Heathkits

[Foreman72]

Anyone have any of these when they were younger? i just picked up a timing light and a dwell/tach...pretty sweet finds...

any heathkits gents?

[71charger_fan]

I put together a transistor radio when I was a teenager and was shocked it actually worked. Anyone else old enough to remember when they were commonly called "transistor radios" to differentiate them from the then still very common tube-type radios?

[draftingmonkey]

I wanted to get one of their exhaust analyzers.  Needless to say I waited to long and Heathkit was gone.  Fist multimeter was a Radio Shack kit.

Did build some kit tube and early transistor audio gear by Heath and Dynaco and I still have/use a bunch of tube gear at home.  Guess I am getting old now that I think about it.

[Tilar]

Wow, I haven't heard anyone mention Heathkits in a long time. Back in the mid 70's I was a volunteer fireman, and we would buy kits to build sirens since nobody could afford to buy one retail. We had one guy that was really good with them. If I remember right, you could do one for about half the cost.

[bigred68]

  Sirens? Radios? Multi-meter/ Testers? I've never heard of a Heathkit. I was thinking a Heath kit came with Resse pcs. and Hearshy kisses in the Easter basket! Please explain!

[Foreman72]

Sirens? Radios? Multi-meter/ Testers? I've never heard of a Heathkit. I was thinking a Heath kit came with Resse pcs. and Hearshy kisses in the Easter basket! Please explain!

well they are these kits that were around in the...former years hahaha...they were really basic like say a transisor radio...it comes in pieces and you put it together yourself...

[71charger_fan]

It's how many of us born before the Kennedy years learned just how much hot solder hurts.

[Todd Wilson]

Heathkit was a company that made all kinds of electronic things way back when. You bought them as a kit  and put them togther yourself to save you some money. A few other manufacturers did this same idea. You could buy a kit or the unit already built and ready to go.  Heathkit had everything from automotive to tv's and all things in between. They were mostly famous for radio stuff and ham radio stuff in general.   Heres a Heathkit tube tester I have for checking tubes in my old tube radio collection.




Todd

[0X01B8]

I loved building those!  I built their digital alarm clock when I was 10 or 12 or something.  It was a cool deal with large, green LEDs, back when LEDs were a fairly new thing in consumer grade shit.  It's been sitting on my parents dresser in their bedroom for over 30 years and it still works perfectly.

[Neal_J]

Wow, that's a familiar name I haven't heard in 25 years...

My dad and Heathkits were as attached as alcohol, tobacco and firearms. 

First, he made a 4-function calculator around 1974 that was the same size and weight as a brick (no exaggeration.  However, it got my brother through the engineering program at UC Berkeley.

Next, he made a digital scale for the bathroom.  Surprise!  It didn't work well when the bathroom was steamy - like after a hot shower when you might want to weigh yourself. 

His masterpiece was the color television set for our living room.  I have never seen a bigger cardboard box of resisters in my life.  It was like they shipped the inventory of an entire Radio Shack store in one big box.  And every evening, he soldered...and soldered...and soldered.  After what seems now like 2 years, we finally had a working TV.   In the meanwhile, I had to watch Mannix & Love American Style on the trusty black & white.

Unfortunately, he died a year or so after and the TV died shortly thereafter.  So we called a repairman.  He looked at the Healthkit, laughed and recommended we buy another TV because no one - and he repeated NO ONE - would touch a homemade TV for repairs.   My mom couldn't bear to throw out the Heathkit and so it sits, to this day, in her living room as kind of a monument to my Dad's soldering skills.  And cheapness.  Damn Dad, couldn't we just go down to Monkey Wards like everyone else and get a new RCA set??

Oh well, thanks for the memories of Heathkit. 

[Foreman72]

wow...thats amazing neal...i didn't know they made anything as big as tvs

[Neal_J]

BTW, anyone want to buy a little-used Heathkit 21" color TV from 1979??  Needs work & no shipping. 

Best offer!!

[Todd Wilson]

BTW, anyone want to buy a little-used Heathkit 21" color TV from 1979??  Needs work & no shipping. 

Best offer!!

Theres guys on the antique radio and tv forum that would jump all over that old tv. If you are serious about getting rid of it I can help spread the word.


Todd

[Forza]

Never heard of these before but they look like a lot of fun! Any ideas on where a guy can find some of these now?

[Neal_J]

I got to wondering myself yesterday if good old Heathkit is still around.   Unfortunately, you're about 25 years too late to the party.  The company is still alive but they stopped making kits in the mid 1980's.

Neal

[Neal_J]

Theres guys on the antique radio and tv forum that would jump all over that old tv. If you are serious about getting rid of it I can help spread the word.


Todd

Wow, that's amazing that anyone would want it.  I'll check with my mom to see if she's interested. 

Just curious Todd, WHY would anyone want a broken, handbuilt TV from 1979?  I mean, an old car, I can understand because "they don't make 'em like they used too."  But an old 25" (correction) homemade TV set?

[Todd Wilson]

Theres guys on the antique radio and tv forum that would jump all over that old tv. If you are serious about getting rid of it I can help spread the word.


Todd

Wow, that's amazing that anyone would want it.  I'll check with my mom to see if she's interested. 

Just curious Todd, WHY would anyone want a broken, handbuilt TV from 1979?  I mean, an old car, I can understand because "they don't make 'em like they used too."  But an old 25" (correction) TV set?

Its just like any other hobby out there. Theres guys that will kill for an old tv set. They will tear them clear down and restore them. The older or odder  the better. Theres guys restoring 1940 and 1950 tv sets all the time.   They get excited about finding NOS  picture tubes and stuff. Its just like it is here except its tv's or old radios.  Rare models or common models. Stuff thats good and stuff that is bad.  I would love to have an old set but I dont have the balls to start messing with one.  You are usually starting to play with 12000+ volts when you start sticking the screw driver into one of those old units. Heck my old radios are 400-600volts in some areas.

Todd