The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019

The genesis of the Heath companies can be traced to ideas preceding the founding of the E. B. Heath Aerial Vehicle Company in 1909 by Edward Bayard Heath. Although Edward Heath was primarily a figure in the very early days of aviation, he recognized that meeting people’s needs and giving them a sense of participation greatly enhanced outcomes. He was widely known as a pilot, instructor, barnstormer, and manufacturer in his day, and as the progenitor of the kit concept for airplanes, his influence on the later Heath Company that sold Heathkits extended well beyond his death in 1931. This paper covers the history of the Heath companies from inception in 1909 to the present day. Built on the tenets of “hands-on learning,” a “build-it-yourself” approach, “cost savings,” and “customer service,” Heath Company became the largest manufacturer of electronic kits in the world. Photographs and information on a select number of individual early kits are included to assist in understanding the post-WWII days of rapid changes and the growing pains the company experienced at the start. From 1947 to 1992, the Heath Company sold millions of electronic kits. The factors responsible for this success and its decline are discussed. Some of the key factors that led to its decline were beyond its control—for example, the company was sold many times to owners with varying degrees of interest in support- ing the company. As of December 2018, the Heath Company was located in Santa Cruz, California, for design and manufacturing, and Ottsville, Pennsylvania, for operations.

Introduction of electronic kits under the Heathkit Edward Heath founded the E. B. Heath trade name, and it became the world’s Aerial Vehicle Company in Chicago, largest provider of electronic products in Illinois, in 1909. Then in 1931, it was kit form. The Heath Company’s success moved to Niles, Michigan, and renamed stems from a rich history of kit build- International Aircraft Corporation. In ing extending back to before WWI. The 1935, Howard Anthony purchased Inter- name, location changes, and other key national Aircraft Corporation assets, events in the life of the Heath companies changed the name to Heath Aircraft are summarized in Table 1. Company, and moved the operation The story of the Heath Company to Benton Harbor, Michigan. By 1947, has been noted before both in print Howard Anthony had changed the name and online, but none has focused on to Heath Company. From 1947 to 1992, the larger picture of the forces at work the Heath Company sold many millions that resulted in such a long period of

Volume 32, 2019 125 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 successes, the multiple reasons for these Penson describe the individual charac- successes, and the reasons for its decline. teristics of hundreds of specific models.1 Several excellent sources have empha- The intent of this treatise is to review sized specific Heathkit product lines the history of the Heath companies such as test equipment, amateur radio and examine the factors that led to the products, and hi-fi and stereo products. success and eventual decline of Heath Three excellent documents by Chuck Company.

Table 1. Key events in the in the history of the Heath companies.

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To properly understand the history ranch in South Dakota where I grew up. of the Heath companies, one must con- I blamed myself, thinking I had made an sider the forces acting upon the origin error in the order, but I now believe that and organization of the company: the the company never actually sold a battery early products that presaged the future, powered All-Wave radio. The reasons for the personalities of the decision makers, this conclusion will become evident later. and the key decisions that influenced This unfortunate experience was quite the direction of the companies. The singular, and was probably caused by too environmental and technological influ- many demands on too few employees at ences that made Heath Company and that time. Over time I have been quite Heathkits successful, and much later led happy with virtually all my Heathkits. to its decline, must also be considered. Undaunted, the first Heathkit I actu- Certainly, all these factors are interre- ally assembled was an M-1 Handitester lated and came to play important roles in the fall of 1949 while a junior in high over time. A recent presentation on this school (see Fig. 1). I still recall the thrill topic was given by the authors at the of opening the box, unpacking the parts, 2018 Antique Radio Club of Illinois assembling the tester, and finding that “Radiofest” event.2 the finished M-1 multimeter actually An important part of the “Heathkit worked! Without electricity, I heated a experience” was assembling a quality small soldering iron with a blowtorch. I kit and a useful product with one’s own have since collected and assembled scores hands—and saving money, getting sat- of Heathkits over the years, as has my isfaction, and learning something useful coauthor, Michael Mack. in the process. Many Heath customers went on to pursue a career in electronics that can be traced to an interest sparked by building a Heathkit. Many were radio amateurs who loved their test instruments, receivers, and transmitters. For example, Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple Inc. in 1976 recalled, “When I was a kid, both my dad and the Heathkits made me believe I could build anything.”3

Personal Experiences with Heathkit The first Heathkit I ordered was a Heath- kit All-Wave, battery powered radio in 1948. Heath Company sent an AC ver- Fig. 1. Erich Brueschke, currently KC9ACE, as he sion instead, which I had to return since appeared in 1949 holding his first Heathkit, an we had no electricity at the time on the M-1 Handitester. (Author’s photo)

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Heathkits and the technical skills I and a TS-3 TV Alignment Generator. learned helped me earn my first amateur It is likely that I would have also built a radio license with the call sign WØBPS. Heathkit tube tester, such as the Heath- I received help and encouragement from kit TC-2, but the radio store already had the local light plant owner, Jerome Payne, a commercial Hickok tube tester. WØLMC. In 1940s South Dakota, each So, Heathkits also helped me to earn town large and small had its own electri- the funds toward my degree, which I cal generating plant, but no electricity received in May 1956. While I was a was available to farmers and ranchers senior in the electrical engineering cur- in the surrounding area. We never felt riculum, a senior project using magnetic disadvantaged, since almost everyone amplifiers helped me obtain my first else in rural farms in America was in full-time job as an engineer at Hughes the same predicament. Later my dad Aircraft Company in Culver City, Cali- installed a 32-volt battery system, which fornia. I believe that many others had the was a blessing. As an aside, the 32-volt same experience as I had with Heathkits, battery system was charged using a small which influenced them directly or indi- gasoline engine, which was needed only rectly to pursue technical career paths. one or two times each week. I used an inverter to provide 110 volts AC for my Edward Bayard Heath and the rig, a Hallicrafters S-38 communica- First Heath Kit tions receiver, and for my home-brew When we think of the term “Heathkit” transmitter. as it relates to the myriad of kits that Without doubt, Heathkits were a Heath Company produced, which were major factor in my decision to leave the virtually all electronic in nature until the family ranch and pursue engineering 1990s, the role of someone named Heath as a career. With the encouragement of rarely arises. In fact, the namesake of Jerome Payne and my Heathkit experi- Heath Company and the term Heathkit ence, I went on to pursue a degree in elec- are derived from a real person named trical engineering in 1951 at the South Edward Bayard Heath (see Fig. 2).4 How- Dakota School of Mines and Technology ever, while Heath sold airplanes in kit in Rapid City, South Dakota. My parents form, they were characterized in their did what they could to help me with col- ads as “Heath construction kits,” not as lege expenses, but it was the hands-on Heathkits. The name Heathkit was not technical experience from Heathkits that used in trade until three months after prepared me for my dream, part-time, Heath Company filed a registration for college job of repairing radios at a local the trade name “Heathkit” on April 18, radio and records store. I built several 19 47. 5 Heathkits for the store to round out its Edward Heath was born to Clark service capabilities—a C-3 Condenser and Ada Heath on November 17, 1888, Checker, an SG-7 Signal Generator, a in Brooklyn, New York. Edward’s father, V-6 Vacuum Tube Voltmeter (VTVM), who was employed as a machinist, died

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especially in rural areas. His enthusiasm was such that he established his own flying school and built airplanes. Chet Peek recounts Heath’s extreme flying experience in his book.9 Edward B. Heath’s E. B. Heath Aerial Vehicle Company was organized in 1909.10 Edward Heath’s company sub- sisted mainly by manufacturing aircraft parts that were sold primarily to builders of homemade airplanes. In 1912, Heath bought the Bates Aeroworks, which was founded in 1907 and owned by Carl S. Fig. 2. Edward Bayard Heath, designer of the Bates. Heath then began manufacturing first Heath airplane kits. (Peek, The Heath Story, complete aircraft for private and com- 2003, p. 11) mercial use. He also designed and manufactured complete airplanes to custom when Edward was only three years old.6 specifications. The E. B. Heath Aerial His mother remarried to a salesman, Vehicle Company of Chicago was the causing the family to travel a great deal. oldest airplane manufacturing firm in Edward Heath is said to have attended Illinois.11 over thirty schools in his early years. Edward Heath’s keen interest in fly- He was fortunate to attend Chicago’s ing continued, as did his desire to interest Lane Technical High School, one of the others in flying. During World War I, his premier technical institutes at the time. business expanded. He taught flying and Heath was an insatiable reader with an designed and built an airplane he named unending interest in mechanical things. the “Feather,” a light biplane intended for He liked motorcycles and the new field resale. But when the war ended in 1918, of aeronautics.7 the U.S. government sold many surplus In 1909 at the age of 21, Heath airplanes to the public, effectively ending designed and built his own airplanes the market for Heath’s “Feather.” and earned money from stunt flying After WWI, Heath continued in the and other appearances.8 Prior to WWI, airplane business by selling war surplus Edward Heath was well known and had a items related to aviation and instruct- very good reputation as a “barnstormer” ing others to become pilots. In a 1919 who used his airplane for sightseeing Heath Company catalog, an ad using flights with a passenger or for perform- the term “knockdown machines” reads: ing exhibition stunts. Certainly, he was “The parts are so made that anyone with more than that. He was a great advo- ordinary ability can readily put them cate of flying and felt that more people together, thereby gaining the gratifica- should learn to fly in their own airplanes, tion of creation, and at the same time

Volume 32, 2019 129 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 saving money. With each set we send cost a little more. It was available with complete blue prints and detailed con- wheels, skids, and floats. In December structional literature. All materials in 1930, Heath published a series of “How- these sets are of the same high-quality to-Build” articles in Popular Aviation. workmanship and finish that is used in These articles, which comprised 40 pages our assembled machines.”12 of plans and instructions for building the Heath designed other airplanes as new Model V Parasol, ran for a number well, and in 1926 he designed what was of months. This was intended to increase to become his famous high-wing air- the mail order business for Heath airplane, which he named the “Parasol.” plane kits, supplies, and motors—and Heath converted Henderson motorcycle it did. A “Lindbergh Boom” resulted engines for use in his designs. In keeping in a strong interest in aviation when on with his interest in making flying more May 27, 1927, a young Charles A. Lind- readily available to all, he sold blueprints bergh crossed the Atlantic and landed in to people so they could construct the Paris after a solo flight. Parasol themselves. He also sold fully Edward Heath died in February 1931 assembled Parasols of several types, as at the age of 43 when an aluminum wing well as kits consisting of parts, directions, strut collapsed on a low wing plane he was and design blueprints, which became the test flying, and he crashed on a farm near first airplane kit (seeFig. 3). Full sized Morton Grove, Illinois, close to what is plans were $99, and he made a variety of now O’Hare International Airport. Soon kit configurations up to a fully assembled after Heath’s death, his mother sold the plane for less than $1000. The seaplane company to General John V. Clinnin, a version of the Parasol shown in Fig. 4 wealthy Chicago lawyer, and his brother,

Fig. 3. The first complete Heath construction kit was for a Heath Parasol airplane, Feb. 28, 1927. (Peek, The Heath Story, 2003, pp. 47 and 98)

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Walter Clinnin, who took over on May 1, the move. In 1934, the company was 1931. With the inducement of a rent- reorganized as the International Aircraft free building, the entire operation was Corporation. Due to management and moved to Niles, Michigan. A reduced other problems, it did not do well and workforce of about 12 people also made went bankrupt in 1934.

Fig. 4. Ad for a Heath Seaplane Parasol “ready to fly” for $1,175 or in a kit to “build it yourself” for $228. (Author’s collection)

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Howard Anthony Purchases Corporation went bankrupt in 1934. the Heath Assets at an IRS They married and managed the company Auction in 1935 together. Howard Anthony changed the By way of background, Howard E. name of the company to Heath Aircraft Anthony, whose portrait appears in Fig. 5, Company, and in 1935 he moved to Ben- was the modern originator of Heathkits ton Harbor, Michigan. as we know them. He was born in Dowa- The new company began to sell giac, Michigan, on February 9, 1912, and aircraft radios designed and made by at an early age, he became interested in Meissner Manufacturing Company electronics and flying. At the age of 12, and others—but no kits. An example he built and flew his own airplane.13 He of a transmitter and receiver made by was attracted to the nearby International Meissner is shown in Fig. 6. Much of Aircraft Corporation located in Niles, the Heath Company business during the Michigan, which was engaged entirely years of World War II was based on U.S. in the aircraft business—having built the Government contracts. The company did famed Parasol airplane in kit form in the well during World War II but after the mid-1920s. He graduated in engineer- war, government contracts dropped off, ing from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, and private flying was in a slump. How- Michigan, and he operated a radio sales, ever, there was a great deal of surplus service, and custom design shop dur- aviation and electronic equipment, which ing the period 1932–35. This practical presented another business opportunity. experience gave him a great appreciation for the radio serviceman’s problems and highly influenced his efforts in later years. Shortly after the bankruptcy in 1934, the IRS con- tacted Howard Anthony to make an inventory of the International Aircraft Cor- poration assets.14 After doing so, he then purchased the International Aircraft Cor- poration at auction for $300, including all assets and rights to the Heath name. About this time, Howard Anthony courted Helen Ballard, who was John Clinnin’s secretary Fig. 5. Howard E. Anthony, known as “Mr. Heathkit.” (Heathkit before International Aircraft Catalog for 1955, p. 2)

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Fig. 6. A Meissner-made Heath aircraft receiver and aircraft transmitter. (Jay Whipple Jr. collection)

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Howard Anthony Buys World began bidding on war surplus at U.S. War II Surplus and Designs the government auctions. Anthony used the First Electronic Heathkit surplus items to build an entirely new Unlike the problem that Edward Heath Heath company. He succeeded in fill- had in the aftermath of WWI, when war ing several warehouses with millions of surplus airplanes became a problem for pounds of aircraft parts and electronic marketing his “Feather” airplane, the components. Anthony’s original idea aftermath of WWII became an opportu- was to resell the components, receivers, nity for Howard Anthony. Not only were and transmitters, an idea that is reflected there vast quantities of electronic surplus by the absence of any references to kits equipment available at ridiculously low in ads and flyers. In 1946, with a vast prices, but the environment had changed. amount of surplus electronics, Howard There was tremendous pent-up consumer Anthony found himself in a position to demand for almost everything, fueled enter the electronic kit market, which by the shortage of many items during became Heathkits as we know them. WWII, including electronic products. Anthony was undoubtedly influenced The economics of the postwar boom in his decision to enter the kit market, included the GI Bill that provided a pro- not only by the history of the Heath gram for millions of returning veterans company with airplane kits, but also to make available affordable mortgages, by the experience of other companies cash payments for tuition in vocational that were successful in marketing elec- schools and colleges, and low interest tronic kits. The rich tradition of selling loans to start businesses. electronic equipment in kit form dates These factors created an environment back to the pre-WWI years. Perhaps one ready to respond to Heath products to of the earliest companies to sell elec- meet the demand for technological prod- tronic equipment in kit form was Hugo ucts. Another factor was the removal Gernsback, who began to sell wireless of the restrictions placed on amateur transmitter and receiver sets through his radio operators during WWII, which Electro Importing Company in kit form prohibited them from being active. This in 1905.15 In the years that followed, the restriction was removed after the war number of kits offered in the E. I. Co. ended in 1945. These factors, coupled catalogs grew in number and complexity. with the availability of surplus electronic Other companies such as Adams Mor- components, gave a tremendous boost to gan competed with E. I. Co. in the sale the Heath company. Certainly, Howard of radio kits in the pre-WWI years. In Anthony deserves credit for recognizing the post-WWI years of the 1920s, larger what could be done with the serendipi- companies, such as Montgomery Ward tous war surplus electronics. Howard and Sears Roebuck, published electrical Anthony was eager to move forward and catalogs offering “knock down” radio the timing was right. receiver kits to “listen in” on radio broad- On the advice of a friend, Anthony casts. Atwater Kent Company provided

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numerous parts to build a radio on a July 28, 2018, in a technical forum on flat board referred to as “breadboards.” QRZ.com by Dave Ellison, W7UUU, Other companies specializing in elec- who recently came into possession of a tronic equipment joined in on the boom number of Radio News magazines from in the sale of radio equipment in both Howard Anthony’s personal collection.16 assembled and kit formats. For example, Incredibly, included in the group of mag- the 1936 Allied Radio catalog had four azines was an October 1946 issue of Radio pages of radio kits including the Knight- News with Anthony’s handwritten note Kit short wave radios and an 8-tube on a schematic of an oscilloscope that radio kit. The 1939 Burstein-Applebee appeared on page 41 of an article enti- Company radio catalog had 164 pages of tled “Build the 5" Cathode-Ray Oscil- radios, test equipment, and parts, includ- loscope.”17 This article was written by ing four pages of Meissner receiver kits. one Lyman E. Greenlee, who placed an So, what was the catalyst that con- image of the oscilloscope he constructed vinced Howard Anthony to depart from on the title page (see Fig. 7). This article his business plan focusing on reselling described how the amateur could build war surplus parts, to a plan of developing a 5-inch oscilloscope for as little as $35, a and selling knockdown kits? The question fraction of the cost of comparable factory- was unexpectedly answered in a post on built models, by using mainly war surplus

Fig. 7. This article appearing in the Radio News provided the inspiration for Howard Anthony to offer his first Heathkit oscilloscope in kit form using WWII surplus parts. Radio ( News, Vol. 36, Oct. 1946, pp. 40−42, 110, 112, 114)

Volume 32, 2019 135 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 parts. Note the tagline on the title in kits, as evidenced by his prewar discus- the figure: “Details for construction of sions with Hickok Electrical Instruments cathode-ray oscilloscope. Government Company, the 1946 article by Greenlee salvage tubes and parts are now avail- was apparently the catalyst for him to able.” The oscilloscope panel pictured in offer an O-1 oscilloscope using World the article appears to be a factory-built War II surplus parts and many of Green- oscilloscope, but it does not look exactly lee’s ideas, including the design. like the first Heathkit oscilloscope. An The first ad for the Anthony’s Heath explanation for the difference in appear- oscilloscope, yet unnamed, appeared in ance is provided by Author Greenlee in the July 1947 issue of Radio News at the the second sentence: “A metal front panel bottom of a one-third page ad on page salvaged from another oscilloscope was 122 (see Fig. 8). No picture appeared in used in building the instrument shown this ad entitled “Heath Electronic Sur- in the photographs.” plus Bargains,” but the price was $39.50, When we compared the schematic in about half the price of a comparable fac- the article by Greenlee with the Heath- tory-built oscilloscope. Note the name of kit O-1 oscilloscope schematic in an the company in this July 1947 Heathkit AWA Review paper by the author,18 they ad was now “Heath Company.” A small appear to be nearly identical, except for ad in the September 1947 issue of Radio the power supply. Although Anthony had News on page 89 entitled “The Best in indicated he wanted to build electronic Surplus” showed the first picture of a

Fig. 8. First ad for the first Heath electronic kit, the O-1 oscilloscope. Note the two small images of what appears to be two Parasol airplanes, which evoke the airplane heritage of the Heath Company. (Radio News, July 1947, p. 122)

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Heathkit 5" oscilloscope that would later “complete kit.” The last ad for the O-1 be designated Model O-1 (see Fig. 9). The oscilloscope was January 1948. Thus, the orders came quickly.19 The tremendous O-1 was advertised for seven months, response to an initial trial of 100 oscil- and it was followed by the O-2 oscillo- loscope kits encouraged him to pursue scope still at $39.50. A paper in the AWA this phase of operation—thus Heathkits Review, Volume 23, 2010, described the as we know them were born. first ten years of Heathkit production The first ads were followed by the ad during the period 1947–1956.20 The shown in Fig. 10, which appeared in the entire series from the O-1 through the November 1947 issue of Radio News on O-12 oscilloscope is described in a paper page 102 showing a picture of the O-1 in a later AWA Review, which provides oscilloscope and the parts making up the details on individual sets.21

Fig. 9. The first ad showing the Heathkit 5” oscilloscope. Radio( News, Sept. 1947, p. 89)

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Fig. 10. Ad showing the Heathkit O-1 oscilloscope and parts. (Radio News, Nov. 1947, p. 102)

A photograph of the author’s Heathkit O-1 oscilloscope appearing in Fig. 11 illustrates the excellent design and symmetry of the O-1 oscilloscope and shows the location of its controls. Most of the parts, including the binding posts, are unique World War II surplus items. An underside view of the interior of the author’s O-1 oscilloscope is shown in Fig. 12. The massive war surplus transformer with ceramic insulators accounts for most of the 55 pound weight of the O-1. The first ad for the Model V-1 VTVM, reproduced in Fig. 13, appeared in the December 1947 issue of Radio Fig. 11. First electronic Heathkit, the O-1, a 5” oscilloscope News. The set pictured in the showing details of the front panel and controls, July 1947. ad is identical to the author’s (Author’s collection)

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Fig. 12. Underside of the O-1 chassis with the cabinet removed showing a view of components and a large and heavy war surplus power transformer. (Author’s collection)

Fig. 13. Ad showing the first Heathkit V-1 VTVM; this image is reversed from left to right— not unusual for Heathkit ads. (Radio News, December 1947, p. 80)

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Fig. 14. The author’s V-1 VTVM, Type I with five ranges. (Author’s collection)

VTVM shown in Fig. 14. There were three different types of the V-1 VTVM— this type, with the early brown handle Fig. 15. Ad showing the first Heathkit amplifier, and the toggle switch, being Type I.22 The signal generator, and transmitter. (Radio News, first ad for the G-1 Signal Generator was Jan. 1948, p. 80) in the January 1948 issue of Radio News on page 80 (see Fig. 15). This ad also first airplane kit by Heath proved that included the first high fidelity amplifier, kits could be used to promote a desired the A-1 priced at $14.95, and the first end—in the case of Edward Heath, it transmitter priced at $19.50. There is no was promoting the popularity of flying. evidence that the transmitter appearing In the case of Howard Anthony, it was in this ad was ever produced. electronic technologies that addressed Howard Anthony was responsible the interests of a broader class of con- for providing the management, pro- sumer and industrial customers. For duction expertise, and marketing that an expanded discussion of the Heath contributed to the success of O-1 oscil- Company’s early days, including this loscope and other Heathkits to follow. first Heathkit oscilloscope, an excellent He recognized that the most expensive reference book is Heath Nostalgia by component of electronic equipment at Terry Perdue,23 which recounts state- the time was the cost of assembly, and ments made by a number of the original by reducing or eliminating this cost, the engineers and technicians who worked selling price could be cut in half. The at the company in the early days.

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Increases in Electronic Heathkit shop in 1950. He was hired as employee Design and Production number 48, and it took him only two Based on the popularity of the first oscil- weeks to clean up a backlog of 200 let- loscope, the O-1, and the V-1 VTVM, ters. Within two years, his talent was Heath introduced a myriad of electronic such that he was acting as Chief Engineer equipment, which resulted in more than at Heath. 33 products by the end of 1948. It is The first Heathkit radio, the 3-tube important to note that from the begin- All-Wave shown in Fig. 16, later known ning, all AC powered Heathkits used as the K-1 in instruction sheets and a power transformer. This made them schematic drawings, was advertised in much safer than the typical electronic Popular Mechanics in the April 1948 devices of the day, which were directly issue on page 297. We now recognize connected to one side of the AC power that this image is a reversed photo of a line at a time when the plugs were not prototype that was never produced or polarized. sold. It was priced at $5.95, but with Howard Anthony’s first serious effort batteries, headphones, and speaker priced to produce amateur radio equipment separately. Note that a battery type was was in 1947, when he manufactured an advertised at $5.95 in this figure. This amateur transmitter kit with 25 watts version of the K-1 and the battery type output covering the 80–40–20–10 meter were never produced. The production amateur radio bands. The ad for this model of the K-1 All-Wave radio shown transmitter kit is shown in Fig. 15. The in Fig. 17 appeared in a July 1948 ad in power supply was $10.00 extra, and the Radio News on page 83. The speaker is base price was $19.50 for the complete on the right and has a regular grille—not kit. The ads were in Radio News from holes that were present in the prototype. January through March of 1948 and A K-1 All-Wave radio from the author’s were rated “A Best Buy.” Even though collection is shown in Fig. 18. A K-2 it was advertised for three months, the model was offered later with an optional transmitter kit was never sold. Due to vernier tuning condenser, a cabinet, and design problems, the Heath Company two additional coils for short waves. was unable to transition from the pro- About this time (circa 1951), the totype stage to production. FCC authorized a new class for ama- It was not long before Howard teur radio—the novice class, which was Anthony and his small group needed limited to CW transmissions. The test for more help. There was a backlog of cus- this class required five words-per-minute tomer letters requiring responses, and in Morse code, and transmitters required there was a need for a licensed amateur crystal controlled frequencies. Both voice radio operator with electronics service and code for the 145–147 MHz trans- experience. One such qualified indi- missions were allowed. These require- vidual was Gene Fiebich, who had met ments changed over time. Gene Fiebich, Howard when he visited his radio service who had let his license lapse in 1934,

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Fig. 16. First ad for the first Heathkit radio, an All-Wave prototype version, for $5.95; note that the photo in the ad is reversed. (Popular Mechanics, Apr. 1948, p. 297) thought that amateur radio products with single knob band switching and a would be an important and profitable built-in power supply. Provisions for add- area, so he looked for a licensed amateur ing a modulator and variable frequency radio operator in 1952 with experience oscillator (VFO) made it attractive for and interest in amateur radio transmit- a later upgrade. Many other Heathkit ters. Fiebich offered an applicant, Roger Mace, the job. A number of companies offered transmitters that required coil changing, and the price varied from $100 to more than $140. These prices were too high for most amateurs; in 1952, $50 was nearly a month’s rent. Mace was aware that a basic circuit for a small transmitter could be found in readily available handbooks—and he had a warehouse full of war surplus components that Anthony had purchased earlier. As a result, the AT-1 crystal controlled transmitter shown in Fig. 19 was made avail- Fig. 17. Likely the first ad for a production K-1 able from 1952–1956 at the low price All-Wave Heathkit showing a price increase to of $29.50. It was a 6-band transmitter $8.75. (Radio News, July 1948, p. 83)

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Fig. 18. Heathkit K-1 All-Wave radio, May 1948. (Author’s collection)

Fig. 19. First all-Heathkit amateur radio transmitter, the AT-1, a 6-band CW transmitter, produced between 1952 and 1956 for $29.50. (Author’s collection)

Volume 32, 2019 143 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 transmitters followed, including the stability, which made it a poor choice DX-100 AM transmitter. to use with the AT-1 transmitter. The The first two general coverage receiv- AR-2 receiver shown in Fig. 20 was the ers were the AR-1 offered between 1949 first true Heathkit amateur radio com- and 1951 at $23.50, and the AR-2 offered munications receiver. between 1952 and 1955 at $25.50. The first Heathkit general coverage receiver, Published Studies of Heathkits the AR-1, was a barebones receiver since There have been several published his- it had no built-in speaker, no beat fre- tories of the Heath Company, but they quency oscillator (BFO) for CW recep- are generally limited in duration and tion, no phone jack, and no automatic limited to specific products such as test volume control (AVC). The second equipment, amateur radio products, and Heathkit general coverage receiver, audio hi-fi equipment. The three books the AR-2, had an expanded frequency on Heathkit products by Chuck Pen- coverage from 535 kHz to 35 MHz, a son are excellent and well-researched,25 built-in speaker, a bandspread control,24 but they were not intended to provide a BFO, RF gain control with AVC, and a broad-based study as to how and why headphone jack. The AR-2 was briefly the company prevailed over generations. advertised as the perfect companion Since the Heath Company was sold for the AT-1 amateur radio transmit- a number of times, the information on ter, but it had poor selectivity and poor much of the early history of Heathkit

Fig. 20. The first Heathkit true amateur radio communications receiver, the AR-2, produced between 1952 and 1955 for $25.50. (Author’s collection)

144 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack instruments, such as when they were The V5-A uses a different tube and introduced and sold, has been discarded circuit than the V-5, and the assem- or otherwise lost. However, there is a bly manual says V-5A, but the panel significant amount of information on still has the V-5 designation. Heathkits available from ads in Radio News and Heath Flyers, so information 4. Prototypes used in advertisements— from these publications was gathered for example the TC-1 Type 1 Tube covering the period from 1947–1956. Checker that had a different roll chart Subsequently, an article was published configuration in the early advertise- on this topic in the 2010 AWA Review.26 ments, and the All-Wave radio ads While most Heathkit employees, even in in which a prototype appears that is the 1960s, had little understanding or different from the model that was knowledge of the early days, one nota- sold. ble exception is Terry Perdue, K8TP, who was employed by Heath in 1973. 5. A series of sets that may or may not The interviews that appear in his book, be the same type of instrument— Heathkit Nostalgia, have a great deal of for example, the V-Series (V-1, V-2, information about the company’s heri- etc.) are all vacuum tube voltmeters, tage and its people.27 whereas the G-Series are all different A number of peculiarities in the lit- types of instruments. erature review added to difficulties in understanding the Heath Company’s his- 6. Heath Flyers were not identified by tory, especially in the early years. These month or year—for example, stating problems with early Heathkit sources, only “Fall Flyer.” which were identified previously in the author’s 2010 AWA Review article,28 were 7. Heath did not identify instrument later reduced or eliminated. It is appro- model numbers in their early ads. priate to reiterate those problems here: 8. Heath dated kit schematic draw- 1. Items sold but never advertised—for ings for the first year or so, and then example, the V-2A VTVM. stopped.

2. Items were advertised but it appears 9. Heath would use an old version of the they were never sold—for example, ad—for example, the January 1949 the battery powered All-Wave, the Heath Flyer has information on the V-3 battery powered VTVM, and new V-2 VTVM, but shows a pic- the first amateur transmitter. ture of the V-1 VTVM (which has 5 ranges), whereas the V-2 has 6 ranges. 3. Major changes were made but the panel remained unchanged—for 10. Sometimes an ad showed a reversed example the V-5 and V-5A VTVM. image (left to right) of the device.

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This caused problems in distinguish- Vacuum Tube Voltmeter Model V-7A” ing early radios such as the K-1 All- has virtually all the contents of an excel- Wave from prototypes; the first lent assembly manual. This was one of several All-Wave ads showed only the most popular VTVMs, which was prototypes. made between 1954 and 1961 and sold for $24.50. This manual has 34 pages The Heath Company ran an amaz- that provides component color code ing number of ads in Radio News (later information to help identify individual renamed Radio and Television News). For parts, parameter values, schematics, example, beginning in the 1955, Heath numerous beautiful illustrations such ran twelve full pages of advertising every as the VTVM circuit board shown in month for nearly a year. It was rumored Fig. 21, a check-off box to indicate if a that Heath must have owned all or part part should be soldered (S) or not sol- of Radio News. Despite the large number dered (NS), and a box to check only if of ads that appeared, one cannot rely on the step has been done. advertising in magazines alone to recon- After months of internal debates, struct an accurate history of the Heath engineers persuaded Heath’s man- Company. It is also necessary to consider agement on the merits of printed cir- Heath flyers and catalogs, schematics, cuits, which were first used in the V-7 assembly manuals, parts lists, sets in VTVM.29 Heath claimed that the collections, and personal recollections. printed circuit board cut construction time by fifty percent. Engineers felt Heathkit Assembly Manuals that they had perfected the circuit, and The development of assembly manuals the design was used in all subsequent was an iterative process beginning with VTVMs. The V-7A was released in early the humble one-page instruction sheet 1955 with the only difference being the for the first Heathkit O-1 oscilloscope. thickness of the printed circuit board, In the beginning, manuals were written which at 1/8 of an inch in the V-7, was by the design engineer and consisted prone to breakage. So in the V-7A, it of one or more mimeographed pages was increased in thickness by fifty per- of text without step-by-step instruc- cent to 3/32 of an inch. The V-7A was tions, but they were accompanied by produced from 1955 to 1961 and was blueprints of the schematics and a picto- priced at $24.50. Early on, management rial of basic parts layout. Later manuals was apparently concerned that a printed included beautiful pictorials and step- circuit would reduce the kit building by-step instructions with check-offs for experience, but this was not the case. each step—and in some cases, large Various sections of the assembly foldout pictorials and schematics. Using manuals covered specifications, theory the V-7A vacuum tube voltmeter as an of operation, parts placement, wiring, example, Heathkit instructions entitled preliminary testing, calibration, in-case- “Assembling and Using Your Heathkit of-difficulty techniques, replacement of

146 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

Fig. 21. Pictorial drawing of V-7A VTVM circuit board installation from 1956. (Author’s collection) parts, a complete parts list, a detailed pave the way for success and gathered circuit description, and a how-to-use a customer following of unshakeable section. Heath also provided excellent loyalty that competitors were not able service follow-up consistent with their to achieve. motto “we won’t let you fail.” Over the years the company worked diligently to The Death of Howard Anthony and improve the manuals and keep its high the Sale of the Heath Company standards. These manuals were part An airplane crash on July 23, 1954, of how Heath achieved unparalleled tragically ended the life of Howard customer loyalty. Profusely illustrated Anthony. Anthony was, for all practical instruction manuals and a strong com- purposes, the originator of Heathkits mitment to customer service helped to as we know them. The first four pages

Volume 32, 2019 147 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 of the Heathkit Catalog in 1955 were expand after the sale. It took Daystrom essentially a tribute to the influence and less than a year to recover the $1.8 million accomplishments of Anthony, whom they invested in purchasing the Heath they described as “Mr. Heathkit.”30 He Company. Daystrom turned out to be had taken the International Aircraft Cor- a good thing for the company.33 They poration from bankruptcy and turned invested heavily in Heath to encourage it into the Heath Company, which had growth of new products. In late 1961, warehouses and freight cars full of war new Heathkits by Daystrom were intro- surplus CRTs and other electronic parts, duced that were sometimes essentially and made it highly successful by design- the same as Heath counterparts but with ing and manufacturing a multitude of enhanced styling and manuals. These Heathkits. kits were labeled with both the Daystrom Anthony’s wife Helen had been active and Heath Company names. in the business, and she took over after Heath Company saved money by Howard’s death. Numb with grief, her reverse engineering products of other heart was not in it, and so she put the competitors to determine how they Heath Company up for sale. She was worked, then designed Heath products careful to interview only companies with some improvements and additional who would retain the existing staff. She features. Apparently, Heath Company accepted an offer from Daystrom, a hold- reverse-engineered a Viking II trans- ing company, for about $1.8 million, and mitter to develop the Heathkit DX-100 in 1955, Daystrom bought Heath. As AM transmitter. The Viking II sold for a holding company, Daystrom did not $100 more than the Heath DX-100 at manage companies they acquired. One of $189.50. Extra effort was put into the Helen’s last duties was to promote Gene Heath instruction manuals. The DX-100 Fiebich to Director of Engineering.31 He was wildly successful and enabled Heath/ took over with a soft touch, and held the Daystrom to buy five full-page ads in job for 19 years.32 QST each month and to hire graduate Daystrom quickly drew up plans for a engineers so that Heath could abandon very large new facility in St. Joseph, MI, the reverse engineering of other manu- (a twin city of Benton Harbor, located facturer’s products and develop original across the St. Joseph River). Construction designs of its own. began in 1957 on a building located on Hilltop Road, which was finished in early Schlumberger Buys Daystrom 1958, just before the company moved and Acquires the Heath Company there. A post office was established at in the Bargain Benton Harbor. Daystrom established In the early 1960s, Schlumberger Corpo- Heath distribution centers in Canada, ration became interested in acquiring an Germany, and England. Heath’s sales electronic instrument company to help had increased many times over prior to them in the manufacture of advanced the sale to Daystrom, and it continued to electronic equipment used in their main

148 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

business, which was exploration for oil. developed a special series of fully assem- The company was particularly interested bled products referred to as the Heath/ in highly sensitive and precise instru- Malmstadt-Enke Electronics, Education ments. The Weston Electrical Instrument and Research Instrumentation Series. Corporation, known for its high-quality They were developed with Dr. Howard meters and related items, was one such Malmstadt of the University of Illinois company that fit their needs. Weston and Dr. Christie Enke of Princeton. In was owned at the time by Daystrom. 1965, Heath advertised the Berkeley The history of Weston was colorful in Physics Laboratory, which was somewhat that it was founded by Edward Weston similar to the Malmstadt-Enke series. in 1888 in Newark, New Jersey, and then Berkeley Physics Lab was developed by it was acquired by the Sargano Electric University of California Professor A. Company, which in turn was purchased M. Portis circa 1964 to teach the basic by Daystrom in 1954. In 1962, Sch- concepts of physics by using modern lumberger bought Daystrom in order instrumentation and electronics. The to get Weston and got Heath as well. Berkeley Physics Laboratory provided Interestingly, the Daystrom name did a basic laboratory course completely not disappear from Heath catalogs until independent of lecture sessions. Heath- about 1964. kit developed a complete set of factory- Schlumberger had no particular assembled instruments to be used with interest in the Heath Company, but the Berkeley Physics Lab course, which supported Heath since it was highly was marketed to colleges and universi- profitable. Schlumberger helped Heath ties for student use. The Berkeley Phys- in expanding Heathkit test equipment, ics Laboratory instruments disappeared amateur radio, and high-fidelity audio from the catalog in 1970. References to amplifiers, which in turn helped Heath the name Heath/Malmstadt-Enke disap- compete with major manufacturers in peared from the series in 1974, and the the radio amateur field, such as Collins series was subsequently called Heath/ and Hallicrafters. This they did with Schlumberger. In 1974, Heathkit Edu- great success. After Schlumberger bought cational Systems, offering educational Daystrom, it established retail stores for materials for schools, and so forth, was Heathkits throughout the United States established. and established Veritechnology Elec- Gene Fiebich had decided to retire tronics Corporation (VEC) to operate in 1973. One reason he gave for retiring the centers. The 1960s and 1970s were at that time was that offshore competi- golden years for the Heath Company. tion was increasing, and that it would More complex products, integrated cir- spell trouble for Heath in the future. cuits, and the computer business were After 23 years at Heath, he decided it emphasized with help from technical was time to go. The quality foundation people at Schlumberger. was beginning to crumble. He passed Starting in 1963, Heath Company away 22 years later in 1995.

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Heath Company in the Computer Age recognized that this was not just a pass- Amateur Radio Equipment Became too ing fad but deserved a major effort. They Difficult to Assemble began work on a pair of computer prod- By the early 1970’s it became apparent ucts, the H8 and the H11. This effort that technology had advanced to the would unleash the very products that point where electronic kits were becom- would lead to Heath’s decline. These ing more difficult to assemble. One two units were released in 1977. They example of the increasing difficulty in were not what we would expect today— building Heathkits was the SB-104 SSB/ namely, a complete personal computer. CW Transceiver (sold between 1974 and Despite being an incomplete unit, com- 1977 for $699.95). It used 275 solid-state puter nerds were enthusiastic. The base devices including 31 ICs and hundreds price for the Heathkit H8, which was of capacitors, resistors, coils, crystals and available in the fall of 1977, was $379, so on. Parts tolerances turned out to be but this included only the chassis and more critical than had been envisioned. the CPU card. To complete the H8, Random sampling of parts to see if they a Heathkit H8-1 memory board with met specifications was not good enough 4K of RAM was needed, in addition for the SB-104, and quality assurance to other Heath Company components. required testing of all parts in advance. The H8 used a 16-button keypad. The Even that was not enough. It appeared CPU board came preassembled, but that the SB-104 would not function reli- everything else was available in kit ably because of parts variability. Many form. Sales of the H8 and peripheral were sent back to Heath several times products infused considerable cash into and still would not work right. Virtu- Heath Company. Heath’s gross sales were ally none of the SB-104s could meet approaching $100 million. Most of the specifications.34 Also, the customer did money came from televisions, stereo not have sophisticated test or alignment amplifiers, test equipment and comput- equipment that was becoming needed ers, but amateur radio products, which for the complex systems. The Heath once accounted for 40 percent of sales, prime directive had been that the cus- had dropped to 25 percent. tomer has limited knowledge and does In the fall of 1978, Schlumberger, not have sophisticated test or alignment which still owned Heath, became inter- equipment. ested in acquiring Heath’s main source of semiconductors, Fairchild Electric. Heath Company Develops the Personal The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Computer opposed this acquisition. If Schlum- Heath began to develop the personal berger were to acquire Fairchild, it would computer at about the same time that have control of both the semiconductor others did, such as Apple and Radio sources and the devices in which they Shack. This was early-on recognition of were to be used. If Schlumberger wanted the potential for the computer. Heath to acquire Fairchild, the FTC required

150 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

Schlumberger to sell Heath. Recall that was not in favor of the selling the com- Schlumberger wanted Weston and got pany, but they were owned by Schlum- Heath as part of the package. Even berger, who had to divest itself from though Schlumberger had invested Heath in order to get approval for acquir- heavily in Heath’s expansion, they were ing Fairchild. Not surprisingly, the needs willing to sell Heath in order to purchase of both Zenith and Schlumberger were Fairchild. By December 1978, Heath was in alignment and had priority over the up for sale at what would be a nice profit wants and needs of Heath. Heath was for Schlumberger. One can only imagine a victim of its owner. Zenith had no how much this shocked the staff and particular interest in the non-computer management of the Heath Company. kit product line, to put it mildly, but to By January 1979, Heath computer make the deal it had to buy all of Heath, activities were doing well and expanding. and did so for $64.5 million. Zenith Their third computer, an H89 “com- then established Zenith Data Systems plete” computer had a keyboard, display in the fall of 1979, and was instantly in screen, and a floppy disk drive, all built the computer business—and Heath was into an attractive cabinet. However, it in trouble. was not completely a kit. The disk drive, Only the Heath computer capability the terminal interface boards, the key- was of interest to Zenith. Nothing else board, and the CPU boards were preas- at Heath mattered—nothing! The staff sembled and tested by Heath. The kit of the Heath Company picked up on builder was left with building the power this and felt they were regarded with supply and putting together the various contempt by Zenith. Budget cuts and subassemblies. The H89 was released layoffs of 15% every year began in 1980. in Heath’s summer 1979 catalog with Zenith began drawing off large amounts a price of $2,000, depending on the of cash and resources. The employees of options selected. The H89 was popular a great, successful company were fearful and very successful. A number of other of the ongoing reduction in support and corporations began to realize they should were facing an uncertain future. While respond to this new computer market by Schlumberger had a limited interest in designing their own. Among the group Heath, they had supported the company was the Zenith Corporation. with money and technology to build a great future. Zenith Acquires Heath Company from Schlumberger for $64.5 Things Were Changing Due to Million in Late 1979 Smaller Parts and Increased Zenith realized they could bypass the Complexity computer development phase if they In early 1980, cheap mass-produced could acquire a company that had a suc- electronics made Heath products less cessful computer product line and it was competitive. During the 1980s, the for sale. Heath Company management increasing competition from Japanese

Volume 32, 2019 151 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 equipment makers, the wide use of auto- Other Causes for Heath Company’s mated manufacturing techniques, and Decline besides Zenith increasingly complex designs made it There were multiple causes for the decline much more difficult to produce kits that of Heath—not just Zenith’s purchase, were easy to construct, had numerous which has already been addressed: features, and could be sold at competitive prices. 1. The transistor and other solid-state As an example, Heath was having devices caused a revolution in elec- trouble with its SS-8000 transceiver due tronics, which helped Heath pro- to complexity and parts density. For the vide innovative products but set the average person, assembling the rig looked stage for smaller components mak- almost impossible. Heath eventually ing kit assembly very difficult for redesigned the kit form of SS-8000 and humans but easy and inexpensive replaced it with the fully assembled rig, for machines. This factor eliminated SS-9000, in 1982, which sold for $2,795. one key advantage of Heathkits—the Competing transceivers cost half as much. cost of assembly was shifted to the Only about 2,000 SS-9000 rigs were customer. made. This, along with a series of layoffs in 1982, contributed to the demise of the 2. Machine assembly almost eliminated amateur radio group. The HW-5400 was the cost of assembly, which reduced to be the last major product. Heath made the price of factory-assembled equip- it for one year from 1983–1984 and sold ment, thus removing the price advan- it for $499.95.35 It took about 100 hours tage of kits. Later machine assembly to put together. It had 14 circuit boards, made it possible to build devices and so demanding was the assembly that which were nearly impossible for near the end of production the units were humans to build because of small, shipped preassembled. densely packed parts. The amateur radio group faded away as budget cuts continued and employees 3. Devices became so complex that the were laid off or transferred. Only a hand- ordinary customer did not have the ful of the amateur radio group remained. knowledge and equipment to align They worked on electronic Christmas tree and test the product. ornaments, light dimmers, and the like. By 1985, all new product development 4. There was international competi- ceased. By 1986, the Heath Company tion from countries with less expen- we knew and respected was gone. Some sive labor but also with a talented efforts remained to manufacture compo- technical staff working with ever nents for former competitors such as Yaesu advancing automated manufactur- and Telex. Heath began to produce mod- ing capabilities. els that were unavailable in kit form such as the SS-9000 all solid-state transceiver. 5. Kit design, including the instruction

152 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

manual, became a complex and time- Zenith Sells Major Components and consuming activity, which made Heath Company to Groupe Bull of Heath less responsive to changing France in 1989 technical advances and customer A combination of planning and manage- preferences. Non-kit companies did ment problems at Zenith, still owner not have the cost and schedule impact of the Heath Company at the time, associated with designing assembly spelled additional trouble for Zenith. manuals for use by the customer, and Such problems, combined with intense they could respond rapidly to chang- competition in the personal computer ing technology. market, caused a significant sales decline, which resulted in cash flow problems. In 6. The customer base changed due to response, Zenith Electronics Corpora- aging and changing interests. tion split off a subsidiary named Zenith Data Systems. As things got worse for 7. The repeated sale of the company Zenith, they put up Zenith Data Systems brought new owners with little inter- and Heath for sale. In late 1989, cash est in the Heathkit operation other strapped Zenith Electronics and Zenith than computers. Data Systems sold Heath and Veritech- nology to Paris-based Groupe Bull with 8. Customer loyalty to a given com- revenues of more than $1 billion.37 The pany today is not as great as it was following Heath entities were part of the for Heathkit customers, who bought purchase: the Heath Zenith lighting and kits only from Heath year after year. security business, Heathkit Educational Systems, Veritechnology (which operated Later, as the market for these prod- Heath’s retail stores), and Prokit, based ucts dried up for a number of reasons, in Hong Kong. Heath Company at this the company sold other products, and time was phasing out the Heathkit busi- many were not in kit form. In 1982, ness and Veritechnology. All Heathkit Heath introduced the Hero-1 Robot kit production stopped in March 1992.38 assembled for $2495 or in kit form for $999. This was intended to teach the The Heath Company Is Sold principles of industrial robotics.36 Multiple Times Around 1988, Heath management In 1995, Groupe Bull sold Heath to decided it could reduce overhead by mov- H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a management ing kit manufacturing to the Far East. company headquartered in Miami, A small company called Heath Prokit Florida, which managed Lighting and was formed in Hong Kong. They han- Security, Prokit, Heathkit Educational dled sourcing and packing of all Heath Systems and various buildings in Benton products as well as limited design work. Harbor. Zenith Data Systems was not Delays of up to a year were experienced part of the deal, but it was later sold to for less popular items. Packard Bell. In February 1998, H.I.G.

Volume 32, 2019 153 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 sold the Lighting and Security unit of Heathkit to rekindle the feelings they Heath as well as Prokit to DESA Inter- had when they built Heathkits years ago. national of Bowling Green, Kentucky. A company has emerged with control DESA filed for bankruptcy in December of much of the intellectual property of 2008. In 2008, Heathkit Educational Heath Company, which stopped mak- Systems sold a large portion of its col- ing Heathkits in 1992 but continued as lection of kit schematics and manuals to a company in one form or another. The Don Peterson of Data Professionals. As Internet is replete with “Whatever hap- the authors understand it, the remain- pened to Heathkit?” We don’t know how ing part of the business, the Educational the present company came into being Group, continued to use the term Heath- after H.I.G. sold Heath in 1999. kit and the Heath Company name. In the December 2015 QST amateur Meanwhile Heath management radio magazine, an ad for new Heathkit decided to drop its remaining product products stated, “We missed you too” lines and focus on education and home and showed three items, one of which security. In February 1999, H.I.G sold was the Heathkit Explorer Jr. TRF AM Heath/Zenith, a Division of its portfolio Radio Receiver Kit (see Fig. 22). The company, DESA, LLC, to a private invest- magazine also stated, “it had been a ment group. The Heathkit Educational couple of decades since Heath ads had Group filed for bankruptcy in 2012. been seen.” The current entity is located in Santa Cruz, California and in Otts- Parts of the Heath Company ville, Pennsylvania.39 Still Exist Their flagship product is the Heath- Over the next several years, the remains kit Explorer Jr. TRF radio. There are of the Heath Company were again sold two models for the Heathkit Explorer Jr. multiple times. For years there was a pau- One is Model GR-150, which is “solder- city of information on the individuals or less,” meaning that all components are groups who were willing or able to create attached to the printed circuit board with a new Heath Company from the rem- nuts, bolts, and lock washers. The other nants left over from its numerous previous is Model GR-152, which requires solder- sales. Apparently, companies that had ing. One can assume that the solder-less bought pieces of the Heath Company sold GR-150 is designed for use in the edu- them to the new entities. The final owner cational environment such as schools bought the Heathkit name, the Heathkit and colleges. With rare exception, con- logos, slogans such as “we will not let you nections in early kit radios used solder fail,” all manuals, and designs includ- to connect resistors and capacitors. The ing every last bit of Heathkit intellectual early Atwater Kent TRF radios in the property. They merged several assets into 1920s use a combination of binding posts one Heath Company circa 2015. on breadboards and soldered connections There were numerous individu- on the underside. All Heathkit amateur als who were ready to buy another radio, test equipment, and others used

154 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

he felt that Heath could have done better. Included were 78 posts and 55 individual user feedback reviews. The response from the reviews was uniformly negative. The most consistent theme from the reviewers was disappointment. Problems noted by many of the mainly amateur radio reviewers include:

1. The price of $150.00 seemed excessive for what you get.

2. The main tuning dial had no mark- ings of any kind to assist in tuning the radio. It was felt that even a 0 to 100 calibration would be better than nothing.

3. Selectivity was poor as would be expected from a single stage TRF Fig. 22. Heathkit advertisement in the Decem- (tuned radio frequency) receiver. In ber 2015 QST magazine. (QST, Dec. 2015, p. 114) the past, three stages were typical in the 1920s when TRF receivers were soldered connections. It is apparent that popular. (Author’s note: We don’t soldering requires some skill and that believe that the original Heath Com- nuts and bolts assembly was easier to pany ever made a TRF radio.) learn. There are some reviews online, but they were all for the solderless, nuts- 4. Poor sensitivity and weak output. and-bolts type—the GR-150. We do not know how long they were sold. 5. Nuts-and-bolts construction caused Neil Shapiro, W2NLS, wrote a very frequent lead breaking. fine study covering his experience with buying and building an Explorer Jr. 6. The online reviewers were in an age GR-150 TRF AM radio receiver.40 His group that was familiar with solder- article was well illustrated, but aside from ing techniques and were put off by the thrill of building a new Heathkit, he nuts-and-bolts assembly. However, felt that the price of $150.00 was exces- the target group of younger individu- sive and that the parts kept in place with als might not be put off. screws, washers, and nuts was distracting. He felt that the quality was good, but the 7. There were errors in the assembly assembly manuals had several errors, and manual.

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8. Plastic ties were used to secure the a construction and educational function. battery pack to the circuit board. A section on “tools” on page 8 shows Some online reviewers received plas- nice drawings of assembly tools you tic ties that were too large to pass would need to make many steps easier. through the circuit board requiring It did come with five small hex wrenches a search for a local replacement. (a.k.a., Allen wrenches), which were the only tools that came with the solder-less 9. Missing parts not properly described GR-150 kit as well. to foster non-Heath replacement such as Zener diodes and the like.

10. Additional tools were needed for assembly such as such as a side cutter.

In light of the mainly negative reviews for the Heathkit GR-150 from radio amateurs as noted, we felt we should obtain a GR-152 solder-type Explorer. In October 2018, we ordered one for $168.95 including shipping from the Heathkit design and manufacturing facility in Santa Cruz, California. It was shipped from their operations facility with the address P.O. Box 15, Ottsville, Pennsylvania. Enclosed with the package was a letter signed by the President “Andy” dated May 2016. Fig. 23. Packaging and parts for the Heathkit The package contained numerous Explorer GR-152 with 17 envelops, two boxes, envelopes of parts (see Fig. 23). The outer and a 64-page assembly manual; purchased in case of the radio has a small Heathkit 2018 from Heath. (Author’s collection) GR-152 “First Production” tag, which is shown in Fig. 24. A detailed assembly and operations manual with 64 pages appears to have the usual high-quality product. It had a nice eight-page introduction covering skills needed, soldering technique, inserting components, a parts list with drawings of key parts Fig. 24. Small tag on the case for solder-type and quantities, with some actual parts Heathkit Explorer Jr. GR-152, first produc- numbers for components. It looked like tion; purchased in 2018 from Heath. (Author’s a real attempt to have the manual serve collection)

156 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack

The packing list on page 5 identi- envelope with the magnet wire for the fies the envelopes and general contents. tuning coil is included (Envelope 348– Resistor color codes are given on page 7 3), yet it is nowhere to be found on the with explanations. Soldering techniques parts listing. The mechanical assembly are covered on pages 9 and 10. A nice section on pages 38–43 has high-quality explanation of inserting components into assembly drawings. Operations on pages the printed circuit boards with practi- 44–50 has very good educational content cal educational suggestions appears on as did the “Theory of Operation” pages page 11. The section on solder bridges 51–60, which included numerous circuit on page 12 seems somewhat unneces- diagrams. The final pages 61–64 include sary since the PCB used had the circuit care of the radio and a helpful “In Case itself sandwiched in such a way as to not of Difficulty” section with a “Trouble- be visible. There are good detailed parts shooting Chart.” Despite the quality of lists that would be helpful for inventory the product and the real value of the and missing parts on pages 13–18. The educational description of how radios step-by-step assembly section on pages and circuits work, the price of $150.00 18–32 is very detailed. Information on may not be competitive for younger or winding and installing the tuning coil inexperienced builders. The complete is well described on pages 33–37. An GR-152 Explorer is shown in Fig. 25.

Fig. 25. Heathkit Explorer Jr. GR-152 TRF AM radio receiver kit (solder-type), purchased in 2018 from Heath. (Author’s collection)

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A notable recent development in Appendix: the electronic kit market was the intro- Number of Heathkits Sold duction of the Murania AM Radio, a What Heathkit builders remember about broadcast band receiver kit by the Four the Heath Company depends to some State QRP Group, which is somewhat extent on personal interests, be it ama- similar to the Heathkit GR-152. Like the teur radio, test equipment, or the special GR-152, it is battery operated, about the Heathkit that was enjoyed the most. We same physical size, has a modest number feel that the Heath Company was best of parts, includes a schematic and parts known for amateur radio products, espe- list, and uses surface mount soldering cially for radio amateurs. The number of technique. The Murania overcomes many amateur products manufactured is not of the deficiencies in the GR-152 in that a good indicator of popularity overall, it is more selective, more sensitive, and since amateur radio products were not has an internal speaker. It is also priced introduced until about six years after significantly less at $35.00. However, the the first electronic Heathkit in 1947, Murania has only a 16-page download- the O-1 oscilloscope. Although some able instruction manual compared to may debate this, the first amateur radio the 64-page detailed instruction manual products, per se, were the AR-2 general included with the GR-152. Importantly, coverage receiver (1952–1955) for $25.50 the Murania was favorably reviewed and the AT-1 6-Band CW Transmitter in the January 2019 issue of QST, the (1952–1956) for $29.50. For the first six ARRL amateur radio magazine, by years or so, the main products were test the QST editor Steve Ford WB8IMY equipment and hi-fi kits, starting with on pages 59–60. More information the A-1 Audio Amplifier. The A-1 was about the Murania may be obtained at only introduced a few months after the www.4sqrp.com. first Heathkit, the O-1 oscilloscope. The three wonderful books by Chuck Penson Conclusion covered in the main body of the article It appears that recent efforts to revive did not include the many important Heath are still ongoing, although the items that were other than test equip- actual status is unclear. The performance ment, radio amateur radio products, of the present Heath Company certainly and hi-fi products. Not included were does not match that of the legacy com- the DF-1 six-transistor radio direction pany with the illustrious history that finder.42 Actually, only the first ten years positively affected millions around the of Heathkits have been studied in detail, world and is still to this day viewed with with the results first published, in 2010;43 amazement and affection.41 this reference provides information on dates when products were introduced and discontinued. Nevertheless, the invaluable effort by Penson gives us a good idea of Heathkit production in most areas.44

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Fig. A-1. HW-101 5-Band Transceiver manufactured between 1970 and 1983, priced at $399.95. (Penson, Heathkit: A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products, 2003, p. 171)

According to Penson,45 exact sales developed and sold many hundreds of figures for Heath are essentially non- kit products over the years, including existent, since that data and much of 150 amateur radio kits, 400 different the history of the Heath Company was test equipment products, and numer- destroyed when the company discontin- ous amplifiers, televisions, and home ued Heathkit production in 1992. Pen- improvement kits.46 Heath sold more son used information using the Fiebich than 40,000 HW-101 transceivers (see Papers from the estate of Gene Fiebich, Fig. A-1), more than 500,000 VTVM’s the former Director of Engineering. He in its first ten years, and possibly two also used many obscure sources found million VTVM’s by the early 1990s. in catalogs, and estimates based on the Heath designed more than 60 models size of the giant automated warehouses of oscilloscopes and sold hundreds of built in 1957–1958 after Heath was pur- thousands. In his book on hi-fi prod- chased by Daystrom. Also, he inferred ucts, Penson estimated that nearly 200 production numbers indirectly by the hi-fi products were designed and sold numbers of pages of ads in Radio News, since the four-tube 25-watt A-1 amplifier which were routinely nine full pages, and was first advertised in Radio News for by 1957 the page numbers had grown to $14.95 in 1947.47 Starting with simple 16 full continuous pages. amplifiers, the company progressed to Also according to Penson, Heath the legendary Williamson type amplifiers

Volume 32, 2019 159 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 starting in 1951. Although many com- could no longer manufacture or package panies designed and sold Williamson audio kits. In 1989, the last remaining type and ultra-linear amplifiers, Heath product, the AA-18 monophonic ampli- ran circles around its competition with fier, which was introduced in 1968, was lower prices, the enjoyment of assembling retired. do-it-yourself kits, its legendary assembly As tribute to a company that sur- manuals, and its outstanding customer vived so long and produced so many support. excellent products, it should be noted A pre-amp was offered in 1958 and that there are 4,000 to 5,000 Heathkit a stereo power amplifier in 1960. In related items that are listed for sale on 1962, many earlier units were updated eBay on any given day. This is amazing in design and appearance, and solid-state for a company that stopped kit produc- products began to appear. Rapid expan- tion in 1992, almost thirty years ago. sion of the audio line took place until the blockbuster product, the AR-15, was Endnotes produced in substantial numbers. For 1. Chuck Penson, WA7ZZE: example, the Heath Company listed over ——Penson (2003): Heathkit – A Guide to the ten pages of audio amplifiers in their Amateur Radio Products, (CQ Communications, 1960 catalog from pages 14 to 24. Inc., Hicksville, New York, 1st Edition; 1995, 2nd Ed. 2003). This is an excellent resource After ten years of success, the end on early Heath and the evolution of specific came rapidly, which was caused by a products. Also included is detailed information number of factors but especially the on all Heathkit amateur radio products with sale of the Heath Company to Zenith photographs and descriptions of each. —— Penson (2014) Heathkit Test Equipment Corporation by the then-owner Schlum- Products, (Published by the author, Tucson, Ari- berger. As already noted, to the chagrin zona, 2014,1st Ed.). Privately printed but readily of employees in other Heath divisions available at [email protected]. This is an excellent resource on the history of Heathkit, such as Amateur Radio, Audio, and Test but especially the hundreds of Heathkit Test Equipment, Zenith made it clear they Equipment products covering the full range of were mainly interested in the computer every product in hundreds of pages in a complete and authoritative manner. Well indexed and a area. They showed this by budget cuts joy to read and use as a reference source. and layoffs in those other divisions. By —— Penson (2018) Heathkit Hi-Fi and Stereo Christmas 1985, according to Penson, Products, (Published by the author, Tucson, Ari- it was all over in the hi-fi and stereo zona, 2018). This is an excellent, complete, and authoritative book covering all 200 Heathkit products after 38 years. In a final effort, hi-fi and stereo products made 1947 to 1985. the Heath Company made a last-ditch Also included is a technical description of agreement with Harmon-Kardon to pro- advanced audio circuits. 2. Erich E. Brueschke and Michael Mack, “The duce some parts in semi-kit form for History of Heathkits;” this paper is an expansion certain of their products, which were of our presentation at the Antique Radio Club rebranded as Heathkits. These were not of Illinois “Radiofest” on Aug. 25, 2018. 3. Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs - A Biography, (Simon really Heathkits, and therefore were not & Schuster, 2011, 1st Edition) p. 37. listed in Penson’s books. By 1988, Heath 4. There is some confusion in the literature

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concerning the spelling of Heath’s middle name. a Database for 1947-1956, AWA Review, Vol. 23, His middle name is spelled Baird in a few docu- 2010, p. 102, Figure 9. ments, such as on his draft registration form 19. Penson, 2014, p. ii. for WWI. Terry Perdue, who was a long-time 20. Brueschke, 2010. employee at Heath, spells it Bayard in his book 21. Erich E. Brueschke, “The First Heathkit, the Heath Nostalgia, and that is the spelling that O-1 Oscilloscope and the Series O-1 Through appears in most publications. O-12,” AWA Review, Vol. 26, 2013, pp. 95−112. 5. United States Patent and Trademark Office; 22. For a discussion of the three different types of the Registration No. 0520346, Filing date: Apr. V-1 VTVM, see Brueschke (2010), pp. 90−91. 18, 1947; Registration Date: Jan. 31, 1950. 23. Terry Perdue, “Heathkit Nostalgia,” (Privately 6. Chet Peek, The Heath Story, (Three Peaks Pub- printed but widely available, Jan. 1992). A brief lishing, Norman, Oklahoma, 2003, 1st ed.) p. 2. history of the Heath companies, including This book provides a detailed history of Edward photographs of the Heath Parasol airplane and Baird Heath from his birth on November 17, interviews of many early persons responsible for 1888 in Brooklyn, New York to his death in an Heathkit. A must-read for anyone with interests airplane crash near Morton Grove, Illinois, on in Heathkit collecting and the persons who February 1, 1931 at the age of 43. The book is made it all possible. profusely illustrated with details on his flying 24. A bandspread control is a secondary tuning experiences and details on the many airplanes control that allows accurate tuning of closely he designed and built as well as his strong inter- spaced frequencies of a radio band. est in teaching flying and supplying airplanes 25. Penson, 2003, 2014, and 2018. at modest prices, especially his famous Parasol 26. Brueschke, 2010. airplane which he also sold in kit form. It is more 27. Perdue, 1992. directed to the airplane and flying enthusiast 28. Brueschke, 2010. but contains invaluable information on Heath’s 29. Penson, 2014, pp. 20−07, 20−08. desire for high-quality, low-priced airplanes to 30. Heathkit Catalog for 1955, p. 2. enhance interest in flying by the general pub- 31. Penson, 2003, p. 14. lic. His concepts of “learn by doing” are well 32. Penson, 2003. illustrated and carried on by Heath. 33. Ibid., p. 17. 7. Ibid. 34. Ibid., pp. 33 and 226. 8. Ibid. 35. Ibid., p. 178. 9. Ibid. 36. Steve Leininger, “Heath’s HERO-1 Robot, 10. David Young and Neal Callahan, Fill the BYTE. Vol. 8 No.1, Jan. 1983, p. 86: Quota- Heavens with Commerce - Chicago Aviation tion from article: “Imagine having the charter 1855−1926, (Chicago Review Press, Chicago, to design a robot that demonstrated virtually 1981) p. 56. all principles of automation and robotics.” 11. Howard L. Scamehorn, Balloons to Jets - A 37. Lawrence M. Fisher, “Plug Is Pulled on Century of Aeronautics in Illinois: 1855−1955, Heathkits, Ending a Do-It-Yourself Era,” New (Southern Illinois University Press, 2000) p. 69. York Times, March 30, 1992, https://www 12. Ibid, p. 4. .nytimes.com/1992/03/30/business/plug-is- 13. Howard E. Anthony (a.k.a., Mr. Heathkit), pulled-on-heathkits-ending-a-do-it-yourself- Heathkit Catalog for 1955, p. 2. era.html 14. Peak, p. 95. 38. Ibid. 15. “Modern Electrics,” Catalog No. 4, (Electro 39. The website for the current Heath Company Importing Company, 3rd ed. 1908) p. 59. can be found at https://shop.heathkit.com/page 16. https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads /homepage. /howard-e-anthony-first-electronic-heathkit- 40. Neil Shapiro, “The New Heathkit GR-150 hand-rendered-in-the-margins-of-radio- Explorer Jr. AM Radio Receiver,” Mar. 10, news.622073/ 2016. https://www.eham.net/articles/35917. 17. Lyman E. Greenlee, “Build This 5” Cathode-Ray 41. Lawrence M Fisher, “Plug Is Pulled on Oscilloscope,” Radio News, Vol. 36, No. 4, Oct. Heathkits, Ending a Do-It-Yourself Era,” New 1946, pp. 40−42, 110, 112, 114. York Times, March 30, 1992; see https://www 18. Erich E. Brueschke, The Earliest Heathkits and .nytimes.com/1992/03/30/business/

Volume 32, 2019 161 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019

plug-is-pulled-on-heathkits-ending-a-do-it- high school, he held the call WØBPS in yourself-era.html. 1948. After graduating from the South 42. Brueschke, 2015, pp. 233-242. 43. Brueschke, 2010. Dakota School of Mines and Technol- 44. Penson, 2003, 2014, and 2018. ogy with a B.S. in Electrical Engineer- 45. Penson, 2003. ing, he went on to work for the Hughes 46. Penson, 2003, 2014, and 2018. 47. Penson, 2018. Research and Development Laboratories in Culver City, California, for five years. There he specialized in magnetics and Acknowledgements the effects of high vacuum on compo- We want to thank Patricia Brueschke nents. His last work there focused on for typing and assembling the entire the Surveyor spacecraft in 1961−1962, manuscript, Susan E. Golebiowski for which landed on the moon in 1966. He her photography expertise and assis- left Hughes to attend medical school at tance with all the figures, and Tina Temple University School of Medicine M. Brueschke, M.D. for her manu- in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After script review. We also appreciate the completing his medical training, he was advice and encouragement of Ronald appointed a Captain in the United States Grams, Bruce Anderson, and the late Air Force Medical Corps at the Aero- Jay Whipple Jr. Without the help of space Medical Research Laboratories at all these individuals, this article would Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Day- not have been completed. The authors ton, Ohio. Subsequently he practiced want to express their appreciation for family medicine in California. He is a all their efforts. The authors also wish Charter Fellow of the American Acad- to thank the editor Eric P. Wenaas for emy of Family Physicians. He joined his invaluable suggestions and espe- the Illinois Institute of Technology cially for bringing to our attention the Research Institute in Chicago, Illinois, article by Lyman E. Greenlee in the where, as Director of Medical Engineer- October 1946 Radio News on building ing Research, he worked on artificial a 5" oscilloscope using World War II internal organs, including powering the surplus parts. artificial heart, for seven years. He then joined Rush Medical College in Chi- Photo Credits cago in 1976, where he was Chairman Items shown in the Figures are in the of Family Medicine, Professor of Family collection of the authors, except as Medicine, and Professor of Physiology noted. All photos were taken by Susan and Molecular Biophysics. He subse- E. Golebiowski. quently became Dean of Rush Medi- cal College for six years. He retired as About The Authors Dean in 2000. He is currently the Dis- Erich E. Brueschke, BSEE, M.D., tinguished Professor of Medicine at Rush KC9ACE is a current holder of the Medical College at Rush University in Extra Class amateur radio license. In Chicago. He has two patents issued

162 The AWA Review Brueschke and Mack and has published numerous papers in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. His engineering, medical and scientific lit- major collecting and restoration interests erature, and is a member of a number of are early scientific educational apparatus, professional societies. He has previously crystal sets, early battery radios, and published articles in the AWA Review in Heathkits. He has collected, preserved,

Erich E. Brueschke and Michael Mack

Volume 32, 2019 163 The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019 and restored radios and scientific devices Michael Mack has been a computer for over 35 years. He has been a member and electronic hobbyist for most of his of the AWA for 27 years, is a member of life and radio and vacuum tube collec- the ARCI, the Radio Club of America, tor for the past 10 years. He has a keen and the ARRL. He is a Master Mason interest in the history of radios. He is a in Lodge 934 and a lifetime member of member of the IEEE, AWA, and ARCI. the American Medical Association. He He is currently working in the aerospace/ invites correspondence and comments defense industry as a systems engineer. at [email protected]. Both authors reside in suburban Chicago.

164 The AWA Review