What are Heathkit radio kits?

Heathkit was the brand name of radio kits and other electronic products that were created and marketed by the Heath company between 1947 and 1992. These kits provided amateur ham radio operators with the parts and components needed to assemble their own radios.

Heathkits were popular with radio operators interested in building their own equipment and could be purchased at a lower cost than commercially produced devices. The Heath Company was created in 1912 by Edward Bayard Heath. Originally founded as an aircraft company, The Heath Company entered the electronics industry after World War II and introduced its first electronics kit, an oscilloscope, in 1947.