Heathkit Cult

[BMW]

Heathkit wasn't the only one having paint troubles. I watched in amazement
as HP introduced the infamous "brown box" disk drives and other computer
peripherals in the 80's that changed color unevenly. Even more amazing was
the fact that the paint they chose was picked specifically to AVOID that
problem, and it actually made things worse!

As for the Harvard MBAs -- modern business is run by them instead of
engineers. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard must be turning over in their
graves. The latest buzzword is ROIC - return on invested capital - which is
a fancy word for minimizing a denominator and maximizing a numerator,
resulting in a lack of desire to hire people and buy equipment. It rewards
short term thinking to impress investors. One day there will be hell to pay,
but in the short term everyone's a hero. It fails to account for the fact
that business is more than numbers. It's also people having fun making cool
stuff that people want. They have forgotten that.

Heath had it once. HP had it once.

Heath engineers may not have foreseen a cult followiing, but a good company
that's clicking on all cylinders knows it and maximizes that good feeling.
That happened until about 1970, and there was still hope until 1979 when the
Zenith debacle occurred.

73,

Brian, W0DZ

-----Original Message-----
From: Heathkit Owners and Collectors List
[mailto:HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV]On Behalf Of Charles Seitz
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 10:15 AM
To: HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
Subject: Re: Heathkit Cult


Yes, Heathkit quality control with respect to paint finish is abysmal.
But, what gripes me even more is their use of cheap circuit boards.
Now, I have trouble with them arcing between conductors.

There were too many plastic panel parts.  What about those chrome
finishes on the panel bezels that dissolve when you touch them (subject
of my earlier post here)?

Go back through the catalogs and check out the prices. Heathkits were
not exactly inexpensive back then.  Either Heath engineers didn't
foresee a cult following 40 years in the future or the Harvard School of
business was in control back then.

                                   ---  CHAS

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