[Milsurplus] Strong Stomach Needed.

[Michael Tauson]

On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 1:17 PM, J. Forster<jfor at quik.com> wrote:
> Your time, your choice.

In an odd way, I agree with you, John - something that simply does not
happen as a rule.  (Actually, I can't recall it ever happening, but
that's another issue.)

But it IS his time and it IS his choice and it is HIS equipment to do
with as HE sees fit and it is HIS budget to work with in doing so.
You're a purist and he's not.  I'm not.  A number of us aren't in some
form or another.  Trying to force us into a narrow-sighted mold won't
work.

As to mint ... To me, that means picked up on the shipping floor in
the manufacturer's container the day it was made.  (The equipment, not
the container.)  As a worst case, that can be stretched to fresh off
the truck at a dealer and still in the original unopened container.
Anything else becomes NIB, NOS or worse.

In reading over your list of what constitutes "mint", I can only
assume that you don't actually power up the equipment and use it.
Why?  Because components drift and capacitors become leaky (again, the
A.R.C. potted caps come to mind) over time whether they're used or
not.  As a result, even a piece of electronic equipment left over from
the war found unopened in the original overseas packing is still
suspect and likely will need some refurbishing.

Absolutely none of my WW II and prior A.R.C. (and related) equipment
will be mint by your definition.  Some has to be restored after being
hacked and some needs replacement components.  But, in the end,
everything that has to look and operate as original will with the
minimum harm done to the original pieces parts.  In most cases, I'm
not bothering with repainting it but I prefer lived in over House
Beautiful.

And, y'know what?  If this doesn't fit your neat & tidy world ... I don't care.

Michael, WH7HG
-- 
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http://wh7hg.blogspot.com/
http://kludges-other-blog.blogspot.com
Hiki Nô!