they seemed to be

a popular beginner’s kit as well as a moder-

ate kit for the more experienced kit builder.

Heath focused on having one or two receivers

on the market for the beginner, usually at

very reasonable prices for modest perfor-

mance. They also manufactured some higher

performance receivers as well as portable re-

ceivers that could run off batteries. Features

varied with cost; crystal filters, dual conver-

sion, S-meter, an RF amplifier stage and a

tracking bandspread control are often miss-

ing on the low-end radios.

The first receivers were the super-regenera-

tive K-1 and K-2 (HotM #s 80 & 81). They were

followed by the superheterodyne AR-1

through AR-3. In 1960 Heath released their

first transistorized GC receiver, the Mohican

GC-1, later updated to the GC-1A (HotM #34).

As part of Heathkit’s early educational series

they produced the EK-2A and EK-2B “Basic

Radio Educational Series” in two parts. In

part one the student builds various circuits

including a crystal receiver and later a re-

generative receiver. However, in part two the

receiver is modified and expanded into a six-

tube general coverage superheterodyne re-

ceiver that covers the broadcast band and 3

to 10 MHz; passing the GC requirements.

Around 1961 Heath started the GR receiver

line which includes general coverage short-

wave radios along with many other general

radios including clock radios and AM/FM

portables. Qualifying GC receivers from this

group are (in chronological order) the GR-81,

GR-91, GR-64, GR-54, GR-43[A] and GR-78

(HotM #62). The solid-state GR-43 and its ‘A’

update are clones of the Zenith Transoceanic

Copyright 2008 - 2017, R. Eckweiler & OCARC, Inc.

Page ! of !1 9

Here is a link to the index of Heathkit of the

Month (HotM) articles:

http://www.w6ze.org/Heathkit/Heathkit_Index.html

Figure 1: SW-717 General Coverage Receiver!

Note substitute knob to left.

Heathkit SW-717 - SW-717 Overview and Specifications

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