Interesting discussion with a wide variety of experiences. I'll admit to
being hooked on vintage ham gear of all types. Tube & solid state.
Especially finding dead rigs dirt cheap, fixing them and finally using
them on the air. My fave are the Kenwood hybrids and have been using/
fixing them since the TS-520 was first introduced. My experience has been
these are *some of the most reliable ham transceivers ever made*.
If not abused or subjected to moisture. I've probably got two dozen.
Same for the FT-101 (and later) series although not as many of them here.
Tube gear is easier to keep on the air in part because off the shelf parts
(for the most part) were used. Not always true of SS.
Anyone that has the desire to use vintage ham gear MUST learn how
to fix and align them. Its not hard but fewer and fewer hams seem to
be up to the task. In one way thats a shame but on the other, more
cool stuff available for those of us that can!
I'll relate a recent experience; at a hamfest just prior to the pandemic,
picked up a Heathkit HW-101 on the way out at the end of the day.
According to the seller, no one wanted it. Even for $10. E-gad!
Yeah, it came home and with a lot of work and fabricating two
missing shields, had it on the air and worked some DX with it.
Pretty darn cool for a $10 HF rig! Rescue these old rigs guys!
Steve