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Post by dradtke on Dec 10, 2020 8:14:43 GMT -5
A few rewarding hours in the garage and ... Sweet Allis Chalmers, I rode you so long I feel like I’m glued to your wheel Your rusty exhaust pipe, it hums me a song That sounds just as bad as I feel Day after day, Lord, ain’t nothing to do But point this old tractor ahead I wish I was drinking a bottle or two And loving some sweet thing instead
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Post by dradtke on Dec 10, 2020 8:19:19 GMT -5
I think my retirement present to myself will be a Cargo a few months down the road. Something to throw in the camping trailer for the road trips. They never seem to go on sale, so if anybody sees a deal on one let me know. The only Cargo that I have heard is Doug Heard's. If that is indicative of their sound, do yourself and your listeners a favor and get something else. They sound a little different when someone besides Doug plays them. Dennis let me play Doug's for a few hours at the last Idiotjam. It'll do for a campfire guitar.
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Post by dradtke on Dec 10, 2020 8:22:44 GMT -5
CONGRATULATIONS!!!Now you will have more time on your hands for piracy on the Mississippi River (not to mention rehearsal time for the Duck Band) (I'm right behind you and Gene. I have informed my management that I plan to retire sometime in 2021. "Sometime" is looking like earlier in the year rather than late in the year) Since I can travel now, I'm taking up Lake Superior whaling. We're looking at the possibility of a loop tour around Lake Michigan in the summer. I have cousins in your area, so I'll let you know if we're swinging by.
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Post by gbacklin on Dec 10, 2020 9:04:23 GMT -5
...used to build HeathKit stuff ... Did you ever try a dynaco? I did the power amp but (perhaps wisely) didn't try the preamp. I never did. I chose HeathKit for a few reasons. 1. The instructions were exceptional for a kid who didnt know what he was doing and 2. Guarantee it will work, if not I could drive to Benton Harbor and they will fix or replace the item. I actually owe my career to HeathKit. I built the H8 Computer and H9 Terminal and in my first interview for a programming position, I was asked to tell them what I know about computers. I replied, I built one. I got the job, the rest is history !
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Post by brucemacneill on Dec 10, 2020 9:32:53 GMT -5
Did you ever try a dynaco? I did the power amp but (perhaps wisely) didn't try the preamp. I never did. I chose HeathKit for a few reasons. 1. The instructions were exceptional for a kid who didnt know what he was doing and 2. Guarantee it will work, if not I could drive to Benton Harbor and they will fix or replace the item. I actually owe my career to HeathKit. I built the H8 Computer and H9 Terminal and in my first interview for a programming position, I was asked to tell them what I know about computers. I replied, I built one. I got the job, the rest is history ! I built several Heathkits while in electronics school, Scope and other test equipment, stereo amp, R/C radio for planes. A few years later when we were in an apartment and wanted a color TV I picked one up from Heathkit while at work and brought it home, taught Mary how to solder and she built the boards while I was at work and I'd check progress when I got home and eventually put it all together and it worked. Later the power supply blew and I took it in for repair parts but they knew what usually blew out, replaced the parts and didn't even charge me. Loved Heathkit. Bought a console TV kit when we were living in Michigan. It was all Motorola and mostly came already to just assemble into the cabinet. We had it for year. We were in Pa. when it broke and there wasn't a Heathkit store anymore and TVs were a lot cheaper so we just ought a store model.
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Post by dradtke on Dec 10, 2020 9:41:00 GMT -5
I built a Heathkit stereo. One channel was always weaker than the other so I had to turn it way up. I must have screwed something up but never did figure out what it was.
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Post by drlj on Dec 10, 2020 9:46:17 GMT -5
I built a Heathkit preamp for the stereo. It was fun and easy to do and it worked like a charm. I drove to Benton Harbor, picked out the kit, and took it home. I had no idea what I was doing but I could read and following the directions was easy.
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Post by PaulKay on Dec 10, 2020 10:04:26 GMT -5
Welcome to the club. We're in a bit of a COVID lull at the moment, but things are picking up though.
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Post by PaulKay on Dec 10, 2020 10:07:48 GMT -5
I built a Heathkit preamp for the stereo. It was fun and easy to do and it worked like a charm. I drove to Benton Harbor, picked out the kit, and took it home. I had no idea what I was doing but I could read and following the directions was easy. I actually built an entire cabinet TV from a Heathkit plan. It was more like final assembly, but that set lasted well over 10 years. One of the few TV sets that had a phone built into it and you could pick up calls with the remote and talk to a microphone in the set. Circa 1986 or so. But I owe a real debt of gratitude to Heathkit actually. They sold a series of self-study courses in microprocessors and digital design. As it turned out, the skills I learned programming microprocessors from that course was the primary knowledge needed in every engineering job I ever had. My whole career was based on fundamental knowledge gained in a Heathkit self-study course.
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Post by Russell Letson on Dec 10, 2020 14:29:32 GMT -5
Ah, Heathkits. My first PC-compatible was an H-150 kit, assembled after owning a factory-built Heath/Zenith Z-100. The Heathkit community was almost as important to my computing education as the computer-science courses I had taken--there were the local user groups and an annual national convention and two magazines dedicated to H/Z computer products. My first regular tech-writing gig was for Sextant, where I had a column about 150-series third-party add-ons (which was a niche industry). Taught me a lot about testing, reviewing, and getting paid on time. (The magazine suddenly went broke owing me $1400 in 1989 dollars.)
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Post by TKennedy on Dec 10, 2020 15:05:15 GMT -5
It’s always a little depressing to go back to the office for a visit a few months after retirement and have it become obvious that you were not nearly as indispensable as you thought you were.
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Post by brucemacneill on Dec 10, 2020 15:33:03 GMT -5
It’s always a little depressing to back to the office for a visit a few months after retirement and have it become obvious that you were not nearly as indispensable as you though you were. I at least had the fun of hearing that the boss's boss asked him who was going to do my job and the boss said there wasn't anyone who could do what I did so they wound up hiring 3 6-figure guys to replace me. I would have stayed awhile longer if they'd have let me move to Virginia and work from home.
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Post by Village Idiot on Dec 10, 2020 20:50:03 GMT -5
I put together one of these once as a kid. That was easy enough even I could watch my Dad help me put it together with ease. Nothing like those Heathkits you folks are talking about.
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Post by epaul on Dec 10, 2020 21:02:25 GMT -5
I built this from a Heath Kit in 7th grade shop. I was only allowed to drive it on gravel.
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Post by Cornflake on Dec 10, 2020 21:09:44 GMT -5
"It’s always a little depressing to go back to the office for a visit a few months after retirement and have it become obvious that you were not nearly as indispensable as you thought you were."
I knew that before I retired but it was still depressing to see it confirmed.
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Post by epaul on Dec 10, 2020 21:12:34 GMT -5
This was my 8th grade Heath Kit project. Sucker was really fast!
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Post by coachdoc on Dec 10, 2020 22:21:53 GMT -5
"It’s always a little depressing to go back to the office for a visit a few months after retirement and have it become obvious that you were not nearly as indispensable as you thought you were." I knew that before I retired but it was still depressing to see it confirmed. Why I don't retire.
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Post by Village Idiot on Dec 10, 2020 22:36:32 GMT -5
This was my 8th grade Heath Kit project. Sucker was really fast! I hate it. Why does your Heath Kit stuff always work out so much better than mine?
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Post by epaul on Dec 10, 2020 22:50:02 GMT -5
My 9th grade Heath Kit was my all time favorite project ever. I spent a lot of time on it.
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Post by TKennedy on Dec 10, 2020 23:27:45 GMT -5
I had an inflatable like that but the first time I tried anything she farted and flew out the window.
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