[ARC5] Cost of sets - 1950 and 2010

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 8:18 PM, Mike Morrow <kk5f at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>When I got interested in them in '79-'80 timeframe, they were still
>>plentiful new in box for $5-$10...
>
> I got interested in them in 1964, but even back that far I don't remember ANY
> NIB command sets being sold at that low a price.

Keep in mind that the surplus dealers of your day were all but gone at
that point, Mike. Retail surplus wasn't an option. The sets I was
seeing had been bought up years before by others, then appeared at
hamfests, clubs, or other non-retail sales so to speak. They weren't
'rare collectibles' at that point, and folks who had picked them up
years before just wanted to dump them. In fact, my introduction in '79
came from a college prof who traded me a NOS BC-455B then showed me
how to rewire the filaments, add an RF gain control for volume, and
BFO switch. We also added an old Philco field coil speaker for
external audio. That badly mauled set is what gave me an appreciation
for what those little sets could do and sparked a desire to learn and
experience more.

My only regret was not building a complete set back then when they
were plentiful. Still need to find clean examples of the R-23 and R-24
to round out the receivers. When I decided to get back to it in the
mid 90s, most of the clean stuff had been replaced by hacked up or
seriously used/re-sprayed versions. Though I must say, I'm thankful
for those too, as they've been an excellent source of parts and that
tiny hardware.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4