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Heathkit AR-29

Doug G.

Doug G.

Lunatic Member
Hi everybody,

I recently received this receiver after having won it on ebay. I wanted it because I built the AA-29 (the amp part of the AR-29) amplifier in 1976 and still use it. I couldn't afford the whole receiver (about $315 compared to about $189 for the amp) and I didn't really care that I had a radio anyway.

FIrst of all, hats off to Mr. Owens from Seattle who originally built it in 1972 (I hope he is still with us). Absolutely a first rate job and I couldn't have done better myself. :thmbsp:

The receiver is in excellent condition overall. All five dial lights were burnt out (I actually got four of them to work again by snapping them with my finger).

Unfortunately, one of the 6000uf 40V caps for the power amps is bad and so I want to replace both of them. I have looked online and can find similar types(actually not THAT similar as far as value and size) but nothing identical. :sigh:

They are 2" in diameter and about 2 1/4" long. Radial leads. Although the length isn't really critical, I would like to be able to mount the replacements in the same clamps that the original caps were in.

Does anyone know of a source for these? I would be ever so grateful if I could get the amps working again.

Thanks,
Doug
 
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Hi Doug,

Great find ... I have a aa-29 in perfect working order ... along with 2 aa-15's 2 aj15 and a jewel of an AR15 :D .... as far as those big supply caps go .... What I have had to do .. is find the correct value with some parts house, Mouser, Digikey, Parts Express or MCM. As the cap will in all likely hood be much smaller than the one you are replacing ... I will leave the original one in place and attach the new one in some inconspicuous manner else where on the chassis... or along side the original one. It would be nice to find them the same size. You can do a search of the Heathkit forum or some such ... but I have had no luck in finding them ... I had some spares .. 1 aa15 and 1 ar15 both for parts. But alas no caps .... anymore ... :no:


I just had a thought ... if you cannot find any original ones ... pop the top off of the bad pair of caps ... clean them out ... and put your new ones in the shells and then reseal them ... wire them up ... :thmbsp: You should be good to go at that point ... !

Happy Holidays

Steve
 
Hi Steve,

Always nice to hear from a fellow Heath lover. :thmbsp: If built well, they seem to last and last. I do know that the rest of the receiver works as I have it feeding my AA-29 and the reception seems to be excellent.

The AA-29 has wonderful, authoritative sound.

Thanks for the ideas. I never thought about hollowing out the old one and mounting the new one inside.

That being said, I think I may have found one that will work as is at Newark. It is a CDE and is 6500 uf @ 50V. 2" diameter but 3.125" length. I think I can get it to fit with that length. Only a little over 19 bucks too! :)

I wouldn't mind having an AR-15 either. Another great Heath design. I remember I didn't like the looks of its predecessor, the AR-1500, though. To me, it looks like a clock radio especially if you were to replace the four knobs on the left with an analog clock face :D

Anyway, thanks again and I'll probably order the CDE caps and see if I can get this baby totally functional again :yes:

I love "Kalamazoo" K--A--LAMAZOooo--oh what a gal, a real piparoo! :thmbsp:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Doug
 
Heath AA-29

I too bought and constructed an AA-29 back about 1970. I still use it today to drive my AR 3 loudspeakers. It is a fun amplifier and I am glad to see others own and appreciate it. :thmbsp:
 
Hey great! And then there were three! :thmbsp:

Funny how it is accepted that the ARs and Advents (I run my stacked pairs with my AA-29) need a lot of power to reach listenable levels but I'll tell you what, there is no way I could turn the Heathkit up too much without bringing the whole apartment building's residents banging on the door! This is all of 35 watts per channel continuous (really 50 as High Fidelity mag. found back then). And, it seems to handle the 4 ohms or less load fine.

I ordered the caps from Newark so I'll report how they work to you guys so you can pick some up for yourselves. Does the AA-15 use the same value?

Also, above I called the AR-1500 the predecessor to the AR-15. I meant, of course, successor.

Doug
 
Hey guys,

I got the two filter caps today and installed them. Checked the 35 volt supplies and made some quick resistance measurements on the output trannies and turned the AR-29 loose on one of the pair of Advents. I'm happy to report that both channels are operating wonderfully. So far so good. :)

These particular caps are Mallory (CDE) part number CGS652U050V3C if anybody else wants to get some. Like I said before, they are about 3" tall instead of 2.25 like the originals but fit fine in the AR-29 chassis in the original clamps. The value is 6500uf @ 50 VDC. The originals were 40 volt types so these should handle the load better. :yes:

I got mine from Newark but other parts houses may have them too.

Now back to listening to this great receiver back in action again! :thmbsp:

Regards,
Doug
 
Doug G. said:
Hi everybody,

I recently received this receiver after having won it on ebay. I wanted it because I built the AA-29 (the amp part of the AR-29) amplifier in 1976 and still use it. I couldn't afford the whole receiver (about $315 compared to about $189 for the amp) and I didn't really care that I had a radio anyway.

FIrst of all, hats off to Mr. Owens from Seattle who originally built it in 1972 (I hope he is still with us). Absolutely a first rate job and I couldn't have done better myself. :thmbsp:

The receiver is in excellent condition overall. All five dial lights were burnt out (I actually got four of them to work again by snapping them with my finger).

Unfortunately, one of the 6000uf 40V caps for the power amps is bad and so I want to replace both of them. I have looked online and can find similar types(actually not THAT similar as far as value and size) but nothing identical. :sigh:

They are 2" in diameter and about 2 1/4" long. Radial leads. Although the length isn't really critical, I would like to be able to mount the replacements in the same clamps that the original caps were in.

Does anyone know of a source for these? I would be ever so grateful if I could get the amps working again.

Thanks,
Doug
Click to expand...

Doug -- Hang in there. Well worth the time and effort to refurbish.
 
I am now enjoying both the AA-29 and AR-29 with the AR driving the top pair of stacked Advents and the AA driving the bottom pair. I got new lamps for the dial so it is completely lit up again and beautiful. :thmbsp:

I also checked the FM and AM adjustments for optimal operation. Neither were very far off (actually only the deviation control for FM).

Another note that may be of interest to owners of these: the input ground plate that the RCAs are a part of is grounded to the input pre-amp board via one of the mounting screws and standoffs. I actually noticed on my AA-29 first that there was a hum problem with phono input and that pushing on the RCA jacks would affect the loudness of the hum. It turned out that oxidation had created poor continuity between these parts. Now, to keep everything original, I could have just disassembled stuff, cleaned everything up, and then reassembled. Instead, I decided to solder a wire to the plate and then to the ground foil on the board. This will obviate the problem in the future and isn't very noticable anyway.

I did this to both units.

They look pretty cool one above the other in the cabinet.

Doug
 
Fwiw

Thought you might like to see a photo of my small Heathkit collection. Both dump finds; they both worked as-found. Pretty good condition 'cept for the broken treble slider on the AR-29.
 

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Thanks for the photos. Great finds!

I remember, at the time in 1976, I almost went for the AR-19 (or I think it was the AR-1302 by then) receiver but decided I wanted the extra watts. Since I couldn't afford the AR-29 (new family and all), I got the AA-29.

Doug
 
Nice Pics .... been away for a few days ( 1 week actually) Not been on the ole computer much ..... Glad you were able to find those caps Doug . I will definately file that info away for a later date. Thought I would join in with the picture routine .... here is a ok picture of my AR15 Listening to Jazz with Bob Parlocha as we speak thru a pair of Minimus 7's and an old but cherry pair of Heath AS2's . If I have some more time in the near future I will take some pictures of some of my other Heath gear .. :music: Anyways ... here is the pic

Steve
 

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mhardy6647 said:
... "we" could start a "post your Heath gear photos" thread -- tho' most of mine isn't hi-fi. :-)
Click to expand...
LOL .... yea ... I have all of my dads old Heath test gear from the late 40's & early 50's. But I do have a lot of their Audio gear ... 5 pwr amps 3 pre amps 5 tunas .... 3 rcvrs 4 integrated amps and 4 other audio odds and ends including their RTA that I built in a wicked weekend of Solder smoke, beer and some vegetable matter smoke that makes me smile when I remember those days... way back when .... :D
 
Recent AR-29 find - manual(s) needed

I just picked up an AR-29 in decent shape. I had to replace the fuse holder, the power cord, and a couple of light bulbs but other than that it works great. I powered it up using a variac since it looks like this thing has not seen any power for quite a while. I didn't even have to clean any of the switches or PC board connections. They are all quiet. It's quite dirty inside but I opted to leave it alone for now since it is otherwise working. The wood cabinet looks pretty good, considering it's age, with just a few scratches that are now pretty well hidden by Old English. The front panel has some marks but unless you are up close it looks pretty good too. It didn't have the original tuning knob but I had one that looks good but is just the opposite color scheme of the original. I am amazed at how well the AM and the FM tuner work on this receiver. The FM sensitivity and stereo separation are both excellent. I had AM stations up and down the dial, which is very good considering that there are only 3 locally. The amplifier section is also surprisingly good. This looks to be a very good receiver.
I found a schematic for it on the web but I can not find any manuals for it anywhere. If anyone has one (or are there two?) I would be happy to pay copy and other fees for them.
 
ar-29

Hey,
I recieved a Heathkit AR-29 from my older brother, and I was just looking for any information on it. I am new to circuits and such, but I am interested in learning about these old amps. I want to refurbish it and use it as my amp. I think it would be a nice unit. Any help or information would be appreciated.
 
Have been using my AR-29 for decades now, and it's always worked fine until now. No multiplex separation, ie, no stereo audio, just mono. Diagnosis is that the no longer available MC1305 IC went out, and now will be replaced by the available NTE722 IC, with minor changes to the circuitry to incorporate it, mainly cutting out the separation adjustment circuit to provide access to pin 9 as new +B input, rather than the old pin 8 of the MC1305. Evidently what happens, though, is that then the stereo light won't function, unless perhaps an interface transistor circuit is devised to get the stereo light to work. Also, of course, there will be no separation adjustment.

Has anyone devised such an interface circuit for this?
 
Actually, now that I look closer, the existing circuit for the light is what I was looking for. Seems I can just measure the output from pin 6 of the NTE IC and if different from the MC IC, just replace the Q301 switching transistor for one with the correct switching voltages. Has anyone done this?
 
Well, it IS listed under Heathkit AR-29, in the "Vintage Solid State" category. What else should I do? I do reckon that anyone who knows anything about these receivers will be familiar with the correct AR-29 manual and circuit layouts. However, here is the circuit plan for the relevant sections:

http://www.mcmlv.org/Archive/HiFi/Heath_AR29.pdf

Maybe no one knows anything about these receivers anymore.
 
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Several AKers are veteran audio technicians, but no one could possibly recall every detail of the thousands of chassis they've seen. I'm just sayin'... To allow these folks to handle as many queries as possible, make it easy for 'em.

I'll be happy to assist with a revised stereo indicator lamp (or LED) drive circuit, unless someone beats me to it. Just post the voltages that appear under mono and stereo conditions on the new MPX chip's stereo mode indicator pin.
 
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