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Monday, June 30, 2025

Will Everett N5OLA -- the Heathkit Guru from South Texas

Will N5OLA

Will's innovative approach to old, dirty Heathkit transceivers caught my eye:  he gives them a bath.  Like with soap and water.  Then he put the rig in the oven (not all of us can do this and live to tell about it).  Finally he leaves the rig under the South Texas sun for a few days to complete the drying process.  FB Will. 

Will has (I hope!) inspired Pete N6QW to change his landfill plans for the HW-32A.   I have not given my HW-101 a bath yet, but I have recapped the HP-23B power supply and I have the HW-101 on the air.  Just yesterday a guy on 40 told me I was 40 Hz off frequency. I felt like I had come home. 
 
The N5OLA Workshop

There is another line on Will's QRZ page that caught my eye: 

"When not on the air, I write novels and own two indie coffee shops here on South Padre Island."

Indeed Will is a well known author who has done some great stuff:   

From http://www.willeverett.net/about.html

As a journalist, Will Everett has reported from the Middle East, South Asia and West Africa for National Public Radio, the BBC, Voice of America and other outlets.  With Walter Cronkite he wrote and produced the 2006 documentary World War One Living History Project, the only media project to honor the last surviving veterans of WWI. He also collaborated with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on a program for the National Campaign to Stop Violence.


For ten years he was the creator and host of the syndicated NPR program Theme and Variations. His work has been recognized by the Society for Professional Journalists, the New York Festivals, the National Headliner Awards and the Poynter Institute.


His novel We’ll Live Tomorrow was  published in October 2015.  He also provided lyrics for a choral collaboration with Joseph Martin, “The Message,” published by Hal Leonard.


Will holds a master's degree from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. 



Will's QRZ page:  https://www.qrz.com/db/N5OLA
Will's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@N5OLA

3 comments:

  1. Water cleaning-- sure thing!
    In production, dishwashers are put into service for de-fluxing and cleaning of electronic assemblies. With the appropriate flux, typically an water-soluable flux like the Kester 2331 series, the boards come out super clean and with no flux residue. Sometimes a tiny amount of detergent would be used. The wash/rinse/dry cycles could be adjusted as required. The solder was shiny, as the flux reduced dross.
    Taking this one step further, in-line systems are used, with DI closed-loop water reclaimation. No expensive cleaning solvents, no dirty VOC's to manifest and dispose of. Everyone was happy, Production, QA, enviromental, safety and even the accountants! Of course, management wanted more.....

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  2. I saw the video some time ago when looking at heathkit restorations. Amazing! Haven’t tried it myself yet. Beautiful QSL card. 73 Wes W4JYK

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  3. Will's videos inspired me to buy an HW-12A single-bander. I am slowly but surely going through it. If unsuccessful, it is going to Pete. ;)

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