[ARC5] ARC-5 Mods

[David Stinson]

Pleased to meet you, Kevin!  
I think I speak for most of us
in that "tinkering" on an already modded set is A-OK.
Our concern is to keep any more intact sets 
from needless destruction.  

Where is the Command Set receiver you used
as a novice today?  Perhaps you have kept yours, but
the majority so modded have gone to the scrap heap.
That's because 
"a Model-T Ford can't be made into a Corvete."
A hacked-up Model-T is a nothing, except to the guy
who did the hacking, and only for a short time to him.
Better it go to someone who loves 
Model-Ts for being Model-Ts.
A BC-455 with it's drawer hacked out and a transformer
mounted on the rear is not a BC-455, because it no 
longer represents what a BC-455 was or what it did.
It represents someone's idea of a ham project,
and may find value in some eyes for that,
but it is NOT an historic item any longer, 
unless we're discussing "ham history."
In the context of WWII history,
it's a wrecked hulk, fit only for parts donation.

The supply of these set might seem endless,
but it is not.  There is a definate number
of intact sets remaining in the world.
As I write this, someone who is not on the internet,
but does read QST, has taken a truly rare, 
irreplacable set like an RAV or RAT or "M"-
marked A.R.C. unit out of his attic
and is busy hacking, chopping and drilling.
In the eyes of history and the heritage of
Mankind, that set has ceased to exist.
The hacker is going to become bored with his
new toy in short order, when he discovers
how much work it is use the set on our
crowded bands.  It will then go to the
garage to await his estate sale, or on
a hamfest table to be bought for $10 and 
chopped-up for marginally useful parts,
or go straight to the dump.  That's a big
price to pay for what amounts to 
temporary entertainment.
The saddest part of the tale is that the
sets work just fine without any irreversable
mods at all.  The destruction is doubly
tragic because it's needless.

I'm very glad you make the distinction
between playing with modded sets and
chopping original ones.  Perhaps someday
that excellent attitude will come 
to the majority.

Again, welcome, and don't be a stranger.
73 Dave S.