[ARC5] Happy Birthday Boatanchors

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Reaves" <donreaves at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [BoatAnchors] Happy Birthday Boatanchors


> The talent on this list has always been outstanding.  But I'm
> concerned membership may drop just due to age attrition.  Who are 
> the
> under 50 youngsters here that will inherit our love of boatanchors 
> and
> care for our equipment?

Hi Don!  Hope you're going OK up there.
I've recently had reason to think hard about this very thing.
Where are the youngsters who will carry on?
There are very few.  As with any collectable when its
prime interest group (those who wished to have the items when they
were young and acquired them when they grew old) passes away,
only a tiny cadre' will carry the fire into the future-
like those who collect Roman armor or scrimshaw;
they will be very few and very selective.

They will preserve only the "cream" items- those which have
been given "special" status by our care and documentation of them
and which are in exceptional condition.
For instance; a nice, complete RAT or RAX set
(I mean with mounts, control boxes and etc.) will probably
stick around long after we're gone.  An exceptionally nice
and complete Collins station of any era or Drake line with no
chassis rot will probably make the cut.  Also those which,
while perhaps a bit more rough, have a "hook" into
other cultural issues, like WASP ferrying radios (women's rights)
have a chance, but only if documented well and widely enough
that future enthusiasts (all four of them) understand the "hook."

That accessory-less BC-654, banged-up TBY,
heavy, dusty. power-supply-less ART-13,
chassis-rotted Drake or too-common Hallicrafters S-whatever
will probably go through a succession of two or three
dusty garages before going to the scrap dealer.
Anything big, bulky and/or heavy will have a hard time.
Nearly all "plastic radios", which are subject to silicon device
deterioration, plastic decay and discontinuance of "single source"
"in-house" parts will go yard-sale and end-up in a nerd's
garage (the same guy who has a pile of old computer CRTs
 for reasons only he knows)  until he discovers girls.
It will go to the curb when he gets married and
"She Who Must Be Obeyed" decides it's clean-up time.

So much for your $10,000 plastic YeaComWood.
And I'm sorry, guys, but that whacked-up, hacked-up
ex-military "why that modification is part'o tha history
of Ham Radio!" FrankenSet will be the first one in the dumpster.
It's happening already as guys who've pack-ratted but
not prepared pass on and their kids, who are only interested
in selling the house, trash it.  And if it makes it to a hamfest,
it *might* sell for $2, but will more likely hit the dumpster
on the way back home.  I've done that one myself.

This is the unavoidable fate of 95% of the radios
in your collection right now.  Thousands of years
of human nature dictate it.  There are only so many
military vehicles/planes/ships to whom you can donate.
"Museums"-  even if you can find a legit one
that isn't "Clem's 'zeum uh Old Radios in My Back Bedroom"-
and that claims interest in your stuff, will stick it in a box
in a warehouse where it will stay until the "museum" sells it
to raise cash or closes and it's auctioned-off,
or just stay there in the dusty box until Judgement Day.

There is , however, something you can do about all this.

First- FOCUS.  What radio or radios are you really
passionate about?  Do you really care about those
three Swan rigs you've got out in the shed?
Let me give you some advice, my friend:
You're only going to live a certain number of hours more.
You can probably count-up to the number of years
you have left in one breath- maybe even on your fingers.
Why on Glorious God's good Earth would you spend
even one of them on a radio you don't care about?
If you have a passion for a radio,
you work on it until your fingers bleed.
You drive 200 miles to get the right knob for the
volume control.  You don't have time or money
for second-stringers.  FOCUS.

Second: *Give the future a reason to care about it.*
Get your chosen stations or sets complete.
All the accessories.  All "correct."  And get them
in excellent condition.  Restore what you can.
Swap-out pieces as you find better examples.
And most important:  *Document.*  Write about
your passion- everything you can find about it.
Discuss with people who share your passion
and even with the "lukewarm."
The only immortality you have this side of the grave
is your written words.
"Word of mouth" dies with the people doing the talking.
The memory of you will fade within a generation or two,
except for your written, published words.
Written words can live forever.
Write as though you're talking to some young person,
trying to convince them why they should take up your passion,
because that's just exactly what you're doing.

GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S