"Heath" System 3 w/Space Phone?!

[Thyratron]

Just came across an otherwise Zenith-looking System 3 (ca. 1984) with Space Phone, apparently stereo sound, Zenith controls, Zenith-type materials. . . but it was labeled "Heath" and had a sticker saying it was produced in Benton Harbor, MI. Did Zenith license these out, or was it something else altogether?

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Thyratron

Just came across an otherwise Zenith-looking System 3 (ca. 1984) with Space Phone, apparently stereo sound, Zenith controls, Zenith-type materials. . . but it was labeled "Heath" and had a sticker saying it was produced in Benton Harbor, MI. Did Zenith license these out, or was it something else altogether?

Zenith was a subsidiary of Heathkit at the time that TV was made, so the design and features of the set (which were the intellectual property of Zenith at the time) were licensed to Heathkit of Benton Harbor, Michigan for the latter's use. Heathkit also marketed a multi-band radio in the early '80s that was a dead ringer for Zenith's solid-state Trans-Oceanic portable, even down to the rotating drum dial linked to the bandswitch; Heath also had a line of home computers under the "Heath/Zenith" brand.

Heathkit went out of the kit electronics business shortly thereafter; I don't know if they are still selling computers or if they went out of business entirely after that. Zenith itself closed its Chicago television plant in the late 1980s and went overseas to Korea, becoming "Lucky Goldstar" or LG. The LG plant used the Zenith lightning bolt trademark for a short time on its televisions (shortly after the move to Korea), under license from Zenith, of course, but later dropped it in favor of the circular LG logo which now appears on the display frame of all new LG TVs. The Zenith lightning bolt, not to mention the Zenith name or even the famous Zenith crest (a shield-like symbol with a "Z" in the center and a crown on top, which was used on Zenith radios and TVs for decades and became a legendary Zenith trademark), are no longer used.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Heathkit went out of the kit electronics business shortly thereafter; I don't know if they are still selling computers or if they went out of business entirely after that.

I recently bought a Heath/Zenith door bell. Same logos, but made in Haiti.

Charles

[Pete Deksnis]

Heathkit is very much alive having continued its technical education business after killing the kit business. It is a big player in the technical ed market.

http://www.heathkit.com/aboutus.html

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis

Heathkit is very much alive having continued its technical education business after killing the kit business. It is a big player in the technical ed market.

http://www.heathkit.com/aboutus.html

Pete:

I just looked at Heathkit's website and was amazed at how times have changed. I remember Heathkit in the '70s with their full line of electronic gear in kit form, especially their TVs, radios and ham radio equipment. Before I got my first ham radio license in 1972, I had a Heathkit GR-64 four-band communications receiver and a Heath HD-16 code-practice oscillator; my first amateur transmitter was a Heathkit DX-40. My dad was a schoolteacher (electronics) in a southwestern suburb of Cleveland in the late sixties through about 1985; the high school at which he taught had an entire Heathkit amateur radio station (the school's club callsign was WB8GNL), outfitted with SB-series gear.

I'm glad to know, however, that Heathkit is still in business in Benton Harbor, Michigan. They were too good to be killed off entirely. Their kit electronics business was very good while it lasted, but things change all the time. KX250rider (Charles), in the Los Angeles area, had a post today in which he said he had recently purchased a "Heath/Zenith" branded door bell; it sported the same logos as Heath/Zenith used, but the device had been manufactured in Haiti.

That Heathkit is still in business as a U.S. based firm (at least for now), selling technical education programs, speaks volumes for the integrity of the company. It just goes to show, you can't keep a good company down.

[kx250rider]

Here's a shot of the Heath/Zenith doorbell... It shows an address in Bowling Green, KY. Says "Hecho en Haiti" on the plastic base, but "Assembled in Mexico" in the sticker on the back.

Charles

[ChrisW6ATV]

I think those current doorbells and motion-sensor lights have about as much in common with the real "Heath" or "Zenith", as my Westonghouse 1080p LCD TV has with the company George W. started.

[wbain]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Zenith was a subsidiary of Heathkit at the time that TV was made, so the design and features of the set (which were the intellectual property of Zenith at the time) were licensed to Heathkit of Benton Harbor, Michigan for the latter's use. Heathkit also marketed a multi-band radio in the early '80s that was a dead ringer for Zenith's solid-state Trans-Oceanic portable, even down to the rotating drum dial linked to the bandswitch; Heath also had a line of home computers under the "Heath/Zenith" brand.

Heathkit went out of the kit electronics business shortly thereafter; I don't know if they are still selling computers or if they went out of business entirely after that. Zenith itself closed its Chicago television plant in the late 1980s and went overseas to Korea, becoming "Lucky Goldstar" or LG. The LG plant used the Zenith lightning bolt trademark for a short time on its televisions (shortly after the move to Korea), under license from Zenith, of course, but later dropped it in favor of the circular LG logo which now appears on the display frame of all new LG TVs. The Zenith lightning bolt, not to mention the Zenith name or even the famous Zenith crest (a shield-like symbol with a "Z" in the center and a crown on top, which was used on Zenith radios and TVs for decades and became a legendary Zenith trademark), are no longer used.

Actually, Zenith bought Heath for their computer line. The Heath TV line was gutted and Zenith TV's made into lite. I bought a 19" Heath/Zenith TV and all you had to do was mount a few PC boards, connect them, make a service board for alignment putposes and solder in a few wires, converge the picture tube and watch it. It was a far cry from the previous series, my GR-2050 took me a week to make, but such is progress. Zenith really didn't know what to do with Heath (IMHO).

[bgadow]

Somewhere around here I have a Heath/Zenith motion sensor switch for a flood lamp. I think there was a whole line of security related stuff. Interesting how the "zenith" part of that logo doesn't match anything they used on their other stuff.