>I'm not sure the traditional Heathkit-style "kit" market exists any more, though. IDK, I've been gradually working my way through some of the solder-it-yourse

>I'm not sure the traditional Heathkit-style "kit" market exists any more, though. IDK, I've been gradually working my way through some of the solder-it-yourself "build an XT clone" projects; there the fact you're building it from parts IS a big part of the charm. Nobody would want a slightly quirky DOS machine with less performance than an off-brand graphing calculator without a healthy dose of the IKEA Effect. I suspect a lot of the "build your own amplifier" hobby groups are the same way. (Speakers, apparently there's still money to be saved there if you like DIY offerings) In a way, it's about turning "thing you buy" into "thing you do" -- you get more hours of entertainment out of a given dollar spent on kit products than a similarly priced finished item would provide. Yes, 50 years ago, building from kits was about saving on assembly (or for access to products not sold assembled), but there's no reason it can't be a hobby in and of itself and potentially a gateway into more sophisticated electronics experimentation. I figure a good kit is like the programs in an '80s computer magazine-- it will do what it said, but now you have something that you can grasp and pull apart more readily than commercial product. How many of us got into programming that way? The other drawback to getting things pre-assembled is that bodge issues are going to be harder. The last PCB I ordered (a custom-designed memory board for that XT clone) needed some, and if you're still looking at a bare PCB, maybe with through-hole sockets mounted, you can pretty easily do any cuts and tacked down wires you need. I'd be a lot warier if I had to try to pick apart pre-soldered SMD components.