Speaking in Defense of Heath[via LSMTP - see www.lsoft.com]

[Malcolm Leonard]

 Heath did not go out of business because of a quality issue.It was the advent of solid state,.........specifically *digital* solid state ........circuitry that eliminated,for all practical purposes,the kit industry.As components became ever smaller and more delicate in terms of heat generated during soldering,and damage due to static electricity became such a grave reality,it became impractical for inexperienced or relatively ham fisted individuals to assemble their own gear at home,on the kitchen table with a $3.98 soldering iron and a $.98 pair of long nose pliers.

Destroying a 39 cent resistor during kit assembly and writing to Heath in 1963 to request a replacement is a very different situation from a year 2000 possible scenario in which an inexperienced builder destroys the traces on a high density circuit board.



Furthermore,parts are so small,and so few are used today for a given circuit that the building experience is too short per kit to provide enough pleasure per dollar invested to make it a worthwhile endeavour.



It is ludricous to try to compare a heathkit scope that sold for $89.00 to a high precision,multiple trace,auto triggering digital wonder machine priced at thousands of dollars.You don't go to the local quick service hamburger joint expecting to receive a gourmet feast for your five bucks,and the same common sense approach applies here.Each type of restaurant/equipment is valid;each has its place and time.



A legion of hams,radio/tv repairmen and even critical manufacturing facilities used Heath equipment with good results for years.I recenty aqquired an AO-1 that was in daily use by Sylvania Electric for many years,and bears a series of periodic calibration stickers  testifying to its reliability.If this instrument couldn't do the job,a big outfit like Sylvania wouldn't have used it.



Furthermore,every book I have read on the subject of antique radio repair recommends Heath and Eico as being good solid gear for the money....simple but effective.



My IM-13 is rock steady,by the way as is my IM-11,and you can hardly fault the precision,muti turn pots on the IM-13,nor can the heavy,cast metal enclosure and ultra tough front panel paint (Looks like it was manufacturerd yesterday) be complained about



I don't know where you got your information from about Heath being overpriced,but a look through my vintage electronics magazine collection shows Heatkits sold for considerasbly less (in the dollars of earlier times)than other,major prewired equipment.

Not everyone can affford a Mercedes,but that does not mean that Fords are deserving of contempt only.

Malcolm Leonard

  Bill Crowell <bcrowell at EXCITE.COM> wrote:
Ok, you want to stop talking about UPS and instead discuss that "wonderful"
Heath equipment that was so well-built? Well, a lot of it wasn't that
great. There are many examples of Heath gear that either never would work
right or had serious design flaws which showed up after some use. Also, it
was outrageously overpriced, especially considering that you had to build
it. I mean, it's self-evident that the Japanese, and even some American
radio manufacturers, built better gear that cost less ASSEMBLED AND ALIGNED!
That's why Heath went out of business. Do you want to go back to discussing
UPS now? Bill Crowell, N6AYJ





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