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

[MillerKE6F at aol.com]

Thank you for the comments.  I disagree with your premise that the "Un  
Hacked" stuff came out of old surplus vendor stores.  Show me the documents  to 
support the claim.  As one who has been collecting this junk for many  
decades, all my truly pristine mil gear came from Ham sources in recent years  
although I did buy some New in Box command receivers back in the late 50s  
from Sams Surplus and a number of other surplus vendors on Radio Row not to  
mention R and W in Chicago and of course Good Old Fair Radio.
 
I will give you the point that a lot of the later stuff is turning up from  
time to time out of NATO sources, but that's mostly post WWII stuff.  Some  
of my GRC-9 stuff came out of French NATO sources and others.
 
But my real bitch, so to speak, is the continual moaning and groaning about 
 "Hacked" surplus junk.  I find that term to be quite demeaning and  
insulting to those folks who found practical applications for a lot of the stuff  
that found its genesis as war materiel.   We hams used to call it  
Converting the gear, not hacking it.  Been there, done that and what a  great time I 
had converting my Command Sets and building power supplies for my  
R-105/ARR15 and so on.  What an education too.  So let's be a bit  kinder to the 
folks who converted the stuff to good use and at least pay some  homage to those 
intrepid folks who, without the surplus marketplace, would  probably taken 
up stamp collecting or miniature golf. 
 
    Now I'll probably get it from the stamp collectors  and miniature 
golfer folks.  I just can't win.  I bloody quit
 
Bob, KE6F