[ARC5] stuff for sale

[Brian Clarke]

Hello Todd,

 

Thanks for your positive wrap.

 

It was – and is - Billy Babb, VK3AQB. He turns 97 on 2nd Jan 2019. He’s a ‘great mate’, in the Australian vernacular. 

I’ll visit Billy in January to do another detailed inventory to help move even more ‘stuff’ along.

Charles Darby was the Brisbane fellow. Another PhD! He’s also a New Zealander, like me. Very helpful – he got me and my daughter into Sir Peter Jackson’s aircraft museum just north of Wellington, NZ.

 

When I was studying for my engineering degree in the ‘60s, there was an immaculate RR Merlin engine in the Mech Eng lab, a converted WWII hangar.

I was already hooked on Command stuff before I started my degree. I used a BC-454-B to listen to the RNZAF Morse training (or was it QNH?) broadcasts on 3.2 MHz to get my Communicator scout badge. At engineering school in the Elec Eng lab, I used Command sets to build my alignment skills. I’ve subsequently used Command sets to demonstrate RF alignment and high-reliability soldering to today’s electro-technology apprentices. With a bit of care, I was able to get 10 dB better sensitivity than in the ‘book’. Dr Drake was a genius.

 

73 de Brian, VK2GCE.

 

On Friday, 21 December 2018 1:53 AM, you said:

 

A *lot* of stuff was left behind in Oz after the war from Command sets to Merlin engines, Dave. Back around 2001-2002 with the help of Brian Clarke and a friend from Brisbane I obtained roughly 75 kg of items like racks, shockmounts, controls, cables, etc from the Bill Babb (Baab?) collection. Brian can fill in the additional info, but IIRC, Bill purchased tons (literally) of radio, radar, and whatever else surplus after the war. Stuff the US didn't want to bring back, also some that was apparently used by the Australian forces as there are little round refurb tags affixed to several items. Brian painstakingly listed each item with tag and other info. Managed to find a lot of good bits, many of which I've still never seen available here. And that was only one guy's stuff. I'd bet there are a lot of goodies down under that many here would drool over. 

 

I was single then so it didn't seem crazy. Shipping wasn't cheap, but better than today of course.

 

~ Todd/KAQ 

 

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