[Milsurplus] Re :How Fair Radio Live Auction Went

Mon Sep 2 13:06:28 EDT 2024

A bit less photos than what I thought I had taken, and please excuse the
other non-ham photos as I just uploaded them into their own share.  We had
a lot of fun all in all, and I think we could have spent the greater part
of the day just picking over the bones of what was left at Fair Radio.  I
certainly know my son would have never run out of questions.  I'm sure Phil
(and Reagan) wanted to head home and relax some. I can only imagine what it
looked like in its heyday.

I had wanted to get some hard copies of the T-867 and/or the R-1051, but
Phil said someone else had beat me to the last real copies he had.  On a
plus note, Phil said there was someone with ties to Archive.org who were
taking the lion's share of manuals and whatnot to scan and upload, so I
hope that they'll end up there, and maybe eventually BAMA or similar.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KONQ5uK8KMYGfSgvYkihzIQzLFHZLGph?usp=sharing

On a closing note, does anyone have, or know who may have a functional
H-342 handset?  From what I can tell, that was the handset that shipped
with the T-867

73
Reuben

On Sun, Sep 1, 2024 at 9:59 PM Reuben Popp <reuben.popp at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I missed the auction, Phil was kind enough to set aside a few items
> for me for my AN/WRC-1 project beforehand.  My son and I just got back
> tonight from a three day jaunt to Lima and back (eastern Missouri), both to
> pick up the items from Phil and do a little fishing/camping and to go see
> the Amstrong Space and Flight museum nearby.  I can't say enough good
> things about the whole experience.  Phil was kind enough not only to wait
> for us after standard knock off hours on Friday, but was also gracious
> enough to come hang out and show us around earlier today.  Letting us poke
> at bits and bobs here and there, answering my kid's ten million questions
> (he's ten), and was kind enough to not only give me some cables for my
> project gratis, but also give my son his first real soldering iron to learn
> with.  All in all a straight shooter and nice guy.  I took some pictures of
> the aftermath.. I shared them on one of the facebook ham groups I'm in, but
> would be willing to share them here if someone could recommend a free
> hosting site that's decent.  They're nothing fancy like those of Nick's or
> some of you other guys, but it was neat to see.  Sad in a sense, but as I
> told Phil.. after doing this for as long as he did, bravo zulu.. go enjoy
> that retirement.
>
> 73
> Reuben
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2024 at 3:40 PM Jeff Kruth via Milsurplus <
> milsurplus at mailman.qth.net> 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
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