Re: Heathkit Ham Products

[Gary Gregory]

Ron,

As Elecraft have shown the way with many innovative designs and have leapt to the fore in manufacturing many fine amateur radio products, it is not to be unexpected that eventually another company will try to cash in on the perceived market to generate revenue for their business.

Will Heathkit be able to produce kits to compare with Elecraft's quality and performance?...not likely, History will show that it is a rare occurrance for a rival to seriously compete when you consider that Elecraft have some of the brightest minds under one roof (umbrella) hard at work to bring us future proof designs, outstanding quality and technically superior products.

Elecraft is not an amazing company when you look closely at their employees. They are driven by two of the best minds in amateur radio and supported by a dedicated team of engineers, talented and thoughtful team members and have a great group of enthusistic customers questioning each design and offering refinements in a positive way.

It is the way in which Elecraft interact with their customer base that enables them to stay at the very cutting edge of design and further enhances their reputation as an industry leader.

Heathkit have a 'history' certainly, but that history has not always been 'the best', rather, some of their products are most forgettable and so I don't expect their products will be 'ground breaking' nor do I expect them to see a massive influx of orders in the short term. We (HAM's) are a picky bunch and they will need to work very hard to earn their stripes in a very competitive business environment.

The hype that Heathkit have generated may well be short lived. They will have some very serious work to do if they expect to rival Elecraft. Wayne and Eric have done much for amateur radio. It is not just their designs and business acumen at work here, they are genuine believers in Amateur Radio, the interaction with their customer base is extraordinary in this day and age where companies are chasing every dollar to add to the bottom line with little or no regard to customer service (Telco's for example?) whilst Elecraft strive to be inclusive, discuss openly enhancements, provide an extremely supportive voice to all their customers and the proof is in the eating of the pudding...Grin

Pass the Kool - Aid folks........

I wish Heathkit well but hold out little hope that any 'New Generation' products will be forthcoming. Future goodies I leave to Eric and Wayne to dream up. My job is to save them dang pennies. (Honey?, you got some more change I can have please?)

73

Gary


VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile
Elecraft Equipment
K3 #679, KPA-500 #018
Living the dream!!!

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ron D'Eau Claire
  To: [hidden email]
  Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 6:37 AM
  Subject: [Elecraft] Heathkit Ham Products


  At the risk of reawakening this thread too much, I see an ARRL announcement
  that Heath has decided to enter the Ham radio market due to a strong
  response from potential customers:

  "Wake (Heathkit's Director of Sales and Marketing) said that Heathkit is
  presently working on developing a few Amateur Radio kits. 'Initially, the
  kit line will include a few accessories, like kits for a Dual Watt Meter,
  Antenna Tuners and the Cantenna,' he explained. 'Once we are a little more
  settled, I think we will develop a QRP receiver.' "

  I'm not sure what they mean by a "QRP Receiver" since QRP work generally
  requires at least as good a receiver as most QRO activities. I suspect it
  means a moderate or low performance receiver.

  73,

  Ron AC7AC

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[Grant Youngman]

> Ron,
> , it is not to be unexpected that eventually another company will try to cash in on the perceived market to generate revenue for their business.
>
> Will Heathkit be able to produce kits to compare with Elecraft's quality and performance?...not likely,

This is kind of silly. Heath wasn't even thinking "amateur radio" products until they got wind of potential demand from hams. Even at that, they're thinking "accessories" -- probably updated versions of tuner, wattmeter, etc.  Small stuff.

If they can start with something to get their feet wet that sells, and find a market to build on that, and make enough money to support a business  -- more power to them. I'd buy something from them just to get another "Heathkit" logo box delivered to my door :-)

Grant/NQ5T
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[Kurt Cramer-2]

If they could compete with MFJ that would be wonderful. Just look at the market that MFJ has for simple equipment!
Kurt, W7QHD

> From: [hidden email]
> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:31:58 -0500
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Heathkit Ham Products
>
>
>
>
> > Ron,
> > , it is not to be unexpected that eventually another company will try to cash in on the perceived market to generate revenue for their business.
> >
> > Will Heathkit be able to produce kits to compare with Elecraft's quality and performance?...not likely,
>
> This is kind of silly. Heath wasn't even thinking "amateur radio" products until they got wind of potential demand from hams. Even at that, they're thinking "accessories" -- probably updated versions of tuner, wattmeter, etc.  Small stuff.
>
> If they can start with something to get their feet wet that sells, and find a market to build on that, and make enough money to support a business  -- more power to them. I'd buy something from them just to get another "Heathkit" logo box delivered to my door :-)
>
> Grant/NQ5T
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> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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>
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[Edward R Cole]

Gary, VK4FD has some valid points about Heath's re-entry into the ham
market.  Heath is fondly remembered by us older hams that bought and
built their kits, but also there is lingering disappointment when
they quit the ham business.  (Alaska has a former governor with this problem?)

One thing that I think has been stated well is a successful ham
equipment manufacturer needs active hams on their engineering and
marketing staff.  No one connects like an enthusiast can.  I think
the early years at Heath had a few hams on board.

Heath started with selling electronic test equipment kits made up
from the ample WWII and Korean War surplus that was available making
their costs, low.  That has changed.  Their kits were often simple
basic items which now they will compete with cheap offshore
sources.  It will remain to be seen if they have the vision and
talent to get back into the ham trade.  They have name recognition
and that helps.  I wonder if they may come out with partial
pre-assembled SMT boards with mostly mechanical assembly as the K3 has?

It is a different market from when they were last in it.

I see the kit market belonging to the niche group of high-tech or
non-conventional ham pursuits like QRP, digital, satellite, eme, mw,
etc.  A lot of the hams in these pursuits are pretty smart cookies
and capable builders.  They are not interested in building basic
stuff.  They are looking for kits that enable them to obtain the
unobtainable.  SDR's, high-power sspa's, special modes...  Mostly
parts sourced from high-tech surplus (if you can find it).

K2 (kit)=unique!  K3 unsurpassed!  XG3=cleaver and so
useful!  Elecraft has earned its reputation.  Heath will have to
re-earn their's!


73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
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[TI2/NA7U]

Absolutely!

I think Heathkit could find a nice niche above MFJ and beneath Elecraft, quality-wise. I never really thought of Heathkit, in their previous ham era, as a top-notch contestor-grade manufacturer, but rather a company that supplied decent quality but affordable equipment, and a wide variety of it, too! Hell, they could probably make a good business just recreating (with modern components) look-alikes of their most popular kits.

Doesn't look to me like they would even be the same kind of "animal" as Elecraft, and those who think they would even try to compete directly with something like the K3, K2, etc. appear to me a bit paranoid.

73,

Casey, TI2/NA7U
http://cloud-warmer.blogspot.com

[TI2/NA7U]

Actually, I see the future of ham radio to be more computer-centric. To heck with these big outboard boxes with hard dials, etc. Yeah, I love handling a radio, but it's starting to make less and less sense to duplicate functionality that could be handled in a PC/laptop (except for the tx, of course).

[drewko]

And at the other extreme... I wouldn't mind seeing a vacuum tube rig
kit. Have seen a couple of offerings by others but they don't seem to
be available. Guess it is not practical.

73,
Drew
AF2Z


On Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:47:44 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:

>Actually, I see the future of ham radio to be more computer-centric. To heck
>with these big outboard boxes with hard dials, etc. Yeah, I love handling a
>radio, but it's starting to make less and less sense to duplicate
>functionality that could be handled in a PC/laptop (except for the tx, of
>course).
>
>-----
>Costa Rica Blog

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