[ARC5] Cost of "command" equipment (& eBay) - [ changed topic]

[Leslie Smith]

[ David Stinson]
>  Ebay has been the greatest boon to serious collectors, ever.
>  I now own items I never dreamed of even *seeing* in my lifetime.
> 
> GL OM DE Dave AB5S

[Todd]
> As to J Mcvey's earlier post preferring to spend money on a K3, KX3 or
> whatever - good for you! That's what makes the hobby so appealing for so
> many folks with different interests. 
> 
> ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
 
Items that cost a few hundred dollars may still represent value to
some-one who is "builder/experimenter".

Suppose I wanted to build an 80 or 40m receiver from scratch.  It's a
big job - especially the metal-work.
If I buy a BC-453/R23 for $100 dollars, that represents 5 - 15 hours
equivalent value of my time.  
I'd not get the circuit drawn in that time, and if I did I'd end up with
a solid state design not far from the R-23 design.  
On the other hand, If I take a non-working R-23 KNOW I can have it
working in about 4 hours and I have an excellent "back-end" for a
converter - either crystal controlled or tunable. 
 I've done this, and the stability and selectivity of a converter +R-23
 combination is better than I could design myself.
 A front end for a Q-5er IS within my capability, so I get a very "neat"
 working set instead of a wild dream about a non-existent radio.

Although these sets were cheap in the past, their exchange value ($5 to
$15 per unit in the 50's) was cheap compared with their use value, so we
[hams] undervalued/under-priced them.
We still carry the memory of those past-bargains, and now mis-judge
their value.
If I put a value on my time consider the working value of these sets the
prices seen on eBay is realistic.
A "bargain" vs "rip-off" depends on your starting point and estimate
about the relative value of time vs item.

That's my $0.02 cents worth.

Les

It reminds me about the Irishman who asked a friend, "What's the best
way to get to Belfast?"
Friend:  "If I was going to Belfast, I wouldn't start from here?"

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - Faster than the air-speed velocity of an
                          unladen european swallow