Heathkit cult

[Fred Wittman]

Interresting thought.  Does anyone remember the Haffler kits of the 80's?
Or Arno Borboli's (sp?) modifications?  You might have something there.

Fred - KG6NYK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jack Crenshaw" <jcrens at EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: Heathkit cult


> 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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Products bought, sold or traded here is the responsibility of the
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for losses or misrepresentations of any kind.  Buyer beware!

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