[ARC5] the age old battle of modify or sanctify...

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

I don't buy the argument that if it weren't for hams buying to hack there 
wouldn't be US military radio surplus still around.  That they are 
responsible for the hacked examples that turn up, mostly yes.  Although several other 
(non-ham) groups contributed to that pool.  But by far the majority of the 
non-hacked examples that still turn up are from other sources.  Mostly I 
think the dregs of various surplus dealer's or wannabee dealers inventory.  And 
a large percentage is out of various NATO or former NATO warehouses in 
Europe that have been emptied and torn down over the past ten years.  

But with relatively few exceptions (one being me - I started collecting 
roughly half a century ago last summer), hams have nothing to do with the 
untouched examples.

Robert Downs - Houston
wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
MVPA 9480