Antique Electronic Supply drifting to electric guitars?

[K5UJ]

In my short time in AM I have been blessed with the opportunities and resources to acquire a halfway decent assortment of gear and parts.   I hope to grow into them and do them justice or eventually get them to someone who can use them.  I am hording admittedly because I think in five or ten years something I need won't be available unless I hang on to it.  All the items I have are sort of a non-monetary retirement fund if I don't do something with them sooner.   A lot of the stuff I did not seek out but came my way by being in the right place at the right time.  I am very fortunate to be located in one of the AM hot zones in the U.S. so the parts, gear and test equipment are easier to come by.   There is a parts store about 5 miles from my QTH that sells surplus parts, mostly passives but a pretty good assortment of caps and resistors.   I'd like to live out in the country for the room but I have to admit there are advantages to being where I am.   10 minute drive to home depot.   

[The Slab Bacon]

Rob,
       What was especially nice was when I originally built my 4X1 rig, The only part that I had to buy was the original chunk of plate iron and 1 oil cap. All of the other parts came right out of my parts stash. That really expedited the construction process. (took only 2 1/2 months to complete it)


I also remember a certain AMer (you know who you are!) that I constantly razz because one of his main rigs was off of the air because he had a 12AX7 crap out and had to wait for a replacement to come.   

[k4kyv]

Inevitably, if I toss something out, give it away, trade it off, etc., two weeks won't pass before I'll discover that I had a need for it.

Some of my stuff has resided in my collection for 30 years or more before I used it, and then I never would have found another one if I hadn't kept what I had. So much for the oft-heard but bogus advice that if you have possessed something for over a year without using it, it is time to throw it out or otherwise dispose it.

A good example is the stand-off insulators I used with my new open wire line. I had five large 6" ceramic OWL spreaders that had been in my junk box for as long as I can remember.  They would have been nice for making a heavy duty open wire line, but five weren't enough to use for anything, and the only other ones I ever saw like them were the ones Jack, W8AHB was using with his wire antenna array in Ann Arbor, MI when I visited 15-20 years ago.

I had vainly looked for suitable stand-off insulators for the open wire to no avail. Then it occurred to me that if I could cut those spreaders in half, each one would yield two perfect stand-offs if I could only figure out some way to cut them and rigidly mount each half on a cross-arm.  I finally came up with the idea I used in the actual construction. Of course, some might cringe at the fact that I "ruined" those very nice and beautiful commercial grade ceramic spreaders, but I actually am using them for their intended purpose, to hold a balanced open-wire feed line together. I'm just not using them in the exact manner originally intended by the manufacturer.

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

[The Slab Bacon]

<snip> "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it." <snip>

AMEN, Brother! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[flintstone mop]

I used to go to Antique Electronic Supply for the NOS tubes for my R390A but they are hiccuping more on certain tubes. And electrolytics. The CES brand is getting expensive and I have had some failures of caps only 3 yrs old.
I'm starting to get what I can for spare tubes for the tube stuff (Ham) and hoard it. My audio equipment seems to be ample supply of tubes and caps.

[k4kyv]

Right now we are in about the same predicament as hams and others were after war had broken out in Europe, before Pearl Harbor. Some of the old magazines of that era were urging hams to acquire an ample supply of spare tubes and parts while they could still get them, and to take extra precautions to make tubes and everything else last as long as they could.  The US hadn't entered the war yet, but that was expected sooner or later, and at best, material would become hard to come by, even if we had managed to stay out of the War.

[N6YW]

Consumable items that are guaranteed to wear out like tubes and electrolytic's should be bought for storage, with the exception that these caps have a limited shelf life, still it's good to have on hand. Which brings to mind a somewhat controversial subject, the reforming of old caps.
I have yet to find anyone who has conclusive evidence that old caps can be revitalized.
An old buzzard told me to take a large wattage 1 meg ohm resistor in series with the cap, and bring
up the voltage over a long period. Another one said to bake them at a low temperature for an unspecified amount of time.
So, before electrolytic fluid becomes powder, could this be done?

[k4kyv]

Another precaution that I admittedly have been very lax about following, is rotating tube spares.  If a tube sits on the shelf for years, particularly the tantalum plate tubes like the Eimacs and Heinz-Kaufmanns, they tend to  gas up (there is no such thing as a perfect seal).  Running them from time to time allows the hot metal inside the tube, or the getter itself,  to have a "getter" effect and absorb gas molecules that have worked their way into the tube.  The old graphite plate tubes like the 211, 810, 813, etc, seem to have less of a shelf life problem than tantalum plate tubes like the 100TH, 250TH and 304TL.

[kg8lb]

The art to it, however, is to not let it displace you out of your home and / or garage.....................

  Especially when you wind up paying rent to store the stuff. At least until the would be benefactors need it ,the morning after theirs crapped out at 2 AM.
They of course have learned the fine art of letting someone else store it for you.

  



BTW

 In case this was missed. From Classifieds:

"World Wide Radio

    W2INR
    Radio Parts and Iron
« on: July 13, 2011, 06:18:44 AM »  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have all kinds of radio parts and pieces that have been collected over the last 25 years. This would include tubes, caps, resistors, inductors of all sizes and values. I also have a shelf full of iron . Mostly inductors and power transformers of the medium to small catagory but there are some audio transformers also.

If you are looking for parts to add to your shop or want to resell I am sure the value is excellent on my offer. Pick up would be the best way to deal with this but would consider shipping.

Here is the catch, If I haven't sold the stuff in two weeks I will sell the iron for scrap and toss the rest which would kill me but I am in a situation that requires me to unload quickly.

I want $300.00 for everything but I would accept offers.

TNX

G "

........Not much time left , the clock is running .

[The Slab Bacon]

the whole trick to it all is to set limits on how much stuff you want to "hoard". I have done that years ago. I DO NOT EXCEED THOSE LIMITS, PERIOD! ! ! 
When the "toybox" gets full some stuff HAS to move on to make room for new toys.

It's short, sweet, and simple, no exceptions. However, there are some that cannot comprehend that concept. I am in that mode right now until I sell of a few more pieces. (whole radios) I collect enough different stuff that I gotta be careful as it can get out of hand pretty quickly.

I have always hoarded parts for the things I planned (note "planned") to use long into the future. After getting SLAMMED with a life threatening illness and literally dying twice, this changes the whole scheem of things and your priorities as well.

But there is still a lot of stuff that they will have to pry out of my cold, dead hands after I die! !    

[k4kyv]

I like to say I accumulate rather than hoard, as a means, not as an end in itself. To me, hoarding means grabbing up stuff that others might need or use and taking it out of circulation, but then just letting it gather dust on a shelf with no intention of actually using it.  Some people do just that out of compulsion, or as an "investment" hoping it will some day accrue in value and allow money to be made re-selling it.  Accumulation is simply acquiring stuff that comes one's way.  A lot of what I have here is difficult or impossible to find anywhere else, yet would have been trashed if I had not rescued it.  Other stuff, I made a positive effort to acquire because I could see an eventual use for it.  Sometimes that took more than 30 years, but eventually I have used a lot for its intended purpose. It's nice when you can build or repair something, and you already have all the necessary material on hand, and don't have to engage in a major research project to locate whatever components you need.

Something I find just as bad as "hoarding" is collecting items that could be used, and setting them up to display as museum trophies without ever actually using them.  Several KW-1 transmitters are known to have befallen that fate.

My limit is when I run out of space. My shack is 24' X 32' with a 12' high ceiling, so I still have room to expand vertically as I run out of horizontal storage space. So far I haven't had to store anything in the house under the dining room table.  I do have a bunch of antique broadcast receivers in the house, and some tubes in the  loft, since they don't weigh much.

I had to pass up a 1951-era BC1-F broadcast transmitter that was offered to me in exchange for climbing a tower to replace the beacon lights. I couldn't figure out an easy way to get the 3000 lb beast moved here, and I wouldn't have had anywhere to store it.  I would have loved to have got my hands on that xmtr, because it is full of top quality heavy duty components, much more substantial than the cheap wimpy stuff inside my 1959-era BC1-T that was given to me for moving it off the station's premises.

To me there is only one real evil in this whole business: landfill.

[flintstone mop]

The art to it, however, is to not let it displace you out of your home and / or garage.....................

  Especially when you wind up paying rent to store the stuff. At least until the would be benefactors need it ,the morning after theirs crapped out at 2 AM.
They of course have learned the fine art of letting someone else store it for you.

   



BTW

 In case this was missed. From Classifieds:

"World Wide Radio

    W2INR
    Radio Parts and Iron
« on: July 13, 2011, 06:18:44 AM » 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have all kinds of radio parts and pieces that have been collected over the last 25 years. This would include tubes, caps, resistors, inductors of all sizes and values. I also have a shelf full of iron . Mostly inductors and power transformers of the medium to small catagory but there are some audio transformers also.

If you are looking for parts to add to your shop or want to resell I am sure the value is excellent on my offer. Pick up would be the best way to deal with this but would consider shipping.

Here is the catch, If I haven't sold the stuff in two weeks I will sell the iron for scrap and toss the rest which would kill me but I am in a situation that requires me to unload quickly.

I want $300.00 for everything but I would accept offers.

TNX

G "

........Not much time left , the clock is running .

Great example of someone here offering to get rid of excess for a very small price. My crazy spending dayz are over, sort of.
I'm sure "G" has some great goodies that he is letting go for $300.00 and accepting offers!
Got a great deal from "G" on a beautiful mixing console from WBZ TV one year ago. (Avatar) Class A-A audio!!!

Fred

[kg8lb]

I think it is the height of selfishness to hoard a large collection of stuff and then one day decide to haul it all to the dump because it has become inconvenient to continue storing it or because the owner has lost interest, without at least giving others who might be interested, the opportunity to peruse through it and possibly take some or all of it off one's hands.

I have heard that same old story over and over for decades. An old time ham dies, and the survivors haul all the radio stuff to the landfill except for the fancy ricebox station he had set up in the back bedroom to operate during his declining years after he became physically frail.

  Don,
 I hope you are not portraying my comments in that manner.
If so , please advise where I have said that I have decided to "haul it all to the dump " ? Pure hyperbolae actually a damn lie . Never said I was hauling it ALL to the dump. I said that I was setting SOME at the curb. Even at that, a figure of speech since anything that is hazardous or recylable is being handled accordingly.
 Further, almost all of it has been offered to others before being responsibly SCRAPPED.  However, yes my surving family may dispose of the gear I leave behind as they see fit.  I intend however to take care of most of the small stuff  beforehand so as not to burden them.

 I am certain however there are enough, decent local friends to see that all the worthwhile stuff has a good home.ALL of it ! We know what is worthwhile .
 No "fancy riceboxes"  here , Don. Nor is there anything that I said about losing interest. Frail ? Early stages of cancer yes, not really frail . Not even close.

[k4kyv]

Frail ? Early stages of cancer yes, not really frail . Not even close.

Extremely sorry to hear that. Hope you are able to make a full recovery.

[The Slab Bacon]

Gary,
        my wishes for a quick and speedy recovery! !

After winding up in the hospital a year ago december to find out I have cirrhosis and being told that my only possible hope of survival was a liver transplant. (I had bled out and was given an oil change.) And a second "episode" back in this past February. I had the same feelings about my gear. (I did sell some of it off.).

So I know what you are feeling and trying to express. I didnt want my wife to have to "dispose" of my junque. (thank God she does have a pretty good idea what it is worth) But for a good while it was meaningless and not of much importance to me.
especially when you are in the hospital fighting for your life. You dont even think (or care) about it. Survival becomes the real issue that is most important.

Well................... I'm glad that I didn't "dispose" of all of it! ! ! ! the local hospital that I was going to would just stop the bleeding and send me home telling me that I needed a liver transplant without much further explanation. They told me that my days were numbered and that was pretty much it. After the local hospital literally almost killed me twice, and "knowing" that I need a transplant, I went seeking a new liver. I ended up at Johns Hopkins where they have REAL doctors and they painted a very different picture. It looks like I am going to stay a numbers matching model for quite a while to come. Many tests determined that a massive change of diet has caused my liver to recover pretty well and is now working pretty good. They are repairing the varicose veins in my esophagus (caused by the cirrhosis) which have caused my bleed outs, and I should make pretty much a normal and full recovery.

So the bottom line is that If I would have gotten rid of all of the stuff that makes for quality of life for me, I would probably be a miserable grumpy SOB................

And, I'm kinda sorry that I sold off the pieces that I did, but it does make room for new ones    

Having doctors that know what they are doing makes one hell of a difference!!

[KA2DZT]

Slab

I'm working on another imaginary xmtr,  so you can't go anywhere until it's completed.

And we all know how long that will probably take.

Glad to hear your health is improving.

Fred

[The Slab Bacon]

Slab
I'm working on another imaginary xmtr,  so you can't go anywhere until it's completed.
And we all know how long that will probably take.
Glad to hear your health is improving.
Fred

Phred,
          as slow as you work, I'll be too old to still be able to hear and you'll probably have Altzheimers  by the time you finish it..................  

After all the 813 rig only took 27 years.   

[k4kyv]

Forget the landfill. Just smash 'em. That'll show those bottom-feeders and cheap-ass hams who are only interested in coming to pick up a freebie on their terms!

Hallicrafters HT-33A Amplifier HF Destruction

Ham Radio Destruction/ Kenwood 2 Meter Radios.

Ready for an R-390 and KW-1?

[KC2ZFA]

Forget the landfill. Just smash 'em. That'll show those bottom-feeders and cheap-ass hams who are only interested in coming to pick up a freebie on their terms!

Hallicrafters HT-33A Amplifier HF Destruction

Ham Radio Destruction/ Kenwood 2 Meter Radios.

Ready for an R-390 and KW-1?

are they made in China ?

Everythings made in China

 

[Opcom]

Forget the landfill. Just smash 'em. That'll show those bottom-feeders and cheap-ass hams who are only interested in coming to pick up a freebie on their terms!

Hallicrafters HT-33A Amplifier HF Destruction

Ham Radio Destruction/ Kenwood 2 Meter Radios.

Ready for an R-390 and KW-1?

What's the defect with that idiot?

[kg8lb]

 That was funny. Had me laughing my ass off  .

  No, not the fellow smashing his radios . That was bad enough.  The whining responses were priceless.




 Too many bottom feeders have no terms for pick up. They expect delvery and or storage on the donor's dime !
  Common bottom feeder quotes:
"Oh, you live soooo far away.... my old truck burns soooo much gas.....I have sooooo little time now that I am retired ... I have soooo little room here to keep that..  those old transformers are soooo heavy.... Did you clean it all up and put it into boxes for me ?...The tubes are NEW, in boxes  ?.. Have you tested them anyhow ?...  Why don't  you just load it all into your pickup and bring it to the  xxxxxxx hamfest ?... I might be there , if not try to get x8xxx to bring it to me...    Can you just hang on to it until I need it ?...  Just as long as it's free , those old parts aren't really worth anything you know "

"Oh , make sure you store it in a heated, dry place till then  "..
   Yessir, the cheap-ass bottom feeders share some common lines.. Still , we love them  



  Yet, tell them you had to toss out / recycle a few things  and they screech like a gaggle of wounded monkies.
 
                                                                                                                                                 The "you owe me"/ entitle-mentality is hilarious !  

  

[The Slab Bacon]

Forget the landfill. Just smash 'em. That'll show those bottom-feeders and cheap-ass hams who are only interested in coming to pick up a freebie on their terms!

Hallicrafters HT-33A Amplifier HF Destruction

Ham Radio Destruction/ Kenwood 2 Meter Radios.

Ready for an R-390 and KW-1?

FWIW that fairy couldn't even swing the hammer properly.

[WD8BIL]

FWIW that fairy couldn't even swing the hammer properly.

You're right Frank. I showed this to my wife and that's the first thing she noticed.

[kg8lb]

Forget the landfill. Just smash 'em. That'll show those bottom-feeders and cheap-ass hams who are only interested in coming to pick up a freebie on their terms!

Hallicrafters HT-33A Amplifier HF Destruction

Ham Radio Destruction/ Kenwood 2 Meter Radios.

Ready for an R-390 and KW-1?

FWIW that fairy couldn't even swing the hammer properly.

 Wrong tool for the job. Not unusual for many ham radio ops.   Actually he should have tossed the little Kenwoods into the air and used the hammer on the HT33 !
I sure wouldn't have used a sledge hammer on either one. Already spentt oo many hours busting up concrete early on.  We have a fine hydraulc press that could sqush them back into the tinfoil they are made from. Just pull the handle  ..

[WD8BIL]

Wrong tool for the job.

Got that right, Gary!

Mossberg 12ga w/ #4 steel shot works better.
Axe me how I know!