[Boatanchors] [ARC5] Boatanchor Ennui: Is He Wrong?

[Rob Atkinson]

Some relatively younger hams are getting interested in tube gear and
AM.  But with a twist.  They want to run the SDR gear for receiving.

Tube audio is of interest to people, albeit not all hams.

Tube leenyars are going to come down in value.  There's a looming glut
I'm starting to see now on swap.qth as appliance ops unload their tube
amps to buy the solid state jobs.

Lightweight vintage gear is in demand--Rangers, SX25s, Navigators and
the other small Novice rigs -- the under 50 lb. gear.  But still I
agree there will be a glut of vintage gear in the coming years.

A minority of hams are tiring of the race to throw away consumer grade
gear like the new Icom box.  It has gotten to the point that your
shiny new plastic radio is as easy to fix as a smart phone.  Many will
put up with that but a few are going backwards to the gear they can
still put on a bench and repair.

Probably the problem for many is that it isn't enough to simply go buy
a rig like a Valiant.  You have to acquire the bench test gear, the
tools, the reference library, the parts and so on and they probably
get overwhelmed and nothing happens.  I am having some physical
problems with eyesight and coordination.  I drop parts, can't make my
fingers work right and lack the dexterity I once had, have to wear
magnifiers even for pretty big junction inspections like a tube
socket.  That's probably a barrier for other guys also.

Oh but the sight and sound of tube gear in operation.  Most hams don't
care because they have not experienced it.

73

Rob
K5UJ