Vintage Heathkit HD-1481 Remote Coax Switch Kit
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This vintage Heathkit HD-1481 Remote Coax Switch kit is one the latest unbuilt Heathkit kits which appeared on eBay. I have been saving the images in order to preserve the history. The constantly growing list is at the lower right.

The first instance I could find for HD-1481 being offered for sale was in the Fall 1984 Heathkit catalog, at a cost of $89.95 ($230.61 in 2021 money per the BLS). A comparable remote coaxial switch today is the Ameritron RCS-4 at $199.95, so the price has remained fairly constant.

Use a single feedline to select from up to four antennas.

The Heathkit HD-1481 Remote Coaxial Switch is a tower or mast-mounted RF coaxial switch that you can conveniently control from inside your house. the Switch consists of a remote unit - outdoor switching network - and an indoor control unit.

The remote unit if rain tight and contains the RF switches that permit selecting the desired antenna. The unit is easily mounted with a single clamp. The control unit contains the power supply and provides switching signals to the remote unit. A front panel switch permits selecting the desired antenna. The Remote Coax Switch will handle 2000 watts PEP with a VSWR of 1.15:1 or less below 300 MHz.

Kit HD-1481, Shpg. wt. 5 lbs. .............89.95 

Here is the HD-1481 owner's Manual with building and operating instructions.

Heathkit products were well known for the completeness of its instruction manuals, with clearly illustrated instructions. During the writing and editing process, Heathkit employees were given pre-production kits to take home and build, while annotating any difficulties or errors encountered. Doing so helped minimize the situation where the writer inadvertently assumes his own familiarity with the process is shared by the customer. Having built a few Heathkit products myself in the 1970s when I did not have a lot of experience with electronics assembly, I can attest to the user friendliness of the instructions. Heathkit still sells many of its vintage manuals for around $15, which is what you would pay on eBay.

Contact Info

Heath Company (Heathkit)

Operations: PO Box 15, Ottsville, PA 18942

R&D/Mfg: PO Box 3115, Santa Cruz CA 95063

Phone: +1 (831) 480-4368

E-Mail: info.2015@2015.heath.company

Posted June 11, 2021