[Milsurplus] TCS-12 Radios

[David Stinson]

These PT-boat guys may be good as gold;
I don't know.
But they got on my "bad" side right out of the box.
Once, I would have been first in line to hand over the goods,
but now I'm very skittish about museums and "restoration" groups.
I get very irritated with this "it doesn't have to work" crap.
I understand they have a lot to do.
I understand they don't know radio.
I also understand that it suggests a
"we like to make a show" rather than
a "we respect the history" attitude.

Talking about "working torpedos" is irrelevant;
there are things you can't do, no matter how
much you respect the *complete* history of something.
And there are things you CAN do.
They've asked for help for a system that was
critical to the historic operation of their boat,
then shown utter disrepect for that system
by telling us it's "just for show."
After getting a sour belly-full of that nastiness
from the politicallyCorrect Air Farce,
I am very slow to volunteer for such efforts.

I have donated many hundreds of dollars worth of
equipment and given my precious time to groups that
show me they actually care about the history
and the technology of their project-
that they aren't "radio people" is no damned excuse;
there are "radio people" by the dozens
that will fall all over themselves to help
if shown just a little respect and support
for their end of the deal.
About the second time a pCAF type wrinkles his nose
and says:  "oh, we don't need *that* old junk,"
or "those damn junk radio people are out here
asking questions again," it sort of puts me
in a "kiss my a**" mood real quick.

It may seem harsh, but I only have so much historic
radio stuff to go around, and I've had all the
elitist snorts from show-boat pretend "restorers" I care for.
Especially those who take an historic aircraft
and turn it into a jumped-up Cessna,
or those who might take an historic ship and turn it
into an expensive entertainment speed boat,
where drunken tourists are taken on high-speed rides
for $45 a pop.  I'm not saying this group
has that in mind, but their attitude about
the technology doesn't leave me in a generous mood.

If I'm going to give my gear away,
it will be to someone who respects the
fact that WWII could not have been fought and
won without the efforts of the men and women
who designed, built and installed the technology
that made the planes fly and the ships go,
and who respects that as much as his precious engines.
I think I'll save my spare TCS stuff for
an outfit that is more serious about the history
and less about the "show," thanks.

73 Dave S. AB5S