Did they have heathkit metal detectors?

maxxkatt

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at 18 years of age I assembled this heathkit CB radio. and the darn thing worked. Was a little difficult to tune the IF transformers if I remember correcty.

I wonder anyone built the heathkit metal detector.
 
I purchased and put together a H eathkit detector in about 1969. It was pretty rudimentary but I did find a few coins and a whole lot of trash with it.
 
I purchased and put together a H eathkit detector in about 1969. It was pretty rudimentary but I did find a few coins and a whole lot of trash with it.

Just imagine a handful of transistors and maybe a total of 50 components?

Now our detectors are computers with millions of transistors and electronic components on a small chip.

Here is the GD-46 schematic. Hey sweetwater, I get this brings back some memories.
 

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A lot simpler than the Heathkit Color TV I put together back in the early '70s.

Man, that color TV was the ultimate Heathkit. I hear more than a few had send theirs back to Heathkit to fix their mistakes.

My dad assembled the Heathkit Model Aa-151 Stereo Integrated Amplifier== El-84 Output Tubes and AJ-32 stereo tuner. He later gave them to me.

I have never found a sweeter amplifier to use with a good turntable and some really good classical 33 1/3 rpm LPs or rock and roll LP's. You don't get that sweet sound from IC amps these days. Like a fool, I sold them 10 years back.

Heathkit dominated the kit world. There also were I think Knight Kits, but never assembled one of them.

About 20 years ago, I had a hobby of repairing old 1930-1950's AM table radios. They were so simple. They basically all used the very standard five tube circuit. It really boiled down to just buying a replacement kit of a handful capacitors to replace the old wax capacitors that had broken down. And 90% of the time the radio was fixed. Tubes rarely went bad while the radio sat in the attic or basement for 30-50 years.

When I got into the hobby I realized I needed to get the old test equipment, tube checker, capacitor checker, VTVM. It was fun. Then I tried to tackle an old big Hammarlund HF Receiver Model HQ-100 receiver. It defeated me. Man the wiring was so tight and cramped in that receiver.
 

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Man, that color TV was the ultimate Heathkit. I hear more than a few had send theirs back to Heathkit to fix their mistakes.

It wasn't too difficult to put together though I can see that someone unfamiliar with electronics could really mess it up.

I had it for many years. The weakest past was the high voltage section. Had to fix it a couple of times.
 
The good thing was that you could fix the high voltage system. When I was young one summer I worked for a TV repairman back. He was crooked. One time we went to a home and they were just getting snow on the screen. one of the antenna leads came lose. I hooked it back up and tightened the screw. He charged the $20 for two new tubes. He kept a couple of cracked tubes in his tube caddy to show them what was wrong.

Told my folks this story and they made me quit that job.
 
The good thing was that you could fix the high voltage system. When I was young one summer I worked for a TV repairman back. He was crooked. One time we went to a home and they were just getting snow on the screen. one of the antenna leads came lose. I hooked it back up and tightened the screw. He charged the $20 for two new tubes. He kept a couple of cracked tubes in his tube caddy to show them what was wrong.

Told my folks this story and they made me quit that job.

Yep, there were plenty of those types back then.
 
Yep, there were plenty of those types back then.

I had just finished an electronics tech school program in Boston in 1968. I ordered the AR13 stereo Receiver from Heathkit. Fun to build and lots of satisfaction from that experience. I had that unit for 20 years or more. Nice looking unit.
 
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