[Boatanchors] "Oldtimer bitching"? Or Timely Warning? You Decide.

[Bill Cotter]

A common idea that we hams seem to have acquired 
is that buying old boatanchors and parts are a good investment.

It comes from the frenzy feeding on e-Bay and the 
Japanese buying spree of the past ten years. But, 
the simple truth is that the supply of this old 
junk is exceeding demand, and the prices are 
falling short - whether we like it or not. If one 
invested heavily in boatanchors expecting 
financial performance like a mutual fund, or even 
a CD, they are going to go broke from falling prices and inflation.

The best you can hope for is to buy a piece of 
gear, restore it, enjoy it, sell it quick, and 
make it a bargain for the next owner - and chock 
any loss up to rental expense.

And, at SK time, I have a young ham friend in his 
late 20's who loves anything radio related 
1930-1950's. I have told my XYL and children to 
contact him, and have him take it all away - gratis.

73 Bill N4LG



At 04:00 PM 7/25/2016, you wrote:
>It's not "bitching". These are not "complaints". 
>It's a warning. I think what most of us on these 
>lists recognize is this.... If you want any 
>money out of your collection of ANY old, 
>special-interest technology, NOW IS THE TIME. 10 
>years from now will not work. Your kids will 
>most likely load it into a dumpster. This or 
>something close to this is a guaranteed outcome. 
>It's not ambiguous. It's demographically 
>unavoidable.  If you DO NOT care about getting 
>any money out of your collection, then just keep 
>doing what you are doing and make it clear to 
>the kids that they can pitch it or let it go on 
>Craigslist for 10 cents on the dollar with a 
>clear conscience. For some technologies, you are 
>already too late. Try selling a film camera 
>collection. Try selling your darkroom. I'm sure 
>you can think of other examples. Hell, try 
>selling a fine but unrare, specialized BOOK 
>collection in the Kindle era! Yeeks. It was 
>alarming to go to Dayton this year and see 
>EVERYONE who came with Drake gear leave with 
>their gear. It was and is great stuff. But too 
>much of it has survived to be attractive to the 
>remaining buyers. Everyone that wants Drake gear 
>already has it. I'm not saying to give up on 
>your C line. But if you want to sell it--or ANY 
>of this gear--for what you paid for it plus 
>inflation, that is becoming a longer and longer 
>row to hoe with every season that passes.  For 
>other technologies, you are too early. Examples: 
>Post-war TVs--except early, round tube color 
>sets in working condition, Apple computers. PCs 
>and maybe non-name Unix systems are hopeless. 
>Early solid state audio gear is junk.  In all 
>categories, the exception is the high-end--the 
>stuff that was "really expensive" and "general 
>use" (like stereo gear), or unique in its' 
>prime--think art-deco broadcast radios.That 
>stuff will probably always have buyers. But the 
>financial side of this hobby is in the remaining 
>phases of doing a 180 degree turn from 
>appreciating in value to depreciating in value. 
>If you could care less about ending up "in the 
>red", then GREAT. That is where I want to be in 
>the final accounting--still in the hobby with no 
>concern for what happens to the stuff after my 
>time.  73 de N3RHT Don Merz       From: Peter 
><k.malsch at comcast.net> To: ARC5 at mailman.qth.net 
>Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2016 2:35 PM Subject: 
>[ARC5] Oldtimer bitching    Hello guy's I have 
>read all of your complaints for the future of 
>our collections. Â  I for an example will in the 
>future try to be a program at all the local 
>Denver Radio Clubs with my working Command Set 
>display and the talk about the "Air Navigation 
>Systems of WWII". I did this at the local Club 
>with an astonishing result. Lot's of questions 
>from the audience. What is a "Dyna-motor" for 
>example. This questions came even from Old 
>Timers. The younger attendees had most of the 
>questions and I was glad to answer them as best 
>as I could. Most had never seen and heard of the 
>radio systems of WWII and where glad to the hear 
>about and see it demonstrated. I will try to 
>just show this equipment at the Denver Radio 
>Club Ham Fest next month at the Jeff-co 
>Fairground. Maybe this is the way to wake the 
>interest in more of the younger Ham's, at least 
>I will try. My Son as well as many of yours has 
>his interest in Computers and FM-Radios. That is 
>his Business and Hobby. I have sold most of my 
>Collection and kept only interesting and rare 
>pieces. But falling for the occasional appearing 
>piece of "Boat Anker" radio to play with, as 
>well as repairing it and then selling it again 
>to make room for another one. Have nice day and 
>73 Peter KC0DGM 
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