[Milsurplus] Abuse of radio "relics"

[Ralph Hogan]

Ray, Mike and all,

I would hope that this list has room for all aspects of collecting and using Milsurplus radio electronics. That is the intent. There is already far too much specialization of reflector list. The reasons we collect vary widely. In my case I think it is an Olive Drab collecting disease with no cure. Whatever the case may be, it is great to see the old gear in operation whether it is in original condition or has had some help to get it operational. 

I know that some of the members cringe with the mention of changing anything in a military radio. As time marches on all of those discrete R & C components in our radio collection are drifting in value or failing. Possibly today or in the future at a minimum if we want to continue to 'operate' the gear we are going to have to do some surgery. I am amazed that an unmodified 50 to 60 year old piece of gear will turn on and operate today just like it came out of the box. A great testament to the engineering of the day. I doubt many of our new gadgets such as an iPOD or cell phone will do that in 60 years. 

I have a large portable military radio collection. Many of the original power sources are unobtanium. So I have to craft new power sources as the only means to operate the radios. A lot of us enjoy hearing the whine of a dynamotor. Unfortunately my family does not, so to keep the peace alternate power sources have to be used. 

There is a large portion of the membership on this list who are hams. It is great that this gear overlaps our frequency privileges and affords us the opportunity to operate the gear. The term 'operate' means different things to hams just as it does to the military radio collectors. We have to be open and make room in the hobby for a variety of interest. I would rather see the gear being operated in any capacity than de-milled and thrown in a dumpster.

I guess we have the FCC and ARRL to blame about the evils of CW Chirp being drummed into our heads. I still remember the day as a young ham that I'd saved up enough money for a VFO for my DX-60 after upgrading from my xtal bound Novice license. After hooking it all up and making some CW contacts I promptly got a nice warning in the mail about my chirpy signal from an official observer. 

In closing, there are hundreds of collectors on this list. Please try to be open and not discourage a fellow collector when his interest do not align 100% with your own.

Regards and have a great new year!

Ralph W4XE / AAT4UU
Milsurplus List Administrator
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/milsurplus