Heathkit Dx 40 TRansmitter

[Cj1]

so i have one of these heathkit dx 40 transmitters here at the shack, my question is, what can i use with this.. will the heathkit vf 1 work with this? what Exactly do i need to fire this up? vfo? receiver? do anyone know What model #'s would work with this?

thanks for any info you might have

[231]

Boy, that's a VERY old rig! Congrats' on picking it up. I just googled it and found [Please login or register to view this link] Interesting. If nothing else it tells a little more about it. That must be from back in the 50's when 11m was part of the ham bands.

['Doc]

That brings back memories!
Been a long time since I've seen one of those thingys. As they sit, it's a very nice crystal controled CW transmitter which puts out about 40 watts. That advertised power is -input-, not -output-, by the way. That's just how things were done back then.
A VFO could certainly be added to one making it not crystal controlled, but for general use. (The DX-40 was sold as a 'Novice' transmitter, Novices were crystal controlled and limited to 75 watts of power at that time.) It was only a CW transmitter, no voice capabilities without adding a separate modulator. When all that was done you ended up with something in the neighborhood of 50 - 75 watts of AM, sort of (that's a very optimistic guess as to power, and it's input, not output!). They were very nice kits, easy to put together if you knew anything about electronics.
Would it be worth using now? Not unless you just like messing with 'vintage' gear. Then again, if done correctly, they would sound as good as anything comparable today.
- 'Doc

Oh, you could use any receiver you happened to have with one. If you could 'latch' onto an old Drake '2B', or '2C', you'd have one of the better set ups of it's day. Or if you really wanted to get fancy, a Drake '2NT' transmitter and a Drake '2C' receiver, which could be interconnected to have a 'two piece' transceiver! Oh, and you'll need an antenna change-over relay too...

[721HACKSAW]

so i have one of these heathkit dx 40 transmitters here at the shack, my question is, what can i use with this.. will the heathkit vf 1 work with this? what Exactly do i need to fire this up? vfo? receiver? do anyone know What model #'s would work with this?

thanks for any info you might have

A time machine would be the most beneficial! LOL They were great radios back in the day, but with all of the leaps in technology since then you can get a radio with everything in it, transmitter, reciever, VFO, freq. counter ect.. that will perform so much better. If you have a desire to learn and don't mind experimenting with old parts and equipment check HAM fests, repair shops ect.. Good luck.

[KKD3088]

(The DX-40 was sold as a 'Novice' transmitter, Novices were crystal controlled and limited to 75 watts of power at that time.) It was only a CW transmitter, no voice capabilities without adding a separate modulator.

It was not a CW only transmitter. I owned one 43 years ago. The DX-40 had a controlled-carrier screen modulator for AM. Granted, the controlled-carrier effect does not generate a loud signal, but it was an inexpensive entry-level transmitter for the Novice class licensee with AM for when the Novice upgraded to General Class.

The next transmitter in the Heathkit lineup at the time was the DX-100 which had a pair of 6146s in the final stage plate modulated with a pair of 1625s. The DX-100 and the DX-40 both had that "Forbidden Planet" Krell doorway motif design on the front panel. But that's where the resemblance ended.

['Doc]

Are you thinking DX-40, or DX-60? The DX-60 did have AM capability, the DX-40 did not.
- 'Doc

Oops! Scratch that, it did do AM. Dam, was thinking about the DX-20. It's been a while and my
memory ain't that good.