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Author Topic: Boat Anchor Value  (Read 13669 times)

N5NJ

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Boat Anchor Value
« on: April 19, 2000, 05:55:59 PM »

What's going on out there ?  10 years ago you couldn't give a Drake C-Line away and now they're selling for almost what they were new.  Will this last ?  What about the prices of Collins gear ?  Will it keep going up too ?  Doesn't anyone care that they can get better performance for less money ?
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K4AAA

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2000, 06:00:31 PM »


I think eBay auctions have everything to do with the prices going up so much.  People get crazy on that site to own something that someone describes as "perfect", "prestine", or "mint"...  regardless of it's true condition.  I quit doing the eBay thing because of too many poorly represented items by hams thinking more about lining their pockets than the ham spirit.   Too bad.

73

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W8FAX

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2000, 05:52:45 PM »

I believe the most over used word on ebay is "rare'. I'm also impressed by all the stuff for sale, supposedly in excellent condition, and then the owner says he is too stupid to check it out, so he doesn't know if it works. Some very good deals CAN be found, but one must REALLY be careful and know what stuff is worth.....Al
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W5HTW

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2000, 11:16:31 AM »


You miss the point entirely.  I can get great performance for less money by buying a Toyota Camry.  But I still like my 1958 Austin Healy 100-6.  My brother-in-law can buy a really nice used Ford for $3,000, but he likes his showcase Model T, for which he paid $6,000.  

Will it keep going up?  Unless they start mass producing Model T's again, yes, it probably will.  Unless they start building more Collins S-line, I suspect the price will continue to rise.  Unless Drake begins manufacturing the B-line or C-line, the sheer fact is they will become more rare, as some die, some are scrapped, and the ones that are left are highly maintained.   I know where there's a 37 Plymouth sitting in a field.  I could probably get it for 100 bucks.  But it is totally rusted out, has no engine, no wheels, no seats, no upholstery, no transmission, no axles.  And that is where many of the Drakes, Hallicrafters, Collins, Nationals, etc, will wind up.  Consequently the once dime a dozen 37 Plymouth/Drake C line, will no longer be a dozen, so they won't be a dime.  Once that old 1943 copper penny is mass produced again, it will have no value other than a penny.  

So if you want service and performance, buy the best, the latest, the gadgets, and there is nothing at all wrong with that.  We do it all the time in cars, trucks, computers, satellite TV, vacuums, washing machines, microwaves, Nintendo, lawn mowers, and even kitchen sinks.  That is the correct way.  

But if you want something to collect, then you have to open the other eye

73
Ed Brooks, W5HTW
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K2WE

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2000, 02:06:21 PM »

Hi Bob, I think you might have missed the point. There are alot of babyboomers out there who have the money to spend and want to own the vintage station they could have only dreamed about 30+ years ago. I've been bitten by the vintage bug and enjoy operating my Hallicrafters,B&W,EF Johnson,Hammarlund & Drake gear.The market on Collins has just gone thru the roof. After owning several S-Line stations, I passed them on to others. I've worked my share of DX with my B&W 6100/Drake 2B combo (A5,4W,TX0 etc). It really was alot of fun. You would be suprised to find how really good a Drake 2B is for pulling a weak station thru the QRM. The Drake 2B is still one of the finest receivers for both CW & SSB and could still be purchased for a fair price.  73  Steve
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WU6Q

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2000, 06:25:12 PM »

You guy's are all right !! ..But will all this equipment keep going up ....yes.....in our life time.  As a kid I drooled over this stuff and NOW I can afford it and I've got plenty.  My son (26Yrs old), not a ham yet, but loves his FRG-8800 ....he thinks I'm nuts to be tuning my 51J4 or HQ-145 on the SW bands. MY POINT ....There will be a drastic drop in prices in this stuff in about two generations from now, sadly we won't see it.  My son may keep some of this "Pristine" stuff as a remembrance ...but do you think his son will ?  If there is Ham radio then, Man can you image the rigs they'll have ...?
73

...tom   (WU6Q)
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VE2EQL

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2000, 04:23:59 PM »

Hello to all,

My father had a SX-100A MKIII, Hallicrafters receiver that he bought new. He had a lot of ham gear, and still has most of it. He gave me the SX100 a few years ago to clean out his basement. I sold the SX100 for 175.00 Many years later, I remembered the SX 100 and the fun that was had. I also regretted selling the SX100, because I made my mind that my son will carry on with all the stuff long after I'm gone. (he's 15 yrs.) I tracked down the orginal sx100 and paid 500.00 for it. It was almost like new. Also when I was a kid, I was looking at the early ham radio magazines, and drolling over hallicrafters, Collins, Drake, and everything else that "glowed" and went "swack or dit-dah". I went through the stages of owning what I wanted back then. I feel many other persons are doing the same. Regards, John Grow VE2EQL  
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N7KR

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2000, 03:34:15 AM »

I suspect the current upward spiral of pricing is quite fragile & will not endure thru this decade. A serious slowdown or reversal in the current sky-high economy will bring all but the truly foolish to a sudden reality check. Walla - end of the big time spenders. And as for me..... with this in mind I think I'll wait to pick up my Collins Station on the next wave !!
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KD4UPJ

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2000, 12:13:23 PM »

I have a Collins 75S-1 recvr serial # 2804 with matching 312B-3 speaker... both are wing emblem and in excellent condition. The recvr does not have tubes, it utilizes "tubesters" a '70's version of solid state. Am seeking assistance as to the value of this equipment. I have owned both items since early '70's.

Thanks in advance.... Don- KD4UPJ
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N3RIK

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2000, 10:43:20 PM »

I cant wait till the "EICO 753" I have been trying to get working right for the last two years will be worth something.....


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VA2DRU

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2001, 07:43:19 AM »

I'm in financial difficulty, and have an old Collins KWM-1 which I've never worked on yet as it has no power supply.  I do have plenty of replacement tubes and the original manual.  Any thoughts on what I should be asking for it?
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N7TM

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Boat Anchor Value
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2001, 02:35:02 PM »

I was looking through the December 1959 issue of CQ magazine the other day. It was interesting to see ads for a lot of the equipment that is collected today. I was surprised to see how expensive gear was in the late 50's. For example, a National NC-400 receiver had a list price of $895. At the same time, towers, beams, and keyers seemed dirt cheap. There was a lot of WWII surplus for sale in the ads and it was dirt cheap (ART-13's for $45). A Hallicrafters HT-37 was around $450. While individual parts seemed inexpensive, the sum of the parts to make a radio seemed extraordinarily high. Were profit margins higher then or were parts indeed expensive? Or was it the hand labor to put a radio together that made the final price high? Certainly, buying a great rig today is a drop in the bucket financially compared to buying a great rig in 1959.
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