[Milsurplus] Maybe the Good Old Days Weren't

[Joe Connor]

Those of us of a certain age pine for the good ol' days when WWII surplus equipment was plentiful and cheap. I was looking through some old issues of Radio-TV News and found something that surprised me.
In 1959, Fair Radio was advertising a BC-779 receiver for $69.95 and the associated power supply for $14.95. Who among us wouldn't jump at a BC-779 and power supply for those prices? Yep, those were the good ol' days.
Then I used an inflation calculator: $69.95 in 1959 dollars equals $570.50 and $14.95 equals $121.93 in today's dollars. In other words, that rig cost $692.43 in current dollars. If I saw one at a hamfest next summer for nearly $700, I'd walk on by. 
See what I mean? Maybe the good ol' days weren't as good as we remember them.

                    Joe Connor
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