New Heathkit GC-1006 Build Pt4 - The Conclusion!!!

Sloooooooooowly.....

Fran Blanche

Thanks Fran! (Edit**) BrainJuice is a must and you are a must have juice.

Put your cassette recorder up against the TV speaker whenever the show is on, and record at will!

Fran Blanche

This has been a great series, I really enjoyed it. Thank you Fran.

David Peaker

I remember Velleman (in UK as well). The Heathkit 1006 clock is listed as $99.95, that is already at a high price point though and it should be better than it appeared. The design oddities could be resolved without additional expense. You can get a clock kit on Ebay for £4 or £5, admittedly no case is provided or it's just a couple of pieces of perspex, but arguably the electronic design is better and the quality of the PCB and parts are at the same level of the Heathkit. I've made my own clock with an Atmel SAMD21 but it does so much more than just a clock, and it didn't cost anywhere near $100 per unit, see my finished board at https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=562436.0. I don't work in electronics, it is just a hobbie so I gave it a go and learnt loads along the way. My point being, it shouldn't be too hard at the $99.95 price to come up with something considerably better and improved on the original Heathkit designs.

Leigh

I want Heathkit to succeed as I didn't really have them in my youth here in the UK (we had Velleman kits but nothing like Heathkit), trouble is to survive in the modern world everything is down to cost so the new kits are designed to be at the cheapest price so the old build quality wont be there. If they made them super high quality I suspect the RRP would rocket, while die hard fans and people like me might swallow that regular 'consumers' may not. Personally I like they are using MCUs, what would be really cool if they made kits with a good mix of something like ARM and discrete components with lots of opportunities for modding and a nice solid good looking case.

And a Heathkit clock was born "in the lab". Thanks Fran, enjoyed the build.

Leigh

On New Year's Day! ♫♪♪♫

BobC

Fran - is the "making something ... in the lab" song available for download? I can imagine playing that while I'm making something. In my lab.

Bruce Davis

I really enjoyed this build series and your honest option of the kit. The new Heathkit is definitely not the old Heathkit that we remember. But I'm still glad that they are around and trying to keep it alive. FYI, my kit came with fully assembled front and back panels and I didn't have to apply the self-adhesive labels to the front and back plastic panels like you had to. I wouldn't be against a follow-up video about your clock and its operation if you have the time. Since you left out the battery pack in your clock the case could be a lot smaller. Here’s an idea for a video. How about fabricating a new case for your new clock? Thanks for sharing and I love the “Easter eggs” at the end of some of your videos.

David Blake

Your soldering speed and quality is much better than mine. It must be the music. :-)

I wanted Heathkit (the very different, and new one) to succeed as well, but for those who followed their "facebook" presence in the beginning had much frustration and skepticism over who the new owner was and what his goals were. The new owner has nothing to do with the original Heathkit, and just bought the rights to the Heathkit brand/name. His facebook site sat dead without updates for a very long time before they produced any actual products... and while it was nice to see something, those have been questionable because so many will compare him to the old Heathkit. I think many of us who grew up with the Heathkit of the 70s and 80s wished the new one would resemble the excellence and quality that make that old Heathkit so amazing. (its actually very sad the old Heathkit is gone :) ).

Michelle Stoetzel

I was so worried you weren’t gonna remove the film.... O the relief at 37 mins :-)

Mark Wilkes

I can tell you want Heathkit to succeed. Everyone who watches regularly should know that. My feeling is that you are honestly disappointed with this kit, and are making constructive comments for them to consider making improvements. There is a 3 year old YT video of a guy reviewing this kit, and as he unpacks it he is immediately disappointed at how small the case is - like a toy. Another person familiar with the original Heathkit. We people who are may have unrealistic expectations. I am looking forward to the end of the video - I commented on your intro. I was surprised you didn't clean up the light pipes before install - an unusual oversight for you. There is a vintage H-K clock on Ebay that looks like packing tape had been over the speaker, consistent with your comment about the annoying vintage alarm sound. The matte finish on the wood blocks looks uneven unless you let a cup of tea sit on it. I have never seen tapped machine screws in wood - how innovative (ahem).