INTRODUCTION TO HEATH STORIES Vol.2 The binder for Heath Stories was filled by adding Supplements 1 and 2. But there are more stories and pictures, so here we go again with a new binder. There will be room for more supplements, too, in it. Once again I urge you to send me your favorite Heath-related story to share with your fellow readers. And dig through your files for suitable pictures - no longer limited to the large 8x 10 black and white glossies, for Bud Bury in the photo-lab can make fine halftones from your sharp standard-size color prints. This is YOUR book, especially if it contains your stories and pictures. You don't have to be an old-timer to contribute, for even recent events may be equally worth sharing. With the large organization of today, there are few (if any) who know nearly all that goes on. A far cry from when we were small, and we all knew each other Remember that, outside of the distribution to attendees at the Golden Oldies party, the only way to get your copy is to submit your story or picture. I hope thus to entice many to keep this open-ended collection of Stories growing for many years to come. Please send yours to: Send your input to: (Address and phone number {which are no longer valid} removed at the request of the Heyning family. If you have something you'd like to contribute, see the contact information at http://ww_heco.home.mindspring.com/wwheco2/index.html. --Bill Wilkinson) HEATH STORIES #39 From the News-Palladium, 31 Dec 1941 WAR BRINGS RUSH ORDERS TO HEATH CO. Local Aviation Concern Enjoys 300 Per Cent Increase In Business During Past Year Probably the biggest increase in percentage of business in 1941 in Benton Harbor industry, is the 20O percent jump taken by the Heath Aviation Co., makers of airplane parts and accessories. This young, 5-year-old company, headed by Howard Anthony, has perfected a number of aircraft accessories which were developed, because of the need for defense materials, out of the so-called non-strategic materials, such as plywood. The Heath company supplies many of the parts and accessories used by the 3,000 government training schools for air pilots, and it is the largest manufacturer of tail wheels for aircraft in the United States. Use Non-Defense Stocks The outstanding engineering development of this past year, for them, was the creation of accessories out of the non-defense materials. Their business in 1941 topped the $150,000 mark. When Anthony, who had been called in by the U.S.government to inventory the bankrupt International Aircraft Corp., a few years ago, bought that firm, and started in business, the first unit manufactured was a novelty in inner-plane communication. This hearing device, shaped somewhat like a physician's stethoscope, enabled the pilot and mechanic to converse with each other, to the exclusion of the roar of plane motors. Sensitive in reception and highly successful, the communication set has been a standard part of the equipment of training planes. Anthony says more pilots have been trained with them, than without. The set sells for $5, and its rubber tubing was developed in connection with the Industrial Rubber Co., St. Joseph. Build Seaplane Pontoon The biggest item in aircraft parts is the new float or pontoon, which converts a land plane to a seaplane. Constructed of woods and plywood, with four water-tight bulkheads within, it not only has the advantage of the natural buoyancy of wood, but it also has a 100 percent safety margin, according to Anthony. Lakes are playing a large part in the training of new pilots, as many of the aircraft bases have been taken over by the U.S. government, Anthony says, and the floats are selling fast for the training ships. This year has seen the beginning of production of the pontoons, which have been favorably reviewed by aircraft publications, and regarding which the company has had personal calls for inspection from aircraft experts as far away as Tacoma, Wash., and Alaska. The floats sell at $500 the pair and require skilled woodworking in their manufacture. They were perfected, as were many of the aircraft units by Gene Woods, engineer, at the plant, who had former experience in the Aero Aircraft Co., Lincoln, Neb. and with Curtiss-Wright in St. Louis, Mo. He has been employed at Heath Aviation Co., for the past two years. Tail wheels for planes are handled on a sub-contracting basis, with the local firm turning out these units for a number of major companies. Stakes for tying down aircraft, such as on a forced landing off an airport, are a new development of the company, which the U.S. Marine and also the U.S. Air Corps are at present interested in and testing. These stakes twist easily into the ground, and their carrying weight in the plane is small, only two pounds. Make Aircraft Radio One of the biggest sellers made by the Heath Aviation Co. is their Heath radio which was developed for aircraft in conjunction with a radio firm and is the smallest in the market of popular aircraft radio. The radio has a completely self-contained unit with radio batteries set in a removable drawer, and it is an item on which the company constantly is sold out. It retails for $50. Skis for airplanes also are a big item for the company, and one which is in use on training planes. Airplane windshields, out of transparent plastic, are manufactured all in one piece, for side and front, and production at the company is so geared that a windshield can be turned out every six minutes. Anthony stated that with their present facilities for making windshields, they could, if necessary, equip all the training planes in the United States with them. Earlier windshields had the disadvantage of sun-discoloration, turning the plastic yellow. This local firm, aided by experiments made in the plastic at their request, now furnishes non-discolorable windshields. The Heath Co. was one of the pioneers in the plastic windshield field. Expansion is planned for 1942 with the acquisition of the building at 305 Territorial road, which will add 4,000 more square feet to the 3,000 square feet occupied in the Industrial Building at 304 Park street. This will furnish additional room for the manufacture of the radios and pontoons, which with the skis, tail wheels and windshields furnish a major portion of the many accessories which are made by the company. Their priority rating is A-10. Fifteen employees have been working at the plant this past year. Anthony, who at 29, heads this fast-growing company, was born and raised in Dowagiac. He learned to fly, he said, "out of curiosity" and has held a private pilot's license for a number of years. He previously had been employed by a nationally-known radio company. Other officials of the company, besides Anthony, president and general manager, are Don Reagan, sales manager and Donald Elferdink, former Benton Harbor high school teacher, as production manager. Copied by B.Heyning 19 June 87 Two pictures went with the article, under the heading of: Heath Co. Products That Aid U.S. War and their captions read: Airplane skis, made by the local Heath Aviation Co., and in use on training ships for snow landings. Paw Paw lake has been the testing ground for the newly developed pontoons, or floats, shown above attached to a plane. The Heath company perfected these this past year, creating them out of non-defense materials. Curved plywood is attached over the structures, within which are four water-tight bulkheads. Should a training pilot land with too much force and break open one or more bulkheads, the others still furnish him a safe landing. The News-Palladium, based in Benton Harbor, carried in the year-end edition some 8 sections. They not only gave the latest news, but highlighted the events of the past year, with sections devoted to Agriculture, Industry, Construction, Business, etc. This excerpt is from Section 5, page 15, copied from the microfilm copy in the Benton Harbor library. Incidentally, in Section 6, on page 5, I found under the heading of "Old Plants of Yesterday": The Heath Shipbuilding Co., which was located where Prestons Lumber yard is at present, operated in a big way, but closed its doors in 1900. No connection is suspected with the Heath Company we know today. HEATH STORIES #40 from Worldradio News, July 1975 BUILDING AND OPERATING HEATHKIT'S SB-104 Mort Waters, W2NZ The very first time I saw a picture OF Heathkit's latest marvel, the photogenic SB-104, I fell in love. I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. When the kit finally arrived, I pounced on it like a man dying of thirst would on a long cold glass of water. There are two manuals, one concerned entirely with assembly, the other with alignment, operation, installation, maintenance and trouble shooting. Both are well done, no news to anyone who's ever built a Heathkit, I'm sure. CONSTRUCTION According to the advertising, I expected to find 15 printed circuits, but there were 18 pieces of board by actual count. Two of these, however, are tiny little things that become part of the final amphuer module and a third is the extender board used in alignment and maintenance. This part of the assembly work is no different than in any other kit. It's merely that there are a lot of boards and a lot of parts. It just takes a little longer. Keeping accurate records I found I had spent 44 hours by the time I'd finished the last one. WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR Toroidal coils and transformers are used throughout the 104. As each is called for by the manual, take it from its envelope (on which the part number appears), put it in the board where it belongs, and solder it right then and there. Then, and only then, discard the envelope. The reason for this care is that, once separated from its envelope, there is no easy, sure way to identify the toroid. The most visible feature of the 104 is its digital frequency readout and the built-in counter that makes it work. The counter requires 19 IC's on one board and six on another. Each has its own socket with very closely spaced pins. Special care in soldering is a must. Do it with a fine-tipped iron to avoid bridges. Later, examine the pins - it's a good idea to check every board with a strong magnifying glass under bright light. In another area there is a small sub-assembly - a DC to DC converter - that supplies 180 volts for the readout devices. Double check the way you install it in order not to have its input and output terminals reversed. Although I didn't realize it until much later I had committed an error of sorts when building the VFO, or to be more precise, its drive mechanism. It seemed to be too hard to turn and I could feel backlash. Recalling how it had gone together, I removed the entire assembly. There are two ball drives in series that turn the variable capacitor. They are attached to the VFO panel by screws that pass through ears on the drives. In my unit the slots into which these screws were supposed to fit were a bit undersized, preventing the hardware from aligning itself. Filing the slots just a bit wider allowed the hardware to seat properly and made the action of the dial very light and smooth, and backlash-free. Assembling the chassis was easy. The bulk of the work is laying in two harnesses. One caution to keep in mind is the proper selection of the color-coded wire called for. Approximately halfway through chassis assembly you are supposed to attach the rear panel. Prior to this, though, a number of wires will have been soldered to it. Maneuvering the panel into place with these encumbrances can be a bit awkward. Also, the space provided for these wires is confined. Try to fold them in neatly rather than let them be mashed in. A couple of dry runs here will reduce the possibility of causing a short circuit. With Heath's usual foresight their manual then gives you a series of tests to perform to see if in fact you did create a short. Somehow I expected the meter to show infinite resistance in these tests and was disturbed when two of them - at "Auxiliary Audio and "Patch" - showed 10k ohms. However, a look at the schematic made me rest easy. This value was correct. When you finally begin to work on the front panel you know there can't be much left to do. A little later you are instructed to place your call letters on the panel window and experience your first thrill of ownership when you hold it up to a light and see them there. A lovely moment! Shortly afterward comes that most welcome part of the manual: "Proceed to Test and Adjustments." You're done. Chassis work required 31 hours. It was a pleasure to put it together because of the clean layout. As claimed by Heath, it is easier than their other transceivers. TESTING, ALIGNMENT AND TROUBLE SHOOTING If there were no wiring errors, alignment will be smooth and easy. The procedure is clear and given concisely and won't take more than a couple of hours. It can be done with a VTVM and the S-meter, but I found that in aligning the receiver front end it was easier to use a signal generator and a sensitive audio voltmeter at the speaker output. Even if I had followed the other method I would have encountered a peculiar problem that may never happen to anyone else, but it should be borne in mind anyway just in case. When working on the front end 3.5 and 7 MHz segments I could detect no peaking of the output meter no matter how I adjusted the trimmers. I found later that broadband noise from a defective fluorescent lamp in the room was overriding the signal generator. As soon as I turned off the lamp the rest of the alignment went smoothly. If during alignment and testing a problem is revealed, you will receive a lot of assistance from the manual. There is a detailed procedure to follow which will quickly lead you to the faulty area. You'll need a YTVM that can read small voltages, but a digital voltmeter will be better. I have one of the latter, Heathkit's naturally, which was instrumental in clearing up a problem that will be mentioned later. OPERATING THE SB-104 There is an enormous amount of interest in this transceiver. Every time I put it on the air the questions come thick and fast. How good is the receiver? How long did it take to build? Were there any problems? Are the results worth the work? The first question is the most frequently asked one and is the result of the published sensitivity specifications. Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be, "How does the 104 compare with a receiver known to be hot?" I have a "hot" receiver--the Heathkit all solid state SB-303, whose rated sensitivity is 0.25 microvolts against the SB-104's "less than 1 microvolt". I have spent a lot of hours comparing the two, not in the laboratory, but on the air, where it counts. Here's what I found. On 28 MHz (and to a lesser extent on 21) a signal that is marginal on the 303 will be a shade worse on the 104. In rare cases, if it's only partly readable on the 303, it may be unreadable on the 104. On all other bands the difference, if there is one, is not detectable by ear. But that's not the entire story. It is in the presence of a strong signal that the 104 comes into its own and is clearly superior to the 303. The 104 seems impossible to overload. As a result there is little or no degradation of the ability to discriminate between signals even under contest conditions. In many cases I was able to copy a signal on the 104 that was completely unreadable on the 303. Heath's engineers deserve high praise for the design of the 104's front end. The reports I get on SSB are always good or better. "Outstanding audio quality", "very punchy but not distorted", "tunes very sharp, you disappear as soon as I move off frequency" - these are typical comments. In the CW mode I've been told that keying is "crisp", "clean", "perfect note", "no clix" and so on. To truly appreciate the fine quality of the SB-104, however, you have to operate it yourself. In no other way can you learn how easy it is to switch from band to band and be ready to transmit in an instant. All controls, even vox gain and delay, are conveniently at hand on the front panel. Push buttons (a bit too small for my taste) select the desired mode. Tuning is as smooth as butter, as already stated, and lastly the digital readout is a delight. Tune to 15,00O.0 kHz and there's WWV. 7335.0 and you're zero beat on CHU. Transmit on 21369.2 and you know that's where you are. No fumbling, no interpolating, no zeroing a calibrator from band to band - those big red numbers are always telling it like it is. Finally, for whatever it's worth, I think the SB-104 is the best looking piece of equipment I've ever seen. Even my XYL says it's pretty. To sum up, my answer to was it worth the effort is YES. WHAT ABOUT THOSE RUMORS? You may have heard some yarns about the problems people were having getting their 104's built and working. In my opinion anyone who cannot build the 104 cannot read English. If you do what the manual instructs you'll be okay. Getting it working properly is not always that simple however. Let me digress for a moment. Some time ago, after having successfully built dozens of Heathkits with only an occasional minor problem, I decided to try the big digital color TV, the GR-2000. When I got into it I was awed by the quantities of parts. It seemed wise to pretest every component I could to avoid trouble later. I added a few hours to the building time by doing so and was rewarded - if that's the right word - by finding one shorted mica capacitor. How long it would have taken to spot it after building is problematical, but I concluded that I had wasted time in testing. Thus influenced, the number of components in the 104 didn't phase me at all and I just went ahead merrily. Had I thought it through I would have pretested them because, when considering this kit's complexity, it would have been apparent that finding defective parts in the circuit might be ticklish. A leaky switching diode in one of the heterodyne oscillators prevented the stage from working the way it should. It was here that the digital voltmeter was invaluable because the voltage at the test point should have been .2 or higher, but was only .09. An analog voltmeter would have been very difficult to read at these levels. Another diode was shorted and caused several transistors to self-destruct. A potted toroid had a broken lead, hidden inside by the potting material. Because of my experience I urge prospective builders to pretest as many components as possible. Resistors, of course, are simple to check for proper values within tolerance. Small capacitors can be tested with an ohmmeter if you lack a capacitance bridge. Look for a tiny flick of the meter when the probe is first touched to the capacitor. In the case of larger values - .01 and greater you can actually see the charging process on the meter. Most transistors can be tested in a crude but effective fashion with a VTVM set on a high resistance scale. Measure forward and back resistance from base to collector and emitter. In one direction resistance should approach infinity. In the other (with VTVM leads reversed) resistance should be less than half scale. The foregoing applies to standard NPN or PNP types. Reading from unijunction transistors can be misleading so don't bother. Never test mosfets this way or you will surely destroy them. There are a few 40673 mosfets in the 104. It shouldn't be necessary to mention that IC's cannot be tested in this fashion either. Check each of the 131 diodes in the kit. In a quantity this large you can almost expect to find one or two that are defective or just misbanded. In view of my own experience I suggest testing each of the potted toroids for continuity, as well. Despite the parts problems I encountered, I cannot really hold Heath responsible beyond replacing them. They must be caught between the proverbial devil and the deep blue sea. No doubt they could force their suppliers to maintain higher standards but only at the expense of increasing the cost of the parts. This would surely raise the SB-104 cost sky-high. Under those circumstances I would much rather that the SB-104 be within my budget and give me a little brain exercise than have it priced out of my reach. On the crass dollars and cents basis, weighing potential cost against my trouble shooting time, I'm way ahead. ACCESSORIES While I did not install the 104 in my car, I was nevertheless able to test the effectiveness of the noise blanker in such an installation by having my neighbor's son park his old car in the driveway with the engine running at a distance of only a few feet from the shack. The racket was horrible until I switched on the blanker, when it immediateley disappeared. I consider it an unqualified success for mobile use. The matching power supply (HP-1144) is a brute. The transformer alone weighs 24 lbs. The only heat apparent in the power supply is generated by the pass transistors which are mounted on a generously sized heat sink. Voltage regulation is excellent. Monitoring the supply with a digital voltmeter that reads to .1 volt, there was no change when going from receiving to full load transmitting. Having the 68-644 remote VFO makes split frequency operating a real pleasure. With it you have a choice of transceiving on either external or internal VFO or using either one for transmitting and receiving, selecting your choice at the touch of a button. A matching legend on the VFO panel lights to indicate which option you have selected. Within the VFO there is provision for two crystals as well, for net operation or however desired. These are also selectable by push button. You are always aware of your frequency regardless of which VFO is in use or the mode of operation. The digital readout switches automatically to indicate where you are receiving or where you are transmitting. In the not too distant future I hope to obtain the other available accessories. At present these are a matching monitor scope and a station control console. No doubt they are as good in their own way as the SB-104 is. Perhaps I'll be writing about them before long. copied by B. Heyning 26 May 87 Original article had 4 photos: station setup, wiring harnesses in the chassis, partial and completely assembled amplifier board. HEATH STORIES #41 THE "PARASOL" PIONEER This is the story of Edward Bayard Heath, for whom the present Heath Company is named. He was born in New York state in 1888. His family owned a machine shop where he acquired his engineering education by the "trial and error" method, and this is where he built his first plane. This plane was much like the other biplanes of that period, and did not possess the individuality that later characterized the Heath planes. But, it flew --- and from that day on, Edward Heath dedicated his life to a career in aviation. He was only five feet tall and weighed about one hundred ten pounds; he had a long, sharp, inquiring nose; his face carried the permanent wrinkles of a smile; and his eyes were small and bright. He was blessed with a great deal of vision and courage, and an abundance of determination. He settled in Chicago and founded the Heath Aeroplane Company. This company started like many other American firms - with a basic idea, perseverance, long hours, ingenuity, enthusiasm, and a lack of capital. It was often referred to as Heath's "Airplane Trading Post". It was a parts and material store -- a place where pilots could buy things cheaply. He made and sold wing "dope" by the barrel. He made propellers. He built wings to any shape, any size. He sold wires, cables, turnbuckles, fuel tanks, wheels, new and rebuilt engines. If someone needed a part that he did not have, he designed and built one. In 1913 he built his second plane, a biplane with a 33-foot span and equipped with pontoons. The pint-sized pilot, who was a veteran designer at the age of twenty five, became a familiar figure to Chicagoans as he flew out over Lake Michigan in this plane. Up to this time flying was a costly hobby, and only the well-to-do could afford to take an active interest. Ed Heath had the idea for years of introducing low cost flying to "Mr. Average American", and at the end of World War I he introduced his next plane, the "Feather". This was a single-seater with a 20-foot wingspan, weighed, empty, 270 pounds and was powered with a 7 hp Thor motorcycle engine that hauled it through the sky at the rate of 45 mph. He was ready to market this little plane when the government released a huge amount of surplus planes and engines. Because he couldn't compete with these cheap products, he shelved the promotion of the Feather and became a dealer in surplus planes and engines. At this time he also founded a flying school, his reasoning being that it was foolish to sell planes to people who then had to go some place else to learn to fly them. It is true that Heath turned his students loose with the bare minimum of instruction, but for the benefit of his critics it may be said that he never lost a student in an accident. This was due to the fact that he was thorough. Hundreds of Heath students became expert airplane and engine mechanics as well as flyers. Ed Heath could be spotted regularly at the airport. Except in warm weather he always wore black leather riding breeches, black, laced high boots, a black leather cap, a blue flannel shirt, and a black bow tie. When the temperature climbed, he compromised with a blue shirt and cloth riding breeches, but he clung stubbornly to the high boots. He also inaugurated an apprentice plan - learn while you earn which became a permanent fixture of his company. With this method he built a solid business and turned out pilots and A and E mechanics at the same time. The only time he deviated from his original, light plane idea, was when he built the "Favorite" in 1923. This was 90 hp OX~5 plane. Heath flew this plane with four passengers to St.Louis, where he won several events in the National Air Races. In 1925 Heath and Claire Linstead, a designer whom he employed, designed and constructed the "Tomboy". It was a single-seat, full-cantilever monoplane with a span of about 22 feet. The wing butts attached to the top longerons. It was built around a 32-hp Bristol Cherub and its speed was 103 mph. Heath used it to win the light plane events at the National Sir Races in Philadelphia in 1926. His take for the winning was $2,500. In 1926 Heath and Linstead produced the first Heath "Parasol". This was a single-seat, high-wing, monoplane with a span of 26 feet. It was built around a 27-hp Henderson motorcycle engine. The designers improvised somewhat - the wing was contrived of two lower wings of a Thomas--Morse Scout biplane, braced with steel tubing and cables. The following year they constructed another version of the "Parasol". This plane was cleaner. It had a 24-foot span and was powered with a Cherub. He called it the "Spokane Super Parasol" and proceeded to annex the light and sport plane events with it at the National Air Races in Spokane. His take: $1,000. This event marked a turning point; Heath had found his light plane market and he used every kind of bait possible to push the sale of his "Parasols". You could buy a Parasol, fly-away, Chicago, for $975. If you couldn't afford that, you could buy it, less the engine for $690. Still too much? Okay! You could buy it in kit form. The kit came in eleven groups. The first group cost $12.47. The total cost of the eleven groups, less the engine, was $199! Still too much? Well, you could buy the blueprints for $5 and get your own materials. These were the first Heathkits and evidently they didn't have a 10% down, twelve months to pay Time Payment Plan such as we have now. Listed below are the general specifications of the Parasol (1930 model) equipped with the Heath 8-4 engine: Span 25 ft. Chord 4 ft. 6 in. Angle of incidence 4 degrees Wing area 110 sq. ft. Aileron area 10 sq. ft. Elevator area 5.2 sq. ft. Stabilizer area 5.5 sq. ft. Rudder area 3.8 sq. ft. Length overall 17 ft. Height overall 6 ft. Weight, empty 285 lbs. Rate of climb (first mm.) 600 ft. Useful load 300 lbs. Gas capacity 5 gals. Oil capacity 6 qts. High speed 85 mph. Landing speed 28 mph. Cruising radius 200 miles The Heath Parasol, or to be exact, Super Parasol, created an entirely new group of airplane owners. Guys, who had never taken an active interest in flying because of the high cost, flew into aviation sitting in a Parasol cockpit. Pilots who heretofore could not afford to own and maintain an airplane became Parasol owners. Thousands of these little planes were built in barns, garages, and cellars. Some were assembled in rooming houses, others in deserted theaters, and one in a church. The only tools necessary to assemble one of the kits were a pair of small pliers, screwdriver, hacksaw (with plenty of blades), hammer, small hand drill, chisel, center punch, file and drill. The little Heath craft was a well designed, compact monoplane with exceptionally clean lines. It was sturdy, stable and flew easily. This was a dream come true for Ed Heath. He had successfully marketed a low cost airplane. His firm prospered and won an international reputation. The "Baby Bullet" of 1928 was followed by a brace of "Super Parasols" that captured first and second places in a light plane event at the National Air Races in Cleveland, and Heath provided a change of pace with a 27-hp seaplane that performed commendably on Lake Zurich, near Chicago in 1930. That same year the Heath "Cannon Ball", a bigger version of the Baby Bullet, powered with a 110 hp, four-cylinder Heathbuilt engine, came in ahead of the field in one event at the National Air Races in Chicago. Foreseeing public interest in every phase of aviation, Heath built a biplane glider. His partisans say he was the first man ever to loop an engineless heavier-than-air. The "Parasol" had proved itself, now he decided to build a low-wing and a mid-wing. It was the latter that he was testing in February of 1931 when he crashed. The little man whose determination and genius had created and guided the Heath Aeroplane Company was gone. It is nearly half a century since Ed Heath built his first plane. There are still many people alive who were interested in this field in its infancy who remember the "pint-sized" pilot. His contribution in the the annals of small plane designing will go down in aviation history and his spirit and enthusiasm should be and inspiration to the Heath Company people now and in the years to come. Copied by B. Heyning 13 June 87 The copy of this typewritten story I found in my files had no author or date indicated, but most likely it dates back to the late 5O's, for Time Payment came after 1954. It may have been written by Cliff Edwards, who was for many years Advertising manager at Heath. He had learned to fly at the Heath Flying School, in return for helping with Ed Heath's advertising, while an Art student in Chicago. HEATH STORIES #42 THE NIGHT THE EGYPTIAN GARDENS CAME TO THE HEATH CO All old timers have memories, both good and bad, about the great Heath parties. Some however may not be aware of one memorable night, because only the members of the Heath Mens Bowling league were present. Most avid bowlers look forward to the annual bowling awards banquet. At these great functions, bowlers can sit back after a long season and tAlk about the 300 games they just missed and divide up the prize money that they all paid in over the year. There is usually a roast of the top teams, awards for the most improved bowler and complaints that this years trophies were not as good as last year's. In 1964, when I was president of the league, a group of us decided that we should do something to liven up this prestigious affair. Of course we had a very limited budget, but wanted to have a unique presentation that had not been done before. Gtu Sizer was on the committee and made the remark that "Boy wouldn't it be great if we could get one of the belly dancers from the Egyptian Gardens?" The Egyptian Gardens was an authentic belly dancing establishment in New York City, that featured dancers directly from Egypt. Stu had taken us there on our last show trip to New York. Obviously we couldn't afford that kind of expense, but Stu was not to be put off and said that he had a record of the Egyptian music and volunteered to be the belly dancer. It wasn't long before we had two other dancers in Marv Smith and Bruce Capes. The dancers practiced long and hard to develop their belly rhythm and our wives helped with the costumes. We dyed mop heads for hair and all dancers had long beads to cover their voluptuous tops. Marv Smith wired his top and navel with flashing lights, so we made him our featured dancer. As the event drew near, we started hyping the fact that we were bringing in dancing girls for the banquet, which was to be held at Chickhaven. We didn't know how to get the dancers in without being seen, until the proprietor agreed to let them dress in his apartment upstairs. The big night finally arrived and after the awards were presented the dancers rushed upstairs to dress. We had set up a stage in a corner and Carl Heald was ready with big speakers for the music. When everything was ready, a fanfare was played, and I announced that "Here, directly from the stage of the Egyptian Gardens in New York City, by very special arrangement, are our three exotic belly dancers ". I think that we had given them all names, but I can't exactly remember them now. They were something like Marvellous Marvela, Stupendous Stuela and Brucie Baby. When the dancers came slinking their way through the crowd the hoots and whistles were so loud you could hardly hear the music. As they got on stage and rolled their bellies to the rhythm of the music the applause got louder. They had never seen belly dancers smoke cigars before. One old time belly dancer fan, according to custom, tried to put a dollar bill in Marv Smith's costume. This caused his flashing navel light to go out, but he repaired it in no time. The dancers did several encores and a good time was had by all. Dave Nurse was visiting the banquet that night for his first time and came up to congratulate the dancers. Gene Fiebich took pictures and said that the bowling banquet would never be the same again. Most people that were present agreed. I think what impressed everyone most was how innovative Heath people could be when the The Egyptian Gardens came to the Heath bawling banquet. Don G. Rupley 1 June 87 HEATH STORIES #43 MAKING A DEAL WITH HEATH CO The president of Simpson, Jack Whiteside, asked me to obtain an order from Heath for 50,000 meters for the analog VOM tester. I talked to George Nordlander, the Buyer. In those days we used to play pinochle with George Whitaker, George Nordlander, myself and any fill-in that would come in to play on Tuesdays at noon. At any rate, I told Nordlander that we wanted $4.17 for the meter (bear in mind that this was a long time ago), and he said "I can't pay that much; I only want to pay $4.16". I replied by saying that we would flip a coin for the penny. We flipped the coin and he lost, so we got 50,000 meters for $4.17, and Simpson was able to run a time study on the 50,000 meters. It was a lot of fun and jest, but in those days it was a big thing. (By the way, we still have fun). John E. Merchant 30 June 87 John (Honest John) Merchant followed in his father's, Ross C. Merchant's, footsteps in running R.C.Merchant & Co., Inc. of Farmington Hills, MI 48024 as Sales Representative for many fine Electronic supplier companies. Their service to their principals and to Heath was consistently good. After a number of years they established a branch here in St. Joseph, to service Western Michigan accounts, such as Heath, Whirlpool and others in this part of the state. It has been manned for many years by Ray Hill, formerly a Heath buyer. Like many of our long-time vendors, who developed fine personal contacts with people at Heath, they have been a vital factor in the success Of the Heath Company. HEATH STORIES #44 From the May 29, 87 issue of NewzWatch: SPECIAL FEATURE When Mark Foster, chief Systems architect, joined Zenith Data Systems in 1983, he saw an opportunity to do something in his career that would have a broader impact than anything he had previously done. Mark's foresight proved correct. So correct, in fact, that he has just received Zenith's top technical award in recognition of his work with the Z-150 series of Zenith IBM PC compatible computers. Zenith Chairman and President Jerry K. Pearlman presented the 1987 Robert Adler Technical Excellence Award to Mark during Zenith's annual Inventors' Banquet held earlier this month in Northbrook, Ill. Named for Zenith's distinguished colleague who developed Zenith's space command remote control system for television, the Robert Adler Technical Excellence Award recognizes Zenith employees whose contributions to research and engineering exemplify Zenith's commitment to technical excellence. The award was first presented in 1986 to the co-inventor of Zenith's revolutionary flat tension mask picture tube, and to an individual who helped develop stereo FM radio and stereo sound for television. "Receiving the Adler Award was the most significant event that happened in my life, aside from getting married," Mark said. "It's a tremendous honor to receive that type of recognition from a company that has invented stereo TV and other significant designs. It's an honor for me to be part of our Zenith team here in St, Joseph," he added. Mark's work with the Z-150 computers began his second day of work at our St. Joseph facility, when he was assigned to develop "ROM BIOS" firmware for the Z-150 computer series. "Firmware is what you call it when you take a software program and transfer it into a chip that can store the program permanently," Mark explains. "ROM BIOS, which stands for 'Read Only Memory Basic Input Output System' is the program that is permanently built-in to the computer, and controls the way the computer talks to its screen and its peripherals. In a sense, ROM BIOS firmware is the translator between a computer's software and its hardware." Within six months after starting his project, Mark had created a ROM BIOS system that allowed for IBM-compatibility -- without infringing on IBM's copyrights This required developing new techniques to perform the same functions. In addition, Mark programmed several enhanced features into the system, resulting in a system that went well beyond compatibility. Since that time, members of Mark's systems and systems firmware group have been continually enhancing the ROM BIOS, in response to changing software. Members of that group ares Brian Barnes, Bert Parekh, F.T.Saifee, and Randy VanderHeyden. This group also creates the RON BIOS firmware for new computer models. Born in Chicago and raised in various parts of Ohio, Mark has always been interested in science and technology. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association for Computing Machinery, American Radio Relay League, and several aeronautics associations. Prior to coming to ZDS in St. Joseph, Mark worked at Daycom in Dayton, Ohio, and programmed flight information systems for airports around the world. The only other programmer at Daycom was a lady named JoAnne Gustafson. Mark and JoAnne were married in Ohio before coming to St. Joe, and JoAnne currently works as a diagnostics engineer for ZDS. In his free time, Mark enjoys several hobbies including: micro computers and graphics displays, flying, amateur radio, astronomy and reading. He subscribes to more than 50 science and computer-related magazines a month, and tries to read them all. "This industry changes so fast and dramatically, that it's absolutely crucial to find a way and keep up with those changes," he says. "Reading is my way of doing that." Reading may also be the reason why Mark is one of the key resource persons for information to the entire company regarding detailed architectural, systems, and systems design questions. Pearlman mentioned that aspect of Mark's responsibilities in his presentation of the Adler Award, in addition to other areas Mark and his group are involved with. After summarizing Mark's contributions of the past five years, Peariman concluded his award presentation by stating that "Mark is admired and respected by his colleagues, and has the loyalty of the incredible team of young PC engineers he has helped train since coming to Zenith. His contributions to Zenith embody the qualities that are represented by the Adler Award -- creativity, innovation, and commitment." In addition to receiving a sterling silver Adler Award medallion and a check, Mark will have his name added to a new plaque bearing the names of previous Adler Award winners. The plaque will be displayed in the lobby of Zenith's headquarters in Glenview, Ill. The inscription reads "Mark J. Foster -- for his major contribution to the development of Zenith personal computer products, including the computer firmware at the heart of Zenith's family of PC-compatible products, achievements that are of special significance to Zenith's leadership in computers." copied by B. Heyning 7 May 87 Newzwatch is distributed with semi-monthly paychecks to employees of the Zenith Computer group, comprising Heath Company, Zenith Data Systems Corp. and Veritechnology Electronics Corp., and is edited by Michele Jacobsen. The text above refers to the Z-150 series computers, but these were also offered in kit-farm as HS-l50 series products. HEATH STORIES #45 WHY I LOVED TO WORK AT HEATH Heath Company always had the reputation of being the best place to work in the Twin Cities. Emily Zirk and my cousin, Dorothy LaPlante, told such great stories about Heath that I decided it was the place I wanted work. After an interview by Dolores Brown and Curley Knapp, I phoned her at least once a week until she finally gave up and hired me--probably in self-defense. That was September 26, 1956 and I enjoyed the entire time from then until March 1, 1978 when I transferred to our sister company, EMR Telemetry, at Sarasota, Florida. Matt Cutter was my first boss. As I began my last day's work before the Christmas Holiday, Matt asked me if I had finished the sweater I was knitting before work time to surprise my husband Al. He told me that my job for that day was to complete the sweater. Imagine doing my work on Company time and getting paid for it! That was Heath Company. Many lifetime friendships were formed at Heath. Although we worked hard, we also played a lot. Heath gave us many memorable parties and picnics. They also sponsored our golf and bowling leagues. We had separate men's and women's teams, but we had some really good times when the leagues combined for a day of mixed competition at the end of each season. Lee Sneden helped a group of us who loved to sing. He got his musical training at Hope College and Indiana University and was a very competent chorus director. He held practice sessions for us which were a lot of work, but so much fun. Esther Shoemaker was our very capable accompanist. We sang mostly for our own enjoyment and grew into a 30-voice group. After three months of practice we had our big day. A Herald-Press photographer came and photographed our singing and published our picture in the local paper. Heath Company became a subsidiary of Daystrom, Inc in 1955. Each year the Daystrom Christmas program was presented at a different division, and December 22, 1959 was the first time it was ever broadcast from Heath Co. T.R.Jones, Daystrom President, introduced the Chorus and we sang on a coast-to-coast telephone hookup to 11 divisions of Daystrom, Inc. It was a full half-hour program and was taped by our competent engineers. I was made the "keeper of the tape" and for many years we enjoyed hearing ourselves at Christmas time over the Heath Company sound system. When I transferred to Sarasota, Roy Shoemaker became "keeper of the tape". Once the group met at our home, out in the country on the Paw Paw River, for a family picnic. We sang a lot, canoed on the river and swam in the pool, besides enjoying lots of good food. Some of the men brought along a big three-foot-square speaker called the Legato, which they set up in our front yard for music to sing by. It was lucky that we had no close neighbors, as they really turned up the volume. Each year after 1959 on the last working day before the Christmas holidays, as many members of the chorus who could leave their jobs, joined Roy and toured the entire plant singing Christmas carols during working hours, until we lost our voices. Some of the 30 Heath Chorus members were: Bjorn Heyning, Roy Shoemaker, Jane Clapp, Jo Cripe, Myrt Kaeding, Glenn Roper, George Guldan, Noreen Griffith and Virgil Wessendorf. There was no division between factory and office workers. All of our recreation - whether it was a picnic, party, golf, bowling or chorus, was for everyone. We were just one big, happy family. Our bosses were real friends, too. That is why I really loved to work at Heath Company. Virgil Wessendorf - 9 Aug 87 There were more members of the chorus, but we can't think of them right now. If you recall any more, please let me know. And if you can remember any of the special occasions involving the chorus, you might write a story about that for the next supplement. Then we can include the additional names of the members in that tale. Bjorn Heyning HEATH STORIES #46 From HEATHBITS, May 1958 HEATHKITS IN BRITAIN "Heath" is a distinctly British word, meaning "open uncultivated ground." It was very appropriate, therefore, that a native of Britain should come along to cultivate that ground for Heath Company in the land of the term's origin. Because not all of you had the chance to meet A.E.B. (Bert) Perrigo during his visit with us from January through April we thought you might be interested in learning just who he is, and why he was here. Before he returned to England, we laid the groundwork for an interview with Bert, and completed it by TransAtlantic mail. His gracious replies to our many questions provided the content of this article. Bert Perrigo was born 47 years ago in the Shires of England, just 20 miles from the birthplace of Shakespeare. When he was 18, he was employed by the British General Electric Company as an apprentice. Three nights a week he attended classes at the Central Technical College in Birmingham, studying for his electrical examinations. At the age of 22, Bert was appointed Chief Technical Sales Representative of S.E.C. in Northern Ireland. Still seeking to advance himself academically, in 1937 he tried for - and won - the prized Technological Scholarship of Northern Ireland. He was the first Englishman to win this valuable award. It enabled him to take an honors course at Britain's top engineering school, the Imperial College of Science and Technology. During his last year in school, World War Il broke out. Bert enlisted in the Royal Engineers, but was returned to school on orders of the British Admiralty, which had a more important assignment in store for him. In 1940, he became a Scientific Officer in the Admiralty. Bert worked on three major projects, about which volumes could be written. His first task involved the degaussing of ships - a process whereby the magnetics of a ship are measured and controlled in order to protect it from magnetic mines. When the Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat at Scapa, Bert was turned to the problems of controlled mining - to protect Allied harbors from similar attacks. Another tragedy - the sinking of the battleship Queen Elizabeth - resulted in a new assignment: to develop detection gear against the human torpedo. Bert's efforts on this project were rewarded by a succesful test in the Algiers harbor at the time of the North African landings. After the war, Bert obtained his master's degree in electrical engineering at Queen's University, Belfast. There followed a progression of top-flight engineering and management positions with British manufacturers of electrical equipment. The rest of the story is in Bert's own words: "In the autumn of 1956 I met your president, Bob Erickson, in London during the period of his early survey of prospects in Britain. Before Daystrom formed an International Division, Bob was already thinking in terms of a United Kingdom subsidiary of the Heath Company and, if it had not been for the Suez affair and its repercussions, the Heathkit element of the present project would probably now have been firmly in operation. "Officially, at my visit to the Heath Company - and until the U.K. Company is actually formed - I am acting as management consultant in this venture. Unofficially, the purpose of my visit was to prepare me for the office of Managing Director (Chief Executive) of the British subsidiary immediately it is created. It is to be named Daystrom Limited and should be formed within the next few weeks. "The visit to the Heath Company was of extreme value. It gave me a wonderful chance to gain from the considerable knowledge and experience of the good folk who form your organization. Much more important than this, however, was the opportunity it gave me to know you all - and for you to get to know me. This will stand me in great stead when in the future we ask of your advice, help and knowledge - as we most assuredly shall. I am now able to look upon you all as friends, instead of impersonal names of members of an organization 4,000 miles away. "Finally, in his queries, Dave asked me what I particularly like and dislike in the United States. Well, I like most things very much indeed (even if I must commend the word "fortnight" to you as more elegant than "two weeks"). There is but one thing that I particularly dislike - it is that invention of the devil, the shower bath. I felt neither dignified nor safe in trying to wash the undersides of my feet under the shower bath. My choice is the jolly old bath tub (British size) every time. "I would close with one suggestion. I admire tremendously, the Heath Manuals which expertly cover a multitude of sophisticated kits and keep the novice out of danger. Cannot you PLEASE write a manual of the same high standard for expatriated Britishers, upon how properly to use the shower bath." copied by B. Heyning 29 Aug 87 HEATHBITS was the monthly in-house organ in the second half of the 1950's. Dave McNamara was editor at the time of this issue. HEATH STORIES #47 MY HEATH STORY by CHAS. P. CHRISTY I went to work for Heath Co. in August 1942 after graduating from High School. I had 4 years of Mechanical Drafting, so I became the first draftsman at Heath in Benton Harbor. I made all the drawings for the many accessory items for aircraft and also the installation drawings. As we received orders from the Army Air Corps, our own drawings had to be made from the Army blueprints. We worked on the light aircraft the Army would fly in for Heath to use for test purposes of floats, skis, windshields, tailwheels, etc. Heath was provided a Stinson L-1 Observation type aircraft, to consider building the top canopy of Plexiglas. The canopy was quite large, about 5 feet wide x 10 feet long. In order to get measurements to make drawings for making a sample unit, some men from the windshield department were sent to the airport to take the canopy off and take it to the shop. It was cold and windy (which the airport was noted for) and the wind caught the canopy (which was shaped like a giant turtle shell). It bounced twice and broke into a thousand pieces! It took 2 or 3 days to tape it back together so we could measure it. After all that, we didn't get the job. Another time we were provided with a factory-fresh 100 hp Piper Cub, to use for float testing. It was tied up on the beach at the Yacht Club basin by Lake Michigan. Test pilot Al (Pappy) Dillon and engineer Gene Woods decided to make some flight tests on a beautiful afternoon. They taxied into the basin and as they were making pre-flight checks, the nose went down and it sank in 6-6 feet of water. A boat was sent to pick up Al and Gene, who were on the top of the wing. Howard had everyone in the shop and office (about 20 people) go to the lake, where they tied a large rope to the aircraft and pulled it up on the beach. It was discovered that someone had smashed a hole in the front compartment of the starboard float. The airplane had complete radio equipment, which all had to be removed and completely dried out. Also the engine had to be disassembled and dried out. No one was hurt, but it surely slowed things down. I have, for as long as I can remember, been very interested in Aviation. I built models from the time I was 10 years old. When Plexiglas was developed, the Army aircraft were the first to use it. I was able to get some thin (1/16") stock and I made a heatformed windshield for a 36" wingspan Aeronca model I had built. I took it to work with me and showed it to engineer Gene Woods. He said "I bet we could make one full-size for light aircraft." We were successful and at one time Heath was the largest supplier of one-piece Plexiglas windshields for light aircraft. It became my job to make drawings from the aircraft for a form of white pine, which a pattern maker would build. It was covered with felt. A large piece of Plexiglas was heated in an oven till it was flexible. Then several people would use clips and stretch the hot Plexiglas over the form. As the plastic cooled, it would keep the shape of the form. Then it was trimmed to the lines marked on the block to fit the aircraft it was made for. Another interesting project was the 1/5 scale floats for the L-5 aircraft. I was assigned a helper and set up space in the shop to build them. When they were complete, a bag of lead shot placed on them simulated the weight of the L-5 aircraft. They were put in the swimming pool at the YMCA and towed to study the performance and buoyancy. It showed full-sized floats would be OK. The experience I had at Heath Company in the early years was extremely valuable to me. Then I worked as a draftsman in the tools and operations department at Whirlpool as the war ended. After that I went to a large lumber yard as an Architectual Draftsman. That job only lasted 2 months, as the man who had the job before came home from the Navy and got his old job back. Then I got a job with a new company from Chicago, the Wilmak Corp., a Radio Products manufacturer. I was their draftsman, pattern maker and model maker. That company soon went broke. All this time I had my home woodworking shop, so when I was unable to find a job, I decided to go into business for myself. One of the first big jobs I got was making wood bases for record players made by VM Corporation. After making 1500 units (with my wife's help), we lost out to competition from bigger manufacturers. By this time the Heath Company was beginning to make Radio kits (Heathkits). I went to see Howard Anthony and asked him if he had a need for wood cabinets which I could make. He said he had plans in the works, but it would be a while, and if I would like to work in the warehouse for a month or so, I could. I said I sure would. The work was unloading and stocking surplus electronic parts. It was very interesting. My first order was for 100 cabinets for a crystal radio for kids to assemble. It turned out to be a hot item, for my wife and I made about 1000 units. Then the tube checker came along. We had to have help to provide about 200 cases a week. We hired from 4 to 7 people (my wife and 3 sons also) as other kits were developed: Resistance decade, Condenser decade, FM Tuner, Bridge, etc. Then Helen Anthony sold the company to Daystrom. After a short time they decided to make all cabinets out of metal and this, of course, cut us out. I now have a one-man Custom Woodworking shop with all the machinery and tools that were accumulated while supplying Heath company. It has been my good fortune to have known Howard and Helen Anthony as part of the fine association with the Heath Company. Charles P. Christy 14 Aug 87 HEATH STORIES #48 EARLY AND RECENT ACQUAINTANCE WITH HEATH EARLY: In my high school years, 1933-37, in Green Bay, WI, I was deeply interested in things electrical, mechanical, and in growth in science. An avid reader of magazines such as Mechanics Illustrated, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics, my first awareness of Heath came through reading about the relatively simple Heath Parasol airplane. The basic idea of selling plans for an airplane at less than a hundred dollars, or a kit with instructions for less than a thousand, was fascinating to a youth with few dollars to spend. At that point my attention to the Heath name had been captured, and I would note it in the future. While building airplanes was beyond my capabilities, when Heath came on the market with kits for radios and amplifiers I was hooked. Here were devices within my financial range which allowed me to express my growing interest in things of science. Two vital factors would hold my attention to Heath in following years: price (as contruction at home reduces cost), and with kitbuilding the learning experience builds understanding of the product. I suppose one should add the deeper satisfaction, which comes from "doing it yourself". Buying a loaf of bread at the grocery store can never match the satisfaction of baking your own. Awarded the Bausch & Lomb honorary science award at high school graduation, I continued this interest with becoming a physics major at Lawrence College in Appleton, WI. Employed by the physics professor as his assistant, I continued to hone my skills constructing laboratory experimental devices for the students. While reading books about physics is always important, there is no better way to deepen and solidify one's knowledge than building experiments which carry out in practice the teachings in the books. At the same time it was becoming obvious to me that what was being accomplished in expensive college labs could be done by any person with a few dollars to spend on a Heathkit. In the earlier years of Heathkits there were several competing companies who, at least by my impression, seemed out to beat Heath with a cheaper price. My practical experience confirmed that Heath never descended to using inferior materials to lower the cost. I, with friends building similar kits, grew to trust Heath quality. Also, and of great importance, Heathkit instructions were the best. Followed with reasonable care, you could be sure the product would perform acceptably. Little did I realize in those times that in later years one of the authors of the early builder's manuals would be my good friend and neighbor, Bjorn Heyning. RECENT: Coming to more recent times, in January 1964 our family moved to St. Joseph, as I was called to be the pastor of the First Congregational Church on Niles Avenue. Long a reader of the Heath catalogues, I was delighted to have the opportunity to occasionally drop in to examine new products. When relatives and guests visited us in St. Joseph, a visit to the sales room has always been on the agenda, with the visitors leaving with a catalogue under their arm. Also I found a good many of the Heath staff as members of our church and Rotary Club. Watching the company's growth during the 24 years we have lived here, we are aware of how important the health of this company is for the community as a whole. An important aspect of my association with Heath and the work of our church has been in the reduction of stress through electronic monitoring, by a process we have identified as bio-feedback. The late Ray Freridge, who had helped me to become acquainted with personnel at Heath, once told me that he had a special person he wanted me to meet. This man, Don Hornback, and I developed and important relationship. Working with a local Dr. William Emery, I had long been concerned with attempts to study human stress through electrontc monitoring, and teaching people to alter their life-style for better physical and mental health. After reading about bio-feedback, I encouraged Don to build a bio-feedback device to measure the volatile electrical energy field that emanates from the human body. The same device would also give us readings on our changing brain waves. Don was a wizard at this sort of thing and successfully built such a monitor. He incorporated with it a cathode-ray tube readout which permitted us to actually watch the dance of the brain waves, and how people reacted to stress, happiness, prayer, etc. With this new device we had a tool, whereby we could see exactly where people were, beyond any power of deception. Don added a big light screen display, so people in a large room could see by the changing colors the state of mind of the person on the monitor. A demonstration with the light screen display filled our church's dining hall with many people standing around the walls. We later used this set-up for demonstrations at conventions in Chicago. Taking this equipment up an elevator in a Chicago hotel the operator asked what it was. I replied, "This lets us see inside your brain, how you are thinking." "Keep that thing away from me'." he said. Begun as research, bio-feedback became a stress reduction program, an adjunct to our counseling work in the church. Over seven years a considerable number of persons under stress visited this clinic, learned to better cope with stress, reduce bodily pain, and often reduced medication. The work was presented to the doctors of the community, with the result that in time half the clients were sent by doctors. With expertise from Heath, modern technology was wedded to psychological counseling. I have been pleased that President "Bill" Johnson has manifested an interest in the uniting of electronic technology with the healing arts. I passed on to him a meaty volume on this subject1 Dr. Robert Becker's "The Body Electric". As a busy man, he took the book with him while on a world tour, in order to find time to read it. I am also deeply grateful to librarian Carol Wojcikiewicr, who has been able to turn up valuable material for me from sometimes obscure sources. These are only a few of the many friendships I have enjoyed with the sharing of technological knowledge through the Heath Company. Dr. George W. Fisk 20 Sept 87