Why do people not take good care of there equipment?

[W8RXL]

I have a lot of BAs, I own one solid state HF rig and a couple 2m rigs that are solid state. In my little collection, I have a couple radios (Hallicrafters) that are still in the box they were shipped in. I also have several tube CBs from the 60's in their boxes. Now those radios in boxes don't get put on the desk, these are factory fresh items that are kept that way. However I have a number of rigs that are on the desk or rotate from the shelves to the desk when I'm in the mood to change things.  Some of these rigs were in bad shape when I got them, I cleaned a few, painted a few others, even made silk screen template for the lettering to referb the front and some will never be museum quality (like my Central Electronics transmitter) while others are as good as they will ever get. These are used, they are taken care of but they are used. I know every scratch, ever nick on each radio and remember when I found them.

I am looking at a Hallicrafters HT-18 which is driving a FET transmitter and it came to me in rather good shape (original manuals, cables and box remains) but I put two little scratches on it when I moved it trying to find the right place for it. Above it is an SR-46a which is worn around the VFO knob, it wasn't when I got it but I used it a lot so it wears.

[KG8LB]

Don't even bother with eBay. It's become a dumping ground for broken rigs. Too many "it worked the last time I used it", "I'm selling for a friend", "it's from my father's (sk) collection and I don't know how to test it", yadda-yadda. The worst are estate sales where everything got thrown in a truck and some clueless person is trying to auction the stuff off, not knowing anything about the equipment's condition. Occasionally you'll see like new or new rigs posted but then the bidding wars drives the price way over it's true value.

You'll find better equipment here on eHam as well as qth.com and qrz.com. There you'll be able to confirm that the seller is in fact a ham and often you'll be able to talk with them on the phone or on the air and be able to get a better idea of the equipment's condition and why they are selling it.

  Actually I have been able to find some excellent equipment on Ebay at reasonable to very fair prices . If you do some honest comparisons it becomes obvious that some of the sellers on QTH seem to look at Ebay prices for the highest selling price on their particular item , add 30% to 75 % (because they have a license ?) and post on QTH for "free" . Many of the QTH bunch refuse Paypal (and it's protection from fraud) or , if they accept Paypal they demand the buyer pay the fees !
  If you look at the feedback area , you will also find a fair share of dirty deal reports on QTH as well.

   Deals are where you find them . I got an excellent Icom 706MK2Ga local estate sale with microphone , owners manual and a powwer meter for $125 a couple of years ago , it looked and worked great .

   I won't overlook any potential source for a good find .

[W3RSW]

Well stated. Deals nice and otherwise are everywhere. I recently bought a fairly high priced item from an unknown (at the time) ham who actually took the time to email me pix of the Ohio snowstorm that he thought might prevent him from getting my package mailed quickly.  Turns out he did get through the next day.  He also sent the original purchase invoice from the manufacturer. He wouldn't take pay-pal. I understand reasons for that so just sucked it up and cross mailed a money order.  Of course I checked him out on QTH.com, mapped his location and could have driven to his house in a few hours. He probably did the same.

We exchanged several emails and were quite comfortable with the transaction.  Great guy and a new friend.

Item arrived in great condition at very reasonable price;  his USPS tracking no. was real and so was mine, etc. I guess you have to have some trust but due diligence is pretty much mandatory these days.

As for cleanliness of shack and quality of gear, life has enough responsibilities than to be anal-retentive about your stuff.  If it comes to you pristine, try to keep it that way but enjoy it. Know the difference between museum archiving/collecting and everyday usage. Enjoy both for their better qualities.  And for G's sake don't mistreat or trash stuff on purpose.  Yeah we've all kicked something once in a while but we don't especially claim to be proud of it.  Says a lot about our other relations too.

My grandfather is the first that I remember anyone mentioned keeping tools sharp and clean.  I'm sure my father said the same but my grandfather would take steel wool to burned pots and pans, always kept his pocket knife sharpened and oiled.

I've even heard it said, " how a man keeps his knife is the mark of that man." Well I "hain't no angel" but I try.

In selling, be as truthful as possible.  Know the difference between TMI and good business acumen and where each is owed the buyer. -- For his good and yours. A good sell hence sale contains an awful lot of information and training.

[K8QV]

I'll concur with those who pointed out that hams are, in large part, slobs. Observe any hamfest parking lot or lunch table. I'd say check out the bathrooms, but that wouldn't be safe.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

I have several FT-101s and they look like crap!
This will be from CBers who, for some reason or other, have burned out the final tubes and killed the power supply, than put it off in a corner.
I rip out the entire final section and power supply, replacing it with something solid state.
I almost always have to replace knobs and controls.
I remove the outer case and run it by Maaco, the cheapest auto body place in town.
I do not care what color it is as long as it is gloss.
The nice ones I sell.
The ones that look like crap get put in a custom wooden box and made semi portable, and more beating.