N4UE	Rating:	2017-07-29
Liked it so much I bought another			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I collect receivers. Have a LOT, but I was so impressed with the initial SB-303, I bought another. It came up on eBay for a very low 'buy it now' price. Had the usual 'parts/not working' caveat. It arrived with the best packing I've seen in many years. Out of the box it was dead, but as expected of this vintage radio, all it tool was some careful application of DeOxit. The face of the radio looks like the day it was built. I haven't even gone through the alignment yet, but it works excellent. If you work on enough of these SB-3XX series, you can get pretty good getting the tuning mechanism working 'ok'.... Not like my Collins radios, but close. Have fun. ron N4UE ---------------------- Earlier 5-star review posted by N4UE on 2017-07-06 I've recently been on a Heathkit receiver spree. I purchased a 301, a 300, and just a couple of days ago, I got a 303. I was kinda wary because of the radio's mixed reviews. Like the 301 and 300, this radio had all three filters, which is a nice touch. This example was well built and the tuning mechanism works perfectly. I had to adjust one of the other receivers, but having been through this (in great pain) with my 75S-3, it was not difficult. Too sensitive? Yes, it has great sensitivity but I cannot understand why ops don't understand RF Gain and ATTENUATOR. This example has one issue. The S-Meter is intermittent. A new one is one the way. BTW, a 'gotcha' that got me. I replace the dial lamps in all my radios with LEDs. I buy them by the 100. The dial lamps in the 303 are 3 #47s in SERIES. Back to the bulbs until I come up with a solution...... Great radio and enjoy the hobby. ron N4UE

KI6EQW	Rating:	2010-01-03
I was surprised!			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Purchased on Ebay for a little over $200. Unit was in nice condition with all three filters. Usual cracks on the dial, but minor in nature. Plugged it in, and no signal/volume. Contacted the seller who said it worked when in his possession, but he agreed to split repair costs--an honest seller. Contacted RTO, and away it went for 45 days. Repairs were $95 bucks. LMO needed lubrication, set needed alignment, everything else was OK. Unit came back, and same problems. The description of work by RTO gave me a clue as to the problem, and the tape along the bottom of the RF, and audio boards confirmed it, the two boards had simply wiggled loose during shipping. I reseated them, and voila,the radio was perfect. I was very pleased with its performance, and the addition of a Timewave DSP 9+, made it all the better. Ebay is a mixed bag, and I usually assume there will be something wrong with the piece when it arrives . I stay away from sellers without call signs unless it is a low cost item. Enjoy the SB-303, it is a very nice unit for its time, and fun to use.

WA4AOS	Rating:	2010-01-03
Almost Decent			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
As the last reviewer said, it's basically a nice radio but like all of the SB series, the dial mechanism stinks and that's putting it mildly. Many of the examples I have worked on in recent years often have a crack in the dial if not several and are usually have a crazed background. In my business, I service mainly R 390, R 390A, R 392 receivers as well as some Drake C lines and Hammarlund HQ 1XX receivers. I often work on SB gear as well and have been considering for some time redesigning and making available replacement dials for the SB series. I would probably only make the dial KHz and MHz parts available and would strive to have the same visual effect but a more reliable tuning mech. There are many SB XXX's still in use and with the interest in vintage gear these days, it might be worth my time and investment to make a kit available. I would be lucky to break even on a project like this but who knows. I would welcome any comments or feedback with regard to interest in an improved tuning mech. I consider the SB 300, 301 and 303 to be fairly decent receivers, especially if one becomes aware of the need to reduce the RF gain and not keep it at full throttle all of the time. The sensitivity on all of these receivers is well below a microvolt and in the case of the 301 and 303 below half a microvolt. The audio quality is decent and selectivity fine for non contest type operation. With the CW filter available for the 301 and 303, great CW selectivity is available but with no notch or variable bandwidth adjustment, I would not find either of these to be the best choice for serious contesting in today's high performance receiver markets. Of course in the 70's an SB 301 0r 303 was considered almost top shelf behind a Drake B or C line or possibly a Collins S line. There is at least one company that sells a digital display that can be installed in place of the MHz indicator of these units but that really detracts from the vintage look. Anyway, it would be interesting to see if there is interest in a replacement tuning dial. I would probably go with a simular design but use a CNC brass spiral for the ceter and a dial more like the one used in the HW 101. In my humble opinion, I actually prefer the dial used in the HW 101. True, it's 5 KHz resolution is not as good as 1Khz but at least it is more consistent in performance and gives very little trouble. 73, Glenn DSM Labs

WA7VTD	Rating:	2009-09-28
Bad Dial Design Eclipses Fine Receiver			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
PREFATORY NOTE: That negativity which I do have about this receiver is the same I harbor for all Heathkits of that vintage: the main dial tuning mechanism SUCKS! Getting it working properly again is quite a pain. I truly loathe that SB tuning mechanism. Why Heathkit kept right on going with that design rather than something new, different and reliable after a few years of undoubtedly receiving a steady stream of complaints, is beyond me. RECENT OBSERVATIONS: I have been burned three out of four times procuring SB-303s on e-Bay. The most recent acquisition was described by a prolific e-Bay seller (the one usually claiming to be THE Resident Collins man) as being 'Collector quality!' It arrived with scuffed cabinet, paint flaking off, and 100% slippage of the tuning mechanism. I managed to cannibalize one along with taking parts from a partial unit (I had bought a 303 chassis without the cabinet but with all the boards for $5 in another auction) and assemble a very cosmetically nice piece with what should have been very good electrical properties. Unfortunately, the AM filter I pulled from another unit, was defective. The rig worked very well otherwise for about a month, and then died. Thus far I haven't been successful isolating the trouble but haven't put my mind to it yet, having burned myself out on the Heathkit station project after all of the mechanical work on the rig this morning, all because of that &^%$!! tuning dial mechanism! NEGATIVES: As with the tuning mechanism, the 303 suffers from the same problem as other SB-series rigs, with regard to the frequency calibration correction indicator. In time, the relatively soft plastic of the movable clear plastic panel inscribed with the vertical calibration correction line simply gets worn down ever so slightly along its edge and ceases to make good and regular contact with the correction control. POSITIVES: When working as per specs and with the *&^%$ tuning dial mechanism working smoothly, the 303 is a really fun ham band receiver that works great with the SB-400 or 401 for separate/slaved operation. Personally, I prefer running them separate (i.e., non-slave but otherwise interconnected for transceive) in order to use the SB-650 digital frequency readout on the 303. You can't use the SB-650 and run the two radios in slave, you must choose one configuration or the other. Also, the 303 as wired per standard instructions, won't support the SB-650 (it will produce a readout, just not one accurate to within several MHz and oddball kHz). Note: you must do a very simple mod on the 303 in order for it to support the SB-650. Plenty of extra RCA jacks are thoughtfully provided on the rear of the 303's chassis for tha

Heathkit Sb 303 Manual