[GreenKeys] FWD: Here, kit, kit - interesting

[Don Robert House]

Here, kit, kit...

Brad Thompson, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement  
World, 12/1/2005

Do you remember Heath? No? Eico? Paco? If not, you're probably under  
40 and have never practiced electronics as a hobby. Once upon a time,  
these three companies and others offered test instruments as kits of  
components. You—the buyer—provided assembly labor and quality  
assurance, honing your soldering and troubleshooting skills in the  
process.
Unfortunately, a combination of factors, including loss of free time,  
loss of interest in hobby electronics, economic pressures, and  
unfortunate management decisions, ended the days of mass-marketed  
instrument kits. You can't buy test equipment in kit form today...or  
can you?

Kits for instruments are indeed still available, but they differ from  
Heathkits in a number of ways. For starters, changes in technology  
made some kits obsolete—scratch tube testers and high-voltage power  
supplies—and regulatory and legal forces have influenced designs.  
Instead of jousting with safety agencies and bringing AC line voltage  
into a kit, contemporary kits' designers are likely to opt for  
battery or "wall wart" power. Fragile glass and high voltages inspire  
great caution in legal minds, and the CRT-based oscilloscope kit may  
be gone forever.

Documentation accompanying some of today's kits lacks the level of  
detail you'd find in Heathkit's gold-standard multipage assembly  
instruction manuals and may consist of only a few cryptically worded  
and sparsely illustrated pages.

You're also likely to encounter kits that consist of a printed- 
circuit board and bags of parts, but that don't include a case to  
house the completed board. Getting sheet metal enclosures designed  
and fabricated in quantity remains a major expense and a technical  
headache for a small-scale kit producer for whom a hundred kits  
constitutes a major production run. Vendors who do offer kits with  
cases use off-the-shelf, plastic enclosures that require minimal  
changes and are easily worked with basic shop tools.

Some of today's kits take advantage of low-cost and versatile  
microcontrollers. For example, one kit that I assembled can determine  
a three-leaded semiconductor's generic identity (i.e., FET, bipolar  
transistor, etc.) and measure a few of its parameters in seconds. Not  
bad for $50 and a few hours of my time.

The next time that you call, "Here, kit, kit," you just might be  
surprised by what answers.

  Kits are available..
If you have a young person on your shopping list, why not give him or  
her an entry-level electronics kit, a few basic hand tools, a  
soldering iron, and most importantly, a few hours of your time as a  
mentor? Along with the kit, a young person can build self-confidence  
and a sense that technology is not only comprehensible but is also  
possible to master.

The following vendors offer entry-level or higher-level electronics  
kits. Note that the list isn't intended to be comprehensive or complete.

Velleman offers an interesting assortment of kits suited for many  
levels of skill:  <www.vellemanusa.com>

Not much in the way of test instruments, but you'll find lots of  
radio kits:  <www.gibsonteched.com>

Here are more educational kits:  <www.kelvin.com>

Probably the most accessible source for electronic kits that don't  
require soldering:  <www.radioshack.com>

For an overview of Heathkit's corporate history, go to:   
<www.heathkit-museum.com>

...and to view a PDF copy of Heathkit's October 1958 advertising  
flyer, see:  <www.heathkit-museum.com/features/hkflyer.shtml>

To visit one surviving business entity that keeps the Heathkit name  
alive, visit:  <www.heathkit.com>

For brief descriptions of Eico, Paco, and other lesser-known kit  
manufacturers, go to:  <www.qsl.net/kb7rgg>

For more information on Eico, go to:  <users.rcn.com/ 
fiddler.interport/eico.htm>






Don R. House K9TTY
drhouse at nadcomm.com