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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