Heathkit Glory

[Harvey A. Kader]

With all the bandwidth relating to Heathkit quality, it may be
instructive to go back 30 years to 1970, and re-read what Heathkit wrote
in their well designed instruction manuals.

I recently acquired an unbuilt IM-38 AC vacuum tube voltmeter. Ah, the
smell of a vintage unbuilt Heathkit when the box is opened reminds me of
the true Heathkits of yesteryear! It smells just like it left the
factory in Benton Harbor.

Qulity parts everywhere. The meter is built by Ideal Precision Meter Co
Inc. What a meter. Looks like a jeweled movement that is found in
mechanical watches. The magnet of the meter is HEAVY - just like a
speaker magnet.

Rotary switch is made in USA. Tubes are IEC by Mullard in Great Britain.
Capacitors are manufactured in USA, Mexico, and Taiwan.

Quality is evident everywhere. NOBODY builds kit of this caliber
anywhere on this planet - then or now! The kit is built to laboratory
standards. It reminds me of the quality found in Leica, Rollei, and
Hasselblad cameras. Built to last forever.

To get back to what is printed in the instruction manual :

The back states " The world's finest electronic equipment in kit form".

The inside front cover states in the warranty " Dear customer. The
Heathkit electronic product you have purchased is one of the best
performing electronic products in the world."

Included with the kit is a note from a technical consultant at Heathkit.
A photograph of this individual is on the note. The note states " Hello,
I have been assigned as your personal technical consultant during the
assembly and checkout of your kit. Since we're partners in the project,
I'd like to introduce myself.

"I'll be a 'silent' partner unless you need me, but want you to know
I'll be most happy to help you in any way possible if you do have
technical questions or problems with your kit".

The note ends, after some detail of where to get technical support, with
" If you do have a problem you can't solve,don't feel embarrassed.
Contact us. It's probably something that can be resolved right away.
Remember, we are all dedicated to fulfill Heath's promise... 'we won't
let you fail'.

Now how many kit companies go to such great lengths for customer
service?

I believe that the Heathkits from the 1960s and 1970s were the very best
they ever produced. When Schlumberger owned them, quality was high. In
the 1980s some kits were produced in Hong Kong, and some were
subcontracted out to other companies. This had an affect on quality.

So when I buy unbuilt Heathkits, I tend to only buy kits of 1960's and
1970's vintage.

Heathkit is an experience that no other kit company could ever come
close to. One has to live it to believe it!

Harvey.

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