The AM Forum

Spent some time at the Shelby, NC hamfest over the weekend. Despite the heat, the crowds were good but down from previous years. There was still quite a large amount of vintage AM and related gear for sale. The following pix are but a sampling.

First photo: Selling set up for KA1KAQ, WA2PJP, W3JN and K4HX - luckily we were in the shade!

More from around the fest.

And more.

Yet more.

Even more.

The rare Geloso transmitter was snagged by Phil, KC4VWU. Hope to hear it on the air soon.

This is the first Shelby fest I have missed in 6 years... :(.. >:(... :'(

Hi Steve , Thanks for the pix and report. Looks like the fest was not short of gear and good WX.  What a great find on the Geloso and in what looks like very nice shape.

Lou W9LRS

Steve,

Thanks for posting the photos, there was plenty of good stuff to keep vintage fans happy!

If Phil didn't get the somewhat odd mic connector with the G-212 TR let him know that some of the Geloso consumer audio gear used the same connector and Geloso tape recorder mics with that connector sometimes show up on ebay.  Hopefully the plugs/cables that connect to the antenna and receiver came with the transmitter or someone knows of a source for the Geloso connectors.

I have the next generation transmitter, a Geloso G-222 TR with the same 807 modulators but a 6146 final in place of the 212's 807,  and it will be on the air as soon as I finish up the matching G-209 receiver.  The transmitter was in excellent shape but the receiver needs some component replacements.  My Geloso G 4/ 225 SSB transmitter and G 4/ 215 receiver setup came with a Geloso mic which is being shared with my G-222 TR.  I think Phil will be very happy with his Geloso transmitter.

The Geloso was pretty cool. That was one item that I was very tempted to buy. It looks to be in rather good shape too. I'll let Phil know about the connector.

Yes, the WX as good, in as far as there was no rain. It was pretty hot though with temps at around 97/98 both days.  :P

There was some very interesting gear there. A GSB-100, complete HRO-60 package, fairly scarce NC-125, a complete Heath AM/CW/SSB starion, B&W 381C TR switch, a clean looking SX-100 and more. Then the usual token SP-600 but no HQ-129X. This is the 2nd large fest group of pix without one Ive seen recently.

Also missing were SX-28, WW2 Super Pro, HQ-170/180, any 75A/51J, Ranger, Valiant in the Shelby pix. Must be more AM gear being held on to and being used.

There were at least 2 HQ-129s there, one had most of its original high speed chickenhead knobs but larger tuning knobs. Panel paint was scruffy, as was the other. Also a couple Valiants, one really rough example standing in its side behind someone's trailer along with a bunch of empty cabinets, including an original SP-600 cabinet. Probably a half dozen or more SP-600s, at least 3 in original cabinets. Johnny sold a fairly decent HRO-60 with coils for $150 I think. Also 2-3 earlier Super Pros, one from Greg/LYO's estate.

Saw one R-390A in average/fair shape for $900, pretty sure it went home with the seller. Also a 75A-2 or 3 for $1200 that looked more like a $250 radio. Overall, prices were very low on most gear. It definitely seems to be a Heathkit-rich environment every time we're there. A LOT of green gear. A few Drake and Collins S Line pieces, but no R-388/51J receivers that I was hoping for.

We had a blast despite the intense heat & humidity. Saw a lot of familiar faces and a few like W1DAN who made the trip from New England and Roger K1MBX who I hadn't seen since he left VT last decade. Both were looking fit and enjoying themselves.

The crowd was light this year including sellers, though not as bad as last year according to those who attended. Irene kept a lot away last year. Sold all but 6 items from the crap I hauled down, including a bulky BC-191 project that sold before I could get it completely unloaded. Bought a NOS Weston panel meter as a spare for the 300G, 2 toilet seat phone jack covers, and a 3 wire plug. $8 total. Very proud of my restraint, particularly with the good deals present. One of the BA crew tipped me to the Geloso as it was being unloaded but I wisely chose not to go look. Asking price was a whopping $125, not sure if that is what Phil paid.

In my view, the deal of the 'fest was a decent NC-240D with matching speaker & feet, for (drum roll)....$75! The plastic dial bubble was smashed, meter was dark, knob skirts discolored and paint looking dull and dirty. Most of that could be rectified pretty easily. Really had to fight the urge to grab it to fix & flip, being realistic about free time for such things.

Aside from the aforementioned heat, it was a fun time. Getting to spend time with 'HX, 'JN, and 'PJP is always worth whatever Ma Nature can throw at us. 

Are those SW-3 Thrill boxes I saw at your table?

I've been looking for one of those.

They were mine, and went down the road.

I sold a ton of stuff and had a great time although the heat and humidity were brutal.  Still, we were in the shade and it was about as good as it gets.  I couldn't have asked for a more fun group of guys to hang with, and TNX to Todd for the hospitality before and after the 'fester.

The HRO-60 I sold had a decent front panel but the rest of the cabinet was trashed.  It worked well though and I hadn't used it in years so it was time to let it go.

Still have the GSB-100 if anyone's interested  ;D

There was also a SP-200 and JN sold a Ranger.

Folks:

Had a great time at the flea. Roger K1MBX and I visited Friday afternoon for the first time, which was lighter than Near-Fest. Roger picked up a nice tuner at about $50.00 below the usual price.  Saturday was the busy day, but it did seem lighter that a few years past. There were many empty seller spots. As I did not want to ship large stuff home, I bought tubes and caps to restore my National NC-173 that I picked up at Boxboro for $20.00. Grabbed a Dow-Key relay for Peter W1ZZZ for $10.00. Eyed a National NC-183D for something like $225.00, and if I were a glutton for punishment, I would have brought home the complete Apache/Mohawk setup as pictured above. Todd gave me what looks like a Shure dynamic mic which will be tested this winter on the Class E rig (Thanks Todd!).

Interestingly I saw car license plates from many states including Massachusetts and Rhode Island. To me hitting fleas like this is one of the best parts of ham radio. Good junque and good people! Had fun chatting with KA1KAQ, WA2PJP, W3JN and K4HX as well as meeting other locals with their strong local accents.

Here are a few photos......

73,
Dan
W1DAN

More photos....

The Heath set that I was going to take as carry-on baggage on the plane. There were two older HRO's. This one was nice, but there was a rusty HRO-5TA1 that was to me too expensive. Nice to see though. Even saw a few parts, something that is getting harder to find at these fleas.

And a clean Erector set. My dad had one as a kid and I played with it in my youth.

73,
Dan
W1DAN

Wow, the Geloso is a pretty rare find!! I could have easily been talked into that one being that I already have the matching RX! ! !

Glad to hear there were more goodies there and hope the weather is decent for Nearfest, it will be good to see JN if he can make it.

Here's a link to Nick/K4NYW's 2 pages of photos. He was there a day earlier than us and saw much more gear, as well as photographing at lot of other stuff Steve and Dan didn't get(you can only snap so much).

http://www.virhistory.com/ham/shelby_2012.htm

More SP-600s, couple of the SP-200s, even some shots of my BC-191 project after I sold it and the new owner yanked the tubes and put it up for sale.

And it was a pretty slim 'fest this year. The first two years we went were much better attended with a lot more good stuff.

In looking at Nick's pictures, it seems that a lot of Heathkit green migrated to western NC that weekend. The thrill is gone.

tnx 2 Nick and others for the photos.

I saw what might have been a CR-88, maybe with the rare carrier meter.   depending on the price that would have been very tempting to me.  I also saw what might have been some kind of link coupled Millen PA?  And a 75A-3, a rx that seems to be overlooked more than it ought to be.  I've never seen those B&W vswr boxes before.  Still some thrill there.

rob

I have 2 of those B n W meters. They are normalized for 70 or 75 ohms instead of the usual 50.

Those B&W boxes are called "Matchmasters". The model 650 is for 50 ohms and the 651 is for 75 ohms. I had both and took them to Dayton several years ago to find new homes. Didn't find them highly accurate and were big and clunky. In looking at the picture, they both look familiar.  :D

Wow Todd, nice's pictures shows more BA gear than I have seen at a Hamfest in a long time.  I even noticed a somewhat scarce Millen 90881 amp.  A friend of mine is looking for a RME 4350A and not sure if that was a 4300 or a 4350 in Nick's photo shoot.  
Its also amazing to me how some of the gear gets so beat up!  Well worth attending for not only the social part but the opportunity to drag something home probably none of us "really" need!
Hopefully no truck troubles this time with Joe's vehicle :).

Joe, W3GMS  

Tnx Pete.