[Milsurplus] mods

[Hue Miller]

Military equipment modifiers are just exercising rational judgment of value 
against fun.
Obviously, the supply hasn't tightened up quite enuff. Maybe give it a few 
years.
I have a Japanese HRO with some "additions", including several modern era 
transistor
scale, toggle switches added to the front.  Or a Japanese trans-receiver; a 
ham disassembled
the receiver part because he only wanted the transmitter section. In 
militaria sales I not
infrequently saw German troop entertainment radios, emptied out so the 
hillbilly owner could
place a cassette player inside and play authentic German marches. Now you 
see such empty
radios sold as "cabinet only". You'd have to be truly deranged to be doing 
that now. I think in
those worlds the attitudes have changed over the  last half century.  So 
maybe give it a few
years.

One thing that interests me a lot is the whole "conversion" idea. It was a 
larger idea, I think,
than just adding an  S-meter or additional controls. As I seem to recall, 
"conversion" actually
kind of referred to converting it from the military and war world to 
civilian use and could even
be as innocuous as just connecting up an external AC supply. Thus you see 
such odd things
as a nameplate removed, and not much if anything else. As silly as that 
seems now.
Of course, in those days there really was no distinction made of different 
grades of "conversions"
from the simple conversion of use to the major hack jobs.

I sure regret a couple sets I disassembled or otherwise lost. But who knew 
better? It's a
process, and experience, and learning.

And I DON'T mind this kind of discussion. But leave bumper-sticker political 
statements out.
-Hue