[NJARC] A few thoughts on the repair clinics and the News letter.

[John Dilks K2TQN]

Great subject and comments by all.  Dave has a very good grip on things.

I too think it's abominable for someone to get his radio repaired and 
then sell it.

Originally we only serviced members sets.  Then we expanded to the 
public.  Both ways are good for the club.  But both ways can have the 
selling problem - though, I'm sure, less likely with club members.

Perhaps we could have an agreement that could be signed - stating the 
repaired radio is for personal use within their family.  And that for 
any radios being sold the price of repair is $250. or something like that?

I remember there was a member that we all thought was buying tubes 
and then selling them - because he had a business selling tubes and 
he didn't seem to collect anything.  (He's no longer 
attending.)  Anyway, we didn't like it much.

So if selling repaired radios becomes a problem and nothing is done, 
the problem will solve itself.  The good people who do all the work, 
will stop doing it - and that would be bad for the club.

So keep thinking and chatting and a good plan will come out of it.

73, John Dilks, K2TQN


At 10:02 AM 3/31/2006, you wrote:
>I agree that it's at the very least disheartening that a person would
>have our club fix a radio for free just so they could sell it at a
>profit. I'm enough of an idealist that when I think of people coming in
>to take advantage of our repair clinics, I picture warm, fuzzy
>Rockwell-esque scenes where the family can now gather around grandpa's
>old radio and enjoy... well maybe all they can tune in to is hate radio
>on AM these day, but anyway it was a nice mental image while it lasted!
>  Hopefully our "open to the public" clinics, along with club displays
>and lectures, generate publicity, goodwill and attract new members. It's
>not realistic to expect 100% success from any endeavor and although it
>really, really irks me when a few bad apples abuse our generosity, if the
>big picture remains positive, well, I guess that's life.
>
>If it turns out that we are offering public repair clinics to the
>detriment of serving our own members, then we might want to adjust the
>percentage of public vs. members-only events or otherwise tweak the
>program to best serve the interests of the club. We've already been
>discussing ways to do that and the more input the better so your note is
>very timely!
>
>I'm not so sure about charging a fee at the clinics. (Although I guess it
>couldn't hurt to ask for a donation?) There are a few folks who provide
>commercial repair services, and I have to admire them; I can't figure out
>how anyone could actually make a living that way. I've always thought
>that repairing a radio was a great way to make a million dollars: a
>dollar an hour for a million hours!
>
>I can't speak for Marv or the Board, but I think you can rest assured
>that the Broadcaster will remain a members-only benefit. We're still
>working on the best way to make the current issue accessible only to
>members (as it now is when being sent via snail-mail) without making it
>inconvenient to access. I don't think anyone ever intended that it would
>be made freely available to the public. If anyone did, I'm on record
>against that. On the other hand, we ARE intending to continue to make
>back issues freely available in our online library, and that's always
>been viewed as appropriate.
>
>The swapmeets being open to the public is perhaps a "mixed blessing" too.
>The admission donations collected from people attending our events go a
>long way toward keeping our club financially healthy while keeping our
>dues reasonable.  And they are good exposure for the club. Our
>mini-swapmeets held at many meetings ARE members-only events. Although
>(with some notable exceptions) these usually provide only dubious
>treasures, parts and junque, our May meeting this year will be a shining
>example of club pride at it's best. The Mike Hammer collection was
>specifically earmarked by his widow to be auctioned at a CLUB event, to
>CLUB members not the public. Although this limited exposure has the
>potential to limit her financial return, because Mike was so enthusiastic
>and happy to be a member of the club, that's the way she wanted it.
>
>Anyway, I don't know if other folks would agree with any of your concerns
>or if any changes will be made to address them, but the type of
>constructive criticism you've brought up is what helps make the club
>better each year. So, thanks!
>
>--Dave