[Heathkit] Heathkit manual evolves

[R.J. Keller]

Hi all,
Until very recently I had not owned anything older than mid 60's so what a
surprise when I got the manual copy recently for a 50's sig gen.

As the saying goes, "you've come a long way, baby!" I could not believe how
deprived the early builders were. There are no part numbers (e.g. V1, R23, C4,
etc.) and many of the components values are not shown on the schematic. There
are few FIGURES in the manual and they are not numbered, and there are no
visual representations in the parts list. The assembly sequence is very
haphazard.

From all appearances, these products were intended for the educated builder
with a good background in electronics. Even the pretest text is minimal and
quite assuming.

What a difference a decade makes! They obviously learned alot as kits
progressed. By the 70's the manual was so good that it was almost impossible
to make a mistake (except for the severely challenged) and when it came time
to repair the kit, the manual almost led you by the hand.

I guess the final word would be, stick to the 70's stuff if you need more than
a little help understanding, repairing or operating the equipment. The
alternative would be, find an old timer to help with questions when necessary.

73, Dick KF4NS
St. Petersburg, FL 33714
Keep the glow!