[Milsurplus] Re: Stinson Scale

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hue Miller" <kargo_cult at msn.com>

> We have Hertz, Amperes, and Volts. How about a unit of
> scarcity, in Stinson units? Or call it the "Stinson Scale",

ACK!  Thank you for your kindness, Hue, but I'm really serious
about the community needing a definition of what's easy to 
collect and what's not.  If I named the system after myself,
it just becomes a joke in most people's eyes.

> To calibrate the end points, consider a ham-modified 
> BC-645: they're available, but no one wants them. That
> would be zero. A "10" would be Dave's example of "M"
> A.R.C. sets....

I think 10 is too many grades.  If we make too many fine
distinctions, the system becomes arbitrary- subject 
more to opinion than fact.  The idea of the system is to give
the collector the information he most wants: how hard am
I going to have to work to acquire one of these items?
"Common" means he can find one with a little effort.
"Scarce" means he's going to have to work at it awhile.
"Rare" means it will take a long time, and he may never get one.
"Unique" means there's only one, so if you have it, take special care.
And "Extinct " is, of course, self-explanitory.
I don't know how we would make further distinctions
between those without introducing "haze" into the system.

73,
Dave S.