Old radios!

[SpaceForceCmdr]

Hi all, hopefully this is the right section for this post. My grandfather recently passed away, so I've been going through his stuff and found some radio gear. I'm into radios, too, but all my stuff is modern, haha. I found the manual for the Mohican in the photo, and more or less figured it out. I wanted to ask about the Heathkit airband radio. Anyone know how this is powered? I see a label for power on the case, but the cutout was not removed, so I'm guessing that's not the place to connect something. The only visible jack looks like an RCA type. I remember him showing me this radio in action as a kid, but I'm not sure how he fired it up. Does the brown casing open, or is it permanently sealed once the kit is built?

Thanks for any tips y'all might have!

 

[mmckenna]

The only visible jack looks like an RCA type.

And it says "ANT" on it, which would be for an external antenna.

I remember him showing me this radio in action as a kid, but I'm not sure how he fired it up. Does the brown casing open, or is it permanently sealed once the kit is built?

Watch this video. This is a VHF High band version using the same chassis. It shows an internal battery holder. Hopefully the batteries were removed before storage:

At the 3:00 minute mark he shows you how to remove the radio from the case.

 

[SpaceForceCmdr]

OK, thanks. Yeah, I was thinking that was the antenna jack. I hope there aren't batteries inside now because they are probably decades old. There was no obvious way to open the case, so I didn't want to force it. I'll take a closer look and see if it pops open.

 

[mmckenna]

OK, thanks. Yeah, I was thinking that was the antenna jack. I hope there aren't batteries inside now because they are probably decades old. There was no obvious way to open the case, so I didn't want to force it. I'll take a closer look and see if it pops open.

Watch the video I linked to. He shows you exactly how to open it.

 

[SpaceForceCmdr]

Cool, I see the handle snaps off, thanks. Luckily, the batts were removed, so I'll see if I can get it going with fresh ones.

 

[mmckenna]

Cool, I see the handle snaps off, thanks. Luckily, the batts were removed, so I'll see if I can get it going with fresh ones.

Appears that he looked after his radios, those are two beautiful specimens. If I was a betting man (I'm not), I'd put $5 on him removing the batteries before storage.

 

[SpaceForceCmdr]

Appears that he looked after his radios, those are two beautiful specimens. If I was a betting man (I'm not), I'd put $5 on him removing the batteries before storage.

Haha, yeah, he always took the batteries out of remotes and whatnot when not in use for a while, so I figured he wouldn't make the rookie mistake of leaving them in his gear. The Mohican works pretty well from what I can tell. I pulled in some AM stations this afternoon. Not quite as easy as my FTDX10 with it's waterfall display, haha, but it works!

 

[mmckenna]

Nice! Good find. I'm sure he'd be glad to hear the radios are still being enjoyed.

 

[merlin]

One could be so lucky. That Mohican looks mint and the scanner not far behind.

 

[SpaceForceCmdr]

One could be so lucky. That Mohican looks mint and the scanner not far behind.

Thanks! Yeah, it looks to be in really good shape. It was stored in a metal cabinet with lots of other electronics gear...and a half bottle of whiskey (which is also still good, haha).