[Milsurplus] Re :How Fair Radio Live Auction Went

[Nick England]

Many thanks for Jeff’s auction report.

For nostalgia’s sake, here are photos from my visits 2012-2024
https://www.virhistory.com/ham/#fair

Nick England K4NYW
www.navy-radio.com


On Sun, Sep 1, 2024 at 7:18 PM David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> Thank you for posting this, Jeff.
> Wish I could have gone.
> I hate to think of the truly rare pieces now
> in the scrap crusher.
>
> On 9/1/2024 3:39 PM, Jeff Kruth via Milsurplus wrote:
>
> About the Fair Radio Auction:  I have read some of the posts regarding
> this and they paint a very different picture of what I witnessed. I know
> Phil personally and went to see the auction after he asked me. I did not
> feel like staying over, but I wanted to see Phil, so I only watched the
> first day. It was the same weekend as the Huntsville.AL hamfest, which is a
> big deal around here ("Dayton of the South"), so lots of people made a
> choice to be there instead. Phil told me he did not realize this and would
> have changed the date. Kept a lot of people away. I purposely did NOT take
> my truck and trailer. I was bidder number 6. I watched the lots sell for
> FAR less that Phil would have sold each item for 2 months previously. He
> was DONE with it. Time to go!  The auctioneers were very nice people
> (Mennonites?), knew their business, if not the stuff, and I saw a lot of
> guys I knew, and some that knew only me. Baranowsky from Eastern PA
> (Tobyhanna area) is a guy I have known for 35 years from hamfests and he
> was one of the so-called scrappers there. He bought over 50 lots from just
> the first outdoor building, where they started! He bought way more than he
> set out to because it was cheap.  He actually sells equipment but does
> scrap too. All surplus guys do, I did. You can buy from him, he is ham
> friendly.  And there was a group of real junk men there for metal, cant
> really buy from them. I made some purchases from people after they bought a
> big lot of whatever. I took some pics and may get them uploaded. What
> surprised me was a lot of Collins stuff like 618T radios, 32 on a pallet,
> went for 300.00. Thats about 9.00 each. I have projects till I die so I
> restrained myself.  The mil version, ARC-102, same kinda money. I pulled
> one item (5J32 jammer maggie) out of a lot and bought it for $2, so the
> auctioneer would sell one if you want it!  And the big boys didnt care!
> There was plenty to go around. For those of you who didnt go, dont beef
> now, you had your chance, once in a lifetime! Stuff was CHEAP, which is why
> I didnt bring my truck, I am pretty much done with bulk collecting. I saw a
> lot of the Microdyne, Watkins Johnson, CEI, and NSA stuff that I had sold
> to Phil go super cheap, not many who know what it is. Big lots of radios-
> $40. These were what was left from the big trailer loads I had taken him, I
> got pics of a lot of my stuff that was left.
> Stuff that I was looking at, like big wooden boxes full of variable
> capacitors, all types, 20-50 bucks for literally hundreds of parts! About
> ten lots like that (1000'sof caps). I considered them for hamfests, but
> knew I wouldnt live long enough to sell them all (I LIKE going to hamfests).
> It was probably traumatic for Phil, I have seen these kind of things
> before, owners selling off their surplus business (Saw a few in Baltimore,
> anyone remember CADISCO?) but he also kinda of looked like a weight was
> being lifted off him, he was right there with the auctioneer telling what
> things were. I wish him the best, he did what he could to get it out there.
> The place inside was CLEAN! Kim, his secretary of 35 years and Girl Friday,
> cleaned all the aisles! WHAT A JOB! She did great. When I was there end of
> June, it was still clogged up!  Bill Perry, the connector guy, wasnt there,
> he was at Huntsville. HE would have bought a ton of stuff as well. Lots of
> things caught my eye: whole big triwall of antenna masts, $10.00 for all!
> Skid of BC-375 tuning units, 44 ea, some looked like new, $75.00, IIRC.
> This is a much preferable ending than the one that occurred to Radio
> Research Labs in Danbury, Conn, where the dude held on till he got
> dementia, ended up in a home. The kids sold all the inventory for scrap
> metal to the chinese, so they could get the land cleared for a big Real
> Estate sale! Talk a a crime concerning the inventory! Wow.
> The end of an era, boys!  I could go on, but thats enough for now!  When I
> dig out my notes I may send an update. 73, Jeff Kruth
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Milsurplus mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/milsurplus
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net <Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Milsurplus mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/milsurplus
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/milsurplus/attachments/20240901/281ebffc/attachment.html>