[Milsurplus] 20 Years into the Future

[Hue Miller]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Donzelli" <wdonzelli at gmail.com>

> Or the
> tons of other things just like the /APT-1. I will be lucky to give
> that stuff away.

Very true. The real heavy and specialized and unromantic equipment 
will be a challenge to "place." I used those qualifiers because i was
thinking of the AN/PPN-1 which is "specialized" but is a big ticket item
now.
> 
> However...I think the old tube radios that will retain both monetary
> and popular value will be the German equipment from World War 2, as
> well as the high end commercial sets from any nation. The German
> military stuff has that Nazi magic aura that will last for centuries,
> just like Civil War Confederate equipment, or stuff from the Romans.

A very apt comparison. But when you deprecate spy gear as "overrated", 
consider that the German gear is not technically magic and in fact much
of their WW2 equipment was real fuddy-duddy in design. ( I mean like
old fashionedl. I mean like a regenerative receiver on the equivalent of 
their PT boats. ) It's mostly "image" or "aura".
> 
> This is why I have recently looked into obtaining more German stuff.
> There...I finally justified myself.
> 
> Some of the other things at the "tip top"? Maybe not. I can not see
> Japanese radios retaining their value in the long term. I think that
> stuff will fade away in 50 years, just like so many other combatants
> in nearly forgotten wars. 

Wrong. This stuff has not quite the aura of the evil Nazi empire, but 
something along those lines. Don't count out overseas bidding, not
just USA interest.

>And for other parts of the "tip top", like
> US  World War 1 radios? I think I will have my pick of the litter when
> it comes time to buy a Western Elelctric subchaser set. Too many sets
> out there, not enough big gun buyers.
> 

Probably right about that. Too hard to get accessories to make a complete
set. For my money, the stuff doesn't look "neat" anyway. Looks like quack
medical gear (which BTW i'm sure will be very collectible. ) Also - i don't
think any WW1 reenactors about?

> > Another thing came to mind. I read an editorial somewhere, can't
> > recall, but the gist was that for a hobby to be appealing mostly to
> > "mature" people wasn't all bad. They have more time, money,
> > stability, and usually, smarts, than the younger crowd. Maybe at
> > some point, people just get tired of paying attention to  pointless
> > ephemerality of  some mass-marketed diversions and look for
> > more substantial interests.
> 
> This is a point that did not make my rant - the assumption that the
> under-30s (the "kids") only collect "pointless ephemerality of  some
> mass-marketed diversions" (OK, maybe I was not going to use that
> phrase, but it is a good one).

No- i didn't mean collecting of mass-entertainment ephemera. I meant
attention captured, time spent on mass diversions instead of something 
more mundane,  like collecting ugly heavy boxes. Surely that appeals 
more to the "mature market". I think, but i may be wrong, that a process
occurs, where you get a whole lot less interested in mass entertainment.
I may be wrong.
Maybe i am extrapolating from my own narrow perspective. Politics, which
you mentioned that no young folk have a figs worth of interest in. My process
was, i can listen, read, debate politics all day, but i don't give a poop what 
Snoop thinks about anything. Or, the Rolling Stones. A complete reversal.

> There are LOTS of kids with money,
> drive, and genuine interest, spending their resources on legitimate
> technological hobbies. There are enough of them that have matured in
> the collecting world. Hue, you are like many - you just do not see
> this, and this is not helping ham radio.
> 
> > I tend to look to the militaria hobby as kind of a bellwether for how
> > ham radio and milsurplus radio in specific, will be doing. But being
> > more or less isolated out here on the coast now,  far from militaria
> > shows and hobby stores, i don't have a good feel for how those
> > interests are doing now.
> 
> Not to slam you or anything - but not a good excuse. The Internet has
> wiped all that out.
> Will

I don't think the internet, valuable as it is, as a communications MEDIUM,
will ever be a replacement for say, a local bricks & mortar sales presence,
or a get-together for hobnobbing and touching actual equipment, such as
a hobby show. -Hue