The AM Forum

Webcast on work done with Compulsive Hoarding Disorders. Very interesting.

http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/buniverse/videos/view/?id=95



David Goncalves
W1EUJ

http://www.criticalradio.com/VORTEX%20JOE/Web%20Pages/Vortex%20Joe%201.htm


nothing more needs to be said!! ;D ;D

I have walls covered in shelves for the radios. Joe has walls MADE of radios.

I have some 1980's check registers...  Wife won't let me get rid of them
I have a printing press in the basement... Wife won't let me get rid of it..................   klc

Lets see,--we have acroynyms for everything now courtesy of the "new scientfic" psychiatric
intellectuals who seek to "define", "control" and/or excuse human behavior.

I remember(back in the 50`s) as a kid an old guy who was a trash collector and had both his
front yard and back yard full of "junk",--and as I recall we used to think that ol Max was a bit
"different" or "eccentric", but he was a real nice guy.

Another term that comes to mind from the "specialists" nowadays is ADD(attention deficit disorder)
which almost all kids have nowadays, AND there is even a pill to "fix" the problem.

Years ago if a kid was "hyperactive", parents just accepted it, and made the best of the
situation.
Times sure have changed,--for the better???
                                          73, K1MVP

Personally,--I would rather see a person "addicted" to collecting, than "booze" and many of the
other vices out there.
Makes one wonder why so much attention is given to this "CHD" when we have REAL problems
in society out there,--such as school shootings, drugs and all other kinds of "deviant" behavior.

 

To quote John Mohn, W5MEU (SK):

"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

>Personally,--I would rather see a person "addicted" to collecting, than "booze" and many of the
>other vices out there.

Like any addiction, there is some point past where you are under control, and transition in to a level of preoccupation where it begins to affect your life negatively. I've seen the same with the hoarding - we aint' talking about the basement being full here - the cases here aren't called 'compulsive' until living space begins to be eliminated - dining rooms, bathrooms, living rooms; the afflicted begin to feel anxious/depressed because part of them knows they have lost control. We've all heard the stories of the harried cat ladies, buried under the mess of cats, feces, food bags, etc.

Everything psycological isn't psycobabble. While there is some bad science out there (I partially agree with the overclassification of minor issues as syndromes), I think we are in a better time - those heady days of treating disorders with electric shocks and ice-picks are over. But, alas, we only just replaced the metal tools with chemcials - there is still so much to learn.

David Goncalves

Naw

Slab- I don't think of Joe as a compulsive hoarder as the fascinating thing about his place is that there are rarely two things alike....

Now compulsive collector........  I'd go with that but then again Bill Gates is a compulsive collector of $$$$

I'll agree with that. But hot damn, its fun to visit both Joe and his collection. Ham radio is lucky to have him

OOPs. Do bedrooms count too? Holy whiz I think I need help. Crap!

Den

I think that a lot of these 'experts' base their findings more on personal preference than actual medical fact. In the old radio world, it's often a case of simple envy/jealousy in declaring that so-and-so has too much stuff and should 'share' it with the rest of the community so that others can benefit. Socialism meets amateur radio.

'Hoarding' seems to be one of the more overused and misused words today. There's a huge difference between amassing useful items vs. half-eaten food, used tissues, and other garbage having no further use while presenting a health risk. Personality types who want a sterile, empty-looking, new age apartment might consider more than one chair as hoarding. Others might consider them to be mentally imbalanced for their preference.

It really comes down to personal preference more than anything. Compulsive behavior strikes me more as something you'd rather not do, but can't stop yourself - not something you enjoy doing and look forward to. The fact that someone else might think you're crazy for having a bunch of big, heavy metal boxes in your house when 'you can only use one at a time' shouldn't be the determining factor. I have a fairly large pile of stuff, yet feel no compulsion to get more. Days, weeks, months can pass before something catches my eye or piques my interest. I also get rid of stuff from time to time, yet depending on personal preference of the person judging me, I could be seen as a hoarder for having (in their opinion) 'too much'. A trip to the Vortex is in order before they lock him up for his own good.

The thing I can't understand is what Carl mentioned: collecting multiples of the same item. If it's for reasons of establishing variations, then sure. But identical items? Couldn't the time/space/money be better used in providing variety? More stuff!   ;)

No, if you're determined to have 'too much' in today's society, you're wrong for it in the eyes of many. Despite your freedom to do so, effort and intellect put into it, and so on. Yet, if you play the lottery and lose then get depressed because you were stupid enough to have the money already spent mentally, they create a sickness for you: Lottery Fantasy Syndrome. Forget common sense and accountability, you poor thing. It's not your fault.

Go figure.  ::)

Like Mack I ended up with 3 Pierson KP-81 receivers and speaker/power supplies from the same seller; one unmodified, another complete but with the front end loctals replaced with miniature tubes, and the third is a parts unit missing the front end and coil catacomb.  I have one in operation with the Viking 500 and I plan to restore the other one-probably going back to the original loctals.  I also sometimes pick up duplicates either to find a better example of a rig I already have or to provide trading material for the future.

I am sure that a "shrink" would be happy to take my money for treatment but I run into enough psychologists at the university without actually paying to associate with one.  Leaving campus yesterday I saw one of the Psych profs wandering around the quad with a bag gathering acorns-the perfect setup for a Far Side cartoon.  One person's joy/hobby is seen by others as an obsession.  My wife has around 60-75 pairs of shoes and she is happy; if I had to deal with that many shoes I would be too confused to get dressed in the morning.

It is really a statement of our quality of life that we have time to worry about such ridiculous pseudo-problems.  There was an article last week about a Chinese village where roughly 35% of the population has some form of cancer-apparently from water pollution.  The factory responsible provided $200 (for the entire village, not per person) to provide for their "care".  Those people have real problems and no one would pay any attention if one of the citizens decided to start collecting chop sticks.

Ah, now for some more solder fumes!
Rodger WQ9E

How many times have you sold something...some piece of gear or some hard-to-find part and then shortly after, realized that it was something you really needed?  It has happened to many of us, I'm sure.  Perhaps, the fear of getting rid of some irreplaceable treasure is an incentive for not getting rid of it to start with, or "hoarding" stuff.  There are millions, if not billions of collectors in the world.  If it weren't for collectors...what would happen to eBay?  One interesting aspect of collecting and/or hoading stuff is the option for future use of those items to trade for items that you might need or want in the future.  Certainly a lot of old radio parts fall into this category.  A good stock of parts and "stuff" enables us to help others with their needs, as well as gives us the means to acquire currently needed items for our own projects.  Now all I have to do is convince my XYL of the importance of this philosophy.  She does not seem to appreciate my piles and piles of radio junk which occupy too much space as far as she is concerned.  :)

73,  Jack, W9GT

Ya got to have three.... one to work, one as backup, and one as spare parts.......   Clocks? need 3... how can u tell what time it is (WWV) unless you have 3... 2 wont do 'cause one can be off and how do one know what one do be off? klc

Or what about that empty, hollow feeling of having had something and disposed (sold, etc) of it. And then needing it, or just wishing you had it back!! :'( :'(

Been there, done that, and usually ended up paying more for the replacement than I sold the original for!!

That's why I'd much rather trade for other irreplaceable radio treasure than to sell anything for money.  All money looks and feels the same, regardless of its source of origin.  But once a radio treasure is gone, it's probably gone for ever.


I solved that problem when I had my shack moved onto my property.  Like much of my radio stuff, which is scrounged from what other people didn't want, even my shack was scrounged.  It had been slated for demolition, but was given to me free of  charge in exchange for having it moved out of the previous owners' way.

My buddy Carl, VA3CGM is a physician. He took a  look at that Compulsive Hoarding Disorders webcast and  found it interesting,  amusing,  and thought-provoking.  He also chuckled a  lot.   He also has a basement full of boatanchors, parts, debris, etc. His garage is  chock full too.    He also figures  "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."    He also doesn't want to get cured.

Me neither!

sometime you just cant keep it. At one time I had >40 fully restored receivers, back to factory new pretty much. But you can only use one at a time. We all dont "own" anything anyway - we just get the use of it for a while. I would have to have sold my collection at fire sale prices after I got sick. Glad I got rid of hem long ago and dont want anymore. I cant carry them or work on them, so why bother? I had more than my share when I could handle it.

Collectively, we are saving history for future generations and thats what is important.

Well, as one of those "specialists" as well as an old ham guy - I can say all of this new scientific has its place, but just dont take everything too serious.   My friend, another ham, business guy, stated to me once that "The church used to handle that sort of thing" - told him that (we)(counselors, etc) hardly ever need Exorcisms, these days... hi hi  But like most areas of science, etc, things do get taken to extremes with diagnosis, treatment directions, etc.  Half of that is simply "money making" - Rx sales reps are pounding hard their NEW variations and docs are encouraged by "everyone" clients as well as companies to try something else to see if it works or helps.  And the docs also know if they say "No" long enough about a new drug, the patient will simply go find another doc soon and he loses his patient.

So, question is, its a matter of degrees, no hard line between what is NORMAL and what is CRAZY - do you need a pill to fix a behavior?  Well, really depends on the behavior and if its a "chemical imbalance issue" and its REALLY a Problem or just an inconvenience....you wouldn't deny a person with diabetes medications, so to a person who hears voices, and we are pretty sure its not God...meds do help...but Sure...meds are over used by the docs - and families want a "fix" to Johnny's trouble making behaviors.  I am quite sure I could be diagnosed with Adult ADD - a lot due to age, memory slipping, and the attention span of a Nat!  hi hi  But if society could more easily accept those "eccentric types" living next door, ( I say this as my beam and tower lay all over the back yard and I live next to a church where everyone has been starring at me!! hi hi)  We would certainly be better off.....

73, Tim K8WBL

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but perhaps under the new and politically correct system of making every eccentricity a "disease" (after all, the drug companies can't sell pills for a hobby, or eclectic activity, only for a disease) one could actually obtain disability benefits and simply stay home for "treatment"?

No need to work, after all, you're disabled! (and get to play radio all day long, its part of your addiction/illness!)  ;D

"just stay home and collect disability benefits"  Well, more easily said than done, but your right....the key word here is "substantial gainful activity" that Social Secuity uses to determine if you are granted disability benefits..  Basically, if you can "prove" that your disability prevents you from getting or keeping a job, then you got a case. 

My previous supervisor has severe CP (cerebral Palsy) and uses a scotter to get around and an attendant to take him to work and home, he cannot drive, cannot walk, has use of one arm/hand...mostly to sign things...hi hi .... at 55 he decided to "retire" and applied for disability benefits...."sorry" they said...you get to work every day?  you make enough to get by?  No disability payments to you...Doctor then told him to "call in at least one or two days sick a week"  , he did this and within 6 months "won" his disability claim....oh well.... I will keep working I guess...hi hi

Sorry for the off-topic, back to radio stuff....

MisterMike, the whole hoarder stigma can be avoided if you can call your collection a 'museum' while keeping a straight face.

Mack, from what I remember from the time we stopped by your place, you are not too far behind Vortex Joe.  But your stuff is more broadcast transmitters and studio equipment, than receivers and ham stuff.

But Vortex actually gets on the air and uses his stuff. :P

I resemble that remark!

Anybody who knows me is aware that things do come out of my basement to "see the light of day again". Most are given away to needy BA or AM guys and not sold on evil-bay or similar venues. I do, however, have an occasional swap for a double or something I don't have or could use.

The compliments are appreciated!

Very Best Regards,
                         Joe Cro N3IBX

Rodger,
         Any chance you have any KP-81 parts for sale? I have one I'm restoring that has seen better days. Please email me at: n3ibx@verizon.net if you have anything available.

BTW, Congradulations on the acquisition of 3 of them!

Best Regards,
Joe cro N3IBX

Mack - The "recondomized" BC-610 RF deck with the RK-65 almost made it down the shack to use with the Rothman modulator. It will happen someday, and will probably be my nirvana. I get the impression it's a experimenters delight, that I (or nobody else) could get to sound right, and I'll spend my time fooling with it and adjusting it on the air.

Lets see, if I move the neutralization wire 4" to the left of the #80 tube, does it make higher positive peaks? Now 4" to the right, center, etc etc.

Now to use it with the shaded dipole............Yuriiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Regards,
                  Joe Cro N3IBX 

Hi Vortex Joe,

Email sent!

Rodger WQ9E

The way I look at this is that you have exactly one life to live and if collecting old radios is what you want to do then this is your one and only chance!  Many thanks to the guys that share from their piles.    73 de W1XAW

Step, Step, chew ,chew!! See it is actually possible to walk and chew gum at the same time!! ;D ;D

I usually am on the air while working at the bench. Some of us can do several things at the same time, like work and talk, walk and chew gum,
you know its called "multitasking"  ;D ;D

And, err, furthermore, if you are caught in one of those loooonnnggg winded old buzzard roundtables on 160, you will prolly have enough time to recap an SX-28 before your turn comes around again!!

                                                the Slab Bacon

Webcast on work done with Compulsive Hoarding Disorders. Very interesting.

I refuse to watch an obvious communist and leftist video past the 1:03 mark. Nothin' wrong with collecting "stuff" as long as it's useful. I trip over the same items every day. I just have to find a vertical means of storing iron that won't kill me. Sure them I beams on my mobile home are a bendin but it all ain't fell through yet! Particle boards all been replaced with 3/4" plywood. A good thing is that Harbor Freight's got a sale on jacks. Few of them and some 2x6's and I'm good to go for a few more years.

(http://www.nida.nih.gov/pubs/teaching/Teaching2/largegifs/slide13.gif)

Sounds good to me

> I refuse to watch an obvious communist and leftist video...

Are you from New Hampshire?

David Goncalves
W1EUJ

I don't know if he is but I am and cannot make it to 30 seconds....
:)

becoming less so, and more like the police states around the world we used to condemn.

In short, we Americans are far too rich and have too many things. We'd be seen better by the world if we threw everything away and lived in poverty like everyone else.

Profit and liesure, the new monsters of our age.


To which I respond: Bite me !

Carl,
Talk about losing control I was turning on to RT 20 this morning and dead man's curve was wet. I goosed it and almost got it sideways and was not going very fast.

YES!!  LIVE FREE OR DIE... 
The last holdout for Freedom in America. 
 ;D

Yeah well I topped you.

I got rear ended pretty hard on 91S this evening in Windsor. I'm able to drive the car but it will be interesting to see what the Ins. Co. says. Rear end all smashed in and right rear quarter crumbled in. There is an interesting wrinkle in the roof so I am not sure how extensive the damage to the general integrity of the car is. I think the lady that hit me will be buying herself a new car...

"communist and leftist video"  hi hi  That's the first time that I ever heard a comparison of psychology to communism or leftist, I am assuming your meaning politically...of course I don't count Tom Cruise's idiotic remarks about psyhology...hi hi   Simple rule I try to follow..."everything in moderation" and " If it ain't f...king up the works, then leave it alone" ... I work with a bunch of psychiatrists and psychologists and most would agree with that.  Personal "behavior" is just that....until it starts causing big problems with that person or others...

73, Tim K8WBL

Carl,
      Very sorry to hear what happened! I know how much you depend on your vehicle, and certainly hope you're not hurt. Cars can be replaced, but WA1KPD cannot!

I hope you're feeling better and can get things straightened out with your Volvo. I always though it to be a FBOM vehicle!

Very Best Regards,
                         Joe Cro N3IBX

I hope she knocked out a couple teeth when her cell phone got between the wheel and her mouth. Friggen people drive like a bunch of AHs. I get off at Exit 40 Sofia's Plaze. Some bone head tried to pass me on the right and then cut me off to get ahead of me as he was running out of road. He was driving a Mustang. Never play chicken with a truck when driving a new mustang. The right lane merges in so the normal people stay in line and and wait their turn while the yuppies in a hurry pass on the right then expect you grant them the right of way when they want to cut you off. Sometimes a cop sits there and bags a few. The right lans is for people pulling into the plaza unless you are a yuppie.
He followed me for about 8 miles glued to my bumper so I drove slowly and safely....and aimed my rear view back at him. 91 is getting like 95.

Frank - Definitely "Way to go" with idiots like that!

Well,

We are looking at about $15K plus 4 weeks in the body shop.
It was raining and there was real slow (10-15 mph) bumper to bumper. I'm not sure how she got going fast enough to do that much damage to both cars. But she caught me in the rear and I never saw it coming.

Carl,
      15K worth of damage? Maddone! I'm just glad you're still in one piece. Thank God, you drive a SAFE car!

Best Regards and try to get their insurance company to give you a Lexus for the duration of your car being in the shop.
 

shoo be doo be doo..

This topic has no been posted in 8 months, but the topic is right for this post. I think I have located what might be the biggest personal hoard of electronic junque to date. The product of an inherited farm with many large buildings and >45 years of collecting and tinkering.. It is impossible to post the images here to do it justice, but I'll post a few, and the bulk are online now:

http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/hoard/

Even this is incomplete, some buildings not explored. Ran out of daylight.. I can't say where this is. Sworn to secrecy. I did obtain a couple of items, a dual 240V 30A variable autotransformer and a Presto 92-B amplifier that I think will drive the 3-500Z modulator well with little distortion (these are the last few images on the above mentioned site).

Hi Patrick,

Looks like some nice stuff amongst a lot of junque!

I saw a Philco Predicta TV, a couple of Macintosh MC-75 tube amps, and an Ampex 350 tape recorder in rather sorry condition.

I'm sure you'll find some real jewels in that haul.

Nice job!

73,

Bruce

   "... I can haul that junk away for ya, if ya want - I'll give you a hundred bux for the scrap value - I gotta pay gas and take a lot of time..."


Do you own it all, or just have dibs on selected purchases??

             _-_-bear

No, it's not mine at all. I have a few things stored there for instance a G.E. light valve video projector, but all this stuff belongs to a guy I know -the old fart in the pictures. That's all his place and stuff, been there for many years. It's just never been 'exposed' before. The young fart in the pictures was helping him move stuff around in exchange for junque like microwave oven transformers, magnetrons, oil caps, air conditioner parts, etc..

Yeah, FB.

dunno what the fellow is thinking about, but if he sold a number of those items on ebay, he'd make a handsome profit, and might be able to "live large" for a while...

personally, I am taking steps to make sure that I don't look like that at all in the coming years. it's something that I am afraid of actually...

            _-_-bear

That place reminds me of the house where the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was filmed.

73,

Bruce

He'd probably sell you some of that, but he does not want alot of time-wasting tire kickers and cheapskates calling, so he asked me not to post the details, only pictures. Since I posted that hoard, two people have looked up my phone # and called me!! I had to go back and add a disclaimer to the web page. If someone wants something specific, I could help out.

About looks, there are worse people to look like. Janet Reno comes quickly to mind..

Yeah, but I couldn't make a "real" offer, only lowball... that would be unfair, since unless he's one of those folks who actually has a ton of money, but just doesn't care,  if he sold something I knew was worth more, I'd feel really bad about it.

You don't get tire kickers on ebay, or even a more direct sale on one of the multiple ham or audio websites - usually you just get paid and then have to pack and ship the thing, that's the rub. The packing and shipping is a royal PIA, imho.

Probably someone would be willing to handle all the ebaying for a minor % of the sales... but they'd have to be "on the ground" at the site...

That RCA TV broadcast console looks like it belongs in the Museum Of Broadcasting... btw.

               _-_-bear

- well if you like something, offers are what they are, speak up! None of it is made of gold and there's alot of good mid-size power and audio iron on those chassis if that is what you are looking at. I've seen most of it more than once because I go there from time to time. He's not greedy, just had a few bad experiences with people wanting to show up with a big truck-trailer and pay a dime for a dollars worth, by the ton.

There are alot of things that should be in museums thats for sure. The guy is rather generous actually, and trading goes both ways and he has given me many items over the years. He knows what the stuff is worth, so no worries, and if you have something to trade, all the better. The value of something always has a range and also depends alot on attitude!

to digress -I traded him the two RCA BA-4 amps for the Presto amp and the variac and the 'other' presto amp when we find it. eBay-profit wise it might not have been the best trade from my standpoint but I'm happy with it and I wanted the amps (maybe two in parallel) for a modulator driver. I have a spare Altec 1570B, three Stromberg-carlson AP-80's, and a Bogen MO-200, so there are five dang =>150W amps, but those dont' have a 500 ohm output tap and all are all short of bass power bandwidth and I don't like that aspect due to possble worsening of distortion occuring in the speech range.
- end digression

A few peple have asked about this hoard, but the guy does not want to get rid of any of it.

Concerning the Vortex Collection:

In the same amazed and shocked intonation as Jodi Foster after coming back from 'n' space worm hole travels in "Contact";

"I had no idea....    I had no idea....."

Boy, wouldn't the AWA and professional organizers like to get ahold of Joe's stuff.
I even recognized the Hammarlund Pro after reading my last ER.

Joe has obviously been selective on what he has collected. I hope he has all of it insured!!

yeah, well hopefully he does.

...and would you get a load of the ceiling light shot of Opcon's.
807's for g's sake ; must be on a separate circuit for the filaments or maybe he used 6 volt auto bulbs in the other lamps.

What a great idea for subdued light in the shack on those cold winter nights when all you have is your radio, your brew and your honey.

I think I'd turn mine up, though, rather than have 'em hangin'.    ;D