[HeathKit] Curious...

[Larry Knapp]

     Michael and others who may be curious about Heath serial numbers.  This
     discussion pertains to "kit" products only.  Not assembled or contract
     items.

     I worked at Heath for 17 years (1967-1984), most of that was in the data
     processing department.  Heath like many small manufacturers at the time
     used lot numbers not serial numbers.  The number you see on the blue tags
     on the kit (prior to the computers - Zenith/Heath - late 70's) are a lot
     number from which the kit was packed.  The lot numbers were not intelligent
     in any fashion; thus today one could not interpret the lot number as to a
     year of manufacture or dating.  A given lot could have 100 or 1000 or more
     of the same kit packed under the same blue tag number.  Over the life span
     of a kit, it could have many individual lot numbers; a lot number was only
     used one time.

     When Zenith came into the act and when Heath started to produce the kit
     computers, they went to serial numbers (for those specific items).
     Government, assembled or contract units should have been produced with
     serial numbers by contract (or law).  The serial number was though, not
     intelligent either.  Up to 1984, probably most, if not all "kits" (ham,
     test equipment, audio, etc.), numbers you see are NOT serial numbers.

     Also, exactly how many of any particular item was manufactured or sold has
     certainly been lost.  Those records were all destroyed.

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


     ****************  Michael wrote *************************************
I was wondering how many HW-7's, HW-8's and HW-9's were ever made...
Im assuming that they were numbered as they came off the line...

So, does anyone have a HW-7 serial number higher than 02035

and a hw-8 higher than 13008 and lower than 00610

and a hw-9 higher than 53416

I was talking to a HEATH guru and he mentioned that all records were
destroyed when they left the HAM business...

73 es QRP nut!

Mike
--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Michael Kassay - VE3MKX
Barrie, Ontario, CANADA
mailto:Michael.Kassay at sympatico.ca
mailto:ve3mkx at rac.ca
Packet: VE3MKX @ VE3FJB .#con.on.can.na

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