[Elecraft] Heathkit

[Dick Ballard]

This could lead to a long nostalgic thread, if a bit off topic. I also
grew up with Heathkits. That was back in Detroit, Michigan where I got
my original call, W8NGP, during high school in about 1952.

My first Heathkit was a regenerative receiver with plug-in coils for
AM broadcast and some shortwave bands. Don't remember the product
number, but it had maybe 2-3 tubes, a direct driven tuning cap, and a
small speaker (2.5 inches?). It was built on a metal chassis, with
metal front panel, for which I made a wood cabinet. I still remember
one of the tubes was metal with the grid connection on the top. I made
many changes to that radio, one of the first being the addition of a
vernier dial. This would have been in the late 40's or early 50's. I
seem to remember that the radio was advertised in a small ad in the
back of Popular Mechanics, and that it was an anxiously awaited
Christmas present.

I also assembled an early Heath VOM, a VTVM, an audio amplifier, and
one of the early Heath transmitters, an AT-1, I believe. Later in the
70's after I moved to Oregon it was QRP with an HW-7. Right now I
don't have any HF gear again, but the K2, Argonaut V, and some others
are on my short list.

Dick Ballard
Beaverton OR
W7AND


On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:15:40 -0400, you wrote:

>Hi - as an ex "One of the Hams at Heath" and a builder of a couple of =
hundred of their kits during my employment with them, I have been =
'lurking' on this great list for several months.=20
>
>While I was at Heath (68-74) the company routinely sold a hundred or =
more of each transceiver every week, with the SB-series being the most =
popular. Although I wasn't directly involved in the $$ end of the =
business - I was a copywriter in the Advertising department and wrote the=
 Heathkit catalogs and ads - I do know that the ham lines were generally =
extremely popular and quite profitable for them. Although they had some =
pretty good competitors - Collins, Swan, Drake come to mind - no one =
could come close to Heath in breadth of line or overall sales volumes. =
Maybe that was because so much of their Engineering and management was =
hams.
>
>I have never built an Elecraft but probably will someday. From the =
remarks on this reflector I would hazard a guess and say that the =
Elecraft folk have basically assumed the mantle of the venerated Heath - =
at least in the ham market - and are doing as good a job with current =
technology as Heath did those decades ago with the technology available =
at that time. It's no secret that offshore assembly, miniturization and =
personal time compression killed the Heathkit business. I am delighted to=
 see Electraft bucking that trend and apparently staying financially =
healthy and growing a dedicated group of kit builders, just as Heath did =
all those years ago.
>
>As someone on this list noted, there is nothing like the smell of =
melting solder (or words to that effect.) To say nothing of the feeling =
of accomplishment that comes from (successfully) building something =
yourself.
>
>I look forward to building a KX1 or a K2 in the future. In the meantime,=
 thanks for this great list. And keep it up Elecraft!
>
>Mike Doolin
>KC2TP; ex WB8CDU
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