Robots · Volume 6
Reference
This volume collects the hard data behind the Robots dive in one place. It contains the complete model table built from the catalogue scans, the courses, the manual editions with the data the site needs for its hosting decision, a table of claims checked, and the full source list. “First” and “last” are the first and last general Heathkit catalogues in which an item was found among the scans examined. They are not production dates, and gaps in the scanned run are marked.
6.1 Master model table: robots
Table 1 — Master model table: robots
| Model | Product | First found | Last found | Launch price | Description | Dive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ET-18 (ET-18-A from 1986) | HERO 1, basic kit, less arm and voice | Winter 1983 (No. 860) | Spring 1988 (No. 211) | $999.95 | 6808 mobile robot: sonar, light, sound and motion sensors, rotating head, keypad, 4K RAM, 8K ROM | HERO 1 |
| ETS-18 | HERO 1, complete kit with arm and voice | Winter 1983 | Fall 1985 | $1,499.85 | Kit bundle; replaced in 1986 by ETS-18-35/-36 (and in 1987 ETS-18-37/-38) with remote | same |
| ETW-18 | HERO 1, assembled with arm and voice | Winter 1983 | Fall 1984 | $2,499.95 | Factory-built robot; renumbered EWS-18 by Fall 1985 | same |
| EWS-18, EWS-18-35/-36 | HERO 1, assembled with arm and voice (from 1986 with remote) | Fall 1985 | Spring 1988 | $2,149.90 | $1,995.00 in Spring 1988 | same |
| ETW-18-WA | HERO 1, assembled without arm | Christmas 1984 | Spring 1988 | $1,699.95 | $1,499.95 in Spring 1988 | same |
| RT-1 | HERO Jr, kit | Christmas 1984 | Fall 1986 (index) | $599.95 | Consumer “personal robot” with six-trait personality, Votrax speech, 32K ROM, cartridge slot | HERO Jr |
| RTW-1, RTW-1-C | HERO Jr, assembled with accessories | Spring–Summer 1986 | Spring–Summer 1986 (Fall 1986 not read) | $499.95 / $399.95 | RTW-1 with all four accessories; RTW-1-C with RS-232 and cartridge adapter | same |
| ET-19 | HERO 2000, kit without arm | Spring–Summer 1986 | Spring 1988 | $1,999.95 | 8088 master with eleven 8-bit peripheral processors, 360° sonar, text-to-speech; $1,388.00 in Spring 1988 | HERO 2000 |
| ETS-19 | HERO 2000, kit with arm | Spring–Summer 1986 | Spring 1988 | $2,499.95 | same | |
| EWS-19-35/-36 | HERO 2000, assembled with arm and remote console | Spring–Summer 1986 | Fall 1986 | $4,499.95 | Two radio frequencies (75.43 and 75.67 MHz) | same |
| EWS-19-45/-46 | HERO 2000, assembled with arm and remote console | Fall 1987 | Fall 1987 | $4,499.95 | The same package renumbered | same |
| ETW-19-A | HERO 2000, assembled with arm and 75.43 MHz remote | Christmas 1987 | Spring 1988 | $4,499.95 | ”Can be operated directly out of shipping crate” | same |
| ETS-19-A | HERO 2000 system kit with courses | Christmas 1987 | Spring 1988 | $2,999.95 | $2,495.00 in Spring 1988 | same |
| ETS-19-32 | Robot Arm Trainer, kit | Christmas 1987 | Spring 1988 | $1,795.00 | Bench-mounted five-axis arm, six slave processors, teaching pendant; $995.00 in Spring 1988 | none |
| EWS-19-32 | Robot Arm Trainer, assembled | Christmas 1987 | Spring 1988 | $2,795.00 | $1,995.00 in Spring 1988 | none |
| HE-RObot | PC-based educational robot (White Box Robotics 914 PC-BOT) | heathkit.com, December 2007 | 2012 (Wikipedia) | “up to $8,000” (Wikipedia) | Intel Core Duo, Windows XP Pro, 80 GB disk, webcam; sold assembled | none |
Gaps in the run examined: no robot in Christmas 1982 (No. 859). Spring–Summer 1985, Christmas 1985 and Fall 1986 were read only in part. No general catalogue from mid-1988 to 1989 was examined. The robots are absent from Spring 1990 (education section, pp. 83–91), Winter 1991 (No. 223) and the 1993 Heathkit/Zenith Educational Systems catalogue (No. 279).
6.2 Accessories
Table 2 — Accessories
| Model | Accessory | First found | Price when found |
|---|---|---|---|
| ET-18-1 / ETW-18-1 | HERO 1 arm and gripper, kit / assembled | Winter 1983 / by Fall 1985 | $399.95 / $549.95 |
| ET-18-2 | HERO 1 voice (Votrax SC-01 phoneme synthesizer, 64 phonemes) | Winter 1983 | $149.95 |
| ET-18-4 | Demo ROM (the manuals call it the Utility ROM) | Fall 1983 | $49.95 |
| ET-18-5 | Monitor ROM listing | Fall 1983 | $39.95 |
| ET-18-6 | Memory expansion board | Fall 1984 | $39.95–$49.95 |
| ETA-18-6 | 8K × 8 RAM chip | Fall 1984 | $24.95 |
| ET-18-7 | Automatic Mode ROM | Spring 1984 | $29.95 |
| ET-18-9 | HERO 1 BASIC ROM | Christmas 1984 | $49.95 |
| ETS-18-9 | BASIC expansion system | by Fall 1985 | $179.80 |
| ET-18-10 / ETW-18-10 | RS-232 interface | Fall 1984 | $59.95 |
| ET-18-11 | Demo cassette | Fall 1984 | $14.95 |
| ET-18-35, -36, -37 / ETW- | Remote control, 75.43, 75.67, 75.87 MHz (manual number ET-18-3) | Fall 1984 | $299.95 kit; $399.95 assembled |
| RTA-1-1 | HERO Jr infrared motion detector | Christmas 1984 | $119.95 |
| RTA-1-2 | HERO Jr remote control, 75 MHz | Christmas 1984 | $179.95 |
| RTA-1-3 | HERO Jr RS-232 | Christmas 1984 | $49.95 |
| RTA-1-4 | HERO Jr two extra batteries | Christmas 1984 | $59.95 |
| RTA-1-5 | HERO Jr cartridge adapter with 8K RAM | Christmas 1984 | $49.95 |
| RTC-1-1 to RTC-1-11 | HERO Jr cartridges (see vol03) | Christmas 1984 to Spring–Summer 1986 | $19.95–$49.95 |
| ETS-19-1 | HERO 2000 arm with controller card | Spring–Summer 1986 | $699.95 |
| ETS-19-35 / -36 | HERO 2000 remote keyboard console | Spring–Summer 1986 | $499.95 |
| ETW-19-15 / ETA-19-15 | 192K RAM board with 64K / 64K chip set | Spring–Summer 1986 | $99.95 / $49.95 |
| ET-19-14 | Experimenter board | Spring–Summer 1986 | $99.95 |
| ET-19-51 | Demonstration ROM | Spring–Summer 1986 | $29.95 |
| ET-19-5 | Auto-docking accessory | Fall 1987 | $149.95 |
| ETW-19-6 | 360K disk drive with MS-DOS package | Fall 1987 (“Available August”) | $399.95 |
| ET-19-3 | Robot carrying cart | Spring 1988 | $99.95 |
| ETW-19-31 | Arm Trainer cassette interface | Christmas 1987 | $69.95 |
6.3 Courses
Table 3 — Courses
| Course | Title | First found | Price | Robot | CEUs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE-1800 | Robotics Course, later Robotics and Industrial Electronics (11 units, 1,200 pages) | Winter 1983 | $99.95 | HERO 1 (experiments optional) | 8 |
| EB-1801 | Classroom edition of EE-1800 (text, workbook, instructor’s guide, parts) | Winter 1983–84 | $29.95 text | ETW-18 | — |
| EE-1812 / EB-1812 | Robot Applications (6 units, 10 experiments) | Winter 1983–84 | $99.95 | HERO 1 | 4 |
| EB-1802 | HERO 1 Advanced Experiments (61 experiments) | Fall 1984 | $24.95 | HERO 1 | — |
| EES-1800 | Robotics training package: EE-1800, EE-1812, EB-1802, robot, arm, voice | by Fall 1985 | $1,374.70 | HERO 1 | — |
| EE-1900 / EB-1900 | Intelligent Machines (15 experiments) | Spring–Summer 1986 | $99.95 | HERO 2000 with arm | 3 |
| EE-1901 | Electronics for Automation (13 experiments) | Spring–Summer 1986 (“Available in May”) | $99.95 | HERO 2000 | 6 |
| EB-1950 | HERO 2000 Programming and Interfacing | Fall 1987 | $59.95 | HERO 2000 with arm and remote | — |
| EE-1903 | Industrial Robotics and Automation | Spring 1988 (at $79.95, “Was $99.95”) | $99.95 | Robot Arm Trainer | 4 |
6.4 Manuals and documents
The hosting rule for this project (decision 5 in Heathkit/CLAUDE.md) hosts a Heath publication only if it is likely to be in the public domain: published before 1964 without renewal, or published without a copyright notice before 1 March 1989. Every HERO document was published between 1982 and 1987, after the 1978 law change, so renewal does not arise; the test is whether a notice was printed. Every document whose text was checked carries one, so all are linked, not hosted. None of these titles is on the Tubular Electronics do-not-host list; the list was not checked title by title for the robots.
Table 4 — Manuals and documents
| Title | Heath part no. | Year | Copyright notice | Renewal search | Free scan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HERO 1 User’s Guide, Assembly Manual (ET-18A), Technical Manual (ET-18A) and errata, accessory manuals ET-18-1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7, -9, illustration booklets, schematics | not read | 1982–85 | not checked (multi-file item has no text layer) | not applicable (post-1978) | Internet Archive, heathkit-hero-1-ET-18 |
| HERO Jr Owner’s Guide | not found in text | 1984 | yes, “Copyright © 1984” | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO Jr Programmer’s Guide | not found in text | 1984 | yes, “Copyright © 1984” | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO Jr Assembly Manual | 595-3147 | 1984 | yes, “Copyright © 1984” | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO Jr Technical Manual | 595-3271 | 1984 | yes, “Copyright © 1984” | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO Jr accessory manuals (remote, RS-232, cartridge adapter, IR motion detector), HJPL speech dictionary, errata, kit inserts | not read | 1984 | not checked | not applicable | Internet Archive: remote, RS-232, cartridge adapter, IR detector, speech dictionary, errata, inserts, schematics 595-3271, illustration booklet 595-3147 |
| HERO 2000 (ET-19) Illustration Booklet | 595-3414 | 1985 (IA date November 1985) | not found in OCR text | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO 2000 (ET-19) Schematic Diagrams | 595-3416 | 1985 | not checked | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| ET-19 Service IC Data | not read | not given | not checked | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| HERO 2000 Assembly and Technical Manuals (ET-19) | not read | 1986 | not checked | not applicable | no free scan found |
| EE-1800 Robotics and Industrial Electronics | 595-2726 | 1982, first printing | yes, “Copyright © 1982” | not applicable | Internet Archive |
| Boyet, Heath’s Robot HERO: 69 Experiments (Microprocessor Training Inc., not Heath) | — | not given | not checked | not applicable | Internet Archive |
Catalogues. The catalogue pages reproduced in this dive date from 1983–1990 and carry Heath notices (”© Heath Company”). Under the project’s rule for catalogues they are treated like the manuals: linked at World Radio History and reproduced as figures, not hosted as documents in the Reference Library.
6.5 Claims checked
Table 5 — Claims checked
| Claim | Where it appears | Finding | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| ET-18 is the assembled HERO 1 and ETW-18 the kit | HERO 1 dive, before its 2026 correction | Reversed. ET-18 is the kit; ETW-18 the assembled robot | Winter 1983 catalogue; BYTE, January 1983 |
| HERO 1 has a 2 KB monitor ROM | HERO 1 dive (before its 2026 correction); Wikipedia | Contradicted. 8K of ROM | BYTE, January 1983; catalogues 1983–1988 |
| HERO 1 head rotates 350° | HERO 1 dive, before its 2026 correction | Confirmed by BYTE and the spring 1983 advertisement; the Winter 1983 catalogue’s drawing says 320° | BYTE; Robotics Age advertisement; catalogue No. 860 |
| Steve Leininger designed HERO 1 | Implied in some retellings | Not supported. He reviewed a preproduction prototype as an outside consultant | BYTE, January 1983 |
| HERO 1 released 1982 at $1,500 kit / $2,500 assembled | Wikipedia | Launched 1 December 1982; first catalogue Winter 1983; basic kit $999.95, complete kit $1,499.85, assembled $2,499.95 | Robotics Age, March/April 1983; TODAY; catalogue No. 860 |
| Project started October 1979 | Wikipedia | Plausible, not verified | BYTE says only “a few years ago” |
| RT-1 is the assembled HERO Jr, RTW-1 the kit | HERO Jr dive, before its 2026 correction | Reversed. RT-1 is the kit; RTW-1 assembled (first catalogued 1986) | Catalogues, Christmas 1984 to Spring–Summer 1986 |
| HERO Jr RTA-1-2 is the infrared motion detector | HERO Jr dive, before its 2026 correction | Contradicted. RTA-1-1 is the IR detector; RTA-1-2 the remote | Christmas 1984 catalogue |
| HERO Jr about $600 | HERO Jr dive (before its 2026 correction); Wikipedia | Kit $599.95 at launch; $399.95 by Fall 1985; $299.95 by 1986. Robotics Age reported a $1,000 retail price at CES | Catalogues; Robotics Age, August 1984 |
| HERO 2000 kit is ET-19W | HERO 2000 dive, before its 2026 correction | Not found. ET-19 is the kit; assembled EWS-19-35/-36 (1986), EWS-19-45/-46 (Fall 1987), ETW-19-A (Christmas 1987 on) | Catalogues 1986–1988 |
| HERO 2000 battery 14 Ah or 24 Ah | HERO 2000 dive, before its 2026 correction (conflict) | 24 amp-hours | Spring–Summer 1986 catalogue |
| HERO 2000 has six slave processors (eleven with arm) | HERO 2000 dive, before its 2026 correction | Catalogue says “eleven 8-bit peripheral microprocessors” without qualification | Spring–Summer 1986 catalogue |
| HERO 2000 kit $1,999.95, assembled $4,499.95 | HERO 2000 dive, before its 2026 correction | Confirmed | Spring–Summer 1986 catalogue |
| HERO 1 sold about 14,000; Jr 4,000; 2000 3,000; HE-RObot 50 | Wikipedia | Unverified; no Heath figure found | — |
| HERO supported until 1995 | Wikipedia | Consistent with Robot Workshop: inventory to Mobile Ed Productions in 1995 | Robot Workshop |
| HERO 1 on Mr. Wizard’s World | Wikipedia | Unverified | — |
Further reading
- Leininger, Steven. “Heath’s HERO-1 Robot.” BYTE, January 1983, pp. 86–96. The best contemporary technical description. Internet Archive
- Helmers, Carl. “Ein Heldenleben.” Robotics Age, March/April 1983. A photographic tour of a HERO 1 a week after its launch. Internet Archive
- Robotics Age, 1982–1986, for the personal-robot industry as a whole; the Internet Archive holds most issues (for example August 1984).
- Robillard, Mark J. HERO 1: Advanced Programming and Interfacing. Howard W. Sams, 1983. Not consulted for this dive.
- Savage, Donnie V. The Hero Web Source, for technical FAQs on all three robots.
- The three robot dives on this site: HERO 1, HERO Jr, HERO 2000.
- The Heath Company history: site history dive.
Sources
Heathkit catalogues, all from World Radio History’s Heathkit catalogue index:
- No. 859, Christmas 1982
- No. 860, Winter 1983
- No. 862, Fall 1983
- No. 863, Christmas 1983
- No. 864, Winter 1983–84
- No. 865, Spring 1984
- Fall 1984
- Christmas 1984
- Spring–Summer 1985
- Fall 1985
- Christmas 1985
- Spring–Summer 1986 (also at the Internet Archive)
- Fall 1986
- Fall 1987
- Christmas 1987
- No. 211, Spring 1988
- Spring 1990
- No. 223, Winter 1991
- No. 279, Heathkit/Zenith Educational Systems, 1993
Periodicals
- BYTE, January 1983.
- Robotics Age: March/April 1983, January 1984, April 1984, August 1984, May 1985.
- Sextant no. 20, January–February 1986.
- Slashdot, “Heathkit Reincarnates the Hero Robot”, 25 December 2007.
- Make:, “Heathkit HERO”, 28 February 2008.
- Hackaday, 9 September 2012 and 5 November 2020.
Web and archives
- heathkit.com HE-RObot pages, 2007–2008, via the Internet Archive (linked in vol04).
- TODAY, “Personal Robot Called HERO 1 Stops by TODAY in 1982”.
- Robot Workshop, “HERO Robots”.
- The Hero Web Source; The Old Robot’s Web Site; VintageComputer.ca.
- Brueschke, Erich E., and Michael Mack. “The History of the Heath Companies and Heathkits: 1909 to 2019.” AWA Review 32 (2019). Internet Archive
- Wikipedia: “HERO (robot)”; “White Box Robotics”. Used for leads and for figures marked unverified.
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