[Milsurplus] Apex Electronics

Wed Feb 2 21:37:58 EST 2011

There's always plenty to go around and I've even notified friends when there is 
a possibility of something like that happening.  One non-equipment example was 
when I got the (paid) job of removing and disposing of a large deactivated 
(multistrand 500 MCM) copper power line running between two buildings.  I could 
have spent a couple of weeks and raked in what would have been a fortune for me 
at the time but instead I called in a number of friends who were a little down 
on their luck, we had a really great time on it, and split the scrap proceeds.  
Perhaps that goes a long way towards explaining why I'll probably never be rich.

On 2/2/2011 9:25 PM, J. Forster wrote:
> Said one fisherman to another:
>
> "You shoulda seen the one thatr got away!"  :)
>
> -John
>
> ================
>
>
>
>
>> Being in the right place at the right time, pure luck, can yield a
>> bonanza.
>> I've heard of many more such events than I've had a chance to participate
>> in,
>> the latter being few and far between.  I've never had a fantastic haul
>> opportunity and missed several by a hair, unfortunately.  I missed an
>> entire
>> Bell System step-by-step office being demolished, including cord boards,
>> switching system, motor generators, a huge room full of spare parts, power
>> supplies, cable, hundreds of phones still in boxes.  I caught the tail end
>> of a
>> surplus store in NYC going into dumpsters.  I missed a small warehouse of
>> older
>> Tek, HP etc. gear which ended up being put into compactors by a front end
>> loader.  And more.
>>
>>
>> On 2/2/2011 8:38 PM, J. Forster wrote:
>>> I've seen surplus store owners lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on
>>> precious metal futures.
>>>
>>> The "I'll trash it first" attitude is common.
>>>
>>> Some years ago, there was a chemical research company in Boston. I went
>>> to
>>> their bankrupcy auction. They had a couple of rooms full of nice
>>> chemical
>>> glassware.
>>>
>>> The auctioneer refused my bid of $10, ridiculing it and said he'd rather
>>> see it in the dumpster. I left - and came back the next day and filled
>>> my
>>> car from the dumpster, twice, for free.
>>>
>>> Go figure.
>>>
>>> -John
>>>
>>> ===============
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Many stores have gone bankrupt or closed over the decades and in a good
>>>> number
>>>> of cases the inventory becomes landfill.  How many rare radios or
>>>> special
>>>> tubes
>>>> have met this fate because the store owner's attitude was "if you don't
>>>> give me
>>>> what *I* feel it's worth it will go to the grave with me"?  How many of
>>>> their
>>>> families lived meal-to-meal because of this attitude?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2/2/2011 7:55 PM, Ian Wilson wrote:
>>>>> I've visited Apex a few times over the past 5 years. On my first visit
>>>>> I
>>>>> was
>>>>> able to gain
>>>>> entry to a room containing many tubes. The room was in the scary
>>>>> condition
>>>>> typical of
>>>>> Apex - sky visible through parts of the roof, partial collapses in
>>>>> some
>>>>> places, precariously
>>>>> stacked metal objects with sharp corners...
>>>>>
>>>>> Some interesting stuff in there, including a number of 250TH-type
>>>>> tubes
>>>>> in
>>>>> the spring
>>>>> carriers. I eventually collected a few things I thought interesting
>>>>> but
>>>>> not
>>>>> rare (803s, 812s,
>>>>> things like that). My plan was to purchase these things, look up some
>>>>> tubes
>>>>> that weren't
>>>>> well known to me at the time, and return on a future road trip. This
>>>>> plan
>>>>> was thwarted by
>>>>> being asked for an astonishing amount - protective amnesia has set in,
>>>>> but
>>>>> the average
>>>>> must have been around $50/tube. Since they only take cash I was able
>>>>> to
>>>>> weasel out.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't imagine the state of the room has improved in the past couple
>>>>> of
>>>>> years.
>>>>>
>>>>> I still drop by once a year or so but haven't spent a cent there since
>>>>> that
>>>>> first visit.
>>>>>
>>>>> 73, ian K3IMW
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