Hello Jim, others....
I always remember hams being cheap....oh, yeah, there was always
the rich doctor/etc....but most of the old 'curmudgeons' were
cheapskates...they might be worth a million bux, but you'd not
know it by looking at them at a ham swap!!! So I came by my
tendencies 'honest' as they say!!!
Jim, here's a quick rundown to ponder:
Bought a Collins KWT-6 at auction for $60. Got three PM2
power supplies thrown in for free (no one wanted them, even for
free- says a lot about our hams today). Traded it for an EXC
condition KWM-2. Bought a 51J4 from a CBer for $25...fixed it..
traded for another KWM-2, this time minty condition. Bought a
Drake TR4CW....$150...fixed it...traded for a mint- 75S3B....
Bought a 32S-1 (oops, had to pay money for that one....oh well.
Bought heath HP23 for $5. another one for $10. 2m- bought
prc-27 for $75...rebuilt battery pack and built a charger...it'll
last for armeggedon...my Chevy truck-Graduate student needed
$1000 to stay out of jail....:) :)....my clean Nissan sentra was
free with (already) rebuilt motor....needed carburetor and
battery....you get the picture....also, bought and restored
much 1950s and60s hi-fi gear....traded all of it for down
payment on house....now my mortage/insurance is $350/month....
A guy on the Collins group once joked about the old geezers at
hamfests with beat up station wagons and dirty overalls buying
radios....that'll be me, BTW,....just remember when I outbid
this smartass at the next auction, I ain't got a $500 car payment
or $$1000 rent this month!! :) :) :) It offended me because
the "old geezer with bib overalls and the 1972 station wagon"
was probably my elmer, who could buy and sell most of the
"collins" boys...wonder why?......
Patience, Jim......that's how I just bought a nice Drake 2B covered
with filth for $60.....cost me a new 15M xtal ($5-on sale) and
a bottle of windex!! to restore....hi hi...now we'll see how
much the 'boys' bid on that 51S1 up for auction next meeting...
hi hi
73, Walt
On
Sat,
3
Apr 1999, Jim Lowman wrote:
>
> I really enjoyed reading this thread, especially Walt's comments.
>
> Part of the reason that sellers get the ridiculous prices on Ebay
> is that some of us have more money than patience. If we adopt
> the point of view that we will get exactly what we want, at a good
> price...eventually...it is likely to come true.
>
> When I was a new ham in 1966, naturally I admired the revered
> Collins S-Line, but could afford only a Drake R-4 and T-4X, which
> I have to this day. As an 18-year-old college student, Collins gear
> was well beyond my reach then. While that is not true today, I
> refuse to pay exorbitant prices for that gear. In fact, I signed off the
> Collins list for that reason.
>
> A good friend recently acquired a KWM-2, in nice condition and at
> a reasonable price. While I joke with him about always being in the
> right place at the right time for a good deal, his patience was
> rewarded.
>
> It is easy to succumb to the temptation to pay too much for used gear.
> In my case, I paid about $500 for a Ten-Tec Argonaut 515 about a year
> ago, although it's a beauty, and came with the semi-rare model 208-A
> notch and CW filter box. Later, I bought the matching power supply
> from the same seller. My friend kids me to this day for paying $75
> for a 1-amp power supply!
>
> On another front, I had pursued a HW-9 for over a year, willing to pay
> an inflated price. Fortunately, some of you on QRP-L and the Heathkit
> lists pointed out that the HW-9 is fine for the sake of nostalgia, but
> isn't up to the performance of today's QRP rigs.
>
> What's the old saying? Good things come to those who wait?
>
> 73 de Jim - AD6CW
>
>
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