I remember building my Heathkit weather station in 1980 when I was in my twenties. Took my time like I was building something for NASA. Weather stations still runs to this day, 24/7/365, non stop. Trying to outlive the Voyager spacecraft. Great quality kits. Miss the company.
Never had the chance to build something like this myself but its always fun to watch others put these things together, can't wait to see the building process!
Built it and its matching tuner back in 1974.. while I was in the service.... still have the amp but it is not working out in my storage garage... loved Heathkit audio.. still do .... I have many of Heaths audio products sitting around my house being used today...
When I was a kid in the 60's my Dad would build Heathkit electronics. My younger brother has them all. He has a wonderful receiver that still works fine.
That looks like a good kit. The wood sides are nice. I wish there were more kits available today. Especially in the more affordable price but still with good quality. This will be a good series.
I really liked the Dynaco kit build you did a while back and am looking forward to the Heathkit kit build. Here's an idea for you: How about you designing and selling your own kit that enthusiasts like me could build since it's so hard to find old unbuilt kits like the Dynaco and Heathkit? Anyway, can't wait for P2 to get posted!
I love my The Fisher 'stratakit' stereo Control Amplifier.. A Kit version of their X100b. Kits can be fantastic to own and love and I'm sure this amplifier will bring joy to someone... Eventually. Hope the build goes smoothly Mister Condenser. 👍👌
I hear ya. Interestingly, this AA-1219 which sold from 1977-1981 is simply a restyled version of the AA-1214 which sold from 1973-1977. They’re exactly the same amp, I believe, but strangely, the earlier model has a black faceplate. And because of that, to my eyes, the older model looks more modern than the newer one.
I enjoyed this video. It brings back memories of my youth when I was building my own Heathkits. IO 30, IO 4550, It 28, GR 900, GR 2001 among others. I really miss those day.s
Three Heathkits long since gone, GR-something police - aircraft band portable, AR-15 FM tuner and AA-14 I believe amplifier built at 12YO just in time for the first Boston quadraphonic radio broadcasts.
I haven't built Heathkits since the 1970s, but do want to experience the feeling again. I have an HW-16 and the HG-10b. Would love to find a few smaller kits, t build again! Thanks for your consideration! I built a stereo flip down LP player several times, a roll top stereo for my sister, and several small things like light sensor control, dimmer control, photo dialer, etc.
Kirk, keep your eye on ebay and I’m sure you’ll find an unbuilt kit within short order that might strike your fancy. The only problem, they can get stupid-expensive.
That's a nice way to please a viewer with a gift. My father did make a lot of heatkits back in the past. Good quality for that time. Hope those electrolytes are still usable. If the previous owner had it stored dry. I'll follow your build always fun to see how others do a modify or problem solution.
Recently found your channel and I love it. Don’t feel bad about being unable to memorize the resistor’s colors. Before the “cell phone” invasion one was able to memorize all of your friends and family members numbers. These days I sometimes forget my own number. Keep up the good work.
I remember making a Heathkit motion detector disguised as a book decades ago. Now, you could get the same functionality by disassembling a motion detector floodlight for a few bucks. Hence no Heathkit: sad.
This is cool! I built an unbuilt Heathkit a couple years ago, an HV probe - super easy. Works very well with modern digital meters as well. Have fun with this one...
Thank's for doing the giveaway! It's very nice of you to do that! Nice amp! I have built some Heathkits and still have some that I made and my father made. Some of them I still use at times. Thanks again!
Just what you need….more speakers and vintage electronics. I watched your video on budget speakers earlier today; had Boston Acoustics A-40’s and the HD-8…sold my BA VR-950’s last year. An Ohm Walsh fan…I have a pair of “Super 2’s” as well as a pair of Ohm Walsh IV’s.
@@MODAC my daily speakers…the Super 2’s use updated drivers in the original Ohm Walsh cabinets. Work great in an audio / video set up; no center channel required.
Someone mentioned Ebay as a source of such kits. Are there other good sources anyone has found, perhaps something the average person would never think of?
That is so well reserved! What a fun project! I'm restoring a vintage Motorola console. It's neat feature is that it has a built in reverb to add the concert experience.
Thanks, that Motorola sounds like a fun project. Check out my series before this one on the Kenwood receiver. That also had a built-in spring reverb along with all sorts of other gadgets and features.
OMG!!!! I'm a card-carrying fossil that will match up perfectly with the Heathkit AA-1219. I would still go after unbuilt Heathkit and Dynaco stereo kits on eBay if I could afford to. But they are so rare and expensive now.
I wish SAE was still in business along with soundcraftsmen.. Good old usa companies.. ☺ I believe soundcraftsmen made some really awesome equalizers too.
My Dad and I built an AR-17 kit together in the late 60s that lasted many years. I moved on to other receivers(Kenwood, Pioneer,Sherwood, Harmon Kardon) over the years and kept the Heathkit boxed away and last I checked it would power up but I was getting no sound (maybe just a aged capacitor somewhere) . It got left behind in one of the many moves I made somehow .
@@FluxCondenser O I don’t have it memorized either. I know the numbers but not the multipliers. I just liked how you repeated that you never learned it due to your bad memory.
For some reason I am enjoying your video’s. I rebuilt my father’s HHScott tube amp, too bad nothing like what you show was available then. Keep up the educational and entertaining video.
Yes, and the previous model of this amp which is exactly the same internally and sold in the 70’s was originally rated for higher power. Again, nothing changed, but the power ratings became more conservative. I’ll do a bench test on this when complete and I expect it to do well.
Ah man what trip down memory lane. I had built many HealthKit projects in the 60s and 70s and always fun. Through the years I loved building my career in electronics. As more and more turned surface and ridiculously impossible to service at the component level, I moved on onto broadcasting transmitter work. Looking forward to this series, winner or not! Thank you
Thank you! On a somewhat related note, interesting news today from Apple that they’re going to start selling parts to allow people to repair their own phones, etc. I don’t think anyone saw that coming and I think it could be a good step in the right direction for the electronics industry.
A very intriguing un-boxing. I built a lot of Heathkit bench equipment in the ‘70s but not any of their audio gear. I’m impressed by the quality of it all. I also appreciate the look of the pre-CAD hand taped PCB layout. I spent 35 years in PCB design and that takes me back to the beginning.
You'd think by now I too would have memorized resistor codes being roughly your age, but nope (... and there's no hope now as the memory certainly doesn't get better!). I had the opportunity not long ago to rebuild an HH Scott LC-21 preamp (the kit form of the 130 preamp) that was so poorly assembled I gutted it entirely and rebuilt it from the original assembly instructions, doing as you do, replacing the components that were bad. The assembly instructions were clearly explained and beautifully illustrated in full color. I had an absolute ball (re-)building it (just as if it were a kit) and it's an absolutely gorgeous sounding preamp. There's nothing like the feeling of satisfaction of building a kit and in the end having a wonderfully working unit that doesn't go up in smoke on first powerup 😆
Amen to the satisfaction of building and enjoying a kit. A full color kit manual for the Scott? Sounds nice. Never worked on a Scott, but would love an opportunity.
I'll add my vote to sending it out unassembled. I think doing the construction yourself gives the you a special relationship with the unit itself and with all the constructors who came before you. Just my $0.02 and worth every penny you paid. Looking forward to the construction series.
When I first seen the resistor color code I noticed it used the same sequence as when a prism or rainbow refracts light into the color bands minus indigo. I had already remembered that by using the mnemonic ROY G BIV. Each letter corresponds to each color in order of refraction. R is 2, O is 3 and so on to V #7, leave I (indigo) out and remember black is zero, as in no color, brown as 1, grey is 8, then white is 9 as in mix of all colors. Multipliers gold .1 and silver .01 was the hardest. Separating a bag of mixed resistors helped a lot, practice. Color code are on a lot of components inductors, pico fuses, older capacitors and very nice on ribbon cables. Some 6 band resistor can be tricky, what end to start with. Still have and use a Heathkit nut starter form 40 year ago and I did not know what it was when I first seen it, like where does this thing go.
It’s funny, I easily remembered that ROY G BIV trick long ago in high school and have never forgotten it. The resistor color code is going to take a little more time for my much older brain.
I wonder how does it compare with the breed of Infineon chip based amplifiers, that have innundated the market recently. I have never had the opportunity to listen to any HEATHKIT amplifier, but I did the Dynaco, OOOH brother I really like those. I bought it with my very first paycheck back in the day. Those were the days when you just used a lamp cord to connect your speakers to your amp, without even thinking about degrading the sound with it, or if there is synergy between components.Why should you ?, they sounded great nevertheless. Unfortunately I had to sell it, hard times came for a visit during Reaganomics era and I had to switch to a surviving mode. Later on I bought a used Mcintosh from the dealer, and with that, my pleasure for listening music almost ended. Yeah, that bad they sounded compared with my former unit. Time has changed almost everything, however the need for listening music without feeling my ear drums being rubbed with 60 grit sanpaper, through equipment that does not require voodoo electronics is still there. Yes, there is such an equipment, but I would have to sell my house to buy them.
I can’t say for sure without doing a test, but I suspect this old Heathkit will offer better performance than a cheap class D digital amp. They have their place and can be done well, but digital amps have as many drawbacks as benefits. Most of those amps vastly overstate wattage and have high distortion. I think if you like Dynaco, you’re going to like Heathkit audio also. And hey, nothing wrong with using lamp cord for speaker cable provided the gauge is adequate for the run.
I turn 70 on the 17th of this month and remember clearly my Dad and Uncle building these kits in the 1970's. That's all it took for myself to pursue a life of electronics. Great videos and very descriptive.
Interesting about Zenith buying out Heathkit. My first PC was a Zenith, given to me by my Dad in the early 1980's with a 80286 cpu. Of course he gave it to me in pieces and told me to figure it out, lol
I don't know how this comment will add to the overall discussion at hand but I wanted to thank you on the video series you made on restoring old radios. I' m not an Electrical Engineer, I' m a software engineer but I do really love to watch restorations of old radios and hope one day will find the right motivation (and proper gear) to start some of my own. But yeah, I wanted to thank you about all the effort you make trying to explain all those things to random people on the internet and hope you will continue to do so :)
This is an awesome give away and very generous,. However I think I would get so much more out of receiving the kit un-built,. As I feel I would learn so much in building it myself.
My father built a Heathkit tuner/amp back in the 1960's, I still have it and it still works great, although I should probably go through it and update it.....
I just wish it would remain unassembled, because the biggest thrill comes from turning on something that you actually put together. But I get it. You feel just as passionate about that part. That's why I'm a huge fan of this channel. As I said in the past, right up there in my top 5.
I hear ya. And I knew I would get requests to win the amp unbuilt. That didn’t work out this time, but stay tuned. If this goes well, I may consider doing an unbuilt-kit giveaway in the future. I’ve got quite a few unbuilt kits.
It would be cool to keep the original cap shells and put the new electrolytics inside them…. Similar to the multi-cap work you did on the 2105.. I think it was the 2105. I have a terrible memory. I also need to work on that resistor color code.
@@FluxCondenser Let me know... I always considered using my lathe to machine delrin or plastic bushings to fit the new smaller caps into old housings. Most of what I work on is 1970s hifi and the caps weren't nearly as pretty.
Oh, nice! I built a late ‘60s oscilloscope a while back. There’s a video on my channel somewhere of it displaying lissajous electronic music. Nice little (not so little) unit.
FC, thank you again for all that you do! It seems to be more than coincidental that I am watching this video the night before I go to collect an original vintage (1980's) pair of Audax Kit 41 loudspeakers from their original builder/owner. As you might expect I will have to refinish the cabinets and replace the capacitors in the crossover networks and probably upgrade the internal wiring while I am in there. Surprisingly, the only problem that I can see with the Audax drivers is that one of the woofers has what appears to be a small tear/cut in it's foam surround. I'll be able to verify the status of everything when I pick them up tomorrow. I have already decided that I am fully committed to restoring these rare speakers regardless of their condition. It will be a great winter project and the only thing that I can think of that would make them even better is to be the lucky winner of your Heathkit AA-1219 amplifier. I think that that speaker and amp combo from two of the most respected names in the DIY industry would be an awesome thing. It would certainly sound really good in my bedroom too!
@@FluxCondenser Thank you for your kind reply! I've had a couple of days to recover from the journey (6+hours round trip) and get the speakers to a minimal amount of functionality. Interestingly, the initial problem preventing me from listening to the speakers was a significant amount of hidden corrosion inside of the push on cable connectors running from the banana plug connectors to the input of the crossover board. This was on both speaker! I have spent some quality time inside quite a few speakers over the years and this is the first time that I have ever run into this problem on the same two positive and negative cables inside of two speakers at the same time. Fortunately, a 15 minute bath in white vinegar and a god scrub with an old toothbrush and some Q-Tips brought the speakers back online. I had already planned to completely redo the cabling and crossovers but this made the need abundantly clear. Oddly enough only those 4 cables were corroded. All of the others looked to be in good condition. After getting the speakers connected I have to tell you that I am very pleased with the sound quality even in the current degraded state. Once I find the correct replacement surrounds and get them installed I am certain I will be well pleased. This might take a while because the AUDAX HT240MO woofers use very thin and highly flexible 'high-compliance surrounds that are proving difficult to source. Oh well, that's how it goes with vintage HiFi!
Your skill in building these units and teaching useful skills is indeed matched by a great and creative sense of humor. Thanks again for the enormous time you spend bringing these videos to us.
OK, I’ll consider that. And perhaps I should do a video just about my soldering tips. In the meantime, I think this other video of mine has some good tips for soldering: ruclips.net/video/zOBgLDtE9HA/видео.html
Yeah, I get by without memorizing them. This is just a hobby for me so it’s not imperative that I know them by heart. I imagine techs who work on this stuff 40+ hours a week get to memorize it real fast.
At an 88 dB sensitivity, the 3002s should do just fine with an amp like this. It wouldn’t be suitable for a dance party, of course, but in a small to medium sized room at moderate listening levels, it would make for a nice system.
Well and amp like this can be built in two or three days if I don’t rush things and take a lot of breaks. It’s the video documentation, editing, voice overs and graphics that take far more time. I expect the next video will be up in the coming week and hope to have it all wrapped up within a month.
I remember building my Heathkit weather station in 1980 when I was in my twenties. Took my time like I was building something for NASA. Weather stations still runs to this day, 24/7/365, non stop. Trying to outlive the Voyager spacecraft. Great quality kits. Miss the company.
Ha! That’s fantastic that it’s still running and you get value from it. Awesome.
Hi, I'v already built a few Heathkits 'long time ago', You are a lucky guy to get your hands on this one!
Never had the chance to build something like this myself but its always fun to watch others put these things together, can't wait to see the building process!
Built it and its matching tuner back in 1974.. while I was in the service.... still have the amp but it is not working out in my storage garage... loved Heathkit audio.. still do .... I have many of Heaths audio products sitting around my house being used today...
When I was a kid in the 60's my Dad would build Heathkit electronics. My younger brother has them all. He has a wonderful receiver that still works fine.
Thanks for the contest. I miss the old Heathkit Company and building new kits.
The Heathkit nut driver brought back a lot of memories of the Heathkits I built and still have many of them.
That looks like a good kit. The wood sides are nice. I wish there were more kits available today. Especially in the more affordable price but still with good quality. This will be a good series.
Such a nice small amp. If you will build it then it would be more beautiful. 💕
I really liked the Dynaco kit build you did a while back and am looking forward to the Heathkit kit build. Here's an idea for you: How about you designing and selling your own kit that enthusiasts like me could build since it's so hard to find old unbuilt kits like the Dynaco and Heathkit? Anyway, can't wait for P2 to get posted!
Scott, if only I had the skills. I’m more of a technician than an engineer. But thanks for the vote of confidence!
I love my The Fisher 'stratakit' stereo Control Amplifier.. A Kit version of their X100b. Kits can be fantastic to own and love and I'm sure this amplifier will bring joy to someone... Eventually. Hope the build goes smoothly Mister Condenser. 👍👌
A Fisher kit. Wow, that’s something I’ve never gotten my hands on, but would love an opportunity to build one. Thanks for the support!
Nice amplifier I’ve always preferred the vintage look over modern black boxes
I hear ya. Interestingly, this AA-1219 which sold from 1977-1981 is simply a restyled version of the AA-1214 which sold from 1973-1977. They’re exactly the same amp, I believe, but strangely, the earlier model has a black faceplate. And because of that, to my eyes, the older model looks more modern than the newer one.
I enjoyed this video. It brings back memories of my youth when I was building my own Heathkits. IO 30, IO 4550, It 28, GR 900, GR 2001 among others. I really miss those day.s
Three Heathkits long since gone, GR-something police - aircraft band portable, AR-15 FM tuner
and AA-14 I believe amplifier built at 12YO just in time for the first Boston quadraphonic radio
broadcasts.
Great channel - love watching and building this sort of stuff!
Thanks S H!
I haven't built Heathkits since the 1970s, but do want to experience the feeling again. I have an HW-16 and the HG-10b. Would love to find a few smaller kits, t build again! Thanks for your consideration! I built a stereo flip down LP player several times, a roll top stereo for my sister, and several small things like light sensor control, dimmer control, photo dialer, etc.
Kirk, keep your eye on ebay and I’m sure you’ll find an unbuilt kit within short order that might strike your fancy. The only problem, they can get stupid-expensive.
That's a nice way to please a viewer with a gift. My father did make a lot of heatkits back in the past. Good quality for that time.
Hope those electrolytes are still usable. If the previous owner had it stored dry. I'll follow your build always fun to see how others do a modify or problem solution.
Recently found your channel and I love it. Don’t feel bad about being unable to memorize the resistor’s colors. Before the “cell phone” invasion one was able to memorize all of your friends and family members numbers. These days I sometimes forget my own number. Keep up the good work.
Hello, I am a long time HeathKit builder. I am not sure how many I have built. Lots of clocks and dimmers as well as audio equipment. All cool!
I remember making a Heathkit motion detector disguised as a book decades ago. Now, you could get the same functionality by disassembling a motion detector floodlight for a few bucks. Hence no Heathkit: sad.
This is cool! I built an unbuilt Heathkit a couple years ago, an HV probe - super easy. Works very well with modern digital meters as well. Have fun with this one...
I haven't heard about Heahkit for a while, (decades) hope all the components (specially the electrolytic capacitors) are still OK. Good luck 👍
Thank's for doing the giveaway! It's very nice of you to do that! Nice amp! I have built some Heathkits and still have some that I made and my father made. Some of them I still use at times. Thanks again!
I remember the Heath Kits from the 70s and 80s. There was some seriously cool things back then. Well done video!
Thank you, agreed!
Pick me! Pick me!
Just what you need….more speakers and vintage electronics. I watched your video on budget speakers earlier today; had Boston Acoustics A-40’s and the HD-8…sold my BA VR-950’s last year. An Ohm Walsh fan…I have a pair of “Super 2’s” as well as a pair of Ohm Walsh IV’s.
@@reneneron2971 love my Walsh 2s.
@@MODAC my daily speakers…the Super 2’s use updated drivers in the original Ohm Walsh cabinets. Work great in an audio / video set up; no center channel required.
Someone mentioned Ebay as a source of such kits. Are there other good sources anyone has found, perhaps something the average person would never think of?
This would make a great Amp for a turntable and some good vintage speakers. Just hard to get that great sound with new equipment.
That is so well reserved! What a fun project! I'm restoring a vintage Motorola console. It's neat feature is that it has a built in reverb to add the concert experience.
Thanks, that Motorola sounds like a fun project. Check out my series before this one on the Kenwood receiver. That also had a built-in spring reverb along with all sorts of other gadgets and features.
@@FluxCondenser Oh cool. Definitely!
I used to live in MI many many years ago. I even looked up photos of the old factory in Benton Harbor.
If I win, I will use a Winamp playlist to burn CDs and play then with this amp connected to the CD player.
What a fantastic video, so informative and genuine - looking forwards to the rest of the vids in the series!
Thanks, Desro. Really appreciate that. Good luck in the contest and stay tuned for more.
OK Great video, First time on your channel, Thanks
Thanks, and welcome to the channel!
I have two of the old gold Heathkits. I don’t remember what they are though. No idea if they work.
built and still have an AR-1515 receiver in the 70's Thanks for offering the chance to win this beauty
My pleasure. Good luck!
I love these vintage amps they always sound good
Couldn’t agree more, Foxy.
I’m amazed at your knowledge of very old tech!
Recently got into diy audio, and am really interested in watching this build. Thanks for doing this. Cheers!
This giveaway is a good way to amplify the exposure of your channel.
This would blend right in with my SX-780 and PL-518 setup.
Cool stuff! I am reengaging in the hobby of hifi stereos. Your shared knowledge is sure to help me take the many projects that await me. Thanks
Great to hear!
I haven’t looked at the schematic closely yet, but no, I’d highly doubt it. This is gonna be class AB complementary.
I’ve always been a fan of Heathkit and this is a great example.
This would look great with my other stereo components.
Very nice looking unit!
Yeah, it’s got classic good looks. Just like us ;-)
@@FluxCondenser It's amazing you can do the work you do while legally blind !! :)
Ha!
Sweet!! I’m in! Looking forward to hearing it!!
OMG!!!! I'm a card-carrying fossil that will match up perfectly with the Heathkit AA-1219. I would still go after unbuilt Heathkit and Dynaco stereo kits on eBay if I could afford to. But they are so rare and expensive now.
Looking forward to the component check out and build! $155 in today’s dollars is about $456.
Then I did pretty good by paying less than $400 ;-)
I wish SAE was still in business along with soundcraftsmen.. Good old usa companies.. ☺ I believe soundcraftsmen made some really awesome equalizers too.
Love your content. Ive been subscribed for months now!
My Dad and I built an AR-17 kit together in the late 60s that lasted many years. I moved on to other receivers(Kenwood, Pioneer,Sherwood, Harmon Kardon) over the years and kept the Heathkit boxed away and last I checked it would power up but I was getting no sound (maybe just a aged capacitor somewhere) . It got left behind in one of the many moves I made somehow .
Nice find, they are meant to be really good amplifiers
I was dying when you forgot your resistor color codes. Well done…
Thanks, Ben. I’m glad I’ve finally come out of the closet about not knowing the code. It feels good.
@@FluxCondenser O I don’t have it memorized either. I know the numbers but not the multipliers. I just liked how you repeated that you never learned it due to your bad memory.
That is going to be a beautiful amp one's done, i cant wait for the next vid.
nice amplfier
Really would love the Heathkit for my dad. He built a Heathkit as a kid and he would freak out if I gave him one. Thanks.
Zen, I wish you and your dad good luck! Make sure you’re subscribed to the channel to be eligible. If so, you’re already entered.
For some reason I am enjoying your video’s. I rebuilt my father’s HHScott tube amp, too bad nothing like what you show was available then. Keep up the educational and entertaining video.
Thanks, George.
What a walk down memory lane. I never built one. For a 15 watt per channel amplifier, that transformer looked robust.
Yes, and the previous model of this amp which is exactly the same internally and sold in the 70’s was originally rated for higher power. Again, nothing changed, but the power ratings became more conservative. I’ll do a bench test on this when complete and I expect it to do well.
I’d love to the champ of the amp.:. Giveaway!
This would be a great Christmas present!
I enjoy your channel, thanks for the chance to win!
You can ignore the other folks and pick me!
Nice! Can’t be that many un -built Heath Kits out there.
Ah man what trip down memory lane. I had built many HealthKit projects in the 60s and 70s and always fun. Through the years I loved building my career in electronics. As more and more turned surface and ridiculously impossible to service at the component level, I moved on onto broadcasting transmitter work.
Looking forward to this series, winner or not!
Thank you
Thank you! On a somewhat related note, interesting news today from Apple that they’re going to start selling parts to allow people to repair their own phones, etc. I don’t think anyone saw that coming and I think it could be a good step in the right direction for the electronics industry.
A very intriguing un-boxing. I built a lot of Heathkit bench equipment in the ‘70s but not any of their audio gear. I’m impressed by the quality of it all. I also appreciate the look of the pre-CAD hand taped PCB layout. I spent 35 years in PCB design and that takes me back to the beginning.
Thanks, Art. Yeah those boards were really well made and a pleasure to work on. A lot of effort was put into those, for sure.
You'd think by now I too would have memorized resistor codes being roughly your age, but nope (... and there's no hope now as the memory certainly doesn't get better!). I had the opportunity not long ago to rebuild an HH Scott LC-21 preamp (the kit form of the 130 preamp) that was so poorly assembled I gutted it entirely and rebuilt it from the original assembly instructions, doing as you do, replacing the components that were bad. The assembly instructions were clearly explained and beautifully illustrated in full color. I had an absolute ball (re-)building it (just as if it were a kit) and it's an absolutely gorgeous sounding preamp. There's nothing like the feeling of satisfaction of building a kit and in the end having a wonderfully working unit that doesn't go up in smoke on first powerup 😆
Amen to the satisfaction of building and enjoying a kit. A full color kit manual for the Scott? Sounds nice. Never worked on a Scott, but would love an opportunity.
I'll add my vote to sending it out unassembled. I think doing the construction yourself gives the you a special relationship with the unit itself and with all the constructors who came before you. Just my $0.02 and worth every penny you paid. Looking forward to the construction series.
Maybe, in the future, Darth.
@@FluxCondenser Bah, you just want to hog all the good JuJu for yourself! 😄
@@darthbubba866 Ha! Yes, and to make some good content for people to enjoy.
These are time capsules really nice to own in mint condition.
Yes, that’s why I love finding unbuilt kits. An opportunity to build, but also to own something vintage that looks and performs brand new.
When I first seen the resistor color code I noticed it used the same sequence as when a prism or rainbow refracts light into the color bands minus indigo. I had already remembered that by using the mnemonic ROY G BIV. Each letter corresponds to each color in order of refraction. R is 2, O is 3 and so on to V #7, leave I (indigo) out and remember black is zero, as in no color, brown as 1, grey is 8, then white is 9 as in mix of all colors. Multipliers gold .1 and silver .01 was the hardest. Separating a bag of mixed resistors helped a lot, practice. Color code are on a lot of components inductors, pico fuses, older capacitors and very nice on ribbon cables. Some 6 band resistor can be tricky, what end to start with. Still have and use a Heathkit nut starter form 40 year ago and I did not know what it was when I first seen it, like where does this thing go.
It’s funny, I easily remembered that ROY G BIV trick long ago in high school and have never forgotten it. The resistor color code is going to take a little more time for my much older brain.
I wonder how does it compare with the breed of Infineon chip based amplifiers, that have innundated the market recently. I have never had the opportunity to listen to any HEATHKIT amplifier, but I did the Dynaco, OOOH brother I really like those. I bought it with my very first paycheck back in the day. Those were the days when you just used a lamp cord to connect your speakers to your amp, without even thinking about degrading the sound with it, or if there is synergy between components.Why should you ?, they sounded great nevertheless. Unfortunately I had to sell it, hard times came for a visit during Reaganomics era and I had to switch to a surviving mode. Later on I bought a used Mcintosh from the dealer, and with that, my pleasure for listening music almost ended. Yeah, that bad they sounded compared with my former unit.
Time has changed almost everything, however the need for listening music without feeling my ear drums being rubbed with 60 grit sanpaper, through equipment that does not require voodoo electronics is still there. Yes, there is such an equipment, but I would have to sell my house to buy them.
I can’t say for sure without doing a test, but I suspect this old Heathkit will offer better performance than a cheap class D digital amp. They have their place and can be done well, but digital amps have as many drawbacks as benefits. Most of those amps vastly overstate wattage and have high distortion. I think if you like Dynaco, you’re going to like Heathkit audio also. And hey, nothing wrong with using lamp cord for speaker cable provided the gauge is adequate for the run.
I turn 70 on the 17th of this month and remember clearly my Dad and Uncle building these kits in the 1970's. That's all it took for myself to pursue a life of electronics. Great videos and very descriptive.
Thank you, and thanks for sharing your memories. I always love to hear about stories like that.
Interesting about Zenith buying out Heathkit. My first PC was a Zenith, given to me by my Dad in the early 1980's with a 80286 cpu. Of course he gave it to me in pieces and told me to figure it out, lol
It’s interesting you note the Zenith computers. My understanding is that was the real reason Zenith was interested in Heath: Their computers.
I don't know how this comment will add to the overall discussion at hand but I wanted to thank you on the video series you made on restoring old radios. I' m not an Electrical Engineer, I' m a software engineer but I do really love to watch restorations of old radios and hope one day will find the right motivation (and proper gear) to start some of my own. But yeah, I wanted to thank you about all the effort you make trying to explain all those things to random people on the internet and hope you will continue to do so :)
Sinnay, thanks for that.
Would love to build thIs great amps
I'm curious whether Heathkit continued supplying those handy soft plastic hex nut starters all the way into the 1980s.
They sure did!
Heathkit and Dynaco kits were always favorites of mine!
Mine, too!
This is an awesome give away and very generous,. However I think I would get so much more out of receiving the kit un-built,. As I feel I would learn so much in building it myself.
Thanks, John. You’re right, building a kit like this can be very rewarding and I’ll consider doing a giveaway of an unbuilt kit in the future.
I've been feeling bad about not memorizing the resistor color codes for probably 50 years now. Thank you for admitting that! I'm not the only one!
The support group meets Thursdays at 7:30!
My father built a Heathkit tuner/amp back in the 1960's, I still have it and it still works great, although I should probably go through it and update it.....
Love your videos! You show some great stuff and your approach is great. I think your subscriber numbers are going to soon grow exponentially.
Bruce, that’s very kind. Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy the content.
I just wish it would remain unassembled, because the biggest thrill comes from turning on something that you actually put together. But I get it. You feel just as passionate about that part. That's why I'm a huge fan of this channel. As I said in the past, right up there in my top 5.
I hear ya. And I knew I would get requests to win the amp unbuilt. That didn’t work out this time, but stay tuned. If this goes well, I may consider doing an unbuilt-kit giveaway in the future. I’ve got quite a few unbuilt kits.
I’ve really enjoyed your channel. Thanks for your efforts.
Thank you!
It would be cool to keep the original cap shells and put the new electrolytics inside them…. Similar to the multi-cap work you did on the 2105.. I think it was the 2105. I have a terrible memory. I also need to work on that resistor color code.
You and me, both! But yeah, I’m gonna try to keep those fluorescent orange caps in there one way or another. They’re just too cool looking,
@@FluxCondenser Let me know... I always considered using my lathe to machine delrin or plastic bushings to fit the new smaller caps into old housings. Most of what I work on is 1970s hifi and the caps weren't nearly as pretty.
Very cool to have an unbuilt kit. I just finished building a Heath 4105 Oscilloscope! What fun that was!!
Oh, nice! I built a late ‘60s oscilloscope a while back. There’s a video on my channel somewhere of it displaying lissajous electronic music. Nice little (not so little) unit.
Hope I'm the lucky one as my lucky day
FC, thank you again for all that you do!
It seems to be more than coincidental that I am watching this video the night before I go to collect an original vintage (1980's) pair of Audax Kit 41 loudspeakers from their original builder/owner. As you might expect I will have to refinish the cabinets and replace the capacitors in the crossover networks and probably upgrade the internal wiring while I am in there. Surprisingly, the only problem that I can see with the Audax drivers is that one of the woofers has what appears to be a small tear/cut in it's foam surround. I'll be able to verify the status of everything when I pick them up tomorrow. I have already decided that I am fully committed to restoring these rare speakers regardless of their condition. It will be a great winter project and the only thing that I can think of that would make them even better is to be the lucky winner of your Heathkit AA-1219 amplifier. I think that that speaker and amp combo from two of the most respected names in the DIY industry would be an awesome thing.
It would certainly sound really good in my bedroom too!
Sounds like a great project. Hopefully you can sort out the foam surround issue. Keep us posted.
@@FluxCondenser Thank you for your kind reply!
I've had a couple of days to recover from the journey (6+hours round trip) and get the speakers to a minimal amount of functionality. Interestingly, the initial problem preventing me from listening to the speakers was a significant amount of hidden corrosion inside of the push on cable connectors running from the banana plug connectors to the input of the crossover board. This was on both speaker! I have spent some quality time inside quite a few speakers over the years and this is the first time that I have ever run into this problem on the same two positive and negative cables inside of two speakers at the same time. Fortunately, a 15 minute bath in white vinegar and a god scrub with an old toothbrush and some Q-Tips brought the speakers back online. I had already planned to completely redo the cabling and crossovers but this made the need abundantly clear. Oddly enough only those 4 cables were corroded. All of the others looked to be in good condition.
After getting the speakers connected I have to tell you that I am very pleased with the sound quality even in the current degraded state. Once I find the correct replacement surrounds and get them installed I am certain I will be well pleased. This might take a while because the AUDAX HT240MO woofers use very thin and highly flexible 'high-compliance surrounds that are proving difficult to source. Oh well, that's how it goes with vintage HiFi!
FC, Thank you for your message! I will download and install WA to my phone tonight and contact you once that is up and running.
Sorry, my comments are getting blasted with spam comments today using my FC logo. Don’t respond to that “WhatsApp me” comment. Just nonsense spam.
Understood! No worries on my part. I hope that you are able to sort everything out. it can be beyond annoying...
Now that’s what we call a time capsule 🙂
$155 in 1981 is worth $475 in 2021. I would love to know just how these kits were left unassembled.
That’s a good question, Ian. I’ve purchased quite of few of these unbuilt kits, but really have little idea about their ownership histories.
Your skill in building these units and teaching useful skills is indeed matched by a great and creative sense of humor. Thanks again for the enormous time you spend bringing these videos to us.
Thanks, Dave! Slowly figuring this RUclips thing out and finding my voice.
can't wait to see it done
I hope you'll include the HeathKit soldering tips and other documentation along with the amp!
OK, I’ll consider that. And perhaps I should do a video just about my soldering tips. In the meantime, I think this other video of mine has some good tips for soldering: ruclips.net/video/zOBgLDtE9HA/видео.html
Great video. Very informative. Glad you are sharing some of your knowledge and skills.
Thanks for watching!
A great combo of retro and new all in one.
My memory is pretty bad too.
I see what you did there ;-)
I never learned the resistor color codes, either. You really should check them before using, so why bother?
Yeah, I get by without memorizing them. This is just a hobby for me so it’s not imperative that I know them by heart. I imagine techs who work on this stuff 40+ hours a week get to memorize it real fast.
I'll be interested in how the old components will measure and how many you will need to replace.
Stay tuned. I’ll cover that in the next episode.
woah!!!! let me have it.
Love vintage gear and and your series on Bazak 302 speaker system
Thanks, Robert. Glad you enjoyed that series as much as I did.
And I wonder how well it would power my NLAs and my Advent 3002s
At an 88 dB sensitivity, the 3002s should do just fine with an amp like this. It wouldn’t be suitable for a dance party, of course, but in a small to medium sized room at moderate listening levels, it would make for a nice system.
How long does it take you to build one of these? When will you be posting the build videos?
Well and amp like this can be built in two or three days if I don’t rush things and take a lot of breaks. It’s the video documentation, editing, voice overs and graphics that take far more time. I expect the next video will be up in the coming week and hope to have it all wrapped up within a month.
Nice video. Got here from your post on the Midwest vintage stereo fb group. Your not in the KC area are you?
Oh, welcome JJ! That seems to be a good group and I often get great feedback from you guys. But no, to be honest, I live in New England.
Dang