[ETO_Alpha] 87A resale value

[Mac McCullough]

Well  !!   I bought mine " BACK " in 97'  used it all the time every day on 
20 mtrs.  on weekends other bands ..  then one day it just went Tits up, 
hard fault 99  I think it's called ..  The alpha guys were very helpful, 
and I was able to get it going by using the hyper-link thru a computer .. 
but then all the sudden it just wouldn't find it's self after power up .. 
and would shut it's self off ..  so rather than Mac the technician trying to 
perform some additional work...  I reviewed the Alpha web site and saw they 
would sort of " tune - up " a set for I forget 125-150  something like that 
.. so I sent it in to Glen and crew ..while it was there I decided to have 
the alpha max control package installed ..  Which Anthony and Glen had done 
and returned to me in I think it 7-9 days or something like that..  and I 
will add I was very satisfied with the final pricing , and I had originally 
planned to have it returned to me via FedEx AIR  overnight priority ..  but 
before I could get that request into action,  They had it sent via DHL,  and 
for what I thought was a very righteous pricing of $40.00 ... hell I get a 
nice dis-count using FedEx air , and that is the same or right at what I 
paid to have it sent up for these repairs and tune up .. As well it was 
returned in a Factory box ,  not the lame box I used ..  i'm being a bit 
hard on myself here ,  but the intent is that Alpha did it right ..
So what does all this blab have to do with your pricing search  ..  My 
original intent was to offer my unit { it's in ex condition finish etc } for 
north of 4k but now after having been checked out and the alpha max added , 
I would not think of less than 4500.00 ..   and w/o  alpha max deduct 300.00 
Alpha max is not that expensive ,  but I would use it as my reason to go 
ahead and send the amp into Glen and let them go over it and my thinking is 
then your set to go for quite some time ..  Something to consider in 97'  it 
was ETO  not Alpha ...  the cooling fan and a few other subtle changes are 
the only differences ..  with any version of an 87a  you're not backing up 
to anybody ..  in my opinion it's the finest amp ever built to date...  As a 
prediction, I think when the new 9500's  start to ship you will see a price 
dip on used 87A's  but most of the guys I know that have ordered or plan to 
get a 9500 will keep their 87A for a duration to be sure the 9500 is indeed 
a worthy replacement .. so the market drop wont be precipitous..  and I 
think after a time pricing will rebound whatever dip it did take .. long 
answer, but you asked ..  mac/mc  w5mc
looking back over this answer, I was not as emphatic as I intended to be , 
but I think the Alpha group is good , viable and you would be pleased to buy 
this thing,  and I would strongly recommend you just send it back in for a 
general tune up .. ..



Located 46 miles due North of the Alamo, and 121 miles due South of the 
Western White House.   see my website at  www.collinsandharrisradios.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Clint Sprague" <clintws1v at yahoo.com>
To: <eto_alpha at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:25 AM
Subject: [ETO_Alpha] 87A resale value


> Hi all,
> A friend who is no longer active wants to sell me
> his 87A, he purchased it back in 1997, so I don't
> believe it has the recent firmware updates.
>
> What are some problems I should look for in this
> model, and what would be a fair $ price I should offer
> him?
>
> 73,
> Clint - WS1V
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
> _______________________________________________
> ETO_Alpha mailing list
> ETO_Alpha at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/eto_alpha
>