[ARC5] "Junk" M y Foot (Was: PT boat....)

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 5:17 PM, David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>
> But I'll tell you this- You take your pick of 1950
> and 1960s mid-range commercial "ham" gear-  Halliscappers, Hammer-on,
> Greasekit, Swan, Johnson etc. and compare any of the above radios
> *run as they were designed*,
> watt-for-watt and frequency-for-frequency,
> by stability, audio quality, reliability and durability and these early
> Mil rigs will run rings around the commericial "ham " stuff available in
> 1950.
>

Not to take away from your point Dave, which is a valid one, but let's at
least compare apples and apples. It bears mentioning at least that the
military thought enough of Hammarlund, Hallicrafters, and National to buy
thousands of their ham receivers and transmitters right off the shelf.
Super Pros, SX-28s, HROs and HT-4s served throughout the war around the
world. Many of them (especially the Super Pros) were equally dumped on and
called junk due to either a tired surplus set in need of a rework or a ham
that expect it to perform like a newer design.

No doubt about it, we were caught flat-footed at the outset of war and
needed to utilize whatever we could get our mitts on. Some of it might not
have been too great even at that time, but it was much better than the
alternative: nothing!

As to Heathkit aka Griefkit, WRL, and other moderately priced gear of the
postwar area, many of those manufacturers utilized surplus components to
build their businesses upon. Again - they weren't on Collins, National, or
Hammarlund's level of quality but they sure did provide a lot of
opportunities to hams who couldn't afford the others. And likely saved some
surplus from being hacked.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4