Note
The PM-1 is a simple, self-powered field strength meter, and its design is oddly out of place in Heath’s product line. By the time it was released in 1958 Heath was firmly committed to a design that included baked enamel two-tone green paint and metal cabinets.
Here then is a small black Bakelite box with a mirror-like chrome front panel. Heath had used small Bakelite boxes before—but not in its amateur product line. It is not clear why Heath chose this design, but it was used for just under two years before being replacing by the PM-2, which conformed to the basic amateur products design philosophy. It is also the only Heath product to use the oval nameplate sticker seen (usually) on the front panel. The Bakelite panel meter (200 µA full scale) was provided by Simpson and reads relative power on a 0-10 scale with the Heathkit name. Not common. A version with a plastic meter, from production toward the end of the run, qualifies as rare.
Photos, general information and specifications from "Heathkit: A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products," by Chuck Penson, WA7ZZE. Used with permission.
