[Heath] Farewell, GR-2000

[wb4lnm at aol.com]

Just before penning this message, I tossed the last piece of my GR-2000 25" color TV into the trash bin.
The low-boy cabinet had been disposed of a couple of months ago, after intercession with a Sawzall.
Printed circuit boards had been pulled and sent to recycling due to concerns about the lead solder content.
My neighbor and his .22 LR put the CRT to sleep a week or so ago so it was safe to handle.
It had been posted as 'free to a good home' a couple times here with no serious takers.  


Thus ended about 31 years life of a TV that performed as well at the end as it did in 1980 when assembled.
Yes, it had maintenance over the years, including a new HV power supply and new audio output IC.
But, in the end when disassembled, there was not speck of rust on the chassis, and every nylon tie was pristine.
My only complaint is the very bad choice of the "Z" lead IC sockets.  They caused innumerable problems.
I should have just soldered the IC's into the sockets, and suffered the additional labor if I had one go bad.
 
Soon after we moved into our house in Stevensville, Michigan, my wife and I assembled the TV.
She assembled all the PCB's and I the chassis wiring.  Not one mistake was made.  I still have the iron.  
I remember the snow was several feet deep outside, much as it has been this winter in the midwest.
It took us two weeks or so, and another week of troubleshooting, but it served us well for many years.
The group of good folks in the TV kitting group down the hall provided much valuable assistance.  


Here's hoping you found your kit products as much fun and rewarding as I did.  Farewell, GR-2000.


John...                Heathkit Amateur Radio Group Senior Design Engineer 1979-1981


























-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://puck.nether.net/pipermail/heath/attachments/20110208/ec858d4c/attachment.html>