[Milsurplus] Purity

[mstangelo at comcast.net]

I've been following this thread and I don't understand this fascination with "mint" condition equipment. Let me explain.

I've been an Engineer in the Telecommunications industry for over 30 years,. In the begining, we designed our built much of our equipment ; these days we purchase it from vendors. I've rarely seen equipment which did not have to be modified or improved. We had many instances where the operators who used the equipment or the technicians who fix it recomended mods which improved the functionality or reliability.

I initially got my surplus from uncles who purchased it after te Second World War. Some of them used the equipment during the war and were not parrticularly impressed with the perfomance. They encouraged me to experiment with it. However, I don't know if the deficiencies were because of peformance or reliability issues or because of the battlefield conditions. I was was a cash-starved kid then and never asked them to explain; I was just glad to get my hands on some radios.

Would I "experiment" with that equipment today? Times have changed; what was surplus then is rare now. I wouldn't hack an unmodified piece of equipment but I would modify or repair an already hacked unit of use the parts and chassis form a gutted unit for some project.

I guess the fascination with mint equipment is it's value in today's speculative society. You can pick up a Heathkit VTVM for 5 bucks; the same unbuilt unit in an unopened box goes for much more. 

Mike N2MS

----- Original Message -----

From: Michael Tauson 

To: milsurplus 

Sent: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:40:13 +0000 (UTC)

Subject: [Milsurplus] Purity



While the discussion is on radio equipment and I mentioned

automobiles, it occured to me that the NASM and other museums have

pieces on display that are impure.  According to those who would have

equipment completely unmodified, then aircraft like the F4Fs recovered

from the bottom of Lake Michigan, for example, aren't worth the metal

they're made of.   Let's take the Enola Gay as a huge example.  Mike,

if you're reading this, how much of the aircraft is original and how

much is repaired/replacement?



Best regards,



Michael, WH7HG

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