Resurrection of Heathkit Type Kits

[Bill Coleman AA4LR]

On 9/29/00 1:11, Harvey A. Kader at optom at attglobal.net wrote:

>One of the main reasons Heathkit and other electronic kit manufacturers
>ran into difficulty was the huge discrepancy in hourly labor rates in
>North America versus Asia. This discrepancy still applies today. This
>also explains the almost virtual collapse of electronic assembly in the
>USA and Canada over the last two decades.

The main reason that electronic kit manufacturers ran into difficulty has
to do with modern methods of assembly. With wave soldering and robotic
component insertion, it was more cost-effective to build assembled boards
than to package kits!

While there are still labour rate differences, one need only look to the
auto industry to prove that the differences are minimal. (eg why are
Japanese and European car makers building assembly plants in the USA?)

The real difference is in the nature of the electronics themselves. When
equipment was hand-wired on a big chassis, the labour costs were
prohibitive, and the kit-maker could be cost-effective by letting the
buyer supply the labour.

Not today. Kits survive, but not in electronics. Kit aircraft, however,
are a booming industry, and have been since the 1970s.



Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at radio.org
Quote: "Boot, you transistorized tormentor! Boot!"
            -- Archibald Asparagus, VeggieTales

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