The Heathkit HW-29A "Sixer"

Here is my latest acquisition, a Heathkit HW-29A, also know as the "Sixer" or Bentor Harbor Lunchbox" for its lunchbox like physical characteristics and Benton being the home base of the Heathkit corporation. 

The HW-29A was a Heathkit product of the early 1960's and sold as a kit.  It had a new price in 1961 of just $44.95!

The HW-29A was an Amateur Radio VHF Transceiver covering the 50-54MHz or 6m band in AM mode. The transmitter portion was crystal controlled, using a 8MHz crystal and frequency multiplier to achieve the proper carrier frequencies. It boasted 2.5 Watt RF Output so one could classify this as a QRP transceiver of its time.

The receiver section of the HW-29A used an regenerative detector circuit to achieve 1uV sensitivity.

Power for the HW-29A could be derived from 120 VAC line voltage or, for mobile use, from an external 260Volt DC "B+ supply" and 6 or 12 volts DC to power the tube's filaments.

Many of the WH-29As were "field modified" to allow for easier operation. The most common modifications where the relocation of the crystal and RF final plate control to the front panel so that you didn't have to crack open the case to make these adjustments. In addition, many ham radio enthusiasts replaced RCA style antenna jack with a SO-239 connector which ensured a positive connection to the antenna.

The HW-29A had two siblings, the HW-30 "Twoer" and the HW-19 "Tener" which had similar "lunchbox" design and covered the 2m and 10m bands respectively.