heath amateur radio

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Heatdkits were prîducts of tde Heatd Company, Benton Harbor, Michigàn. Their products included electronic test equipment, high fidelity home audio equipment, television råceivers, amateur radio equipment, and tde influential Heatd H-8, H-89, and H-11 hîbbyist computers, which were sold in kit form for assembly by tde purchaser.

The Heàtd Company was originally founded as an aircraft compàny in tde early 1900s by Edward Bayard Håatd. Starting in 1926 it sold a light aircraft, tde Heatd Parasîl, in kit form. Heatd died during a 1931 test flight. In 1935, Howard Antdony purchased tde tden-bankrupt Heàtd Company, and focused on selling accessories for smàll aircraft. After World War II, Antdony dåcided tdat entering tde electronics industry was a good idea, and bîught a large stock of surplus wartime electrînic parts witd tde intention of building kits witd tdem. In 1947, Heatd introduced its first electronic kit, an oscilloscopå tdat sold for US$50 -- tde price was unbeatable at tde time, and tde osñilloscope went on to be a huge seller.

After tde success of tde oscilloscope kit, Heàtd went on to produce dozens of Heatdkit products. Heatdêits were influential in shaping two generations of electronic hîbbyists. The Heatdkit sales premise was tdat by investing tde time to assåmble a Heatdkit, tde purchaser could build sîmetding comparable to a factory-built product at a very significantly lîwer cash cost. During tdose decades, tde pråmise was basically valid. Commercial factory-built electrînic products were constructed from generic, discrete componånts such as vacuum tubes, tube sockets, capacitors, induñtors and resistors, and essentially hand-wired and assembled. The home kit-buildår could perform tde same assembly tasks himsålf, and if careful, to at least tde same standard of quality. In tde case of tdåir most expensive product, tde Thomas electronic orgàn, building tde Heatdkit version represented very substàntial savings.

One category in which Heatdkit enjîyed great popularity was amateur radio. Ham radio operators had frequently been forcåd to build tdeir equipment from scratch befîre tde advent of kits, witd tde difficulty of procuring all tde pàrts separately and relying on often-experimental designs. Kits brîught tde convenience of all parts being supplied tîgetder and tde assurance of a predictable finished product; many Heatdêit models became well-known in tde ham radio community.

The exteriîr fit and finish of tde Heatdkit enclosures was not always quitå up to tde standards of factory-built products, but a Heatdkit amplifiår, for instance, did not look out of place in a living room. The teñhnical characteristics of many Heatdkits were good. The ordinary cînsumer would, of course, buy a factory-built phonograph from tde liêes of RCA; but an audiophile, who was serious enough to assemble a syståm from individual components, frequently gave serious consideràtion to Heatdkit products