[OKDXA] {cough!}

[Nelson Derks]

> You dreamer !  Whatcha been smokin'  ???

Hey... Mr. Ross...

Remember when Green Country (sorta) used to be at the lodge in the state
park near Ft. Gibson maybe 20 years ago? It was probably 1983 or thereabouts
when I picked up a GPR-90 receiver at that swap meet, and I vaguely recall
the selling price was $60.00 in 'mostly working' condition (but could use
some TLC). I still have it, and it still has something screwy in the crystal
filter bandwidth switch, but it plays pretty good in the 6 KHz AM position
and picks up plenty of BC and SW stations. Came with the book, too. Let's
see what "me262yahoo.com" is willing to pay for a dead one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1362653314

Ahhhhh... Probably some well-heeled SWL with bench tech aspirations who
doesn't know what a Boat Anker should cost. Surely a Real Ham like N5JDQ can
swing a better deal on a working example...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1365028054

Oh Yeah... $660.00 final bid on an auction that started at $1.00 and the
lowest bid in the history list was $331.00.

I was amazed.

Maybe it's the "tube audio" mystique, middle-age insanity, or some folks
just have a curious attraction to anything painted Mil-Spec Grey. I think
mine is a pretty good $100.00 radio, but I won't sell it for that after
seeing what they bring on eBay. My best guess is that these folks don't
realize the old tube rigs kinda' ran out of steam above 20 MHz or so and
drifted for "a while", but maybe that's part of the charm. Check the going
price on the mid-80's vintage SWL rigs from Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom with
digital tuning and you'll find they're comfortably below $300.00 on eBay and
a much better deal for practical use... In my opinion.

But, there still is something about that orange glow an FET can't match...
Ya' Know?

- AC5UP