estate

[Opcom]

http://tinyurl.com/69kabav

A gold mine. Not in dollar value, but in 'stuff' for builders. I left the high dollar stuff alone.

I got several full boxes marked "AF TRANSFORMERS" including some quite old outputs and interstages, inputs too, as well as more combination plate/fil transformers than I will ever use, plus many transformers with unusual voltages like 2.5, 7.5, and the like, and certainly many multi-winding filament ones. Many chokes as well. Most of this stuff is 500VA or less. A lot of smaller oil caps, none leaking except one which I put in a plastic bag and disposed of. "sensitive relays", toggle and wafr switches, panel mount breakers. So here lies the foundations for many power supplies for equipment from mike amps and oscillators to exciters.

A grey-colored military-looking rackmount scope came home with me also, 3" CRT size, with X and Y amplifiers as well as sweep, a model 9320 but I can't ID this yet. No other info but the model # 9320.

Also a few pieces of home made gear, some audio stuff, one 1200V 500mA power supply. One audio amp with huge 6x8x8" UTC iron and some kind of english tubes/valves, large in the cathode like a 6146, maybe like a 6L6G in the plate. There was also a Partridge output transformer, unusual item in a soldered-shut casing

Boxes of switches, relays, insulators, power resistors, tube sockets, etc.

I left much stuff because the truck was full.. coil assy's, NOS National coil forms, things like that. A friend picked up some BC-610 coils, all the knobs, some tubes. I found a NOS 6B4G. Several items in a rack, one a Super Pro with the external PSU, and a HB transmitter I wanted but there was no more room. The three large transformers in that one slide are 500VA potential transformers of 2400V/120V. I was out of room, didn't get those. They might be OK for plate, but were so large for the VA.

[Opcom]

Also a pile of Collins Radio documents, including a folder called "B-58 Hustler" -this has some aircraft servo type stuff but I have not examined all of this. The gentleman worked for Collins in Dallas and these may have been things that were personally compiled desktop items and eventually were taken home.. I will so some scanning when possible. Collins BC transmitter manuals as well.

[k4kyv]

Looks like the guy was probably a ham. But radio or electronics must have been has profession as well. Radio & TV service? Wonder if he was a collector, or if all that 1920s and 1930s stuff was his from the time it was new.

[w3jn]

If this was an estate sale, you might want to go back on the last day to make sure nothing gets dumpsterized.  That's when the prices go WAY down.

[W7TFO]

I'll make sure you guys find out when I croak, so you can make good homes for all my stash.

I hope it takes a good long while, tho.

73DG

[Opcom]

It was the estate of two gentlemen, the father and the son in law. One worked for Collins, and one had a repair shop in Dallas. I think some of it was one-owner stuff.

[flintstone mop]

WE ARE literally a dying breed, guys.
I am quitting my electronic job fixing two-way Kenwood and the boss admitted that I am a real technician. He said most Amateurs now do not know RF technology.
Repair down to component level and no call-backs. The teeny tiny SMT stuff we would send out to a Kenwood outfit in New Jersey. United Radio(?)
The drive 33  miles one-way during the Winter months is too much for me.

Very nice treasure hunt Patrick

[K5UJ]

I'll make sure you guys find out when I croak, so you can make good homes for all my stash.

In the past I have pondered some kind of voluntary notification program vintage gear and AM operators could register for, that would get survivors to notify a few trusted volunteers here  who could advise on prices arrange an estate sale.  The idea is just to prevent the occurrence of something like what I read about in ER last year:  a SK ham in Colorado with a barn literally stuffed with a fantastic collection of rack built HB AM gear and parts, and much of it got scrapped because almost no one knew the guy had died and his relatives wanted to clear out the "junk."   I don't know exactly what if anything to do, but it would be great if relatives had a way to let vintage/AM operators know about an estate before it gets scrapped.  Just being a local ham isn't enough.  There are hams who might see an SX-88 and think it is just some old piece of garbage. 

[Detroit47]

I think that when I depart the opposite will be the problem. I have been doing service work for the Detroit area for the last 30 years. This includes TV Ham CB Musical Industrial.........etc. So I have had a lot of people in my shop and shack thru the years. I think the vultures will descend upon the carcass and try to rip my wife off.

John N8QPC

[W7TFO]

I think the vultures will descend upon the carcass and try to rip my wife off.

John N8QPC

Take a bit of time and make sure someone close to you learns the values in your leavings.  Radiowise, that is.

73DG

[KA0HCP]

Wrong.  It's OUR hobby, not our family's.

Would you spend a couple years arranging sales of your wife's antique bobbin lace and house linen collection, knowing how limited that market is?   I didn't think so....

- If your family needs the money: Reduce your collection to a minimal level and bank the money.  You alone can get best price and where to sell it.  To your family it is just Stuff.  Junk.

- Don't burden your family or fellow hams with having to dispose of a barn full of equipment.  If you really want to ensure the equipment survives to the future, start giving it to people who can appreciate it now, and who can share the joy with you now.

b.

[W7TFO]

Wrong. 

Wow, sounds like that grumpy old guy on PBS...

Interesting point of view you have there, valid indeed as I have seen in unfortunate SK situations.

However, some of us have such a bulwark & infrastructure the family is totally involved, even if they don't operate or participate in radio per se.

For instance, I know the valid value to all my wife's' art, sewing, books, and collectibles within reason.  She knows fully what all the old radio stuff goes for more or less, as she has seen me acquire it over the years.

We both know and are friends with those folks in each others circles, so a plan for parlaying things out, even though it would be a terrible sad reality, could work.

I give stuff away to upcoming hams and those needing parts all the time, but that still leaves literally tons here to play with.  And playing with it is where it is for me!

As always, just one man's opinion...

73DG

[kg8lb]

.... I think the vultures will descend upon the carcass and try to rip my wife off.

John N8QPC

   John, you can down right count on that ! Especially in our area , the sharks have bred with carp and become true bottom feeders.  
 I have done a spreadsheet inventory and listed the gear, noted what I paid , date purchased and a very fair asking to bottom line low ball selling price. Also note if there is a manual in the file cabinet and exactly what "Goes with" the gear. Seen  sharks buy a $50 transmitter and try to con the widow by claiming the RCA ribbon mike goes with it. If say a transmitter is to be sold WITH the power supply that can be noted. If the Dow-Key is not included say so . That way it may be removed before the sale is offered.
 You have to decide where to draw the line with your list but be aware hams will ask "how much for the tubes" and try to walk off with new 805s for a buck apiece.

  You don't have to do a computer spreadsheet, file cards work well. Photos of the gear also help the sellers ID the stuff. The spreadsheet and photos can also help in the event of an insurance claim.

  Don't get the "It's OUR hobby " comments totally.
 It may not be my family's hobby but it is their inheritance. No need for it to be considered a burden per se . Why give it away now ?  I am using it.
If they consider disposal a burden or if the bottom feeders become obnoxious they have been instructed to destroy and properly dispose of the gear. Very simple.   

[K5UJ]

<<<- Don't burden your family or fellow hams with having to dispose of a barn full of equipment.>>>

You're assuming everyone has an orderly protracted decline with the handwriting on the wall so there is time to arrange, price and clear everything out.   That's nice but there are lots of guys (I hope I am one of them) who go right on operating, enjoying a full active radio life until they have a stroke or something and check out.   What if you have a blowout on the highway today and hit a tree?  Have you priced everything and gotten a buyer?  

There are these estate sale hams who run auction businesses who show up with a truck, offering to haul everything away and pay for it all with one check.   Looks pretty good to the XYL, then they sell everything one item at a time for a big markup.  I guess that's better than the stuff getting plowed into the ground.  

It's only a "burden" for fellow hams, if they are the wrong type of ham.   Some of you guys have stuff I'd love to own.   Cigarette smoking is great--I suggest you all start      Just stay out of the ham shack when you blaze up   

[k4kyv]

It was the estate of two gentlemen, the father and the son in law. One worked for Collins, and one had a repair shop in Dallas. I think some of it was one-owner stuff.

Why is there no contact information so that others could perhaps rescue some of the stuff from the landfill after the big items are gone? (Or if there is contact information, I missed it and  maybe it should be more conspicuous.)

Often at estate sales, the big expensive contemporary stuff or obviously valuable antiques get a lot of attention and go in a hurry often for big bux, but the smaller items like dusty boxes full of old parts and carcasses of homebrew rigs or partially disassembled commercial equipment, which may be a goldmine of rare, hard-to-find items or downright unobtanium, is all too often cast off as "junk" on the assumption that it's just trash and nobody would want it.  To me, that's the most interesting part of digging though a collection. Kind of like the boxes under the tables at hamfests.

I assume it's in the Dallas area, too far for me to travel, but I'm sure there are other AMers and builders closer by in the region who would like a shot at beating the dumpster truck to the odds 'n ends.

[K6JEK]

Do you know what will become of the rest of it?  eBay? Auction house?  There aren't enough of us to absorb all the great stuff being left behind, but I'm still here and I'd be happy to rescue that Lakeshore Bandhopper from oblivion, for example.

[W3GMS]

A lot of good points raised.  I have a 2 phase plan to get rid of my collection. 

Phase 1

If I suddenly die unexpectedly, my wife has Estes Auction phone number.  One phone call and the big truck comes and its a done deal.  I don't want her to anguish over selling one piece at a time, pack it up and ship it.  That is a extremely big job and its just not fair to have her do that.  She is a Ham and knows very well about the gear, but have her painfully watch my treasures go out the door one at a time. 

Phase 2

If I am lucky enough to live a typical life span at some point I will make the choice to get rid of stuff on my own.  The result will be to keep maybe 1 or 2 of my favorite stations and the rest will be history.  Then when I crap out, it will not be a big deal for someone else to get rid of it. 


I have already started phase 2 and have in the last 2 years gotten rid of a lot of my duplicates.  Most were given away as gifts.  I am continuing to slowly follow my phase 2 plan. 


Anyone who holds onto this stuff thinking they will get big bucks for the stuff has a rude awakening.  With me its never been about the money or trying to make money from the hobby but to each his own on that subject.   

I have heard great things about the Estes Auction folks.  Sure you may do better on eBay but for large collections that is one heck of a lot of work for those left behind. 

Joe, W3GMS

   

[k4kyv]

Or do like the owner of the Bartlesville Kilowatt did.  Just padlock the shack and let the contents sit untouched for 60 years.

An option for those who have a solidly built separate outside building for a shack, that won't self-destruct and collapse into a pile of rubble after a couple of decades.

[kg8lb]

Yep, no false hope of getting millions out of the stuff but not willing to allow sharks to gobble up Johnson 500s for $40 and the SX-115 for $25 . Just real, reasonable prices. Surely a lot more reasonable than some of the asking prices on QTH etc !

  Just like many others I have already sold off a lot of stuff. Last year we sold a Johnson 500, a pair of GPR90s  (EX+) a mint SX-100MK2A, A pair of Harvey Wells T-90 a very clean Valiant and an Excellent SX-115 A pile of Elmac gear and a real nice DX-100.Along with some other gear I don't even recall Listed the whole lot @$3000 and it went within 2 hours of the listing .

   If the "estate" people had to take care of itr , the family would have been lucky to get 1/4 of that. Very lucky.
Phase two is coming up and the rest is going on eBay.

  All the small "treasures" like the stuff Don mentioned will likely go off to the landfill but it is too much bother trying to find it all a home.  It is the kind of stuff you keep "just on case" and when the time runs out , that is the stuff that the YL is not expected to find a home for. She already knows to just throw it out.
  It isn't worth hauling to a hamfest any longer . Sorry been there , done that.
IE: How much is the co-ax here ?

You mean the 500 foot rll of brand new Belden RG8U ?

Yes, is that what it is?


I'll take  $5

Will ya take $3 ?


Anwer:  No, I'll stick with $20.

..But you said $5 !


And you should have said yes .


Screw the hamfesters ..

  

[K6JEK]

Ever get in a loop?

I recently almost bought again something I got rid of not very long before, not the same exact one but one like it, in this case an NC-190, a receiver I never used but it's cute as a kitten.  I saw a nice one and I almost bought it forgetting that I'd sold a mint one to my buddy Jeff to reduce the clutter just a year ago.  I was caught up in the infatuation of the moment.

[W7TFO]

Every get in a loop?

Haven't done that yet, but I have bought things I already have 'cause I can't find them at the time.

73DG

[Opcom]

Or do like the owner of the Bartlesville Kilowatt did.

I knew I had seen that rig before on this humorous site.
http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/redmond/699/

There is a list of names of people to be called, each one to advise on certain types of items, and what they can have and what ought to be paid for. Many items are tagged with what they are, how much paid, when last tested, and working or not. This is not so any survivors can make a mint, it's to find homes for the stuff.

The load of iron was about a ton, unloaded this morning. I'll enjoy going through it.

[k4kyv]

All the small "treasures" like the stuff Don mentioned will likely go off to the landfill but it is too much bother trying to find it all a home.  It is the kind of stuff you keep "just on case" and when the time runs out , that is the stuff that the YL is not expected to find a home for. She already knows to just throw it out.

Before throwing it out, why can't they look for someone who might be interested in taking the whole lot of odds and ends in one load? It might be too much hassle for the survivors to try to sell the small stuff item at a time or have multiple people come to pick through it, but it is a real tragedy when treasures are hauled to the dump without even trying to find out if someone might be interested.

Back in the 80's, a friend and I were given, free of charge, a large U-haul trailer full of stuff from an old timer who dated back to the early 30s.  His wife was glad to see someone haul it away who might be able to use some of it.  She said some of the local radio club types had already stopped by and advised her that she could sell the 75A-4, HT-32 or 37 and the ricebox he was using, but that she should find someone with a truck to haul the rest to the dump. "No-one is interested in that old stuff any more. You couldn't give it away." Luckily, she hadn't been able to find anyone willing to do the hauling, and we found out about it before she did. It took two trips to Indiana to haul it all back here.

Another old timer gave us a truck load of all his stuff about two weeks before he went SK. Another real treasure trove.

There should be a special place reserved in hell for people who throw out stuff like that without even trying to find someone who might want it. Once it's gone, that much less is left on the planet.

Other candidates for that special place would be those butt-holes who insist that stuff go directly to the landfill and that it stay there, refusing come hell or high water, to let anyone take any of it for their own use. This includes the jobsworths you sometimes encounter, employed at the dump.

[K5UJ]

That's absolutely right.  Look at all the components in your gear--the tubes, inductors, air variable caps, shaft insulators, transformers, mod iron, turns counters, and ask yourself how much of that is currently being made.  probably none of it, or a few things but much more inferior construction quality.

[KL7OF]

When I'm dead ,I won't give a $hit about all my stuff....I'll be dead...........I give away as much as I can now.