Classic Heathkit?

[Lawrence P Knapp]

     Well Bill.....you have certainly opened the door.......to vote for one
     seems to not be fair, because of the different product lines.  In
     referring to Chucks's book, it focused on the ham line only; certainly
     a good one to do (and well worth the money), but there were so many
     others.  As an x-employee I'd have to vote by "general" product line.
     It's hard to remember now all of the different categories used but at
     least here's an attempt:

     Audio:  AR-15.  This was a classic in the mid 60's and sold extremely
     well.  I still revere this unit (working in the credit department at
     the time), I literally sold thousands of these kits on credit.  They
     were really a beast to build but they sounded extremely great...still
     do....I think the price at the time was $395...they also sold a wired
     version (ARW-15) for over $500.

     TV:  The first TV set to be "kitted".  Don't know the exact model
     number...but this really opened the door to this group.  I built a
     GR-227 (my first color TV).

     Test Equipment:  Probably no ham was without some test gear.  There
     are so many to vote for it's difficult.  Certainly the V7A is a
     classic, but I'd vote for the first oscilloscope advertised just after
     the war (that's W.W.II)...this started the boom for Heath.

     Education:  Nothing specific stands out....so I'd vote for the great
     manual writers who made electronics come alive and was in themselves
     an educational tool.

     Computers:  In the late 70's and early 80's, this line came into play.
     However, since I was in Information Systems at the time, I can't really
     say that anything stands out except one thing - the Zenith buyout
     (Schulmberger sold heath to Zenith) to grab this market and make Heath
     go downhill (and eventually "pretty much" go out of business).  So I'd
     vote for Zenith here (this is a "negative" vote - just to keep the
     record straight).  The HERO robot was also a big hit.

     Ham:  This is really tough.  I can vote for lots of stuff, but I would
     have to vote for the HW-100/HW-101.  As the DX-100 put Heath on the
     CW/AM map (and a real boon for those in the 50's)...these products
     really did cement Heath as really big manufacturer during the SSB days
     of the 60's - 70's). I could be easily swayed to vote for the
     SB-100/101/102 as well as the SB-400/401/300/301/303 and the Amps:
     SB-200/220 also.  The later amps were not as "classic".  I do admit
     though the DX-100 and the AT-1 were the ones that really began the
     series along with the DX-60/A/B, which ended those lines.

     Ham Accessories:  My vote would have to go the Cantenna.  Thousands of
     these really inexpensive items went out the door....still probably
     most in use today.  What a novel idea!

     Kit thing:  No doubt the nut starter was a winner.  One might also say
     the solder that was enclosed in every kit (this was not done by every
     other kit manufacturer at the time).  But the nut starter is my
     favorite.

     Automotive:  My vote goes to the tune-up kit.  Had one for many years.
     Thousands of these were sold and you can still find these (working
     too!).  The timing light was neat too.

     Miscellaneous:  The doorbell, the garage door openers and the
     calculator were big sellers.  Who would buy a calculator now for $80,
     that only adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides?  I'd have to vote
     for - the calculator.  Though the "worlds most accurate clock" is also
     a winner.

     Don't want to make this too long......but Bill, you did open the door.

     Larry (KC8JX)
     "One of the X-Hams at Heath"


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Classic Heathkit?
Author:  Bill Robbins <billrobb at NET-LINK.NET> at Internet
Date:    10/31/98 8:26 PM


Group:

As I sit here listening the the doorbell ring from trick-or-treaters, I am
flipping throught he Penson book of Heathkits.  A question has come to mind
to which I have too many answers.  So, I throw it open to all you
opinionated Greenies....

If you have to choose ONE Heath item to emulate ALL of the Heathkit line,
which one would it be???  Pretend that it has to go in a time capsule or
something to describe by its presence the Heath Company and its time.

Interesting, isn't it.

73 de Bill

Heathkit Collector
WA8CDU Formally WN8CDU

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