Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
****Update 9-2-24: I have added a supplement video to THIS video. It's name is "Heathkit IB-1103 Frequency Counter: A Partial Solution to the Failed Decimal Point Problem", and it shows how I implemented a means to overcome the erroneous decimal problem that is common to this model of old frequency counter****
In this video, I complete my documentary series on Heathkit's classic original series of Nixie-tube display frequency counters, this time covering the ultimate and most sophisticated model in the series, the IB-1103.
I own three of these, and each suffers from the same, apparently impractical to fix, insulation corruption in the Switch Circuit Board, which results in erratic illumination of the decimal points. Otherwise the device pictured is fully functional and representative of an unmodified (other than basic restoration) IB-1103.
Timeline table of contents:
00:00 Introduction /History
09:14 Initial inspection
21:00 Restoration
35:53 Printed Circuit Boards (overview)
39:40 Internal tour
55:33 Demonstration
1:03:53 Beauty shot
1:04:13 Schematic diagram/Theory of circuit operation
1:57:16 Heathkit Manual (quick look)
****Update 9-2-24: I have added a supplement video to THIS video. It's name is "Heathkit IB-1103 Frequency Counter: A Partial Solution to the Failed Decimal Point Problem", and it shows how I implemented a means to overcome the erroneous decimal problem that is common to this model of old frequency counter****
In this video, I complete my documentary series on Heathkit's classic original series of Nixie-tube display frequency counters, this time covering the ultimate and most sophisticated model in the series, the IB-1103.
I own three of these, and each suffers from the same, apparently impractical to fix, insulation corruption in the Switch Circuit Board, which results in erratic illumination of the decimal points. Otherwise the device pictured is fully functional and representative of an unmodified (other than basic restoration) IB-1103.
Timeline table of contents:
00:00 Introduction /History
09:14 Initial inspection
21:00 Restoration
35:53 Printed Circuit Boards (overview)
39:40 Internal tour
55:33 Demonstration
1:03:53 Beauty shot
1:04:13 Schematic diagram/Theory of circuit operation
1:57:16 Heathkit Manual (quick look)
