Phrazemaster said:
I get the distinct feeling some old timer DIY guys are not so keen on the kits that have exploded the last few years. Just wondering if anyone wants to chime in with their feelings on this trend?
For myself, although I love the DIY spirit, were it not for the kits and the "hand holding" of the veterans, I would not have nearly the fun, or learning, that I've experienced. So I squarely sit in both camps, believing doing it yourself is awesome, but kits are great and can be a super tool as well.
What do you guys thing?
Mike
Well I can share what one old-timer things...
Back in the day kits were a decent business, Heathkit grossed $100M at their peak. I helped them hit those numbers outfitting my bench with Heathkit scope, distortion analyzer, audio oscillator, etc. even a color TV set. I didn't build these to learn anything, I built kits to get a scope for only $500 and so on.
From the mid 70's to mid 80's I ran my own kit business (Phoenix Systems) where I designed and sold original products in kit form. The vast majority of my customers bought my kits for the same reason I bought Heathkits, to get a serviceable product for less money. Heathkit set a high standard to meet in documentation but i did a fair job and even offered my customers a flat fee repair service so worst case my customer would get his working product after paying the extra $20 service fee.
By the mid '80s I could see the writing on the wall when automation and off-shore manufacturing (Japan back then) allowed a name brand company to deliver a similar product to one of my kits for less than I could buy the parts for. Take away the personal economic incentive and the kit business suffers hugely.
I do not have any philosophical objection to buying/selling kits, while I don't see the business model having legs in light of even more cost reductions in manufacturing. That said I find it difficult to raise much enthusiasm for clones. I did all original designs, often improving upon the chip maker's app notes.
What is the clone/kit buyer getting? A cheaper version of some classic legacy product, sound signature and all. Perhaps that is the economic transaction? If the IP (design) is unencumbered, and the design has merit for a mass market, it could be re-engineered for modern manufacturing and sold assembled for even less. I suspect this is a niche market where customers are buying some halo of similarity to the classic products.
JR
PS: Addressing the educational aspect of kits. Back during my kit selling days engineering students were often tasked with changing some existing design. To help sell more kits, I routinely published design equations to help these students "change" my designs. 8)