[Milsurplus] [ARC5] Intercom amp (AM-26/AIC)

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 5:40 AM, David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> Remember: There was a time when people said:
> "That old crap?  Who cares?!?  It's all going
> to the dump..." about everything from 100 Years War
> armor to B-52s.  And most of it did.
> But not all.  How many people care squat about
> the American Civil War today?  One in ten thousand?
> A hundred thousand?  Yet the ACW reenactment
> and preservation community is thriving.
> You don't need masses; you need a few
> with passion and commitment,
> and they are out there.

I think the bigger threat now Dave comes from the overall threat to
terrestrial radio as we know it combined with the lack of interest in
the new technology of radio as much as the old. Many kids today know
only internet radio, mp3s, ipods and so on. So yet another avenue to
the interest (finding an old set and being able to plug it in and
listen to stations) appears to be eroding along with our numbers.

To me, it's less about being cynical and more about being realistic.
Amateur radio was once a known and respected hobby/service, but it was
never a large portion of the population. Collecting will remain, but
just as we're now seeing hams out to collect FT-101E and TS-820 or
830-era rigs they feel nostalgic for instead of the older tube gear,
military collectors interests are likely to follow a similar
era-related trend. I believe you're right that there will still be
some folks interested in this stuff long after we're gone. I also
believe they'll have a lot to choose from, since competition will be
low compared to interest today.

~ Todd/KAQ