[Heathkit] SB-104 / HW-104 Question

[Mark K3MSB]

The HW-104 came out in 1975, a year after the better known SB-104 was first
introduced.

The SB-104A, which fixed a lot of the issues in the SB-104, came out in
1977.
In that same year the HW-104 (and of course the SB-104) production ended.

Was the HW-104 produced just as a lower cost alternative to the SB-104,  or
was it produced as an alternative to the SB-104 due to the
SB-104's teething problems?

Mark K3MSB