[SMCARA] Loaning Radios - a pessimistic perspective

[Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS]

Wow Tom!  

Good points and I have been quite lucky I suppose. Since the radios I
have been loaning are technically, club property, perhaps there should
be some sort of formal agreement. We can discuss at the meeting to see
how everyone feels about it and get input on how formal or informal it
should be. A simple agreement in writing should be trivial to execute.

Tom/W4OKW

-----Original Message-----
From: smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Tom Shelton
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 10:34 AM
To: St. Marys County Hams SMCARA Reflector
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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