Steal of a Deal
Thomas E. Jones (KA4DQJ)
on
October 20, 2007
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Here's a tale of which I knew the "rest of the story," to quote Paul Harvey of course.
June of this year found me in Cheyenne, Wyoming where I was visiting my son and grandson. One morning the wife and I decided to browse some of the thrift shops in downtown Cheyenne.
In one of those second-hand shops I spied a stack of amateur radio gear... someone's complete station. The stack's major items consisted of the following:
Kenwood TS-520 Transceiver
Kenwood SP-520 External Speaker
Kenwood MC-50 Desk Mic
Drake MN-2000 Antenna Coupler
Heathkit HM-102 Watt/Power Meter
K.E. Electronics Electronic Keyer
No name straight key
No name paddle key
And some other odds and ends that I can't remember. But, the above list is complete for the major items.
First, it was odd to find ham gear in a thrift store; that was a first. Even more odd (pleasantly so) was the price sticker... $50. I had to rub my old eyes to make sure, but there it was, a sticker with $50 on it!
I didn't bother to examine the gear. I started grabbing it piece-by-piece and marching it up to the counter where I paid $50 plus tax for the entire lot. Three months later I am using the Drake tuner on my NVIS antenna system, having retired my cheaper meterless MFJ tuner, and the TS-520 is part of a dedicated PSK-31 setup.
After a while, I got to wondering where all this stuff came from. On the face of the Drake antenna tuner is a callsign, WD8DNX. Silent key? I figured it would be a simple job to ID the station's former owner, but no such luck. I've tried every old callbook I could locate on the Web and nothing on that callsign comes up...nada! QRZ.com is of course a complete strikeout.
So, I'm left wondering who used to own this nice station. Everything worked flawlessly even though I did do a complete re-alignment of the TS-520 just to say that I did.
Has anyone ever heard of WD8DNX? I picked up the station in "7" country, so if it's former owner lived in the 8 call area, the equipment somehow traveled across the Great Plains to that little thrift store in Cheyenne.
In any case, it's one of the more unusual stories of my three decades in this hobby!
Regards,
Tom
KA4DQJ
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Steal of a Deal
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by K1CJS on October 20, 2007
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And I thought I got a bargain when I got a Kenwood TS130SE, a Kenwood MC50, an MFJ 949B, an odd hand mike for the 130 and a bunch of other radio stuff for $100.
Good going! Hope you enjoy your find. 73.
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Steal of a Deal
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by N3MBU on October 20, 2007
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Tom, Is it possible the 2nd D in the call could be an O. I did a yahoo search and found WD8ONX currently K8BP. QRZ profile shows he is a US Air force vetern and travels around a good bit. just a thought to look into. 73
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Steal of a Deal
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by KB2DHG on October 20, 2007
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You did good!
I was at a garage sale and found an old hammarlund receiver, a Drake 2-nt transmitter a couple of J-38 keys, 2 old Lafayette CB's, antenna wire and some other misolanios items All were in real good condition. paid $10.00 for everything. got the stuff home and everything worked great!
Sometimes you find ham rear in the most unexpected places.
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Steal of a Deal
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by KG8JF on October 20, 2007
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There is a guy up in 3 land that collects old call books. He looked up one of my earlier calls to verify it for me when I applied for QCWC. It seems as though I found him through search engines like Google.
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Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by W4KDA on October 20, 2007
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Tom,
I checked and found the call sign you are looking for right away. Here is the answer to your search:
JAMES H CARTER, a General class operator, and Michigan resident.
And here is the URL where I got this information from:
http://www.ae7q.com/show/CallHistory.php?CALL=WD8DNX
I really like this web site. I used this search to see who owned my callsign before me. A certain John White and I are bound together by our call. He is SK and I did not know him. Yet it feels nice to know who had the call before me for some reason.
73,
Kyle
W4KDA
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by W4VR on October 20, 2007
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$50 sounds about right for equipment of that vintage. I would not have offered one penny more.
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Steal of a Deal
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by N4VNZ on October 20, 2007
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Uh Oh! Sounds like a theft might have occurred from this fellow if he is not a SK...anyway, if this guy in Michigan is still living it looks like something fishy is going on here...
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STOLEN GEAR
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by K1LL on October 20, 2007
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Someone should contact the WD8DNX guy and let him know that KA4DQJ has his gear.
Odds are that it was stolen from him and some how worked its way to the Thrift Store.
The good news is that WD8DNX would get his equipment back.
The bad news is that KA4DQJ would be out $50.00 and have to explain to the cops why he was in stolen equipment.
Then again - maybe WD8DNX decided to dump $500 worth of ham gear at a THRIFT store and not sell it on Ebay opr give it to some other ham that would have surely found a good home for it.
But no matter what -- I sure bet that KA4DQJ is sure glad that he posted this article.
And i beat that WD8DNX has already had 100 hams tell him where his gear wound up.
See - no good deed goes unpunished.
.
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by K1LL on October 20, 2007
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Carter, James H (WD8DNX)
33909 Richard O Dr
Sterling Heights, MI 48310
(586) 939-5361
Name Licensee
Callsign WD8DNX
Entity Name JAMES H CARTER
First Name JAMES
Middle Init H
Last Name CARTER
Local Address 33909 RICHARD O
City STERLING HEIGHTS
State MI - Michigan
ZIP Code 48077
Applicant Type I - Individual
Radio Service HA - Amateur
As Of Date 1988-12-31
Call Region 8
Geo Region 8
Callsign Group D - 2x3
Operator Group C - 1x3
Operator Class G - General
Code Proficiency 13 WPM
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N3OX on October 20, 2007
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"Odds are that it was stolen from him and some how worked its way to the Thrift Store. "
I don't think his equipment was stolen from him in Michigan by a thief who trucked it *all the way* to Cheyenne Wyoming to sell it to a thrift store that resold it for $50.
WD8DNX is not in the FCC ULS database at all.
And there's a James H Carter listed in the Social Security Death Index who passed away August 7, 2005.
So it would appear that WD8DNX is a silent key... may he rest in peace.
I think probably what happened is a family member took all the gear and just needed to dump it or some such.
73,
Dan
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N3OX on October 20, 2007
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that should read "who passed away August 7, 2005 in Sterling Heights MI"
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N4VNZ on October 20, 2007
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Dan, I think you might be somewhat naive to think that a thief might not truck it *all the way* to Cheyenne, etc. There are more than a few meth addicts that would KILL for 20 bucks if that were the only way they could get the crank...anyway, it is a moot point as the guy clearly is dead. This stuff probably was part of a larger lot sold by a thief or a theft ring. I doubt that a family member would have dumped it at such a low price. There are enough unscrupulous hams around that would have been glad to "take it off their hands" for 5 bucks, ha! I have seen widowed XYL's really ripped off by such "helpful" folks...
The MC-50 was worth the price of the whole lot.
73,
Dave
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by WI7B on October 20, 2007
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But who knows about the mentality of a thief when it comes to amateur equipment. When I was WD9AQM, my first complete station consisted of a TS-520, MC-50 mike, and the 2m transverter. It was stolen from my apartment in Chicago in the late 1970's.
Even though the ham is SK, doens't mena it hadn't been stolen, just that he's not here to identify it.
73,
---* Ken
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N7UQA on October 20, 2007
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N4VNZ;
It's been my experience that Meth heads and other thieves in general won't steal anything they don't recognize or cannot make an immediate sale on. How do I know? Well several years back I had some douche bags broke into my house. In my shack there was over $30k worth of ham gear, high end computers, monitors and test equipment. So what did they steal? My $200 Sony TV, a Yamaha stereo worth $300 and $100 worth of DVD's.
Craig - N7UQA
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by KE7AXC on October 20, 2007
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Sheesh,
After some of you jump to conclusions and almost accuse the original poster of trafficing in stolen goods we found out after someone did their homework that the former owner is almost certainly SK.
Then some can't give it up and want to believe the SKs relatives or executor of the estate obviously wouldn't have sold the gear so cheap so it still must have been stolen. I guess you've never bought anything at a yard sale or been a collector of old stuff.
I collect old tools. It certainly doesn't happen all the time, but some people don't have a clue what something their deceased relative had or collected is worth. They're not interested in that sort of thing and they just want to get rid of "that junk" and be done with it so stuff can sell next to nothing or go to the dump. (On the flip side, some think that anything old that really is junk is a collectible worth a lot.)
Drifting off-topic, but if you've got anything of value, whether it be a collection of tools or ham gear that your spouse or relatives don't know much about, it would be wise to pre-arrange for them to get in contact someone who knows what things are worth if you want to maximize the value of your estate.
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N3OX on October 20, 2007
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"This stuff probably was part of a larger lot sold by a thief or a theft ring"
That I'd believe.
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by KE3WD on October 20, 2007
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I've seen relatives dump ham gear after the old ham goes SK before, not that uncommon really, and XYLs have done some positively brutal things to good gear over the years, too.
The odds of every piece of gear being still together and in one place -- and in a Thrift Store -- belie the conspiratorial-type theories being propagated here about meth heads and assorted other crimes, too. That's just common sense and experience talking here, having been involved with the indentification of stolen amateur gear for local LE several times over in the past. The reclaimed pieces are typically in bad shape, never together with things like code keys or mics -- and often abused by idiots who thought it was a CB or worse. You don't find stolen gear in Thrift Stores, either, where the perp gets absolutely nothing in return for the stolen items. Pawn shops, maybe, Thrift Shops, never. If they can't fence the stuff quickly and get their fix they dump it and most times will trash it up beforehand, taking their rage out on the item.
We won't even get into the real legal ramifications and the fact that there is a statute of limitations in this country, what, seven years...
A fellow up in the Pittsburgh area once found a Collins KWM-2 in a Thrift Store, one hundred bucks. We never figured out who the original owner was, no markings, nobody remembered the radio, which was a civilian and not military surplus one, in rather pristine shape, everthing worked and it looked rather unused, leading me to believe that perhaps someone bought it but never operated it much if at all, maybe they never earned their ticket. It happens. Anyway, the fellow ham who lucked onto it wouldn't take my offer of TWO hundred for it... (grin)
Sounds like a great find by a blessed ham if you ask me.
KE3WD
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KG6WLS on October 20, 2007
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<RE: STOLEN GEAR Reply
by KE7AXC on October 20, 2007 Mail this to a friend!
Sheesh,
After some of you jump to conclusions and almost accuse the original poster of trafficing in stolen goods we found out after someone did their homework that the former owner is almost certainly SK.>
::I think you can call that jealousy. I'd almost bet that if half the posters in this thread ran across a deal like that, even if it was a $100, they'd grab it faster than a fox in a hen house. Admit it. We're a cheap lot. One poster even metioned that they "wouldn't have paid a penny more". hi hi.
But, until someone can prove that this gear was stolen, that was a helluva deal. Deals like this can happen and it appears that the fox got to the hen house before we did. <g>
73
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KX8N on October 20, 2007
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All you can do is guess. Maybe his wife died and he needed to dump the gear for funeral expenses. Maybe someone called him a "general lite" (if he was one) and he dumped it so he could get out of amateur radio. Maybe he got tired of some of the garbage he had been hearing on the air and decided to dump the gear. Maybe his wife bought him a $10,000 radio, and he just decided to get rid of the old stuff dirt cheap. Maybe he sold his house furnished and left the gear in a basement closet. Maybe he had to move to a retirement home and just let the stuff go for a steal. Maybe someone was bootlegging the call found on the radio, and we STILL don't know who owned it.
There's any number of explanations, and most of you guys already have this as being stolen goods, the guy with the call on the radio getting the equipment back, and the guy who bought it being out $50.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by N3OX on October 20, 2007
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"the guy with the call on the radio getting the equipment back"
Does FedEx ship to the hereafter or do you have to use DHL?
I think KA4DQJ got a good deal on equipment sold by a thrift store.
And I think the comments about jealousy are probably right on... we'd all love to find some working ham gear for pennies on the dollar.
My best such find in a store so far was a 1960ish ARRL antenna book in a used book store for a couple bucks.
My really best finds are due to the fact that a few plasma physics experiments have been thrown out at my lab in the past couple of years and I get to pick things over a bit before they hit the dumpster!
Dan
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Steal of a Deal
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by N7HTS on October 20, 2007
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That was a great find, Tom. I live in Cheyenne and was just wondering which store you found the gear?
Gary,
N7HTS
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Steal of a Deal
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by WA2JJH on October 20, 2007
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Sometimes you simply "luck out". This makes up for the times you got beat at a Hamfest!
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by WA2JJH on October 20, 2007
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One would be shocked by what working electronics can be found in NYC dumpsters. NO ham....however computers,stereo's, TV's, and telco
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by WA2JJH on October 20, 2007
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One would be shocked by what working electronics can be found in NYC dumpsters. NO ham....however computers,stereo's, TV's, and telco
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by K0BG on October 20, 2007
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The call WD8DNX was issued in 1988, and never renewed. Considering the age of the equipment, any applicable statute of limitations has long since expired.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N4VNZ on October 20, 2007
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Oh Yeah, I'll bet you cheap buzzards would NEVER gyp the poor old unsuspecting XYL of a SK...
;)
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Steal of a Deal
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by K0PD on October 20, 2007
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It sound's to me by reading some of these post's that there seem's to be a bunch of jealous Ham's out there.That because they were not lucky enough to come across a deal like that,there trying to make the lucky buyer feel guilty.
Has no one ever thought that just maybe WD8DNX only owned the one piece of equipment with his call on it.Or maybe at the time the equipment was sold or even stolen he was not the current owner.
I know of a Ham that bought a near mint complete Tempo One Station at a charity auction as i recall for only $40.00.I teased him about it and he just chuckled and said guess i was the only Ham there.
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N0XV on October 20, 2007
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That call was issued in 2/27/81 and the guy is now KE8PG.Check i
t out on N4MC's Vanity HQ.
Steve N0XV
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Steal of a Deal
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by W3EEE on October 20, 2007
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Stuff *does* end up in weird places.
Not in the same class at all, but in the spring I found a Ten Tec Century 21 in amongst a heap of the usual old tat at a hospital fund-raiser rummage sale.
Three bucks.
Felt like I'd won the lottery! Now, I'd never actually have gone out looking for one of those, but I rescued it from certain doom with all the other unsold crap, and had a lot of fun breathing life back into it and putting it on the air.
It's great to win one in life once in a while!
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N7YA on October 20, 2007
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Maybe WD8DNX read the posts on these forums and just said "screw it! im out!"...and sold his gear off.
Just a thought...
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KB1IAI on October 20, 2007
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all you clowns out there calling KA4DQJ a thief are just sour grapes. i have about $2000.00 in ham gear and way over $4000.00 in r/c stuff, including a $2000.00 heli. my wife tells me all the time to make a list of what its worth in case i kick off. just because YOU know what its worth doesnt mean THEY know. take yer heads out of yer asses.
73
Paul W. Huzina, Sr.
KB1IAI
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by N9AA on October 20, 2007
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People need to read these threads IN THEIR ENTIRETY before they post hysterical responses.
WD8DNX is a silent key. There are very many ways his 30 year old gear could've ended up in a thrift store. The most likely is that it was willed to his wife or kids and they had no interest in trying to figure out how much 30 year old ham gear is worth, or dealing with a bunch of tight-wad hams in trying to sell it.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KB1IAI on October 20, 2007
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and a lot of you old crows qould be shocked to find out that yer kids are goin to either throw yer stuff out, give it away, or sell it for pennies at a tag sale. i see kids of folks who worked their tails off to buy property and homes for their kids, and as soon as the dirt is on the parents the stuff is gone and the kids are in cancoun or someother such place glad to be pocket rich. so hang on to yer stuff old men, yer kids already have it spent.
73
Paul W. Huzina, Sr.
KB1IAI
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by W8JI on October 20, 2007
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Before all these people jump on someone over their wild imaginations...
I went to a farm auction in Georgia.
I bought a mint SX-115 with matching speaker, a Collins 75A3 in nearly perfect shape with matching speaker, and a HQ-140 made just exactly one month to the day before Pearl Harbor.
The stuff was labeled "lot CB transmitters". I was the only bidder, and got it all for something like $50.
About a year later I was in a church thrift shop and bought a current model good quality $250 scanner for $3, an MFJ antenna tuner for $2, and an FT101EE for $10.
I went to a scrap yard that recycles metal looking for wire, coax, or big 12V batteries and bought two HV regulated power supplies used for some manufacturing process that needed regulated current HV supplies that used 3CX10000A7 voltage regulators. They were complete with sockets, chimneys, and filament transformers (the plate transformers were useless three phase). Total investment for two good 3CX10000A7 tubes and associated hardware, $50.
I've been on the other end too. When I got divorced a Ham "friend" went to my ex wife's house and bought my tower hardware and a new Rohn gin pole for $50, and he or someone else cleaned out a bunch of my ham gear.
I didn't mind losing my tower gear and old equipment, but I did resent him only paying pennies on the dollar and losing all my QSL's in the process.
Deals like he got are not unheard of. One man's useless junk is another man's treasure.
73 Tom
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by N6AJR on October 20, 2007
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I kow how some of that sutff may have found its way there.
I have a friend on my Mom's whos husband was SK, and he had been a hm for 40 years and he was also the motorola guy for the city of oakland , CA, and his dad had been a ham too.
The vultures ( I mean his friends) had alread come over and "bought " all the good stuff. The lady had ask my mom if some day I could come over and clear the parts out of his iold radio shed.
I went over there with a friend and probably removed 2 or 3 tons of stuff. It was multiple pick up loads. Every thing from several 6 foot tall equipment racks to boxex of resistors, capacitors diodes crystals, tubes etc. several home brew radios ( 2m am with an amp and power supply) and so on.
This stuff literraly filled up one half of my garage from the floor up to about 5 or 6 feet high.
I went through it and save a few I tems I might use in th future, but ended up giving most of it away to friends and folks on the local repeater.
its was all good "stuff" but I don't build. we even sent about 100 pounds to a boys school in Kenya. any how that was one way some stuff went out cheap.
The other is some one may have given it away and the recipient ended up selling it.
I persoanlly have given away tribanders, severaal boat anchors, and 2m and 440 rigs. Stuff like a rat shack 202 to my friend and another to his wife when they got their tec tickets, stuff like that.
So it does not necessarially mean the stuff was stolen and sold. Most folks at the good will store don't know the value of ham radio junk....
But then again, I trust folks and try to see the good in people, and don't assume the worst right off the back.
I know I am the only one to hqave may call, as it was a new unique in 1978 ( I always though it would have been cool to be a WD6XXXX,) but as a ham starting as a 2 meter tech, ( tech with code) back then I got this call, and now I like it , november six all junk radio !!
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KG4TKC on October 20, 2007
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Are there Thrift Stores that buy and resale items? Perhaps this a a class of thrift store I have missed. I have been to many thrift stores over the years,in various parts of the USA,and they all were selling donated items at some nice prices to raise money for charitable causes. The treasure hunt thrill,the good prices,and the 'its for a good cause' are the reasons I enjoyed hunting them up and searching through them. I am sure that many items we see in thrift stores would have an interesting story to tell of their past life if we could but hear it,and that many strange things could happen on their trip there. Even with that in mind I find it hard to believe that a thief would steal a complete ham radio station,keep the whole station intact,and take it to a thrift store and donate it. I bet it most likely got in the Goodwill truck from someones good intentions. We will never know and that is part of the mystery of the thrift store. I love them,,:) 73 and good operating! KG4TKC
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by AD5VM on October 20, 2007
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I've got a story that has em all beat!
My brother had just gotten his general class license and was friends with a guy who owned an electronics surplus store. His friend the store owner had just gotten a truckload of junk left over from an FAA auction, there were several pallets of stuff that got no bids At auction...(the pallets have to be bid on in tact, the buyers can't touch them). Anyway so some of these came in and my brother was helping this guy go through them... One of the shrinkwraped pallats had several large cardboard boxes on it, my brother noticed the words "Rockwell International" on one of the boxes and took a peek inside... It was an HF-80 1KW HF tranceiver!!! He looked in another box and it was the ALE!!... Another box had the remote control head!! another box had the antenna coupler!! and the last box had the Preselector!! He told his friend "I'll give you $500 bucks for that pallet, the guy looked it all over and said "ok"!!! All items were like brand new and had Rockwell Int. tags and stickers hanging on them (Had obviously been sent back for cal and not used since) The only thing missing was the manuals and connecting cables, he bought the manuals online and made all the cables himself using Rockwell connectors. (He had a GROL WAY before he got a ham license) He mounted everything in a nice rack, used it for about a year and then sold it on a Collins net for $7,500 and a used Chevy truck!
Beginners Luck!
73
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KC8VWM on October 20, 2007
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I once bought a dusty looking Yaseu FT 7800R mobile rig at a flea market for only $15.00. The lady said she thought it was a CB.
It was retailing at`the time for over 300 bucks. I recall I couldn't get my wallet out of my back pocket fast enough even if it did happen to have a problem. I thought for 15 bucks it was worth a try to fix it myself. :)
When I got it to the car, I laid it on the passenger seat, tapped in to the DC wiring, connected my mobile antenna and it worked perfect. I took it home and cleaned the dust off and it still looks like new and works great.
I figure if it ever gets stolen from my car, I will only stand to lose $15.00.
73 de Charles - KC8VWM
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by NS6Y_ on October 20, 2007
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Stolen stuff is much more likely to end up in (a) a pawn shop or (b) Ebay.
This discussion is morbid, but needed. I have a friend who still sells on eBay (I've given up the filthy business) and he seems to wait for years'n'years then will show up at his shop with a ton of ham gear ..."Oh yeah some guy I've been talking to for years about selling this" brrrr-creepy. More like waits for 'em to die then gets the gear from the widow for a pittance.
Ebay reached market saturation about 2 years ago, and has been on the decline ever since. They've been trying to compensate by making their page even more bloated, complicated, and slow, to no avail lol. I used to mention 'Ebay" in a conversation and have people walk over from a distance to ask about Ebay, how to get on it, they want to get on it, etc - now that same mention of 'Ebay" will bring over someone who goes on and on about how they were ripped off, identity theft, hassles, hard to use, etc. Big change.
And what's the result of this big change? The Golden Age Of The Ebay Vulture may be passing, and decent deals on radios and stuff are starting to show up in the thrift stores etc again.
I hope this collection of equipment turns out to not be stolen, and if it's all "clean" I'd probably feel inclined to give the thrift store a donation of $50 more or put them on my "A" list for all my old stuff for the future or something. Thrift stores don't buy stuff, they get it donated to them, and most of them are charities for churches etc.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by W5HTW on October 20, 2007
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It's all mine. I want it back. Ship it to me, and you pay shipping.
Oh, and if you found a $20 bill, that's mine, too. Send it first class mail.
If any of you stumbled across a real cheap, but cherry, full size Corvette, that's the one I lost. If you drive it here, and leave it, I'll pay your Greyhound fair back home.
I'm also looking for that 75 million bucks someone was sending me from Africa, and if you see it around, ship it to me. I'll give you 50 bucks reward and paying shipping costs.
Hurry.
Ed
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by W5HTW on October 20, 2007
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And by the way, if you stumble across a stupid blonde, you can keep her. In fact, please do.
Ed
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KE3WD on October 20, 2007
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Income Tax Deduction.
Thrift Stores of the charity type, with the requisite Tax form filed, hand you a receipt for donated merchandise.
They typically do not put the value of the donated items on the receipt, it is up to the donor to establish a fair market price for what they donated -- and the IRS can tell if someone tries to get too hinky about that amount.
But it can be deducted as a Charity Donation on the income tax, resulting in the same value or better than if the family had gone through attempts to sell the gear off outright. And it is fast and easy to do when someone may be confronted with clearing out an entire lifetime and household, possibly in the one weekend they can get free from work and make a long trip to somewhere they grew up.
They make some income off of it, the Thrift Store makes some income for their charity, the buyer, like this blessed ham operator here, gets a deal, too.
Win-Win-Win situation.
KE3WD
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by K6YE on October 20, 2007
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Sometimes, unfortunately, the family of a SK has no idea of current value, do not care, and/or are flim-flammed. Sometimes, theft is involved.
OTOH, I once bought a new Hy-Gain Ham-IV rotator for $45 because the owner bought a home in a CC&R/HOA environment and he lowered the price two days before he had to move (Note that this was in 1985).
I have handled estates for friends (including my father, K5LDH, WHO BECAME AN sk IN 2006) and made it a point to get a fair price for most everything. This should be a wake up call to set the value on your equipment while you are on the living side of the dirt.
Semper Fi,
Tommy - K6YE
DX IS
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by N9XCR on October 20, 2007
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I've had several pieces of equipment given to me when I was in high school and just getting into Amateur Radio. We're talking nice stuff, too! Two of the people were teachers at my high school. I can't begin to express how much enjoyment I got using that stuff. I will most certainly do the same if and when the opportunity arises.
Chris
N9XCR
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KB5DPE on October 20, 2007
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Thrift stores generally don't BUY their inventory; they ACCEPT DONATIONS and resell the merchandise for charitable purposes. Now, while dopers are generally not known for their intelligence, it is highly unlikely that even a dopehead would steal a load of ham gear just to DONATE it to some charity in Wyoming! Then again, maybe we are seeing the beginning of a new type of thief, the "benevolent doper". Anyway, a family member probably took the gear while breaking up the SK's estate and got tired of having it around, so gave it away. It's not necessary to always think the worst of a situation.
Tom
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by KC2WI on October 20, 2007
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A few years back I bought a TenTec Corsair II, matching power supply/speaker, antenna tuner, Astron RS-35, Icom IC-28H, PK-232 and I think a couple other items for $100 from a co-worker of a ham friend of mine. Only problem was the microphones for both radios were missing. It was from a SK relative (don't remember if it was father, uncle, etc.)
My friend had announced it several times on local nets, etc. but it sat for about a year or so. One day I was up at his work place (A public TV station, no less) and my friend insisted I come look at it. I told him I really wasn't in the market and wouldn't offer much. But he said make an offer and his co-worker (not a techie himself) accepted it right off and was probably glad to get the "junk" out of the back room.
So if ham stuff sits around for a while and no one has a use for it and they can't sell it, then they very likely would have taken it to the thrift shop.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by NXET on October 20, 2007
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Ebay reached market saturation about 2 years ago, and has been on the decline ever since. They've been trying to compensate by making their page even more bloated, complicated, and slow, to no avail lol. I used to mention 'Ebay" in a conversation and have people walk over from a distance to ask about Ebay, how to get on it, they want to get on it, etc - now that same mention of 'Ebay" will bring over someone who goes on and on about how they were ripped off, identity theft, hassles, hard to use, etc. Big change.
And what's the result of this big change? The Golden Age Of The Ebay Vulture may be passing, and decent deals on radios and stuff are starting to show up in the thrift stores etc again.
So far my impression of Ebay is that its the den of thives and rip off artist. I bid on a brand new key. When it showed up it was rusted and broken, not by the shipping company but that was the way it was shipped. The seller couldn't be found again. Another time I sent the money for a item. I never got the item and they cashed the check in a phoney bank account (his girlfriends) Sure you can go after it but is it worth the time. They are betting your going to just give up.
As to the radios, Congrats. Most hams will complain about something being stolen but will anti up because its cheap and they know its a good deal. Taking advantage of widows and elderly or thrift stores is the norm and not the exception when it comes to hams finding equipment. They know its worth more, yet they will rip the person off selling it. Who is the thief here?
No I am not suprised to see ham radios now turing up in good will stores. After all how many have been made? Good deal abound not from people who have expired but rather hams abandoning the hobby for what it is today. something they were not expecting, nor the reconigition that they thought they would get. Similar to the first days of home computers. They too made a impression on the visiting member. Oh you have a computer, you must be related to a rocket scientist. Yet all the people could do is play games on it. Grin.
So don't be surprised if someday you see that 10,000 dollar radio in the window of some thrift store for 50 bux. They all get their eventually. Wait till digital comes in for voice. Your going to see some of these people who buy the best, fighting to dump it for what ever they can get.
The best part of your story is that you found a use for the old equipment. Most today are not efficent and thus get passed by as just so much junk. A lot of hams are begining to find out that our ham radio today is really historical and basic. When more find out this is true too you will also see sale prices on equipment drop right out the bottom.
Lots of good old stuff out their. Ham Swap markets are full of surplus equipment from the consumer today. This only to be led by the computer industry.
It is always nice to know who owned it before you. It is one of the things I guess we always want to know... be it call sign or equipment. Someone thought a lot about it, bought it new, paid big bux for it and owned it be they dead or alive.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by ONAIR on October 20, 2007
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Reminds me of the guy who found a '64 GTO in a barn in Arizona and and bought it from the farmer for $500. He put $5K into restoring it, and then sold it at a vintage muscle car show for $25K!
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by N3OX on October 21, 2007
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"That call was issued in 2/27/81 and the guy is now KE8PG.Check i
t out on N4MC's Vanity HQ. "
No, that's WD8DVX
Delta Victor Xray
Dan
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Steal of a Deal
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by ARRLBOOSTER on October 21, 2007
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Wow, that is a great deal. I got a great deal from the widow down the street, last year. I got a 756 Pro II, power supply, Heil mic., Bencher Key and a R-8 antenna for 200 bucks!
She just wanted the radio gone quick, after he was killed by runaway circus elephant.
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by ARRLBOOSTER on October 21, 2007
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Ed-
I DID stumble across that stupid blonde. She is your WIFE!
She did align my final, a few times, before going back home. She was now happy:)
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by N2EY on October 21, 2007
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Here's what I think happened:
The equipment passed through various hams to get it to the area where you found it.
Then a ham who owned it became an SK and his family donated it to the thrift store because they didn't know any of his ham friends nor what it was worth.
Sure, we hams know that old ham gear can be worth decent money.
But the electronics most people use are considered
throw-away items, particularly when they get old.
How much is a TV from the 1970s worth, even if it works perfectly? Or a used VCR or stereo of the same vintage? Not much!
Computers top the list. You can't even give away a 10 year old computer.
So it would be natural for folks with no knowledge of ham radio to assume the same about a 1970s ham rig.
73 de Jim, N2EY
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by NS6Y_ on October 21, 2007
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NXET - good post! Not only because you appropriated my writing (without quotes) but your part too.
Yes, Ebay as a den of thieves and scammers is the most widespread opinion of them these days...
Before I left the Bay Area I was in one of those "no talk under a million dollars" hipster coffee houses and ended up sharing a table with some guy high up in some big-o internet company, and he said there are fundamental weaknesses in the way the net is set up, that makes it a haven for ripoffs and thieves. This hurts people's trust in internet business, and that in turn bodes a dark future for net business in general - at least it would not grow as some expected, which is death in that industry.
I said just the sheer hassle factor is keeping a lot of people away, including myself. I've pretty much given up on buying things over the net. If someone has a simple, mostly text, decent web page and an order form I can print out, fill out, and mail a check, fine. Otherwise I find I can get what I need locally.
I remember reading a book about video games, you see, these things were a big fad in mid 70s to early 80s. It was assumed that people would dump huge amounts of quarters into their local video game parlor like they were during that time, but lo and behold, the fad passed. In the same way the eBay fad is passing, and their latest awful TV commercial just makes their victems, er, users, look like drooling fools.
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Steal of a Deal
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by N0AH on October 21, 2007
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I lived 35 miles outside Cheyenne for 5 years. If you don't mind the wind blowing from November-May averaging about 40 miles per hour, it is a great place to live including the thrift stores-I found 400 feet of Rohn 25 tower for 30 cents. hihi
Speaking of unknown calls, I still can't find the first Ham with N0AH as there call sign. (No, he dd not have a long white beard and enjoyed animals and boating)
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RE: STOLEN GEAR
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by AD5TD on October 21, 2007
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RE: STOLEN GEAR Reply
by N4VNZ on October 20, 2007 Mail this to a friend!
Oh Yeah, I'll bet you cheap buzzards would NEVER gyp the poor old unsuspecting XYL of a SK...
;)
I know of a nearly new Alpha Amp that someone "talked" the crippled widow of a SK out of for $800. Shame, Shame....
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Steal of a Deal
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by KB4DW on October 21, 2007
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A great purchase by KA4DQJ. kudos on your find.
Fascinating! The mind of a ham - this is what helps make our hobby the best hobby in the world.
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by AB7E on October 21, 2007
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To NS6Y:
I don't know where you get your opinions, but the facts don't support them at all. Not a bit. Internet commerce is way up and growing steadily, and the ability to sell worldwide online has enabled the creation of thousands of small companies that couldn't possibly exist otherwise. eBay continues to grow very aggressively, and I personally have bought well over 300 items via eBay without ever getting burned once ... unless you want to count the ham who shipped me an air variable capacitor so badly packaged that the steatite insulators broke in transit. Amazon.com has been setting new sales and profit figures, and every major rock group except for the Beatles now offers their music for sale digitally over the internet.
I've bought everything from printer ink cartridges to a 9 cubic foot industrial cement mixer to a full suite of top-of-the-line (Thermidor, LG, etc) kitchen appliances over the internet and saved money every time because I was so easily able to shop around and compare prices first.
I've had two occasions where someone obtained my credit card info and neither had anything to do with the internet (one was from a restaurant, the other was from mail stolen from our mailbox). Internet commerce is WAY more secure than handing your credit card to a waiter, or sending the info via FAX where it can sit in a pile for anyone to see.
You may prefer to think that internet commerce is a passing fad, but that doesn't make it true.
Dave AB7E
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by AB7E on October 21, 2007
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NS6Y: "I remember reading a book about video games, you see, these things were a big fad in mid 70s to early 80s. It was assumed that people would dump huge amounts of quarters into their local video game parlor like they were during that time, but lo and behold, the fad passed."
I'm really sorry this is getting so off the original topic, but you really sound like a technophobe. No such thing as you described happened, and while I don't play them, video games are hardly a fad.
Video games migrated into the home to computers and game consoles and now are a multi-billion dollar per year industry, estimated to generate over $25 billion in revenue on a world basis (counting hardware and software). Online games hosted over the internet are exploding, and the role playing game "World of Warcraft" alone has over 9 million active subscribers worldwide with a $15 per month subscription fee. The demographics show that adults, not teenagers, are the primary users.
Check out the revenue, profits, and stock prices for companies like Blizzard (game creator/publisher) and Gamestop (retailer). Check out how critical the internet is to the future of huge companies like Microsoft, Google, and Sony as described in their own annual reports.
In fact, the whole technical development of home computers (processor speed, bus speed, video cards) is driven primarily by two applications ... video games and media processing, both of which are being accelerated by internet connectivity. Gamers are more and more doing their thing online in community settings, and it won't be too long before the majority of movies you pay to watch will be downloaded over the internet.
Dave AB7E
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RE: Something to think about.
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by AF9J on October 22, 2007
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Here's a Good One,
This last Saturday, while I was getting ready to eat brunch, one of the other tenants in my apartment building knocked on my door. He told me that he had heard I had an Amateur Radio License (It turns out that when I told my landlady about my ham radio stuff, she told the on site maintenance guy about it, and he told my neighbor). I immediately had visions of being complained at about interfering with his TV, stereo, computer, etc. It turned out to be nothing of the sort, and actually turned out to be what was for me, a rather stunning thing.
My neighbor works as an electronics tech (mainly computers and industrial controllers). His apartment is being remodeled, and he has to get it cleared out, so that they can put in new carpeting. To minimize the amount of stuff he has to lug into storage, it sounds like he's giving away things that are just collecting dust. He gave me a bunch of radio gear! The guy's uncle used to be a Ham, and a few years back, he also dabbled with getting a ham license (he studied the code, and the regs), but he never got a license, and it sounds like he has no real interest in Amateur Radio anymore. At that time, he bought some ham gear, and his now SK Ham uncle, also gave him some. This gear, is what he gave me! Here's what I got from him:
1. Hitachi Model V-209, 20 MHz, semi-portable oscilliscope - my neighbor used to use it for field repair work. It's in working condition, with the manual. Cool! I can finally look at my Globe Scout 680's signal.
2, Yaesu FRG-7 receiver - in working condition. Not sure how much use I'll get out of it. Still, an interesting piece.
3. ICOM IC-740 - this one needs work. My neighbor bought it used from AES about 8 or 9 years ago (I found the recipt for the sale, in the radio's manual), and used it as a receiver. It died on him one day. A friend of mine who used to work as an RF Tech., and has dealt with the IC-740, and the IC-745, talked me through trouble shooting it on the phone. It looks like just a resistor, and a transistor on the Voltage Control Board went bad. Both should be pretty easy to repair and replace by me.
4. An old Amcomm, sythesized 2m FM rig - not sure how much use this will see, since I doubt it has the tone board in it for CTCSS access to repeaters. Besides, I don't do much 2m FM anyway, and my HT is plenty for my 2m FM needs.
5. An old 2m 10W in 70W out amp - hmmm, maybe when I get another old 2m all mode.
6. Some old SWR/wattmeters - Heathkit and Vanco
I'm stunned. I asked my meighbor why he didn't just sell all of it on ePay,and he told me he didn't feel like messing around with doing that, and that he was just glad to give it to somebody who could make use of it. I'm broke, but as a token of my gratitude, I gave him $20 (all I could afford).
The IC-740 couldn't have come at a better time. In July, I had to sell my FT-897D to pay for some unexpected car repair bills. As limited as it was, it was my contesting and VHF/UHF SSB & CW rig. I still have my TS-820, but it's more of a casual rig, and doesn't really work too well for QRPing while contesting (also, having to retune for the umpteen different band changes I make during a contest, reminded me why the last time I had a tube rig for contesting, was back in 1993). The reviews I've read about the IC-740, say it's a bit of a sleeper, that has surprisingly good performance, in spite of the fact that it's over 23 years old. I found a source for the internal keyer for about $60, and my (now) IC-740, already has 250Hz CW filters installed in the 455 kHz, and 9 MHz IF positions. So, in a strange turn of events, I will end up with a rig, that is better than my old FT-897D for contesting. Cool!!
73,
Ellen - AF9J
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RE: Something to think about.
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by WI7B on October 22, 2007
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Ellen AF9J,
That's great story. Very karmic. I'm glad you've got an HF rig again and good luck contesting!
73,
---* Ken
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RE: Something to think about.
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by AF9J on October 22, 2007
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Thanks Ken, :)
It definitely made my weekend.
73,
Ellen - AF9J
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RE: Something to think about.
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by KF6IIU on October 22, 2007
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When my dad died his widow almost threw away a complete Yaesu FT101E station with matching accessories, FL-101B amp, and several Kenwood and Yaesu 80-s vintage VHF rigs. She called some relatives and gave them a day or two's notice or else it would all go the dumpster.
Eventually I got the FT-101E, FL-101B, and one of the VHF rigs shipped out to me, but I am almost sure several VHF rigs and all his test equipment, slide rules, etc, went in the trash. Hopefully some of his ham buddies were able to go over to the house and take some of the stuff they could carry.
I suspect my wife would have a lot of trouble disposing of my junk, so I have explicit instructions to give it to the local club and neighborhood hams if something were to suddenly happen to me.
It's really one of the highest forms of tribute to an SK, to take their old gear and use it for a new DXCC or WAS. It it's not useless junk :-)
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RE: Steal of a Deal - Callsign Found
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by VE3LXL on October 22, 2007
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I think N2EY has got it right.
To most of us, 30 year old ham gear in good condition is something beautiful, valuable and desirable. But to a non-ham who knows nothing about radio, it would just look like obsolete and ugly old junk. The one thing most people do know about old electronic gear is that it is largely worthless. Old computers, TVs, clock radios usually don't work right anymore and you often can't even give them away, let alone sell them. So people often just throw them away, or give them to charity. So it's quite believable that good amateur gear could end up for sale at a thrift shop for pennies on the dollar, if its owner died and the executors of the estate didn't know what it was.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by KA5ROW on October 22, 2007
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I was looking for a copy of a manual for a set of Drake twins I had. This was about 1986 or so. I called Drake to get a copy which I did, but to my surprise they asked me for the serial No. When I gave it to them they told me who the original owner was and his call. I wonder if a radio company would do that today. It would be sad if they would not.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by WA9UAA on October 23, 2007
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Just for the record, the XYL of a friend of mine, who died some what unexpectedly, told me to come over and get what I wanted after he passed. I did visit him in the hospital during his last days. RIP Rodney
73,
Rob WA9UAA
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by NS6Y_ on October 23, 2007
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AB7E - Ebay's stock has been trending up, and their profits up, because they own PayPal and Skype and a bunch of other co's. Internet commerce in general, from trusted companies like Amazon dot com etc., has been going up, tempered lately only by the recent slowdown in the economy in general.
Ebay auctions though, what's called "core", is down. It's down because the amount of time and hassle involved in buying and selling on Ebay has gone way up. Things are going back local.
The subject of technophobia is too large to cover here. I'll just say that when I was a kid my dad was able to go to his not-too-well paying job at the bank and support the other 6 of us. This was BC, Before Computers. AC, After Computers, everyone's working their butts off. Computers are work-multipliers not work-savers. For treatment of this in depth, I refer you to www.dieoff.org
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RE: Something to think about.
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by KD5TLC on October 23, 2007
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Here's one I don't think I spotted in the usual list of 'out there' replies to these threads.... maybe the price tag was supposed to read $150.00 or $500.00 and was somehow misinterpereted by the person running the flea market, or the guys xyl who took it all down to their booth with what she thought was the old mans wanting price. Maybe the previous owner is STILL upset that it somehow got mislabeled, or mistakenly sold for a digit off! Either way, I'm on the lookout for the same deal when my wife drags me through one of those places. Going once, twice, SOLD to the gentleman with the twisted look on his face for having to part with 50 buckaroos... yeah, that'd be me :)
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by WR8Y on October 24, 2007
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KB5DPE:
"""Thrift stores generally don't BUY their inventory; they ACCEPT DONATIONS and resell the merchandise for charitable purposes. Now, while dopers are generally not known for their intelligence, it is highly unlikely that even a dopehead would steal a load of ham gear just to DONATE it to some charity in Wyoming!"""
Ya beat me to it!
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by AB7E on October 24, 2007
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NS6Y: "Ebay's stock has been trending up, and their profits up, because they own PayPal and Skype and a bunch of other co's."
Not true. PayPal is stagnant for them as a profit contributor, and eBay just took a $1.5 billion hit for Skype, which is widely considered to have been a dumb move for them.
NS6Y: "Ebay auctions though, what's called "core", is down. It's down because the amount of time and hassle involved in buying and selling on Ebay has gone way up. Things are going back local."
You just made that up, because it is totally untrue. eBay's transaction growth in percent is slowing because they've gotten so damn big, but their core business is still growing. See http://tinyurl.com/32t6zo The biggest gripe against eBay by sellers is that eBay has been bumping up their selling fees. But eBay aside, selling is certainly not "going back local." eCommerce is way up and keeps growing, with new businesses being created every day and old businesses like hardware, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, woodworking, music, books, major appliances, construction tools ... even cars and boats ... are increasingly being marketed and sold over the internet. The only products I can think that may never migrate to the internet are those that require personal access before the sale clothes and food), are too large or heavy to economically ship individually (lumber, cement, etc), or require skilled installation assistance (satellite TV, air conditioning materials, etc).
As far as the effect of computers on lifestyles and work habits, you're confusing the tool with the result. I spent over thirty years in the semiconductor business, first as an engineer and then as a business manager. Work was incredibly tedious and inefficient before computers, and the output (and corresponding salary) was low. No matter what bias you may have against computers and their usage today, I can guarantee you would not want to go back to the world before they existed. It is certainly possible to work yourself to death on a computer today, but far more people did so on farms and in factories with less positive result yesterday.
Dave AB7E
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by N4EUK on October 24, 2007
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If you ever end up with stuff you don't want to own anymore, and it's really not worth the time or effort to sell, and you feel badly about just trashing it, then try Freecycle or Craigs List. I have given away 10 year old PCs that were nothing more than doorstops and gotten many inquires for them. The best thing is that the taker will come to your house and pick up the item (unless you feel charitable and want to meet them somewhere).
Doesn't matter what you want to give away - there is always someone out there who wants it, needs it or is just OCD about junk.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by NS6Y_ on October 25, 2007
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Mail this to a friend!
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Craigs List is freakin' great. I got rid of some outdoor grade radio cabinets, paving blocks, bunch of stuff like that (didn't need it to get my hand truck stolen that I didn't want though!) and have also sold and bought a few things on CL too.
www.craigslist.org then pick your city to see what's in your town.
I love CL because it's text-based so it's not too slow even if you're on dial-up which about half the people who have the 'net are.
And, no charges unless you're offering a job or I think, selling a house. Mostly it's free.
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RE: Steal of a Deal
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by VU2PEP on October 26, 2007
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Mail this to a friend!
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We hams are getting pessimistic by the day, everything
cheap need not be stolen. If I was the lucky one to
pick up a complete station for 50 buicks I would become my neighbour's envy. We had a gold rush a few years
back in VU2, we had the biggest Ship breaking yard in
Gujarat a Skanti or Sailor Rx would be picked by
for a few dollars. 3-500z 4-400's and 4cx250B's boxed
stuff for about 50 cents. Commercial communication tests
were dirt cheap.
Generally XYLs desist the hobby, it would have been
no wonder that that Wd8dnx's XYL would have got rid of the equipment in the easiest possible way.
Any way congrats on picking up a working station.
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Steal of a Deal
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by VE2ITZ on October 26, 2007
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Mail this to a friend!
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This is better than writting the plot for a mystery movie!
It would be a wonderful idea to make a thriller about ham radio and the mystery of the Kenwood ts-530 for 50 bucks!
I have so much fun reding all this!
Guys you are the greatest!
Let's all keep on hamming and enjoying the ethr while it lasts!
Cheers all, 73 and peace!
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