[Collins] To restore or not revisited

[William J. Diamond]

Hello folks,

I received several private emails about my thoughts on restoration and =
the majority agreed with my assessment.

Yes, it is impossible to totally restore a piece of Collins equipment =
because the OEM parts are not available.

Several said that the craftsmanship is not available.  This I disagree =
with as many of the people who have restored Collins equipment worked =
for Collins and still retain most of their skills.  I myself feel that I =
can still solder as good as what was done on Collins due to my quality =
control experience in the early space program.

Many said that they had a totally Mint piece of equipment but I do not =
agree with this as the word mint means still in the sealed factory box =
and untouched and I doubt there are very many around although I guess it =
is possible.

I do have a 75A1 that was still in the orig. factory box with the =
inspection tag still on it.  Is it mint?, no, but it is very nice but it =
did not work as well as a crystal set after 30+ years of storage.

Many people felt that modifications were ok including the installation =
of solid state mixers, RF amps, etc.  This is fine since the person =
should be able to do whatever they want with their own radio.  This WILL =
NOT bring the equipment up to modern day standards of performance, the =
design in the first place did not intend that it last or work into the =
digital age.

Several people felt that they would pay much more for a piece of =
equipment that had never been touched even to replace defective caps or =
lytics.  This is fine if they want something to look at and never use.  =
There is nothing worse sounding than a 75A1 with bad lytics.

All in all, the Collins line is exceptional equipment and has endured =
long past it's expected lifetime.  Treated with TLC and respect it can =
probably serve future generations if there is still radios.

Use it, enjoy it and respect it for what it is, A PIECE of AMERICAN =
HISTORY.


wjdiamond@sbcglobal.net

William J. Diamond  ( Bill )
  Rogers, Arkansas USA=20

Ham Radio Operator WR=D8T
Flying The Flag And Using
American Made Equipment
Long Before It Was Popular




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