About as 'general' as it gets -- World Radio History Heathkit catalog archive

[mhardy6647]

I just noticed that the outstanding archive site World Radio History has added a tranche of Heathkit catalogs and now has probably the best single collection of scanned (and searchable) PDF copies on the internet. They've also broken the collection out to its own web page: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Heathkit_Catalogs.htm


The scan above is actually from my collection -- but you can get the whole PDF now thanks to WRH!
I'll also note that the female model for the catalog cover above is none other than the late Donna Douglas, best known as Elly May Clampett on CBS Television's The Beverly Hillbillies.

 

[WOLFAGRAM]

I'll also note that the female model for the catalog cover above is none other than the late Donna Douglas

I'll also note that the quality of both photo editing and prominence of models went down the drain since the (pre)golden era of home audio

 

[mhardy6647]

I'll also note that the quality of both photo editing and prominence of models went down the drain since the (pre)golden era of home audio

View attachment 395839

good point.

 

[JeffS7444]

I used to dream about buying items like the late 1970s AR1515 stereo receiver, but the prices for pretty much everything in the catalog were far beyond my means at the time. But as luck would have it, Heathkit operated a store in Hawaii for a time, and when it went out of business, they had a fire sale on remaining stock! No stereo receivers or amplifiers to be had, but I did score an AM/FM tuner kit, and ultrasonic cleaner, and had lots of fun building them. Wish I had kept the latter, as it would still come in handy today.

 

[sam_adams]

Not to be outdone:

The Radio Shack Catalog Archive

 

[Tom C]

I'll also note that the quality of both photo editing and prominence of models went down the drain since the (pre)golden era of home audio

View attachment 395839

Is that the world’s smallest subwoofer?

 

[WOLFAGRAM]

Is that the world’s smallest subwoofer?

Perhaps it is.

Since it is USB powered, it probably must be. A bit of math: My beefy CD player has 5V X 1A = 5W. I doubt that most laptops have more than 0.5A, which means that the whole 2.1 system gets powered with some 2.5W. Good luck achieving 18W of advertised power with a 2.5W power supply.

To add insult to the injury, the mere fact that this speaker system is reviewed/endorsed by this strapping young lad, is quite a telling tale:

He probably made this video (upon being selected thanks to the number of likes his selfies got on instagram) in exchange for the speaker system itself (it costs something like 20-30$) and a 50$ Steam gift card

 

[mhardy6647]

Not to be outdone:

The Radio Shack Catalog Archive

That and the same site owner's Allied catalog archive have been around for a long, long time. At some point, they either had a site crash or some other factor led to a long down-time for both sites, then the R/S site came back... with that tedious 'flipbook' interface
Don't get me wrong, I am glad that they're available in some form, but compared to their earlier incarnations, both https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/ and https://www.alliedcatalogs.com/ are pretty tedious to use.

The quality of the scans on WRH is, admittedly, variable and generally mediocre, but the content is all available as PDF and, best of all, is searchable.

 

[sam_adams]

To add insult to the injury, the mere fact that this speaker system is reviewed/endorsed by this strapping young lad, is quite a telling tale

Not to mention the fact that he is an aficionado of the finest of carbonated, fermented bevarages:

 

[JeffS7444]

I went on a Radio Shack catalog quest awhile back: I got curious about these cheap Halina 35 mm film cameras rebranded as "Micronta" on eBay and got to wondering if it was the same Micronta which was once a Radio Shack house brand. I never actually saw the camera listed in any of the catalogs, but I discovered that for just a single year (1954? I can't remember exactly) RS went all-in on photography, and exited just as quickly.

 

[JeffS7444]

Starting some time in the mid-1970s, I fondly remember picking up the latest print Radio Shack catalogs and checking out the weekly sale flyers that came in the Sunday papers. And once I discovered the one store which got all of the oddball and returned items, the "Where is, as-is" sales could be lots of fun! And I used to endlessly ponder the sub-$50 mini speakers, although TBH, it was all about the implied promise, rather than the actual sonics, which were pretty mediocre. Still, for maybe $15, I could get a Minimus 0.5 which had a die-cast baffle, a real walnut veneer (later vinyl) cabinet, and a 4" Foster full-range driver. Fun times, though admittedly, my modern $15 novelty weiner dog-shaped bluetooth speaker would have been a sonic marvel by 1970s standards.

 

[WOLFAGRAM]

I just noticed that the outstanding archive site World Radio History has added a tranche of Heathkit catalogs and now has probably the best single collection of scanned (and searchable) PDF copies on the internet. They've also broken the collection out to its own web page: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Heathkit_Catalogs.htm

Sir I am not sure should I thank you or damn you. You have provided me a link to a deep golden mine of audio nostalgia, and I am still trying to have some time left for important others in my life!

 

[mhardy6647]

I used to dream about buying items like the late 1970s AR1515 stereo receiver, but the prices for pretty much everything in the catalog were far beyond my means at the time. But as luck would have it, Heathkit operated a store in Hawaii for a time, and when it went out of business, they had a fire sale on remaining stock! No stereo receivers or amplifiers to be had, but I did score an AM/FM tuner kit, and ultrasonic cleaner, and had lots of fun building them. Wish I had kept the latter, as it would still come in handy today.

Not quite in the same league as the later 1515 series -- but there's an AJ-15 tuner here, FWIW.

Sir I am not sure should I thank you or damn you. You have provided me a link to a deep golden mine of audio nostalgia, and I am still trying to have some time left for important others in my life!

Welcome to my world, @WOLFAGRAM! You'll grow to love it.