[ARC5] T-16/ARC-5 unmodified on the Bay

[Mike Morrow]

> OK, he spent over $1400 for a 75 year old tx. Now what?
> He can't even use it, so it just sits there!I can understand
> it if it's for an aircraft, museum or other public historical
> entity.For a private collector, it seems crazy to me.
> just my take on it...

I suspect that rare postage stamps from countries that no longer exist must puzzle you mightily as well, since you can't use them on an envelope to pay the cable TV bill.  Or rare paper money like the Confederate States Type T-35, worth more than $30,000 in almost any kind of condition. After all, you certainly can't buy a six-pack at the local 7-11 with that.  Or how about those who will spend $2500 for an old Model 1860 Spencer carbine for which there is no ammunition source, when $200 at the local gun store can get you a used but modern rifle of much greater performance.  Yes, it surely is hard to understand any of these wanton abuses of "the public interest" unless "it's for a...museum or other public historical entity."  Private owners should be banned from such purchases!!  :-)

In fact, most people who are willing to spend generous sums for rare items, even vintage radio equipment with important military history, are far far more knowledgeable about the gear and the associated history than are casual tinkerers who don't give a damn about any of that and just want to ham it up with 80-year-old technology.  In fact, it's that odd jumping through hoops to put old military radios on the ham bands...making kludge design changes, mixing/matching odd parts, "improving" with modern technology 80-year-old gear that's bizarre, when much less effort and expense can get a much better signal on the air simply by using a cheap used quarter-century-old solid state ham rig from the local hamfest.

The strange people are NOT the ones who are willing to pay for a rare item, even when it can't be used to chat with the hamsters.

Mike / KK5F