Heathkit Lovers-What's a virgin Heathkit SB230 Amp worth?
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:54 pm
Hello,
My brother-in-law purchased a Heathkit SB230 amplifier from a Heathkit store in Massachusetts back in the late 70's-early 80's time frame. He always gets good hardware when he gets involved with a hobby, but after buying the amp as well as the then current Heathkit transceiver kit, the SB104A, his interest in the hobby waned, and he never ended up getting his ticket. The amp was a demo model for the store that had been assembled by Heathkit staffers, and was represented as fully tested and working when he bought it, but he never tested it himself. He eventually loaned it tom me, and in the 15 yrs or so I had it I never onced tested either, as I never purchased a buffer interface to run it from my solid state tranceivers. My brother-in-law would like to sell the amp, and we're trying to get a feel for it's value. We're assuming we can find a local ham to test it and attest to it's condition. I know the expense of replacing the 8873 final amp tube is always an issue with this amp, but this 8873 has had a "no-duty" duty cycle it's entire life. The SB104 A is partially assembled, but the remaining parts are fully accounted for. My brother-in-law would like to sell the two as a set, but in a pinch might be willing to sell the pieces seperately. What do you think a reasonable asking price for these two pieces of equipment would be?
My brother-in-law purchased a Heathkit SB230 amplifier from a Heathkit store in Massachusetts back in the late 70's-early 80's time frame. He always gets good hardware when he gets involved with a hobby, but after buying the amp as well as the then current Heathkit transceiver kit, the SB104A, his interest in the hobby waned, and he never ended up getting his ticket. The amp was a demo model for the store that had been assembled by Heathkit staffers, and was represented as fully tested and working when he bought it, but he never tested it himself. He eventually loaned it tom me, and in the 15 yrs or so I had it I never onced tested either, as I never purchased a buffer interface to run it from my solid state tranceivers. My brother-in-law would like to sell the amp, and we're trying to get a feel for it's value. We're assuming we can find a local ham to test it and attest to it's condition. I know the expense of replacing the 8873 final amp tube is always an issue with this amp, but this 8873 has had a "no-duty" duty cycle it's entire life. The SB104 A is partially assembled, but the remaining parts are fully accounted for. My brother-in-law would like to sell the two as a set, but in a pinch might be willing to sell the pieces seperately. What do you think a reasonable asking price for these two pieces of equipment would be?