Previous device models for Hot Electron Bolometers (HEB) apply a lumped element approach to calculate the small signal parameters. In this work, large signal parameters are calculated using a nonlinear one-dimensional heat balance equation including critical current effects. Small signal equivalents are obtained by solving a linearized heat balance for the small signal beat term in the HEB. In this model, the absorbed bias power density is treated as a profile along the HEB bridge and the electrothermal feedback acts differently on different parts of the bridge. This model predicts more realistic conversion gain figures being about 10 dB lower than in previous ones.@en