[SMCARA] Loaning Radios - a pessimistic perspective

[Grant Graessle]

You have had some bad experiences.  That's really too bad.
I have had good experience, both as the new ham and as the loaner.  
Luckily, I haven't had to write a contract as you imply. 
Key problem that I have had is that the elmer that loaned me the radio died
or didn't want the radio (read: Boat anchor) when I finally got a radio for
myself! 

I always love "A friend of mine..." stories. 
As they taught us at the Weather Watchers class, confirm for yourself.

Thanks for your pointers.  Hopefully you won't get burned again.

N4PGG

-----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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