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History according to Hediger 10
LOL!
Now that’s great! I’ve worked for radio and t.v. stations for years… I had an engineer that did almost that same thing to a poor assistant…
Great story. We need more History according to Hediger. Watching this segment is like being at the hobby shop on a Saturday Morning and shooting the bull with fellow model railroaders. Just love it.
Jim.
Thank you so much for the memories!
My father “now passed” actually built a heathkit color t.v with "push button " control which was unheard of at the time.
Is it me or does Russ Larson resemble Cody ???
Thing’s that make ya go HMMMMM?
What a great tale. Bring on more.
I bought one of these scopes when I was 14 and continued to use it for over 25 years. Great way to learn the basics.
That was great! I can tell being at Kalmbach (and especially at MR) is an honor and privelege (not to mention a LOT of fun at times).
I’d love to hear similar stories from the rest of the staff on their early days at MR. What a treat!
Keep up the great work!
Dan
Great story! It brought back memories for me because I bought a heathkit bass amplifier with speakers in the late 60’s and assembled it so I could play my electric bass guitar in our band. I had a great time doing it and yes, there were a lot of parts! I don’t remember when but I eventually sold that amp. I think it was a great joke but too bad it backfired on Russ.
Those were exciting days, especially when you wired an electrolytic capacitor backwards, or forgot to discharge one with something else then your finger.
I salvaged Korean war parts, had fun, and don’t regret it all, but don’t want to ever do it again. I miss some the stuff I swapped, but aside from a “Rath’s Black Hawk Ham” car, not much.
As one who was in the electronic parts business for over
30 years, that was really a great story.
Poor Russ
history acording to jim gives all of us a greater apprication of what you all have done for the hobby. great work.
To the Staff at MR,
Thanks for sharing that. Times were so different if one goes back 40-60 years. That includes the office work envirnment as well as on the railroads themselves. Don’t we all miss it so much?! Thanks again.
I too assembled one of those scopes, along with a lot of other kits from Heathkit. It gave me some real hands on time and was a pretty good supplement to my college electronics training. I never had any parts left over from those kits, but I DID have a couple of bolts left over when I rebuilt my car engine once… But it ran fine for several years after that.
Jim Hediger, why don’t you expose the contents of the Fifth Floor Bulletin Board at the 1027 N. Seventh St. office, and about the elevator which went by the name of Lurch. Kalmbach Publishing was a joyous place to work in the 1970s. I too fell victim to a Gordy Odegard practical joke. Jim Neubauer
My dad was a huge Heathkit fan/user. He ordered the very first color TV kit, started on it early Sunday morning and we had a picture by that evening! He was a whiz with a soldering gun!
I feel bad for Russ. It’s too bad employers don’t let you get away with little pranks like this anymore. Don’t bother asking, cus I won’t tell ya.
I assembled one of those Heathkit oscilloscopes in the 70s for the very same reason. I was just getting started in electronics and building the kit was not only much more affordable, but also gave me a chance to practice my soldering skills. I used the 'scope for many years, but the high voltage power supply for the CRT was not reliable. After rebuilding it a few times, I found a used Phillips 'scope at a yard sale.
Hate to say it, but it sounds like something I would have done. This is really the kind of story that makes model railroading fun!
I really laughed over this. Heathkits were great. I assembled our first color TV from one of their kits and it worked great for many years. It was a job aligning the colors. There was a drop down panel in the fron with 16, or more, potentiometers to adjust in setting it up.
This is a great story. I was like listening to Jim Hediger, and history “lessons” are always excellent! Keep up the great work guys.