[Milsurplus] Status of BAMA

[Hubert Miller]

Here's my experience. I am thinning out my many hundreds of manuals. At one
time i was collecting test equipment manuals like mad.
But i realized i don't want to archive all that hardcopy. I don't have
either the equipment or the time to devote to scanning excess 
manuals. I contacted someone at bama late last year and he did give me an
address to mail the manuals to. I am talking old test equipment
manuals for VTVMs, scopes, signal generators of the kind you find for little
money at hamfests. The HP and Tek manuals i have, large ones,
will sell on Ebay. I make progress on my project episodically, so i wanted
to inquire with BAMA if the address was still viable and BAMA 
still going. I have written to the email address given, two, maybe three
times this year, NO response. Reluctantly i am scratching BAMA off
my list. I DO have a physical address i was given, to mail paper to, BUT I
am not going to send the manuals into a dark hole. That would seem
to have the same result as dumping them in the recycling bin. 
These online projects and museums are very interesting and useful but it
seems like they get ahead of their owner, the owner eventually
burns out. The crew has bailed out, but the aircraft flies goes on across
the desert, on autopilot, seemingly forever.

"CB Tricks" - i had some CB set booklets, NON-Sams, which means no copyright
issues, offered them. The website does have some sad 
story about his divorce, employment problems, etc.    No response.
Some kind of website about video cameras: I offered an 8mm cassette camera,
and player, complete setup, not seen commonly any more,
no response.
"Semiconductor Museum"  - i offered early transistor spec sheets ( all this
stuff i have offered was free of any charge ) from defunct 
manufacturers. No response.
"Online Radio Shack catalogs"  - offered some 1950s flyers he does not have
in his collection. No response to multiple emails. 

"Americanradiohistory.com"  - i have sent over a hundred lbs. of magazines
to him. He DOES respond but sometimes it takes a few 
emails to jog him. His site IS backed up offsite, but the scanning and
handling inquiries, mailing material people want returned, are
all a one-man operation, plus he's employed. It's really too much for one
person. 

Here are people running informative websites that are alive and breathing
and the owners actually DO promptly respond:
Radionerds
Navy-radio.com
SMECC

AND their websites aren't cute & jokesy  AND their pages and scans ARE high
quality and readable. AND you can be confident your're
not sending things into a black hole.  But it appears BAMA is a ghost. 
-Hue Miller