[HBR] Cost Of Homebrewing?

[hbr@mailman.qth.net]

In a message dated 10/10/2003 2:29:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time, waltah@earthlink.net writes:

> 
> 
> Jim said:
> 
> > But somewhere in the early '60s the focus started to move towards 'niche'
> > projects.
> 
> That's a good analysis I think.  If you further categorize these as 
> 'simpler' projects you get another piece of the puzzle.   Okay, 
> 'homebrew' can't compete for the main jobs in an advanced ham 
> shack -- maybe it can still be part of the game for beginners?   

That's one game. Or, perhaps it can be used for things that cannot be bought.

For example, look at the HB-67 design. What would it have cost to build from all new parts in 1967? Quick guess:

Chassis, panel, hardware, sockets, switches: $20
Tubes: $25
Dial, tuning caps: $20
Xtals: $20
Inductors/IFTs: $20
Power supply: $20
Misc:         $10

Total without mechanical filter: $135

The filter is the real unknown. The book shows a Collins, which was pricey new. But other projects in the same book show Lafayette filters that cost much less. Later Handbooks show an updated (?) '67 with the Lafayette filter.

With a junkbox of any size, plus maybe not installing every band xtal at once, that figure could easily be cut about in half. 

For argument's sake, let's say $100 total for the well stocked junkboxer. What sort of new receiver could be had in '67 for $100? Not much! 
> 
> > Which would you rather build for the same price - an SB-300 or a
> > G2DAF? 
> 
> The answer isn't that clear, is it?   The SB-300 was surely an okay 
> set by the standards of the time, commercially designed, no 
> metalwork to do, full documentation came with, good resale value, a 
> much faster project than a true homebrew ... but the G2DAF Mk II 
> was in general a state-of-the-art receiver and it remains pretty much 
> the pinacle of the analog receiver art.   

I'd have gone for the G2DAF for the dial alone!

But the real problem was that most US hams had no idea such rx's as even the Mark 1 DAF existed.
> 
> I think the ARRL wimped out, as Heathkit also did just a few years 
> later.   People would have paid (and worked extra hours) to build 
> really good designs, but in both organizations the bean counting 
> mentality took over -- "We can't do it any better than anyone else, so 
> let's just get out of the game." 

I think ARRL's problem was the "new handbook every year" mindset. I'll bet G2DAF didn't design/build/debug/align and document a new receiver of Mk 2 quality in less than 12 months! But to get something in the Handbook, it had to be a quick project or something done "outside". (Not all HB projects are/were from the lab). 

Heath was a different case. They were driven under by the fact that in order to compete they had to build a set that was at least as good, but cost less, and which could be built without a lot of special tools and test gear. Plus they had to write an assembly manual that anyone could follow.

In point-to-point wiring days, and even early in the PCB era, they could do it. The cost of a piece of electronic equipment used to be about 40% hand labor, and by getting the builder to supply it, Heath had an edge. But when true massproduction wavesoldering systems took over, the percentage of cost that was labor dropped like a stone, and Heath could not keep up. 

On top of that, the manufacturers could build gear that required things like highspeed oscopes and sweep generators for alignment. Heath couldn't - such things were simply not in the average kitbuilders resources.  

> You can look all over our industrial 
> landscape from the 70's on and find this kind of thinking.   The VCR, 
> the automobile ... you name it, once there was competition the green 
> eyeshade types pulled the plug.   Testicular mass deficiency 
> syndrome -- no balls.

The car manufacturers had that "new model every year" thing, too. VW showed them it wasn't needed. 
> 
> In this day of SUVs and Ten-Tec Orions, multiple TVs, computers, 
> and VCRs ... I believe cost is no longer a substantial issue.  How 
> much could a super receiver (either kit or raw homebrew) possibly 
> cost to build?   $500?   $750?  Even $1000, if heavily belled and 
> whistled?  Would that really be totally out of reach for a majority of 
> hams?

Part of that is just inflation. When I got out of school in 1976, my starting salary as a new BSEE was a little over $12,000/year. I thought I'd never figure out how to spend so much money. (Inflation was a good teacher, though!) Today that's not even minimum wage.
> 
> Certainly kits aren't dead.   I've been listening to a round table down 
> in the 75 meter extra class part of the band -- one of the guys is 
> building an Elcraft K2.   

I built K2 #2084 back in 2001. Fantastic rx. Incredible design. Easy to build and not as complex as you might think. There are well over 3000 K2s and 1500? K1s out there - and they've been around for about 4 years now. The designers are simply geniuses, there's no other way to explain how they packed so much in that design and made it both buildable and somewhat affordable.

http://www.elecraft.com

But it doesn't have any bottles inside. It's kinda tiny for my big paws and not-so-young-anymore peepers. 

And if you want one with all the goodies, be prepared to spend some serious $$

> But our big companies and the ARRL are 
> still in the grip of TMDS.   The  the market may be modest and you 
> certainly need to be sharp and nimble to play there ... but there's no 
> excuse for the lack of a leadership role by the ARRL.

I think it's even simpler than that. Homebrew designing requires a kind of thinking that isn't very common. You need somebody who can not only design the thing but explain how to build it in such a way that folks will want to build it. If there's nobody at Hq with that mindset, it's not gonna happen. 
> 
> Lack of vision + terminal TMDS.   That's what it looks like here.

Perhaps.

But suppose you were turned loose in the ARRL lab to build projects for a new Handbook. What would *you* design?

73 de Jim, N2EY