[SMCARA] Loaning Radios - a pessimistic perspective

[Richard KG3BOZ]

All very good points - I agree with you on all points.

Boz

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

-----Original message-----
From: Tom Shelton <gl1800winger at verizon.net>
To: "St. Marys County Hams SMCARA Reflector" <smcara at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tue, Jun 26, 2012 14:33:35 GMT+00:00
Subject: [SMCARA] Loaning Radios - a pessimistic perspective

With the talk about loaning radios I thought I'd chime in with a more  
pessimistic view (based on experience). I'm all for helping out the new  
hams, but have a couple of suggestions. 

First, when loaning a radio, make sure there is an agreement between you and  
the ham that you're loaning to. 

1)  Agree on a time limit. The loan should be a bridge until the new ham  
gets their own radio. 1-3 months should be more than sufficient. 

2)  The radio should be returned to the person making the loan. The first  
time I loaned out a radio, the ham I loaned it to took it on themselves to  
pass it on to someone else. By the time I asked for it back (see #1 above),  
it had been in at least 3 different shacks and the first guy didn't know  
where it was. 

3)  Agree that the radio will be returned in the same condition as when it  
was loaned. When I got my radio back, I had to spend several hundred $$$ to  
get it back in the shape it was. 

4)  Make sure the ham being loaned knows how to operate your radio. In the  
case above, one of the hams who used it was feeding it into a random wire  
without a tuner. This blew out the finals. After I got it back from repair,  
I asked the original guy to help me with the cost and he cursed me. He told  
me that since he didn't do it, it wasn't his problem. 

A friend of mine loaned a radio to someone with the understanding that if  
the other guy liked it, he could purchase it. The other guy ended up selling  
the radio and my friend never saw a penny. 

Again, I'm not saying not to loan out your radio. Just know the person  
you're loaning it to and have an agreement. On paper if possible, but at  
least verbally. Also, know the person you're loaning to. Just passing a test  
doesn't make someone a good person. Spend a little time chatting with the  
person and feel comfortable with them before lending them your rig. 

Yes, I'm pessimistic, but I'd be willing to loan out one of my radios to a  
new ham, provided that I'm comfortable with the loan, know the person, and  
have a reasonable agreement up front. 

Tom, AB3IC
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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