He invented speakers, mixing boards and equipment that revolutionized concert sound.
And then there's the talk box.
Just ask Joe Walsh or Peter Frampton about Heil and his talk box innovation. The talk box Frampton made famous was a Christmas present from Frampton's wife Penny McCall, courtesy of Heil's design.
"So I sent Penny McCall a talk box," Heil said. "I don't even have to tell you the rest of the story, 'cause he does it quite well. And all of his interviews, he's very gracious and I appreciate it. He always gives me the kudos of building that and giving that to Penny, because it did make his career and he learned how to use it very well."
Heil's life changed forever on a night in 1970 at the Fox Theatre.
The Grateful Dead arrived in St. Louis without their sound equipment, which had been confiscated in New Orleans. Heil found himself on the phone with Jerry Garcia, the Dead's guitarist.
"Jerry said, 'You have all this gear, man. What kind of amplifiers do you have?' I said 'They're MacIntosh.' 'You have MacIntosh amplifiers?' I was just building a big hi-fi system, I didn't know. And so we took it up there that night and it was an amazing night," Heil said. "We went on the rest of that tour and we hit the front page of Billboard Magazine, that this little music shop in Marissa, Illinois, got the Grateful Dead contract."
After he improved the Grateful Dead's concert sound, rockers from all over the world sought out Heil -- although he didn't know most of them.
Excerpted from KSDK - read the whole story here
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This all started when I discovered a fantastic collection of vintage photo QSL cards on a Google+ site – I’d encourage every ham to spend some time looking through this amazing bit of history: https://plus.google.com/115747543308902188110The photos capture a wide range of ham gear and stations from the spark era through the 70’s, and nearly every picture trigger... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 12/11/2019
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I have no interest or affiliation with the company and discovered this product when I was looking for a good degreaser to clean my jukebox. IT IS THE BEST!I like data, so I put confidence in the test results that can be viewed in the infographic below.I also like RESULTS and this stuff delivers. Greasy dirt and grime are instantly dissolved and wipe away. You ca... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 12/09/2019
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Some pieces of vintage ham gear are not really unique, but are so rare as to almost never be seen. The Multi Elmac PS-500 power supply is an example, it was sold as an AC power supply for the A54 and A54H transmitters in the mid-50s. There's nothing special about it - just a big transformer with 5 volt rectifier, 6.3 volt filament, and 500 volt secondaries. Two nice chok... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 11/14/2019
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Mini-review of the Nouveau 75 by W9RANI like it, warts and all!OK, maybe not quite that "mini"...here's a few of my impressions of this innovative kit from the 4 State QRP Group.I've been interested in amplitude modulation of a class E PA for some time and after Dave Cripe said to stay tuned for the next 4SQRP offering, I wasn't too surprised to see what it was, and bought on... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 11/12/2019
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International Crystal's KB-1 Citizens Bander for Kit Fansand not just for CB!Category: Vintage Ham Radio
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 08/02/2019
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Equipment manuals and handbooks of the 1950s and 60s were filled with complex oscilloscope screens and discussion of ripple and as a result proper alignment of a phasing rig eluded most hams. But a clever New Zealand ham, Fred Johnson ZL2AMJ was able to see what everyone else had missed, and published a short note in the NZ ham magazine in 1972 that makes the process simple and r... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 07/20/2019
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Finding myself in need of a tool to remove a bad bearing on a blower from a linear amplifier I first tried the usual automotive type gear puller but it wasn't able to get underneath this small 5/8" OD bearing. So I improvised a tool that took 10 minutes to make, cost a few cents, and had the job done in no time at allThe secret is wedges sold at the home improvement stor... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 07/16/2019
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In the early days of aviation radio, transmissions originated from the ground using the longwave transmitter also used for homing, and pilots acknowledged by wagging their wings. It didn't take long to realize the benefits of having transmitting capability onboard the plane as well, and the first generation of aircraft radio used the low HF band. Given today's... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 05/11/2019
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Watch the video trailer for the 2019 monster movie that relies on a 1950s vintage Hammarlund SP-600 and Collins 30L-1 amplifier.... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 04/20/2019
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I find the show-biz association of the founder of Allied Radio, Simon Wexler, to be rather fascinating. What started out as a supplier of crystal set parts led to a family that became a major force in the entertainment industry and in Chicago business...including many recognizable names:"Allied Radio (now known as Allied Electronics) is a company with a long history. On August 6, 1... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 04/14/2019
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