10-05-2011, 10:42 AM
I built a few Heathkits in the early 1960s. There was the 6" oscilloscope, the Cotswold loudspeaker and the leather transistor radio. The instructions were very well prepared and everything fitted and worked first time - absolutely no problems. However, there was another company producing kits which were at the other end of the spectrum - Radio & TV Components Acton - what a company! They must have had some very good "engineers" because they produced kits comprising an incredible mixture of components. But their stuff actually worked. I worked at the BBC Television Centre during this time and we had a production line going building the Elegant Seven, a transistor portable. The kit was the cheapest available for a 7 transistor set and it did look quite good. The PCB used was obviously surplus stock and the components from similar sources. Somehow, they managed to produce an end product which worked quite well. The kit was about £3.10s and we sold the completed sets at £7. Not a bad return for work done in quiet moments at a telecine machine (there were lots of those). If Heathkit was the Rolls Royce of kits then R&TVC Acton were the Trabants!
