[Boatanchors] [ARC5] Boatanchor Ennui: Is He Wrong?
COURYHOUSE at aol.com
COURYHOUSE at aol.com
Fri Jul 22 22:35:04 EDT 2016
Don Mertz makes some valid observations and conclusions. I foretold this
back in the 80's
But Joe Connor Make a great point about the value of the pleasure
of working, finding hoarding bragging about our chunks of Iron.
Do not approach it with--- I'M GONNA GET RICH because as the cycle
closes it ain't going to happen.
We all have a responsibility to see that some of it will be saved....
but it will not all be saved in the quanity that exists presently.
The weight issue is a big point in handling some of this... I convinced
my wife to help me unload the RAK the other day.... in the old days I
would have done it without thinking by my self...
Big problem is some of my best helpers at the SMECC museum project are
my age or older... there will come a time where we will be happy to just
walk and not concern ourselves with weight lifting!
Any way enjoy what you have, enjoy your friends you share comradeship
with... and when possible see that the treasures and history are spread
into as many possible display opportunities.. granted they all will
not survive.... but the greater the density of items being shown will
certainly in the long run make sure there is at least some surviving.
( Shhh! wife is asleep soon and... the RAK is on a small Harbor
Freight dolly... I think I will sneak in the house and look inside it! - I
always to the detail and clean up work here at house then haul to museum
building for display... by the way if you ever build a new house get a
built in vacuum cleaner... best friend ever for the person that needs to clean
things out, not have internal house noise... and duct all the dirt and
bugs out of the premises that might be ion one of these oldies! <<grin!>)
Have a great night! Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC _www.smecc.org_
(http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 7/22/2016 1:14:33 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
boatanchors at mailman.qth.net writes:
Guys, after reading a few of these posts, I'm starting to think we may
have to put this entire list on suicide watch!
There is another way to look at it. Think of all the fun and enjoyment
these radios have given us and will continue to give us. Remember the fun of
haunting the hamfests and laying your eyes on that really special set,
good-naturedly haggling with the seller, and bringing that treasure home. Think
of the fun restoring and repairing these sets, trying to make them perform
as well as they did the day they left the factory (and sometimes
succeeding). Remember those tough-dog sets that seemed to defy all of the established
trouble-shooting technigues and how good you felt when you finally found
and fixed the problem (usually something that was staring you in the face
the whole time). Think about all the evenings spent using these sets.
Remember the enjoyment of discussing these sets with other like-minded people.
I can't put a price on all of that. Can you?
Joe Connor
On Friday, July 22, 2016 3:29 PM, Don Merz via ARC5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:
Sadly, it isn't just "their stuff" going into the dump--it's his stuff too
and mine and yours.
We're headed into the final phase of supply and demand--supply will
overwhelm demand in the next 10 years--by a wide margin. Values will plummet.
It's all in the demographics--period, end of story. I am 63 at he tail end of
the baby boom. The average age of hams is right with me--almost exactly.
And hams make up most of the collectors.
Within 10 years, I HAVE TO dispose of all or nearly all of my stuff. Right
now I am a buyer and a seller. Up to now, I have tended to buy in
estate-size lots, sell most of it and keep a few things. My health is such that I
can no longer lift a 90 pound RBL or 110 pound AR-88 by myself. I try not to
lift them at all and get my sons to do it. So I am turning away from
everything big and heavy--and so is everyone in my demographic. It's natural and
obvious. Also, I am giving up entirely on the estates. I promised my sons
that I would drop out of the eBay selling game at the end of this year.
That is when my pension kicks in and I won't need eBay money anymore to
support my uh......lifestyle.
I am a member of 2 local ham clubs and VP of the local antique radio club.
The story is the same across all 3. The ham clubs are withering. The cadre
of old men that they have relied upon for years is dying off or moving
away. The antique radio club is thriving. But radios at their auctions mostly
sell for $20 or less. NOBODY wants 7-tube consoles or anything big and
heavy. Try selling a 1952 12 inch TV--good luck! Try selling your complete
collection of HAM RADIO magazines--good luck!
Many of the guys are in denial of the issue and just keep accumulating.
The club gets 2-3 calls a year asking for help disposing of a houseful of
radios. And we do the exact same thing that everyone is doing--we pick out the
best stuff for them to include in our auctions and tell them to pitch the
rest.
Yes, the dumpster is the future for most of this stuff. In 10 years, it
will be 99% buyers and 1% sellers. Only a small portion of the best stuff
will survive--because it was "the best stuff" and too much of it is still
around to chase too few buyers. There was a guy at Dayton selling three fully
restored 75A4 receivers. $650 each FULLY RESTORED. Two had the spinner
knobs, one had two filters and the others just one. He had no takers. In 10
years, everyone that has a basement full of "the best stuff" will all want to
sell it at the same time. Prices must and will fall drastically because all
the buyers will have left the market.
One happy exception is military gear, since that is collected by military
buffs and radio guys.I think military gear is safe, more or less.
Amplifiers are also safe I think. The prices of new ones are through the roof. So
the new amp prices are pulling up the value of used ones. Another curious
question is what about the 1920's and 30's stuff that is about to become
officially "antique"--100 years old. Will it have increased value simply because
of its age? Interesting.... Another issue is what effect the conversion to
digital radio will have. Will anyone want that Philco 90 cathedral when it
can never receive a signal again?
I have loved this hobby. It's a gem. But I have told my family not to care
about any of the gear when I go. Sell it cheap and don't look back or just
donate it to a local club--if any of them still exist by then.
73 Don Merz, N3RHT
From: David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net; boatanchors at mailman.qth.net; ARC-5
<arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 2:12 PM
Subject: [ARC5] Boatanchor Ennui: Is He Wrong?
I was talking with a "grumble buddy" the other day
concerning our "boatanchor radio" hobby and its future.
"Dave, for every twenty guys with a garage or storage
locker full of crap, there's maybe *one* who has heated
a soldering iron and actually finished a project and got it
on the air in the last 10 years.
They all have the "' 'round-Tuit" disease
and it's going to stay that way until their stuff goes to
the dump."
I told him he was being cynical- that there were
at least twice that many guys who actually finished
a project and got it on the air.
What's your perspective?
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