Heathkit cult

[Ron]

There are several tube audio kits on the market from Velleman. In
particular, a very nice 90 WPC power amp for about $1,000. I don't
see them selling that well.

There is a Dynaco Stereo 70 kit on the market, utilizing actual
chassis and transformers from defunct original Stereo 70s. I don;t
know how well they selll, but doubt people are standinh in line,
either.

These and similar products are a labor of love, not greed.

-- Ron



Jack Crenshaw wrote:

> Here's a thought:  I know you guys out there are mostly hams, but I
> wonder if Heathkit retro kits, like the tube audio amplifiers, would
> sell?  Lately there's a _LOT_ of interest in tube audio, and people are
> paying as much as $20,000-50,000 for high-end amps.  Can you imagine the
> interest if Heathkit announced a new version of, say, the W-5M?
>
> Used W=5M's typically bring around $300 on eBay, but an unbuilt one can
> easily bring $1000.
>
> I worked for Heathkit ca. 1977-78.  From my perspective, it seemed like
> two factors contributed to their downturn:
>
> 1) The switch from tube to transistor/IC technology. Assembling
> tube-based stuff is labor-intensive. Wave-soldering PC boards isn't.
> In the 50's, Heath could sell kits much cheaper than factory units.  By
> the 70's, it was the other way around.
>
> 2) The trend to more doo-dads, switches, LED's, etc.  The Japanese
> companies like Sanyo, Panasonic, Sony, etc., love to put all kinds of
> extra bells and whistles on their products, and to the people to whom
> these things appeal, they are the masters.  I think Heath made a huge
> mistake to try to out-knob the Japanese.  We couldn't even _BUY_ the
> itty-bitty little pots, switches, etc., in this country.
>
> On the other hand, a simple, monobloc amplifier, especially retro, might
> have a chance.  Ditto for straightforward, simple ham equipment, I reckon.
>
> Jack
>
>
> BMW wrote:
>
>> As many of you know, I spent a fair amount of time trying to convince
>> them
>> to do restart the kit biz and even offered them a business plan to that
>> effect. One of their board members told me that they had toyed with
>> the idea
>> of restarting the kit business from time to time, but were inclined to
>> partner with someone rather than start it up from scratch. I don't think
>> that will work. You may recall that they did that with Yaesu in the
>> 80's. It
>> is pretty obvious when a company OEM's someone else's stuff. It's just
>> not a
>> Heathkit if it's an Elecraft or Ten-Tec or DZKit (www.dzkit.com).
>> Those of
>> us trying to recreate the Heathkit ambience have to go it alone, I'm
>> afraid.
>> There are very few people left at The Heathkit Co. who remember how it
>> was.
>> Randy Kaeding, on this list, is one of the last.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Brian, W0DZ
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Heathkit Owners and Collectors List
>> [mailto:HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV]On Behalf Of Mark Sykes
>> Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:01 AM
>> To: HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
>> Subject: Re: Heathkit cult
>>
>>
>> A simple way for Heath to see if there is interest would be to design and
>> private label something from an established kitter such as Vectronics,
>> Elecraft or Ten-Tec.  That would reduce startup, inventory and tooling
>> costs.
>>
>> If there was a Heathkit (or 'Heathkit by TecTec,' etc.) linear amp kit
>> out
>> there and the quality was there, I'd buy one.
>>
>> Mark
>> KD8RG

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