Dueling Heathkits

[Jon A.]

I saw an ad for a GR-2000 not far from me, no cabinet. I got it from a fellow who built it in 1979 and was considering taking it to the recyclers. He said it was mounted in a wall and that he built 13 of them back in the day. Just as I was about to leave with the set he said he had another I could have for free. Considering the weight of the 2000 and I could take only one big set on my trolley at a time, I kind of hoped it was a portable. Down to the basement we went where a GR-370 in a console cabinet with a power VHF tuner was sitting next to a washing machine. It was filthy and the finish on top trashed, probably from jugs of laundry soap sitting on it over the years. I couldn't pass it up so I offered to come back for it and left, walking over four kilometers in light snow before being offered a ride the rest of the way. Another guy was there the next time, probably the owner's son, who helped me lug it up to the main level. We plopped it onto my trolley and away I went, 7 kilometers back home.

The 25VEDP22 in the 2000 tests almost new. The 25BCP22 in the 370 is pretty weak. It's such a cool set though that it's worth a replacement CRT. They're mostly complete; all that's missing is a remote for the 2000, a channel knob and power button for the 370, and the 370's volume knob is broken. The lower panel is warped badly, causing the entire chassis with attached CRT to tilt backward. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a case for the 2000.

Now for the tricky part: I know next to nothing about these sets, whether it's safe to attempt to power them up for one thing. I don't know where to start.

Pics of the GR-2000:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/154129...57687971372025