[vcf-midatlantic] OT: large # of Vintage items for sale

Alexander Pierson ajpierson1 at yahoo.com
Thu Nov 7 21:23:13 EST 2019


 The pricepoint this kid has in mind doesn't seem to be based heavily on previous transactions.  While I currently don't have my ear to the ground for Hero robot ebay sales, I used to for quite awhile.  tl;dr: take my assessment here with a grain of salt.

Complete Hero-1 robots usually fetch a few hundred bucks, anywhere from 200 for ones in need of serious repair, all the way up to about 500 for a complete working unit.  Sometimes you see them go higher, especially if they've got all the bells in whistles, in good shape, complete documentation with the addendums issued by Heathkit.  Those schematics changed with time, and so they sent you little pieces of paper to cut out and tape over the old sections of schematics.

I've only ever seen one complete, sealed, mint Hero 2000 for sale before, and that went for 3 grand.  Now, keep in mind that the Hero 2000 is by far the most elusive model, with the fewest total manufactured units, but also the most power.  A base Hero 2000 has somewhere like 6 processors/coprocessors on board and can be maxed out at about a dozen, depending on installed options.  I've never seen seen  a Hero 2000 in meatspace before.  I know this seller has one for just over 5 grand, but it's in rough shape from what the pictures show.  I spot plenty of rust.  At a tenth of that, it might be worth the gamble, but even that's pushing it in my book.

Back to the NIB Hero-1.  Seeing as it was the popular model used by schools and hobbyists alike, they're far more common than the 2000 or the Jr.  To put one of those at about 14 grand for a sealed kit?  That's quite absurd.  Unbuilt Hero-1's are something I've only ever seen once before, and it was a long time ago, so whatever it fetched has long since left my mental cache.  Plus, it only looked like one box -- there's no way that includes a lot of the features that make a Hero-1 desirable.  Thus, it's likely a very barebones unit from what I understand.  You would have to confer with Robert Doerr, who is the defacto expert on all things Heathkit Hero, in order to reach a better assessment.
Lastly, that same seller has another Hero-1, with no visible arm, and not all of the panels visible.  I see manuals, but I do not see schematics.  It's also dirty in ways that make me sad.  There's also more circuitry than I've ever seen near the head battery cage, stacked on top of the sonar receiver.  Maybe that's a later revision?  Again, Mr. Doerr is your best resource there.  Anyway, you could cut his price in half and I still wouldn't touch it based on this condition.
Hopefully my rambling mess is helpful.

-Alexander 'Z' Pierson
    On Thursday, November 7, 2019, 07:58:34 PM EST, madodel via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:  
 
 On 11/5/19 15:47, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> VCF would love to have the Hero 1 in its box. Our policy remains that we
> only accept donations, we don't purchase artifacts. Would someone like to
> acquire this for us?


Anyone have an idea on what a fair price for this is? The seller says it 
was a sealed box that he opened to check if there was anything in it but it 
was never assembled.


Mark


>
> On Tue, Nov 5, 2019, 2:49 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <
> vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
>
>> All, I’ve been working with a young man from California who inherited a
>> large amount of vintage computers and other items.
>> He’s reached out to a number of Facebook groups, but I’m trying to help
>> him reach interested parties without having to go on a dozen different
>> groups back and forth.
>>
>> Short story, his grandfather passed away and has a storage unit filled
>> with items.
>> PET 2001, hero robots (one of which is a Hero 1 still new in the box)
>> Atari, Tandy portables, Model 1, Compact Mac through Mac II era, Apple II+,
>> IIe, the list goes on, with lots of boxes still unopened. He’s trying to
>> sell everything, and we are trying to avoid anything being thrown away or
>> brought to recycle.
>>
>> Please contact me off list via email and I will put you in touch with him
>> directly.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>


  


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