Re:Johnson, I think I'm gonna cry

[k4kyv]

Can't bear to look again.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Johnson-Viking-Transmitter-parts-/150553794398?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230db4975e

I heard that same story over and over in the mid to late 60s.  Hammy Hambone types would advertise AM rigs like Vikings and DX-100s in the classified ads, touting them as "good CW rigs".  It was not uncommon to find transmitters for sale cheap at hamfests after Hammy had ripped out and discarded all the components in the modulator section. I once overheard a slopbucketeer describing to his friends how he had butchered the Desk Kilowatt he was using as a leen-yar.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

On the other hand, think of how many rigs can be potentially put back on the air with the parts from this carcass.

[The Slab Bacon]

Also, I have bought stuff that bad and put them back together!!

On the other hand, think of how many rigs can be potentially put back on the air with the parts from this carcass.

That is also another good point, one must die so many others can live.

In my antique gas engine hobby I have many times looked down my nose with disgust at swapmeet vendors that bastardize perfectly good restorable pieces to sell them for parts. I tend to lean more toward Don's feelings. Fairly complete restorable examples are getting harder and harder to come by. But it is a really tough call.

I guess it just depends on which side of the road you're standing on. As much as you loathe the ones who break stuff up for parts, you can be greatful to find them if you are the one who needs the parts.  I have one engine in my collection that it has taken me 35 years to find all of the parts to complete it!!  I hope that ad gets another handful of Valiants back up and going!!

Don,
      dont forget that to many others, we hams that do AM are a disease!! Maybe that is the reason for ripping out the modulators. That guy is a dumbass. "convert it to a CW transmitter" ?? It allready does that??  QTF??

[WQ9E]

Slab,

I also thought that ripping out the modulator to turn it into a CW rig was bizarre.   If I was going to rip something out of the Valiant (and I won't) to turn it into a first class CW transmitter the VFO would be my target.  It works OK on CW but a hetrodyne  VFO with a keyed mixer would take care of chirp on 15 and 10 far better than the differential keyer system and would drift less; of course you could to ultra-modern DDS with memories.

Of course you could turn the modulator into a really loud side tone for the hearing impaired CW op

[KD0HUX]

 THAT IS A SAD SITE.  I IN SOUND MIND I WOULD NEVER DO  THAT . I HAVE  2 VALIANTS LIST ON THIS FORUM  4 SALE

[Opcom]

note the tools shown above the workbench say a lot.

[steve_qix]

I bought a Ranger "parts car", which I built the "class E Ranger" into.  Various parts from the power supply had been taken out, and some other parts were missing also.

I got a Valiant once which had no modulator AT ALL - not even the tube sockets were there.  This one appears to have been built this way from the start - there wasn't any evidence of removed components or cut wires.

It happens.  I don't condone or care for the practice at all.  But, the good news is that you'll end up with a much better modulator because the ones there were in these rigs were all pretty lacking!

Regards,

Steve

[WA1GFZ]

A bare section of a chassis is easier than ripping out a bunch of useless hardware. You don't feet guilty for doing modifications.

[WBear2GCR]

I contacted the person via ebay. He said that he had intended to make it into a 7mc only CW rig - he said it was too heavy stock and he thought with the mod iron out it would be easier to move. Obviously, not a very astute analysis of the issues - especially since an ARC-5 xmiter would likely do the job as well, and be a whole lot lighter?? Unfortunately I think he more or less gutted the chassis, so it is worth not much more than the iron and the front panel now... I advised him on how to pack it, otherwise it won't be arriving with a good front panel either...

Now you know "the rest of the story"...


                                 _-_-bear

[W1ATR]

Those who have that certain twinkle in their eye's like myself don't see a stripped unit someone couldn't put back together, I see money, free money.

7-8 years ago, I bought a 69 nova that was stripped down for restoration. The guy had everything but was going thru married guy problems and wanted to off the car. $1500 cash, and 4 car trailer trips later, myself and a buddy had that entire mess in my shop. I remember it filled up all 4 bays all spread out. It took 3 weeks of odd hours here and there to separate all the parts and throw them on ePay. Another week to take care of shipping the small stuff, and pickup by buyers of the bigger stuff. By the fifth week, my paypal account had $16000 in it. Wasn't a bad payday for minimal work.

On a side note just to show not all decisions are good:

A long time ago, I bought a 70 Toronado GT for $500 from and old lady who had it sitting in a shed. It was dark green outside and black inside. This car was ugly as hell but it had more snot than a kindergarten classroom. I remember the front wheel drive one legger smokies around the neighborhood were the best. (Yes, the neighbors all had a big party when I moved out.) You just had to put it in drive, punch that 455, and hang on. That Quadrajet would pop those secondary holes and make an unholy noise like it wanted to suck the clouds out of the sky. Thats still one of my favorite sounds in the whole world.  

Anyway, onto to the shame. I decided I wanted to make a nice sleeper out of an otherwise minty 86 Cutlass Salon. We ripped, literally, that 455 out through the hood (It was never ment to come out that way), and scrapped the rest of the car after selling off a couple parts. With a few Mondello speed goodies, we turned the 455 into a firebreather that would eventually destroy the 86 twisting it up into scrap metal. The bad part was the Toro was a W34 option car and worth a nice penny today. By comparison, the Cutlass is a ghetto sh-tbox you couldn't get $300 for today. I wish I had that Toro back. Stupid and speed greedy. At least I still have the engine to mock me everytime I go into the back corner of the shop and it catches my eye.

[K3ZS]

Back in the 70's you had a hard time giving away an AM transmitters.  I remember Rangers going for about $20.

[WBear2GCR]

True, true, I recall a late 70s Rochester Hamfest where there were literally piles of AM boatanchors going  begging... piles.

But this fellow picked this one up around 1996... fwiw.

                          _-_-bear

[k4kyv]

I didn't pick up many ready-made transmitters or receivers, except for a Ranger at Dayton for $55 and a pre-war HRO at LIMARC for about $20, but I used to load up on parts and other building material.  Large transmitting triodes like 450TLs sometimes went n.o.s. for $5-10 (they weren't worth much because they were said not to make good "leen-yars"). Meters, air variables, plug-in coils, tube sockets, transformers (sometimes KW size mod xfmrs for $10-25), 4 kv-plus oil caps for a few bucks each, power supply chokes, big ww resistors, carcasses from uncompleted or partially disassembled homebrew rigs for $0-5, and much more. Also, nice radio books from the 1920s on often went for less than what a kid would ask for his old comic books.

I used to load my vehicle down till the leaf springs inverted and the car almost drug the ground. The yokel looker-oners standing around at the flea markets boasting to each other about their new Swans and Galaxies (or later, their Yaesu FTDX rigs) would snigger and make deriding remarks as I passed by lugging an arm-full, like "Looka there. Somebody just found himself a boat-anchor, yuk yuk".

Now, looking at some the prices I see on ePay, I'd say I'm the one who had the last laugh.  

[K5UJ]

I don't have a problem with somoene parting out a basket case but a perfectly good rig is another matter entirely.

[W9RAN]

Don, quite a few years ago a guy pulled into the Princeton IL hamfest and started pulling stuff out from under a tarp for sale.  First, some big iron got the attention of a few of us, then the indicator unit from one of the old Johnson rotors.  Then with a heave he pulled out the entire RF deck from the Desk and literally dropped it on the ground.   While several of us were looking it over he bragged about how he'd picked all this "junk" up from a SK hams estate and had built a big 12 volt power supply for his riceboxes into the empty space in his new operating desk.   Someone gave him a couple hundred for the thing and the rest of us went home shaking out heads...

73, Bob W9RAN

[WBear2GCR]

The response to my epay contact concerning packing the thing:

Good morning my friend,
Yep, believe all the misc parts are there and meter is out of the front panel, also all the knobs are there, HOWEVER, I have NO intention in double boxing this heavy rig, perhaps you will be happier to just by pass this mess and DONT bid cause I can detect a rather unhappy bidder.I only want some one who can use the parts to be happy with the remains, I have seen items sold as is and then canabolized for a specific part and re sold, thats ok but would hope someone can utilized the components. For a few dollars it just isnt in the plan to double box etc. Sorri if you feel bad but I am not sure this collection of parts will fit your requirments, something will turn up that you can use and be happy.

Yep, that would describe me "a rather unhappy bidder".     

                   _-_-bear

[W2VW]

That's known as qualifying a buyer.

The response to my epay contact concerning packing the thing:

Good morning my friend,
Yep, believe all the misc parts are there and meter is out of the front panel, also all the knobs are there, HOWEVER, I have NO intention in double boxing this heavy rig, perhaps you will be happier to just by pass this mess and DONT bid cause I can detect a rather unhappy bidder.I only want some one who can use the parts to be happy with the remains, I have seen items sold as is and then canabolized for a specific part and re sold, thats ok but would hope someone can utilized the components. For a few dollars it just isnt in the plan to double box etc. Sorri if you feel bad but I am not sure this collection of parts will fit your requirments, something will turn up that you can use and be happy.

Yep, that would describe me "a rather unhappy bidder".     

                   _-_-bear

[WBear2GCR]

Here's a crayon, draw your own conclusions?

[Opcom]

Too lazy to double box at your expense? Thinks you will be mad if the panel is scratched? I don't understand. Does he mean to just throw it in a box lucky to be filled with peanuts and put a stamp on it? huh. He could do better by selling each part separately. I guess I do not understand it well. Just too bad he stripped it, a shame. Oh well we all make errors and have unfinished projects.

[WBear2GCR]

Yep Patrick, I think that about sums it up... the guy who gets it will be major league pissed if he bought it for a good front panel... in one of the epay messages I sent that is pretty much what I explained to the gentleman... I also suggested that his auction will not be an accurate portrayal based on the description if it arrives in mangled condition. Thus his response.

                   _-_-bear

[KA2QFX]

Bear,

Take it from where it comes. The guy tore apart a complete transmitter because some mod iron made it "too heavy".  I doubt the word "conscientious" applies here.  You seem to have touched a nerve, too bad he's not as sensitive to the value of things being greater than the sum of their parts.

I have a friend who buys and sells surplus test equipment and electronics, much of which he tears apart and sells as parts, and rightly so. But I often have to stop him from tearing apart things like big ol' toob audio gear. He's grateful when it sells for way more than he could have gotten for the toobs and caps. Some folks just don't know better. But this guy... he just don't care. 

Sigh.

Mark

[WBear2GCR]

It ended:

$252.11


More than some of us have paid (even recently) for a complete transmitter...

...betcha he's like a porcine in feces...        

                     _-_-bear