Goodbye Heathkit

[stampeder]

After trying to make a corporate comeback, Heathkit is apparently down for the count. I built several Heathkit projects when I was younger, including an oscilloscope when I was a teenager.

http://www.arrl.org/news/heathkit-ed...closes-up-shop

If you use our site's Search Tool with "Heathkit" as the query and select posts instead of threads you will see some fond recollections from a few of us Digital Home members.

Here's the Heathkit Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit

[TechieFreak]

I share your memories for the better times of our youth.

Between Heathkits and Radio Shack, a tinkerer didn't have to go far to make electronic projects.

Radio Shack (The Source) is nothing like what it used to be, with the wide assortment of switches, pots, speakers, lamps and boxes. (remember the Mach-1 speakers, or the Realistic SA-1000 amp?)

At least in Vancouver we still have RP Electronics and Active Electronics.

[JamesK]

I also built a few Heathkits over the years. Also, there used to be Lafayette Radio and Allied Radio. Both had thick catalogs full of audio & video gear, test equipment, parts and more. Allied was in Canada briefly (they were located in Barrie) before being bought by Radio Shack (Tandy). I still have a Heathkit "Cantenna" dummy load.

[interdit_450]

Wow good memories ... my first "home alarm" was a Heathkit. Sad to see them close up shop, thought they could have done something using Internet sales

And totally right about Radio Shack as well, it was always a sure stop at the mall back in the days when it was owned by Tandy.

Thank goodness Montreal still has places like Addisson, Abra and Access for the tinkerer

[HDTV101]

Heathkit had some great stuff back in the day... as a kid I built many of their kits and learned so much about electronics at the time. I loved their catalogs too... I didn't know they were trying to make a come back... I had thought they had died off long ago... I guess it wasn't meant to be..


If you go to their site http://www.heathkit.com/ and click on 'Store' you get this....

The connection has timed out
The server at www.heathkit.com is taking too long to respond.


Heathkit RIP

[tricky]

My first kit was built in the UK an FM tuner and that was when BBC first started broadcasting in stereo it wasn't long before Heathkit supplied their multiplex decoder.
My second kit was a tube stereo amplifier.

My third venture was a pair of Altec Lansing/ Heathkit AS101 speakers which are still going strong. I got these from their store in I think it was Cookesville .

When Altec Lansing quit the Hi-fidelity speaker business, now all we get are the mass produced mini computer speaker, A few of the employees bought some of the equipment fortunately, and still produce the top end equipment in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where I managed to purchase new voice coils on the tweeters to replace the worn out 40 year old coils.

http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/