[Hallicrafters] Re: Packing a Radio the Right Way

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Thu, 3 Mar 2005 00:31:12 EST, W4AWM at aol.com <W4AWM at aol.com> wrote:
> <<  Maybe we need a new Radio Relay League. One that ferries radios
> cross-country in relays  >>
> 
> This is not a half bad idea. I would sooner give someone some gas money in
> exchange for the safe arrival of a piece of gear than entrust it to "Joe Blow's
> Shipping and Disaster Company."


Done both here, in fact I just drove to southern CT Saturday to pick
up a nice 75A-1 receiver from a ham there. Glad I did too, because
other than the nosebleed shipping costs the guy wanted, it would've
been a shame to have anything happen to the rig. Including the cost of
fuel, I paid half of the average epay price. Sure, it burned up the
better part of a day, but it was worth the effort and saved a lot of
waiting and fretting, as well as $.

I've paid fellow hams fuel or whatever expense to haul things up to me
if they're in the area. When selling, I also offer to meet someone at
a reasonable distance for only the price of fuel, both to save packing
time and potential damage as well as to be helpful and complete the
deal sooner.

Another thing to keep in mind is the possibility of delivering to an
upcoming hamfest. We have the Hosstraders fest, one of the biggest in
the east, every spring and fall. Folks come from all over to attend,
so unless it's a long wait until the 'fest, it might work out to wait
a bit and plan a hand off then. Since I go to this 'fest as a rule, I
deliver items for free if we can work it out.

Some people really are out in the middle of nowhere and have no
choice, but I've found for the most part that many folks are just too
damned lazy to make the effort. It's all about the convenience, sorta
like the 'plug-n-play' mentality of many hams. Just look at how many
really believe that epay and UPS are the only way to get old radio
gear now!

Pick up when you can, deliver when you can, help out when you can.
Makes sense to me.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ