[sdiy] PAIA for Appreciation of Heathkits?

[harry bissell]

I paid (iirc) maybe $275 for the Etherwave (Big Briar) kit.  It came with
an unfinshed case (as advertised) that needed sanding, stain, and varnish.

The PCB was complete but all the hardware has no be assembled.  I got a 
beautiful
finish on the case... which was part pine and part plywood. If you get 
the assembled
unit... it comes in black spray paint. Quality woodwork is very labor 
intensive. Would you pay
$500 for a "furniture grade" case ??? 

I had to wait a LONG time for the Big Briar "kit"... the woodwork was 
the holdup :^P

You get what you pay for, but with PAiA you pay less. If you want Heathkit
level I'd go with MOTM or Blacet.  PAiA is more EFM style.  Either ride 
gets you there...
one in more comfort and style...

H^) harry




R. D. Davis wrote:
> Well, after several decades, I finally ordered a PAIA kit, a Theremax,
> which I was looking forward to the arrival of.  After opening the box,
> and a quick inspection of its contents, I'm all the more appreciative
> of the Heatkits, and their quality, that I received from Santa Claus
> as a youngster.  Alas, Heathit didn't produce kits for synthesizers,
> AFAIK (aside from their (Thomas) organ kits).  When one built
> Heathkits, one felt as though one had assembled something that was
> quite durable and would last for decades... and everything one needed
> was included, no wood that needed to be sanded and stained, that
> I know of, for example, and if any was, surely all supplies were
> included.  Also, the edges of metal panels weren't finger-slicing
> sharp.
>
> Heathkits weren't inexpensive, but neither are PAIA kits.
>
> On the positive side, all parts are included in the prices (but I
> didn't receive the wallwart type power-supply yet that was supposed to
> be included with it) along with a check-off list so that one can
> ascertain that all parts were included.  The front panel was included
> and looks nice.  The pots are full size.
>
> The manual is a hodge-podge of stapeled together xeroxed copies, some
> of which can't be read unless the "manual" is unstapled so that pages
> can be removed.
>
> The "lectern" case was very much overpriced and turns out to be bare
> wood; cheap and cheesy pine yet.  Some sanding will be required as
> well as staining or painting... no wood stain, etc. was included.
> Rather than including a couple of simple hinges and a latch, or at
> least screws (although with fragile pine, I guess screwing and
> unscrewing would be disastrous after a few case openings with that
> soft wood) the cover of the case is attached with velcro.  Half the
> price for the case and it may have been closer to being considered a
> reasonable price.  The bottom of the cabinat is a piece of sheet metal
> with unfinished edges that are sharp enough to cut fingers, etc...  no
> whitesmithing, but that's typical these days.
>
> Another big surpise was the instruction to cut off the plug from the
> wallwart's cord and just run the wires through a hole in the wood
> cabinet with no strain relief or anything to prevent the wood from
> chewing a hole in the wires over time... well, to be fair, they did
> mention to tie a knot in the cord for strain-relief of sorts.
>
> All other comments will be reserved for after the kit is completed.
> Hopefully with, or without, the modifications that I've read about,
> the sound will be such that time and money won't have been wasted.
>
> Hopefully I'll be proven wrong about my first impression of PAIA
> kits... I was just expecting a kit that I could start assembling as
> soon as the box arrived, without a trip to the hardware store and time
> spent lacquering, staining and lacquering wood---or just painting it,
> and un-sharpening a metal panel.  Ah well.
>
>