[Milsurplus] German Freya Radar on ebay

[William Donzelli]

So why did a "trash heap" radar console go for $787?

Well, it may be a shock to some of you - that piece was the single most
significant bit of old radar technology EVER offered on Ebay, and
certainly one of the most offered for sale anywhere in the past few
years. Why? It's German, for one. Very little German radar technology
remains outside of the British museum system, with the exception of tubes,
of course. Also, it is a ground radar. With old radar systems from World
War 2, the ground radars were probably the most important, yet survived in
the fewest numbers. Lastly, it comes from a very important family of
radars - the Freyas, the backbone of the German air defense system.

As for condition - not great, certainly. The seller is pretty honest, and
from my experience, the items are better than they appear in the pictures.
Missing parts is an issue, but not a terrible one - the tubes can be
found, as can knobs (little parts can still be found at German hamfests).
The visor may be gone for good, but something can be fabricated.

Doorstop? Radar consoles are the easiest part of a radar system to get
working. Generally everything is fairly simple, and I doubt it is far
different from US consoles. Consoles are also the easiest to get to do
something - feed in video from another radar receiver or even a simulator,
and watch the scope all night.

Maybe when a modified RAT or RAV comes up on Ebay and goes for $787, we
can all go nuts again. 

William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org