Unbuilt Heath's

[Chuck K3FT]

At the risk of continuing a thread which could very well erupt rapidly! (After all, we
have a VERY LOYAL and VERY INTENSELY INTENSE Group of 'Green-eyed' fans on this list! (I
do, of course, count myself as one as well - you should see my apartment.. but that's
another story! HI)  This is somewhat long, so I apologize in advance for the bandwidth,
however I think you'll find the comments thought provoking, if nothing else.

73

Chuck K3FT
=====
Brian Conrad <beijconrad at GDINET.COM> wrote:

        <snip> .. One simple reality - there are NO electronic Kits any where near as
good as the Heath's from the 70's and 80's.

Brian J Conrad
--
Doug WB6AJX wrote - Brian,

<snip> ... there are some absolutely  wonderful ham kits available today. Having built
*numerous* Heathkits I can say that there are kits available today that exceed Heathkit
in construction (no wires to strip/solder) with documentation every bit as good.

73,

Doug - WB6AJX
----
Chuck K3FT wrote - Having a long (and very pleasant!) association with Heath from 1968 I
can say that yes, today, we have a LOT of kits and kit-like opportunities. Yes, today's
kits have great docs, great technology, and great features for prices that are not too
out of line with what the 'average Jane and John Amateur' have to spend.  This is, as
Doug states, perfectly and accurately true.  (BTW, as an aside, whom do you think all
the folks looked to when they wanted to write great docs and get good spec sheets? The
standard comparison was stated then, and in some cases still is, "The manual is just as
good (or better than) as Heathkit!")

What must, of course, be brought out is the fact that for the era that Heath prospered
within (the late 50's to late 70's) what they produced WAS (and I dare say) still IS
recognized as the initiator, instigator, and leader of the pack for offering useful,
functional, high quality (well, we won't talk about the HW2026 - OK? HI) kits for the
'average' person.

One thing that must be contrasted is this - (And we mut weight the discussion in view of
the 'what was available as state of the art back then' compared to 'what is state of the
art now.'

        THEN - Where could you find a quality, feature filled, competitive transceiver,
transmitter/receiver, amplifier, and accessories that rivaled the top of the line stuff
in ability, features, capability, AND could be asssembled by just about anyone, AND
could be troubleshot (in most cases) by someone with a modicum of equipment and
knowledge, AND held its resale value, AND gathered almost as many mods, tidbits, and
other useful changes (by the users) to keep it competitive, make it better, and meet
more diverse needs, while STILL permitting the owner/user to walk away with knowledge
and ability on HOW it worked so they would not too frightened to explore the guts should
it fail?  Cost? In some cases a bit rich, but not outrageously so.

        NOW - We have more features, more abilities, more capabilities in a smaller,
integrated box. But... how many of you will go into your Kenwood/Icom/Yaesu and monkey
with it? How many of us (me included!) fully understand the ciruit flow and signal paths
that our gear uses to do what it does so we can understand it and better deal with it
when it fails?  How many of us (again, me included) have fought the battle of the
multifunctional button dilemma ('now WHAT did that button do? I better get the manual!')
when we tried to use a neat function? Cost? usually on the richer side, but for
mid-level stuff not outrageously so. High end - well... we won't go there! HI.

The kits today are usually peripheral items which add to the enjoyment of the main unit.
They add ease, functionality, flexibility, and operator pleasure to using the main box.
However, the main box is out of reach of most constructors as are most of the
peripherals of any complexity, due to lack of tooling available to build it.

So,  yes.. the peripheral kits are plentiful, fun, well documented, and enjoyable. But
the full range of units are not. That is what is missing. There is no 'bond' or
involvement with stuff today as back then. But then.. that's progress.

vy 73

Chuck K3FT
'A greenie since 68'

Sponsored by the City of Tempe 

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