[Milsurplus] Golden years of collecting?

[Mike Feher]

As you all well know, everything is relative. I attended my first hamfest at
the Suffolk County ARC in the early 60's. Being in my late teens at the
time, I really did not have any money, so, I do not even remember if I
bought anything. They also used to have an auction during meetings and at
the time most things I bought were magazines. Most of my other purchases
were from Fair Radio, and yes, only to be hacked up or parted out. At the
time none of that stuff had any collector value. In 1965 I went to college
in Indiana, so, was close to Dayton, and attended almost every year. It was
a great place to sell and buy. While I have been to many fests like Manassas
(especially when I lived there), Gaithersburg, Timonium, the Vienna Winter
fest, Richmond, and so on, I have not been to Dayton since 1976. While they
called Trenton a Computer Fest, in reality it was no more so than any other
hamfest that had more than its share of computer stuff. My interest in ham
radio certainly have not changed, but, my collecting interests have. The
stuff I used to hack up, I now cherish. BTW, I found my first deForest
spherical audion at a rundown junk flea market when I lived in FL in 1975.
It was not even a hamfest. We all have a lot of stories I am sure. So,
enough from me - 73 - Mike

Mike B. Feher, N4FS
89 Arnold Blvd.
Howell, NJ, 07731
732-886-5960




-----Original Message-----
From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ray Fantini
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 11:37 AM
To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Milsurplus] Golden years of collecting?

The prices are always better and there is never any shipping cost at a
Hamfest. I have been going to fests for around thirty to thirty five years
now and have seen many changes and every year hear the same lament; it was
bigger last year and will be gone soon. Back in the eighties and early
nineties everyone was convinced that it was all going to be computers and
hamfest as we know them are finished, but as long as fest like Timonium and
Dayton are there I will be too. EBay has provided me many items I would
never have found on my own. The last couple months I have been buying
antique computer hardware and can think of no other source, wonder what ever
happened to the Trenton Computer Fest? The internet, web pages and email
reflectors and maybe companies like EBay have only improved hobbies and
collecting and have to wonder when was this golden age of military radio
collecting and when were things so much better then now? Maybe in the late
forties and early fifties there was 
 a lot of surplus around but the armature community in general only wanted
to hack that stuff and forgot about it as soon as store bought equipment
became cheap and plentiful.
Ray Fantini KA3EKH

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