Remembering Heathkit

While most hams and hackers have at least heard of Heathkit, most people don’t know the strange origin story of the legendary company. [Ham Radio Gizmos] takes us all through …read more

Apr 26, 2025 - 21:03

While most hams and hackers have at least heard of Heathkit, most people don’t know the strange origin story of the legendary company. [Ham Radio Gizmos] takes us all through the story.

In case you don’t remember, Heathkit produced everything from shortwave radios to color TVs to test equipment and even computers. But, for the most part, when you bought something from them, you didn’t get a finished product. You got a bag full of parts and truly amazing instructions about how to put them together. Why? Well, if you are reading Hackaday, you probably know why. But some people did it to learn more about electronics. Others were attracted by the lower prices you paid for some things if you built them yourself. Others just liked the challenge.

But Heathkit’s original kit wasn’t electronic at all. It was an airplane kit. Not a model airplane, it was an actual airplane. Edward Heath sold airplane kits at the affordable price around $1,000. In 1926, that was quite a bit of money, but apparently still less than a commercial airplane.

Sadly, Heath took off in a test plane in 1931, crashed, and died. The company struggled to survive until 1935, when Howard Anthony bought the company and moved it to the familiar Benton Harbor address. The company still made aircraft kits.

During World War II, the company mobilized to produce electronic parts for wartime aircraft. After the war, the government disposed of surplus, and Howard Anthony casually put in a low bid on some. He won the bid and was surprised to find out the lot took up five rail cars. Among the surplus were some five-inch CRTs used in radar equipment. This launched the first of Heathkit’s oscilloscopes — the O1. At $39.50, it was a scope people could afford, as long as they could build it. The O-series scopes would be staples in hobby workshops for many years.

There’s a lot more in the video. Well worth the twenty minutes. If you’ve never seen a Heathkit manual, definitely check out the one in the video. They were amazing. Or download a couple. No one creates instructions like this anymore.

If you watch the video, be warned, there will be a quiz, so pay attention. But here’s a hint: there’s no right answer for #3. We keep hearing that someone owns the Heathkit brand now, and there have been a few new products. But, at least so far, it hasn’t really been the same.