Rare 1973 Heathkit BUILD! Pt.1
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- čas přidán 25. 12. 2018
- Okay - First off... I ate a lot of pie today and I just watched Frozen again last night. But I set out on a holiday journey to assemble a new-in-box Heathkit IT-12 signal tracer from 1973 that was donated by loyal FranLab viewer Kitt Thompson. This will be a multi-parter for sure. Enjoy!
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Man, did you ever take me back! My dad graduated from Michigan Tech in '55 with a bachelors in electical engineering, then joined the Air Force as a navigator. He was a total Heath nut. He had the vacuum multimeter about the size of the kit you're bulding, the hifi amplifier, the first digital calculator kit (with that tiny pin point red LED display), even the same soldering iron you've got. I had the old Heathkit 25(?) experimentor's Kit, but the crown jewel of his collection was the 25" color TV in the fine walnut cabinet. He built it in the mid 60's, (I still remember catching this cool new show, "Star Trek" on it). We were the first on our street to have a color TV.. I watched the moon landing on that set. When I was about 14 I said "Hey the set needs to be realigned again", he tossed me the manual and said, "That's your job, never touch here, here or here while the set is on". Running down to the local Radio Shack for replacement tubes and components, dialing that sucker in till it was sharp as a tack. My dad passed last year but the TV is still in the family room in the house in Atlanta. I don't know if it still works, but if I could dig out the manual I'm pretty sure I could have it humming and glowing in no time. Thank you for the trip down memory lane Fran. You're Great!!
I remember seeing the color TV kit in their catalog.
Thank you for sharing !! 🙂
The famous Fran "eye sparkle" was pleasant to see again.
Must have been something in the pie !
@@trespire LOL! She had holiday pie. Was it Pumpkin...I think it was Pumpkin. With Redi Whip.
Back when I was 14/15 and starting to get into electronics, I built a 2 transistor astable oscillator and plugged it into little amplifier I'd made from a transistor radio to get electronic noises. That got me started into electronic music. My Dad told me I needed an oscilloscope and he bought me a Heathkit - all valve. It was my first proper kit, very clear and easy instructions - even pictures to show how long to cut each wire - and it worked first time. I had it for years but eventually it ended up in the attic. My then wife had a thing about "old junk" and it ended up in a skip. The number of times I have kicked myself since that day. Heathkit had a magic formula to teach people how to put electronics together and how it worked and why. Your video brought back a lot of good memories, thanks Fran.
I'm a 74 y.o. retired EE. Built many a heathkit back in the day. Much of the stuff is still on my bench in daily use. Thank you.
How to get a big grommet in a small hole - a valuable lesson to learn for any teenager!
Seriously though, it's great to see you having some fun and also taking a well deserved break, rather than just wearing yourself out packing and moving things. Hopefully you can get a few quiet days to relax and finish this project.
It’s rare to see a bad ceramic disk cap; even after many years, they’re super reliable, but they do drift with temperature. The only time I’ve seen one fail is either physical damage, or over-voltage in HV circuits (such as in CRT TVs, Tesla coils, etc...). I wish they would bring back Heathkit, even if just for test equipment and ham radio stuff. I always enjoyed “unboxing” a new Heathkit and reading through the instructions; they were concise and professionally done - it was always a pleasure to build one.
Keeping it in the box does nothing except retain the value for some collector that will never open it. So glad you shared the experience of the build with us.
Wow, You just reminded me of my age ... I used to build allot of older kits from the 40s in the 50s . Im still tinkering with stuff and I love your videos, and you are as cute as they come kiddo. I probably have kids older than you but you excel at the cute factor.
40 years ago for xmas I got a Heathkit ET-3400 Microprocessor Trainer kit. I disappeared into my room and didn't come out until it was built. My mom was actually kind of disappointed. She figured it would keep me occupied for at least a week or two.
Hi Fran, You seem a much more happy person after all the stress of getting a new location, The best for the new year !!
The Fran we love so much .... is ..... Back ... YAY
@@colindejager1250 Her situation actually caused all of us to feel stress. It's sorta dissolving. No, it really is. Didn't it suck watching her going through the shit?
@@jlucasound Yes, was quite painful to 'go through', but this really demonstrates the healing power of diluting the pain by sharing and daring on the net, yt....
I see so many people soldering connections on You Tube and 99% of them have no idea what they are doing, it is such a pleasure to see someone who actually knows how to solder an electrical connection, well done!
The only value this kit has - is the joy that someone has building it! You know, that comment, for me - was priceless! So you're so right.
Now THAT is a Merry Christmas. Yes I totally agree: building a kit IS the value. It's not worth anything if you're going to have the box sitting on the shelf and have everyone stare at it, in the hope that you can sell it to someone else for more money.
Jac and Steve - I must respectfully disagree with both of you. In some ways, the kit is more interesting - and *much* rarer - unbuilt.
But I’m glad Fran has that ol’ sparkle in her eyes and is enjoying the build process.
Super Het A box, interesting ? Much rarer? And so ... A little hint of speculation tickles you a little?
Until the kit was opened - and assembled - it might have been a box of worthless, oxidized parts, rotten grommets and dead bug carcasses. I'd find much more value in a working Heatkit signal tracer than a box of unassembled parts any day. That Heathkit WANTS to be built! What a cool donation/ gift!!!
Yup. Anything in the world can be used to generate revenue, something as wonderful as this little kit could only hope to be in the hands of someone who could give it all the respect and interest it deserves. Noone better than Fran to do it :)
Much better than a fireplace video.
Much, Much Better.
YES - the building was the greatest pleasure and resulted in fine-quality equipment. I built many, back in the day, and am still using my AR-1500 stereo receiver. Also took a tour of the Benton Harbor, MI factory, which was amazing! Too bad those days are gone - they were some of the best times I ever had! Thanks for this video!
I can still remember my Dad building an entire TV from a Heathkit. I think he built two back in 1969-1971. Then he built a couple RC Airplane tramsmitters and receivers. The company is back in business, I just might have to buy myself a kit of something to build and geek out on!!
53:34 - This is definitely one of their older kits. Their instructions GREATLY improved around the early 70's!
Great video Fran! Of all the Heathkit restoration video's on CZcams, I have not seen a NEW build. Very unique! I have acquired several old Heathkit's for restoration but have wondered what the original new build process was like. Especially about the documentation and instructions the factory provided to build a kit. Now we know. Thank you for all your efforts!
Fran, you really awaked my memory! '73 was two years before my "departure" to electronics knowledge. Here in Europe, under the shade of Soviet Union, electronics where different. I worked a lot with electronic tubes, although they are more dangerous because of high voltage of anodic circuit, (I have "tested" the voltage many times with the fingers), they were more accessible to be achieved and are more tough to overload (the anode will glow). I "killed" a lot of transistors, but only few tubes. After the "skilling", transistor have become the favorite. Thank you!
Omg, the memories came flooding back. I built these in the 60's and 70's, I,ll reserve my comments after I watch pt. 2 .......... by the way , I played with mercury too, used to break open old switches and roll it around the floor.
You young chick... My first Heathkit was in 1966, a VTVM which is still on, next to my bed, working well, very accurate. Two batteries (they leak before they are used up), new power cord (from Israel's to US), new tubes, floating ground mod (which discovered a PC board to chassis short), new probe, and internal DC 1meg resistor. Oh yes, in the first year, one of the resistors' network members blew up,and was replaced with a little combination of resistors to get the exact value needed. The kit you show off is one of the few I did not build.
Merry Christmas and Happy new year!
SheemOn New Testement Audio 8
I still have my VTVM as well.
A great thing to clean oxidized leads and terminals is a pencil eraser. I was taught to use one in a advanced soldering course many years ago. I use the Staedtler eraser pencils. Looks like a pencil but it's all eraser.
Nice tip. I stumbled across this as well when I was a kid and setting up model railroads. The track saner was acetone based and expensive (for a kid anyway) to buy. The tracks would oxidize because it was in a damp basement. Not sure why, but I grabbed an eraser one day and it took it right off.
Can confirm. Most effective, cleanest, and least invasive method I’ve used to date.
Had an old anemic black and decker cordless 1/4" drill motor. Chucked up an eraser and it was great for quickly polishing tarnished contacts.
Did just that inside the Wilcolator thermostat from this antique room heater I'm fixing up, cleaned the black oxides right off!
I used a pen eraser....
just came across your video lol dad was an amature radio hound and i remember the heath kits helped dad build back in the mid 60's early 70's he was colour blind so i had to help read resistors sometimes at 1am on school nights THOSE were the days never got into electronics but still have a lot of the stuff from pre 70 era learned how to solder read schematics ect helped dad build an osciliscope have no idea what it does but he was happy with it dad passed away a few years ago so here i am watching your video remembering the good times in his radio shop thanks for bring back memories
Hey Fran brings back memories I an 71 years old but when I was15 I built a Heathkit Twoer for my ham radio days,first kit I ever built and it worked and I contacted other hams real great feeling at 15 years
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays Fran!
I hope you have a much better year ahead.
Thank you for all the videos filled with delicious information!
What more can a person ask for?!?!
Be safe, be well and above all, be prosperous!
Also a tip, scotch brite works a lot better than sandpaper for cleaning solder lugs from oxides. Works wonders on preparing copper clad boards for toner transfer as well ;)
Mr Mürk Glass nail file is good as well on solder lugs.Strong enough to do the job and washable for re-using.
Wet sand paper is the best for toner transfer.
Scotchbrite is good I also use a fibreglass brush.
A Magic Eraser should work for reming tarnish and oxidation as well, although it looks and feels like a sponge it's actually made of melamine, AKA laminate countertop material, foamed up with air, and they are most definitely abrasive.
We also use ultra-fine plastic-backed lapping paper for polishing tape heads at work. 3m makes it. Sometimes we use it on switches and relay contacts.
The nostalgia is fantastic, especially during the holidays. The fair lawn nj store was right up the highway from me! Wow
FROM A FORMER HEATHKIT BENCH TECH: Very cool to see a Heathkit still in the box. I am a former Heathkit technician who use to work at the retail location near the New Orleans airport. My job was to get Heathkit units working when they were put together by people who bought and built them. Usually the mistakes made were swapping color codes and having transistors installed backwards. One of the things that I enjoyed is the variety of equipment that you would be faced with... from color TV's, test equipment to fish finders to audio scopes... it was a lot of fun... it all went away when Zenith bought them out so they could extract the best of their technology to use in Zenith equipment, including computers. Thanks again for posting this and bringing back some good memories.
Perhaps you can shed some light on a rumor I heard? The Heath / Zenith partnership apparently went way back to the 1960s when Heathkit started offering B&W, then color TV kits. It does make sense in that why engineer a TV from the ground up and then have to source or manufacture all those unique parts. Just partner with an established TV manufacture. Any truth to this?
@@andydelle4509 I had never heard this rumor before.... I use to work on Zenith TV's before going to Heathkit and I never noticed any Zenith tech DNA in Heath TV's. Heathkit started when Mr. Heath sold kit airplanes... a check with Google states; "Founded by a former barnstormer named Ed Heath, the company began life in Chicago in 1926 by selling airplanes in kits. ... Heath was an early player in the personal computer business, and it was its computer unit, Heath Data Systems, that prompted Zenith Electronics to acquire the company in 1979 for $63 million".. To my knowledge all of Heathkit's units were designed and manufactured in house but of course used many off the shelf components. When I worked for Heathkit they were owned by Schlumberger oil service company, but they had many owners before this since Mr. Heath died test flying one of his airplanes in the 1930's. You may be thinking of Muntz TV's which were built using RCA chassis that were rejected at the manufacturing level... "Mad Man Muntz" would buy the rejects... fix them and repackage them as Muntz TV's at a reduced price (I met Mr. Muntz one time... he got around the patent on the 8 track tape player by making a separate flip up capstan pinch roller in his machines and calling it a 4 track).
If my memory is correct (not guaranteed) Heathkit was purchased by Schlumberger around that time frame. Later it was sold to Zenith. I remember using Heath/Zenith computers in the 1980s. On the other hand, my father "built" several Heathkits in the early 1960s. His first was a hi-fi amplifier. When first turned on, it went "poof" and released all the magic smoke. Because of that, the family still now refers to audio amplifiers as "Apple-friers"! Future kits were assembled by my mother, including a rather large Analog Computer he needed for work. They all worked the first time.
Amazing to see that the rubber band around the wires is STILL GOOD Any modern rubber band you get from a store now would decay in just a few years.
msylvain59 Yeah, new rubber bands are made to decompose over a couple,of years. Came about because one of the biggest users of rubber bands was the Postal Service and posties used to just throw the bands away. People complained because they were still on the ground years later. Now they just decompose . Pain really as never needed to buy any elastic for model planes, just picked them up!
Staples rubber bands- the most expensive on the market-decompose in about 6 months.The ones at the Dollar store last for years.Field research,and voting with my wallet
@ , the thick rubber bands that hold bunches of asparagus together are strong and very usefull. I love asparagus, so.....
I could not afford any Heathkit kits when I was young. Through your hands, I get to experience what it is like to assemble. Love your character Fran. LOL I love your channel. :-)
8:28 This is the best example of pure, nerdy hobbyist joy I've ever encountered. I felt Fran's excitement extend through my phone and directly into my heart 😂
This as good as an Uncle Doug video! Thanks Fran!
Great stocking stuffer! Silver tarnish is conductive, so it won't have much effect on switch contacts. For soldering, though, you do need to clean the tarnish off. Hobby shops that carry model railroad stuff may offer an eraser-like thing called a "Bright-Boy" that is designed to clean tarnish off brass track. It's rubber with a mild abrasive, so it's less aggressive than sandpaper.
Silver oxide is really more of a *semiconductor*: it acts as a diode and introduces distortion into audio circuits. I see this all the time at work when refurbishing old audio equipment, hooked up to a clean input sinewave, a scope, and a distortion analyzer.
I think it is great to see someone get excited to build one of these old kits and put it to use. Thanks Fran.
The price that old test equipment brings on ebay blows me away. "Rare" usually means many where thrown away after they served their purpose and where made obsolete by newer technology. i do have a soft spot for it though.
Very mixed emotions. I’m sad that I’ve only just found this... a year late turns out. But very very happy. Reliving my childhood in a sense. I’m only 28 so Heathkit wasn’t exactly available to me as a child, but I remember being very young collecting anything electronic, taking it apart, trying to deduce how it worked and if it wasn’t working I would attempt to fix it. My room was filled with computer parts, old RCA and Realistic stereo equipment. Thank you very much Fran :)
Almost to that CZcams play button arriving in the mail.
I have had great luck using Tarn-X to remove the heavy oxidation off silver plated connections Fran. Then just a quick shot of DeOxit as a follow up
Tarn-X works great I have been using it for 40 plus years... Hard to find though
yeah, i was just telling my wife why it works so well: unlike other silver cleaners, tarnx leaves behind no polish or residue as long as you rinse it properly.
We used to use Wright's Silver Polish where I once worked. Not sure if it is still made. Worked very well without much other than wiping it off.
I agree with you in your opening statement; kits are meant to be built. And to document the process for other people's enjoyment and edification? All the better.
The best theme song on the internet. I have NO idea whatsoever about the stuff she works on but I watch her work anyway.
in 1954, Heath was bought by Daystrom Company, a management holding company that also owned several other electronics companies. Daystrom was absorbed by oilfield service company Schlumberger Limited in 1962, and the Daystrom/Schlumberger days were Heathkit's most successful. (according to Wikipedia). I completely agree, nothing like assembling a kit for Christmas, I am doing a couple of small projects for the holidays.Happy New Year everybody.
I was fortunate to have a job with Heathkit in the early 70's. Checks came from Schlumberger, the owner at the time. It was a great place to be working at that time. I occasionally run into other former employees from that time, and we all enjoyed it.
I think Fran is happy... tis Christmas!!
i think so to lol
I was surprised that the IT-12 still looked looked that in 1973. I thought Heath had gone to the blue and white color scheme by then. Good for you for actually building it. I have an old shortwave training kit that was a partial build back in the 1960s. It was a gift from the original owner. I plan to finish it.
I felt compelled to further comment on Fran's reaction to opening a new in box 1629 Electron-Ray tube. Those precious twitterings and flitterings and squeal-like bird call sounds she uttered reminded me of how much I fell in love with the eye tube the first time i came in close contact with one at the tender age of 5 in 1959 when I was able to have my way with a Pentron 9-T3 tape recorder. Controlling audio levels using the tube seemed amazing and ingenious to me at a very early age even though I understood nothing about electronics at that point.
Hi Fran, just subscribed. I love this video. I worked for Heathkit in the early 70s as a teacher and technician. I remember fixing one of these signal tracers after someone did not so good a job building it. I have a general class FCC license so I got to do some of the two way radio stuff. Also I got to build a bunch of H8 computers, what a job! Never got into the TVs though. Thanks for the video. it brings back memories. BTW Schlumberger (pronounced schlum ber 'zhay) is a French company that bought Heathkit in the 70s. They were famous for making most of the electric meters you see hanging on houses and business.
Fran's happy fangirl squee over a vacuum tube at 8:58 is so cute
Fran, if I could afford it, I would build every Heath-Kit that I could find. I miss those days.
1973 baby here! Thanks for video👍👏
Buckaroo Banzai quote. Very nice. :)
You Win! ☺
Also a quote from “Spinal Tap”
I just got the latest issue!
-Blue Blazer 3rd rank
Take THAT all you people who were hating on the old singing intro!
Also, who else died laughing at "it doesn't have to be a Heathkit" ? 😹 I think I have my new ringtone.
The man that taught me a lot about electronics had a well-worn IT-12 sitting on his bench and it was one of the most used tools he had. I've been looking for something similar for more than 30 years.
An unbuilt Heathkit is like an undriven classic car or an undrunk wine.
Unfilled potential.
Also, I have vintage creakiness in the morning.
Forgive me for being thick... but wasn't that long solder tag that went under the insulator put in to hook onto the lug on the top of the post?. On what you were saying about being careful with lead solder, I've been working with both Rosin and Acid cored solders for getting on 44 years now with no issues. Actually biggest issue was the fumes from 14swg (0.104 inch) rosin core where my so called workmates would close the back door of the Landrover that I was working in when repairing the 24v radio battery leads (Military). Couldn't do much about it with the solder roll in one hand, a 250w iron in the other and the cable jammed between my knees. Hope this kit goes without too many problems.
Before I worked at a cable soldering factory that had(fake) safety compliance, I was an audio tech/guitarist. I would hold solder in my mouth(show must go on). I didn't notice any problems UNTIL NOW. Please, children wash your hands.
DieyoungDiefast, Yes there is way too much hysteria over things like leaded solder these days. I have been using leaded solder as part of my daily business for over 50 years without any 'precautions' and I have not died once. Constantly hearing myths about this sort of thing spoil otherwise good videos.
It's a Franbuilt Heathkit now. That's the value. Happy Christmas
This video gives me memories of my childhood curiosity with vacuum tube radios. I used to take off all tubes from the unpluged radio frame, put them back together, plug the radio back and it worked. Now I'm 65 years old. Your expertise and enthusiam can wake up that old curiosity to learn again. Thanks You for your great Heath Kit building class.
40 years?!? What were you, 3 at the time? (you don’t look that old) 🙂
I know right? I thought the same thing! I was in high school in 78 and I thought no way is she as old as I am!
@@ReneeNme Me too.
Yeah, I graduated high school in 1979 and built my heathkit transmitter (see my comment) around the time the kit she's building came out in 1973
Dang it, I was born in 73.
I was 4!
Pretty sure that speaker was distorted by moisture. I noticed a large water stain on the outer box, which would explain it, as well as the mold and oxidation...
I think so.
For my Junior High School science project I built a 5 band shortwave radio kit, entirely hand wired and aligned by me. I don't remember the brand of the kit but it wasn't a Heathkit. I won top honors for an electronic project, took me about 45 hours to assemble it, all logged to document the process. A number of years ago I ordered a "Son of a Cheap Clock Kit" assembled that and mounted it in an old wooden London Spice cologne box, worked well for a long time till the transformer burned up and I put it away. The good old days of assembling things by hand, specially the hand wired tube chassis of that radio, that was 60 yrs ago and I still have it in the basement.
I helped my dad build a HeathKit radio ages ago: I was on resistor lead bender detail.
He sorted all the parts, as one does, but he left the parts prep for me.
He made a little wooden block for bending resistors and the like.
I wasn't allowed to touch the PCB or do any soldering. I was 7(?).
OH! the FET's! I had to stay out of the room until those were soldered in place.
After a short calibration, the radio worked great!
I don't recall the model, but is had a rotating directional antenna on top one could use with charts while at sea.
Dad had ambitions of being a champion fish-killer, so knowing ones location at sea is good.
I am pretty sure it wasn't LORAN, but just very directional.
Does the weller have a primary side fuse though? :P
You beat me to that joke. LOL
*groan* There is always one!
instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true
www.badum-tish.com was too hard?
@@Okurka. that requires flash, whichis basically internet cancer
Schlumberger is pronounced "sloom-bear-jay" (French). Sometimes nicknamed "slumber-jay".
Yay! Someone who knows how to pronounce Schlumberger!
It’s a German name (spelled with an soft g) but since the family is from the Elsass the name was frenchised
I loved Heathkit products. I had the board with components and springs to attach wires to. It took you through many experiments. I also built a metal detector, and many other misc. builds that would be Capacitor checkers, and whay not. In the early 70's My Uncle ron bult Heathkit's Electric Piano. I bet he still has it today. What a wonderful company they were. Fran, thank you for bringing back some of my fondest childhood memories, of which I have few. not wanting to sound too creepy, :P you are absolutely Adorable. Thanks again, it's my first viewing of your channel. Peace to All
I started working for the USAP (US Antarctic Program) in 1998 as an IT Designer. On my first trip to The Ice, McMurdo Station, I spent a good amount of time documenting the existing IT Systems. The biggest thing was our radio communications, much of which was HF and used huge antenna. Due to the massive power of these radios when transmitting and the sensitivity of the receive antenna, we had the transmitters on a high plateau above the station called T Site, (Transmitter Sight), and the Receivers were 26 miles away on Black Island. These radios used Rombic and Connie-Monnie antennas. The Rombic covered about 100 yards each. At any rate, the building at T Site was still using the original Tube type transmitters. They put out so much heat that during the summer they often kept the doors propped open. South Pole Station had just switched over to transistor sets the year before.
This could have been 'new old stock' back in 1973! The cabinet design is from the early-to-mid 60's!
Somethings fishy here! Why was it packed in NEWSPAPERS? This hardly seems like something that even Griefkit would've done!
The date code on the potentiometer should reveal when this was 'kitted'. I'm guessing 1963 ;)
Anyone else think it would be cool to build a Frankit?
I would definitely buy that!
I wonder if enough people would want a Frantone effects pedal kit to make it worthwhile?
*Frankkit
Watching this in my Swedish country-side cabin in early spring. Was going to take the boat out for some fishing, but meh, the lake will still be there in a couple hours. And yes, I am glad I'm watching this :)
Fair Lawn NJ was my Heathkit store. Remember it fondly. FANTASTIC ham radio equipment!
Fran, did you say 66-44 solder? Wouldn't that be 110%?
Well, if you don't want 10% stronger joints go ahead and use 100% solder. I like having that extra 10% though.
@@PowerScissor My solder iron goes to 11.
@@cameronl62 No way! That's 1 more than mine does. I bet that thing melts faces!
She said Kester (which for some reason she pronounces as "Kessler") "44," which was a product brand name.
@@editorjuno - Yes, and then she said they don't use cool names anymore and she uses a different composition now. 66/44. I suspect she read the name wrong years ago thinking it was Kestler with a silent T and it stuck. Or perhaps her brain forces her to pronounce the L in solder.
8:39 Frangasm alert 😂
I'll have what she's having.😊
Hal Rollins when Harry met Sally 😂 classic!
When my mom walked in I switched to porn tab
Vladimir Rodionov 😂😂
@@vladimirrodionov5391 kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Your a gal after my own heart what a trip back in time I built many heath kits' some I still have that work great. I will watch part two. Really enjoyed this brings back great memories of my kit building days.
"The Wrong Way"- too funny! My buddy and I both got PAiA guitar effect kits around '75, neither of us had much experience soldering. We built them separately, and when we got together to compare our handiwork, he had left all the component leads full length, soldering the ends to the PC board. It looked like "Spider City"! Needless to say, neither kit worked and we both had to send them back to the factory for "alignment" (mine suffered from a reversed EC, if memory serves, but at least the components were tight to the board....). I can only imagine the factory tech's expression when they opened my buddy's return shipment! Fond memories, thanks!
Story 2: re: Christmas Heathkit Exuberance- In '74 or so my best friend received a Heathkit O'scope kit for Christmas Eve. We were 14 years old, but he had a bit of experience wiring and soldering already, there was no way I could have made that work, even with clear instructions. Well, he stayed up all night building it, and by golly, called me Christmas morning to tell me he now had a working scope! Aside from a certain jealousy, I was more awed by what he just accomplished.
Fran can I ask a simple question, Why don't Americans pronounce the L in solder? they correctly pronounce the word sold why does it change when there is an "er" at the end In my country a soder is something very different.
Peepul shud no beder
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solder
Perhaps the same reason Brits do not pronounce 'aluminum' correctly. They add a syllable that is not in the actual word.
@@Gizmologist1 Your forgetting Brits invented the language, Americans have a hard time learning it.
John ,G Hmm... I thought the American School Master Webster froze it in and the Brits kept on “developing”.
Why would you not test the capacitor before deciding not to use it. When you substitute pats you take an original vintage device and ruin it. It's like restoring a classic car with fiberglass replacement panels!
I'll throw in my 2 cents here. With a 40 year old electrolytic cap it has most assuredly dried out, even if it tests good now in a month or so it will fry and you will end up changing it anyway. Ask me how I know this, lol. I work on old tube amps and I have tried the old use every thing can route just to have it bite me in the ass a little while later. Like I said just my opinion.
The worst thing you can do to a electrolytic capacitor is not use it and this one hasn't had electricity applied to it since it was manufactured. As someone who restores vintage radios for a living I can guarantee you that cap has long passed it's useable life span. Think about it this way. If you got a 50+ year old car NOS would you drive it with the original rubber brake lines and fuel hoses? No way unless you like dying in a flaming high speed accident with no brakes. Electrolytic caps are no different. They dont last forever and have a finite lifespan.
@@mikesradiorepair Agree number three. (Electrolytic) Caps don't like time. Even newer ones, but especially old ones. We want this to function and keep functioning.
I don’t see people restoring the old cars putting on old dry rotted tires on their restorations. ‘But did you even test to see if they would hold air?’
@@martinlumber
No. I own and have restored several antique cars and trucks and the tires are usually one of the first things to get replaced. Don't care if they hold air or not. If they are dry rotted they are not safe.
By far the most interesting kit build I've ever seen
This is very interesting (playing catch-up after the holiday). I remember watching my grandfather put together a Heathkit Thomas Organ when I a kid. I even did an overhaul on it (keyboard contacts were oxidized) after I grew up. Lots of fun hours.
Love it .... knick your Mums bun tray to separate all the parts. Excellent stuff Fran.
You've got the right attitude there Fran! Who cares what the unassembled kit is "worth"! What matters is the emotions the humans behind the iron and in front of the display are experiencing!
I couldn't agree more, Fran. The joy in that box could only have been released by building it.
Bonjour ! Je suis de France ! Et Heathkit est un très bon souvenir pour moi !
Tous les montages étaient de très bonne qualité !
Hello ! I'm from France ! And Heathkit is a very good memory for me!
All montages were of very good quality!
What a nice gift...or find.....I have a Heathkit T-3 signal tracer which I had to go thru and replace EVERY wire in it...and caps ....so it was close to building the unit....great video.
I know its been a while but... your "Nerding out" about the parts, especially the tuning eye... I love it!
Hard not to share your enthusiasm, thanks for sharing.
I got one of those for Christmas when I was 14.. Beautiful memories there
I think I'm in love with you! The love for electronics, scifi and all your personality in general couldn't be more of a dream I'd love to come true!
LOL - Fran, you sounded as excited as a Little Schoolgirl and you were making the cutest little noises as you opened the tuning eye box. Great video by the world's Geekiest Girl - and a BIG thank you for saying SOL-dering ... it made me feel at home! Love & Hugs from the UK.
Heathkit and EICO helped a lot of electronic techs that couldn’t afford high end test equipment. You also learned how to troubleshoot your equipment too. I built several Heathkit pieces when I was in Vo-Tech in the late 70s.
I have the 4 channel amp my dad built from Heathkit. Heathkit was in Benton Harbor, I still remember the building. I also have a Heathkit box that the parts were shipped in. Good memories of the Heathkit TV my dad installed in the wall and many other Heathkit products. Plus I still have tons of my dads resistors, transformers and misc parts he used to build and fix radios.
I had always thought that your FranLab tshirt logo was the old HeathKit logo too and now I can see it plainly is! :)
Also my dad loved building Heathkits! he build a big console TV, a stereo system and a volt meter that I still have, with tubes in it! I loved seeing this video... brought back great memories.. I've been hooked on electronics ever since those days in the 70's helping him make those kits! :)
Thanks!
When you were putting the bolts through the case for the speaker you should have used a small blob of blue tack to hold them in place, makes life so much easier. Love your sense of humour.
this, right here, is my pick for the best intro.
thanks for the memories Fran built a Heathkit radio when i was 13 about 50 years ago the hardest part was ordering one up here in Canada
I built my first Heathkit in 1972 . A stereo kit. Now I need to take it out of storage and test it to see if it still works and repair it if necessary. This will be a great departure from upgrading my computer hard drives to SDD.
SSD
PLEASE, before you turn anything on, RE-CAP the unit first and make SURE it won't blow up.
I remember building a Heath Kit Tube Tester. Also, PAIA and SWTPC Kits. You could learn a lot in those days just by assembling these kits.
This brings back memories, when I was a kid at high school I adquierd their caralog and would loved to get the kit of a remote control for a rc airplane but I wasnt abble to buy it, its a shame that there is not a company like this still around...keep the good work👍
From one experienced EE to another, I've been reminiscing with some of your videos about the first LEDs, the old NIMO tubes, this Heathkit, and others. It reminds me of when I played with these things when I was in my teens in the 1970s. If you're interested, I've written about many of my teenage electronics adventures in my memoir "Life's Essential Primer". Some interesting tubes I talk about are an infra-red image converter tube, an iconoscope (which I still have inside an ancient TV camera), and some Bi-Directional Beam Deflection Decade Counter tubes made by E1T/Mullard. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
As for opening a NOS item. 1 it's yours do as you wish. 2 very generous of you to document and share it. (Power of youtoob)
Really enjoying this one. Now on the hunt for some old kits.
Every time I had the option to buy either a complete unit or a "build it yourself" kit, I chose to get the kit. It is so satisfying to have things you made that work really well. And, in the process, you learn a lot about designing things. Even an entire R/C system I built from kits.
Love the building instructions such as "Put the grommet in the hole". 😆
I have a pair of those surgical forceps grip things that Fran was using to thread that bare wire, they are brilliant little tools, you can get them into places where even needle nose pliers would not reach. Plus you can lock them onto whatever you are holding if you need to. Glad to see i am not the only one using them for things other than surgery! :-)