Heathkit is coming back!

[araugh]

http://www.heathkit.com/heathkit-faq.html

Big changes, big plans

Q. Is Heathkit back?
A. Yes. We're back.
Q. So are you really going to make Heathkit® kits?
A. Yes.
Q. Wow! That simple? “Yes?”
A. Yes.

There's a survey on the site to gather data about what people would like to see them do, it takes about 5-10 minutes but it's not too painful.

[tadawson]

Now if they just don't dumb themselves down with trivial no-solder crap kits, life will be good! Give me big, complex, and complete assembly required, please!

- Tim

[JohnYayas]

Wow, that brings back memories. Our first color television was a Heathkit that my dad put together. His employer bought a kit for all the electronics technicians as part of the training program. He had some other stuff, too. It was all pretty much junk and needed repairs all the time. The only quality thing he had was an ancient tube based analog kit multimeter that he bought in his early years.

[mixedgas]

If they stick to Ham Radio, Test Gear, and Robotics they have a chance.
They also have to come up with far more useful stuff then Velleman.
Steve

[Displaser]

Nice. Brings back memories of building kits with my Dad as well. Never bought any of their educational products, but if they could pursue some vocational connection with high schools, I think that would be a win-win for everyone. Both of my kids spent more time prepping for some stupid achievement tests while in high school, than anything else - what a waste, compliments of our state legislature in Texas.

I'd buy their products again. Thanks for the heads up on this!

Greg

[Stuka]

Ahh, the memories -

It seems like only yesterday that my Dad and I were out in the backyard, taxing our first R/C airplane around with our first R/C system, from Heathkit.

Pre-cable TV ~ it wasn't until after a rash of angry phone calls that Dad discovered that the factory transmitter board was so out of tune that it was scrambling most of the TV's in our neighborhood, which is a really bad thing if that happened while the Super Bowl is on...

My first solo Heathkit project was the deluxe Color Organ kit, which evidently got a LOT of use with my brothers and their dope-smoking friends after I went off to college!

It WAS very cool; at that time, second only to lasers, and a WHOLE lot cheaper...

[mixedgas]

My first laser was the Heath ETS-4200 HENE kit. It still runs, same tube, and nearly the same .95 mW. Although about a month after I got it I needed to order a new HV transformer for the switcher.

Steve

[tadawson]

Wow, that brings back memories. Our first color television was a Heathkit that my dad put together. His employer bought a kit for all the electronics technicians as part of the training program. He had some other stuff, too. It was all pretty much junk and needed repairs all the time. The only quality thing he had was an ancient tube based analog kit multimeter that he bought in his early years.

My family build probably close to 30 kits over the years, and even today, I can't think of even one that does not still work, and only one that ever failed and needed repair . . . built correctly, our experience was that they were far more reliable than most anything else out there at the time.

- Tim

[steve-o]

Wow I never thought I'd see Heathkit come back. Three cheers to the past in the future !!! Can't wait to see what they come up with. Maybe an analog driver for laser diodes

[Eidetic]

My first laser was the Heath ETS-4200 HENE kit. It still runs, same tube, and nearly the same .95 mW. Although about a month after I got it I needed to order a new HV transformer for the switcher.

Steve

Here's the complete set Steve. I got this from the guy who built it in the '80s. He saw an article in the SJ Mercury News about my collection and contacted me to sell it.