[Elecraft] GENERAL COMMENTS FROM WB8IDY

[Lew Phelps K6LMP]

I wasn't active in ham radio at the time of Heathkit's demise, so I don't know what they were doing or not doing in the ham radio arena, but they certainly were't lacking for expertise in solid-state electronics. I built their AR-15 stereo radio kit while I was on a Navy ammunition ship in Vietnam, and later built their H-89 computer, which was "state of the art" at the time, albeit primitive by today's standards. These were very well-designed solid state products. Heathkit had many others, including an excellent color TV that had only one vacuum tube in it - the picture tube. I know they had solid state ham products, such as a two meter amplifier. I have no idea how they stacked up to the competition in terms of quality and value.  However, since they were truly leading edge with solid state hi-fi and computer kits, among other things, I am puzzled by the assertion that Heathkit was not able to move from the vacuum tube era to solid state products.

Lew K6LMP



On Jan 7, 2011, at 1:44 PM, k6rb at baymoon.com wrote:

> I don't disagree with Brian's plaudits for Elecraft's focus on customer
> service but that wasn't the primary reason that the companies he sited
> went out of business. In a book entitled "The Innovator's Dilemma," the
> author showed that large companies get caught when technologies change.
> Heath, Drake, Collins and others were leaders before solid-state
> technology advanced. They were simply not quick enough on their feet to
> make the switch to solid state that allowed Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood to eat
> their lunch. And, now, that software-defined radio has moved from
> edge-of-the-art to state-of-the-art, those companies are being surpassed
> as leaders by companies like Elecraft. Historically, leaders in one
> technology are not able to make the leap as quickly as new innovators who
> don't have the legacy baggage to drag behind them. IBM led in mainframes,
> but DEC and HP led in minicomputers, and so on. Nokia led in cell phones,
> but is having its lunch eaten by Apple, HTC, LG and Samsung in
> smartphones. Customer service is just one part of the complex reasons why
> new leaders emerge.
> 
> Rob K6RB