Re: [IRCA] Fwd: New Heathkit kits

[Dennis Gibson <wb6tnb@xxxxxxxxx>]

This company could be some rich Silicon Valley types who think this is viable and have more money than sense. In the 1970's using a soldering gun (not iron!) I built a Heathkit phone patch and was surprised that it worked. 

I admire all of you who build these great things Gary and many of you have designed. I got my Novice ham license in 1969 and didn't need knowledge of electronics for employment so I didn't keep up with it. I've never been good at building and have shied away from projects such as small loops. Even simple things I build usually don't work. I've given up.

I just turned 60. My hand/eye coordination isn't what it used to be. I have friends who would do a great job of building one of these for me but not for $150. Even if the price was more reasonable I wouldn't pay someone to beta test their new product. I've already paid Microsoft plenty for that "privilege".   :)

Heathkit had a few turkey ham kits. The worst one was the SB-104/104A HF transceiver in the 1980's. Two friends bought one. It spawned many Yahoo Group type nets. One was called the SB-104 disaster net. Not the usual type of disaster ham radio is very good for. 

I wish the new Heathkit company good luck. I think they will need it. 

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 8, 2015, at 8:14 PM, d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> Thanks for the info and link, Dennis. I was a Heathkit fanatic in the 1980's, building almost all of their amateur radio-related kits. 
>   
> Unfortunately, the prognosis for this resurrected company is unlikely to be much better than that of the original, in view of the changing demographics of the electronic experimenter group. The thrill of long-distance radio reception and the excitement of building electronic kits are concepts which don't seem to connect with the younger generation-- raised on cell phones, email and Skype. Even among our own generation the percentage of hobbyists who are ready, willing and able to build electronic kits (and/ or design new antennas) has been shrinking every year, mainly due to age-related health issues. Even simple loopstick transplant projects can be intimidating to those who don't have their original eyesight and/or hand coordination. As such, the new Heathkit $150 radio kit may be a tough sell in view of what features it offers in today's highly competitive radio market, and the shrinking number of hobbyists willing to take up the building challenge. 
>   
> 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA) 
> "Heathkid" on eBay  
>       
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "Russ Johnson" <radiok3pi@xxxxxxxxx> 
> To: "Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
> Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2015 7:26:27 PM 
> Subject: Re: [IRCA] Fwd: New Heathkit kits 
> 
> Thanks for sharing. Interesting. Do you think this is a finished prototype?  The lack of any frequency markings seems odd. Cool overall look. 
> 
> 73 Russ J 
> 
>> On Oct 8, 2015, at 1:53 PM, Dennis Gibson <wb6tnb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
>> 
>> This is off topic but I think will be of interest to some of you. About three years ago I heard about the formation of a new Heathkit company. I filled out a survey but didn't hear anything more until now.   
>> 
>> The first kit is a TRF radio. 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone 
>> 
>> Begin forwarded message: 
>> 
>>> From: Heathkit <heathkit-insider-mailing-list-2015@xxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>> Date: October 8, 2015 at 2:40:51 AM PDT 
>>> To: wb6tnb@xxxxxxxxx 
>>> Subject: New Heathkit kits. 
>>> 
>>> If you are having trouble viewing this email, click here. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dear Heathkit Insider, 
>>> 
>>> âWhat I really hope Heathkit will produce,â a Silicon Valley colleague recently told me, âis a new radio kit with a beautiful finish, maybe in rosewood.â Something great to enjoy building and learn from, and also visually stunning, so he could put it in his living room and keep it forever. 
>>> 
>>> Today, my friend gets his wish. 
>>> 
>>> Exciting news. More on that in a moment. 
>>> 
>>> Itâs been a while since we wrote to our Heath Insiders. We promised not to clutter your email inbox until we had something to say. Hereâs a quick summary of what weâve quietly been doing at Heathkit during the past year: We assembled a terrific team of very talented, hard-working, inventive people. We acquired another company and merged its management, products, assets, and operations gracefully into Heath Company. We ensured we own every last bit of Heathkit intellectual property, to bring you all the manuals, books, vintage designs, and classic logos you love, unencumbered and in perpetuity. We built a company division and acquired a line of vintage add-on designs to sustain the vintage products so important to many Insiders. We developed and integrated our eBay site, so you can buy or bid on auctioned items. We authored and published a helpful Android software app on Heathkitâs GooglePlay site, with more apps to come. 
>>> 
>>> Thatâs a lot, but thereâs more. Weâve designed and developed a wide range of entirely new kit products. We authored the manuals for these kits, complete with the beautiful line art you rely on, preserving and respecting our iconic historic Heathkit style. We developed many new inventions and filed patents on them. We relocated Heathkit, and set up a factory, and a warehouse, and offices, in Santa Cruz, California, near Silicon Valley. We built the back office infrastructure, vendor and supply chain relationships, systems, procedures, operations methods, and well-thought-out corporate structure that a manufacturing company needs to support its customers, to allow us to scale instantly the day we resume major kit sales. All this effort enables us to introduce a fleet of new kits and helps ensure Heathkit can grow, prosper, and continue to bring you great new products for a very long time. 
>>> 
>>> As you can see, weâve been busy. It takes a lot to bring Heathkit back into the kit business. And weâve done it. 
>>> 
>>> Weâll have many product announcements coming, but today I want to tell you about our flagship kit. 
>>> 
>>> Itâs a simple kitâby intent. We feel an enormous responsibility to respect and maintain the incredible legacy of Heathkit. To us this means, bringing you kits you can build yourself, using our historic renowned Heathkit you-can-do-it âWe wonât let you failââ approach, yielding working useful appliances so beautiful youâll be proud to display and use them daily. It also means creating an educational experience that teaches you how they work, and how you can modify or repair what you own. 
>>> 
>>> Further, we feel a very strong commitment to making this experience available to everyone, from 8 to 88 years old. Thatâs an especially high hurdle. And weâve done it. The result is the Explorer Jr.â Itâs a simple, beautiful professional-looking little radio. Itâs a historic design, made new. It comes in several different colors. You build it yourself. Take it anywhere. When you build it and as use it, youâll learn to fall in love with radio, for the first timeâor all over again. And itâs just the first in a series. 
>>> 
>>> As a Heath Insider, you are special to us. In a few days, weâll connect www.heathkit.com to our new website where our new products are listed. But you stayed with us through this process. And we want to thank you. So we are giving you, as an Insider, personal advance notice of the new products and new website through this email, before we tell the general public. We want you to know we appreciate your enthusiasm and respect for the Heathkit name and history. 
>>> 
>>> We know that as an Insider, you want to own the first major kit weâve issued in decades. But please also think about this: 
>>> 
>>> Maybe you have a child, or a granddaughter or grandson, who is ready to start their lifelong love for technology, or who will benefit from the enormous self-esteem that comes from accomplishment. They deserve an Explorer Jr too. (Remember to choose the style theyâll want mostâwe have six colors). And then, please think about gently helping them build it. You might remember the parent-and-child graphics on the front of so many Heathkit manuals: We canât count the number of Insiders who fondly remember an adult helping them build their first Heathkit when they were young. What a great way to spend time with someone you care about. 
>>> 
>>> We do not expect initial stock to last long, so please donât wait to visit our site. Also, please be patient while our new major kit, and new website, go from zero to sixty in two seconds. We might have a few bumps in the road as we scale up, and we appreciate in advance your patience. Weâll work with you to get everything we can right. 
>>> 
>>> We anticipate 30-day shipping time for this weekâs orders, and weâll continue to do everything we can to get all kits ordered this Fall to you in time for the holidays. You can see and order the Explorer Jr. at https://shop.heathkit.com/ now. Please donât wait to be last: We donât want to disappoint anyone, but most of all, we donât want to disappoint our Insiders. Think about whether thereâs anyone who would love one of these kits as a holiday present. And thanks for your loyalty and patience as we brought back to you Heathkitâs incredible legacy of the worldâs best kits again. 
>>> 
>>> Sincerely, 
>>> Andy (President) 
>>> and the team at Heathkit 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> ____________________________________________________ 
>>> Heathkit  is a registered trademark, and Explorerâ, Explorer Jr.â, Heathkit Jr.â, and Heathkit Insiderâ are trademarks, of Heath Company. (c) 2015 All rights reserved. Heathkit in all uses, the Heathkit name, the Heathkit logos and slogans, and "Heathkit Educational Systems" are internationally registered trademarks of Heath Company. Other non-Heathkit marks incidentally appearing here are the property of their respective owners. This message was only sent to people who opted in to the Heathkit Insiders email list. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Links: 
>>> ------ 
>>> [1] http://heathkit.com/http://www.heathkit.com/mailinglist/user/mailings.php?mail_id=15&email=wb6tnb@xxxxxxxxx&code=9432379848967921c7b2ddefae044b94 
>>> [2] http://heathkit.com/http://www.heathkit.com/mailinglist/user/update.php?email=wb6tnb@xxxxxxxxx&code=9432379848967921c7b2ddefae044b94 
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