I am thinking at this point to go "operational". I can find no record of Heathkit making a wooden cabinet for the AR-3, although it could maybe have been another manufacture using the AR-3 chassis for their own radio.
It could have also been a cabinet from another radio with an AR-3 chassis mounted inside it, as its all notched wood, precise screws, and that pegboard looking crap that old electronics have.
I want to do some more research, anyone know of another forum or group that specializes in the Heathkit AR-3. If it is, a manufactured radio and is worth alot of $$$ I will just leave it alone and sell it, let the pros do a proper restoration.
If it aint, and is just someone's custom project, might as well fix it best I can, it looks very nice in my living room.
This radio is more than just decoration, or a collectors item, its an awesome radio.
Heathkit AR-3 Receiver - YouTube
0.5-30mhz in 4 bands, fine tuning, a BFO for SSB, with all the amateur bands and WWV stations marked on the dial.
I may have most of what I need to get it operational, I have a small box full of old caps with high voltage ratings, they're old, my school was cleaning out their junk and I ended up with a trunk full of semiconductors and various components. I also have a box of caps and tubes out an old tube TV that my grandparents had at a vacation home, used to set the new tv on top of.
So I guess my question is, are cheap multifunction multimeters, the ones with every function you can think of, the little socket for transistors, capacitance, etc. Can they be trusted to check the caps both on radio and in my junkboxes? If not what should I use?
Another question, whats the cheapest way to bring 120 down to 110, coulnt I just construct a voltage divider, or maybe a dimmer or is not that big of an issue. (cant afford a triac and know little about them)
