The Yellow Sheet's

[Detroit47]

How many of you guy's used to wait patiently for the Yellow Sheet to come. I think it is safe to say the internet killed the yellow sheets. They were almost as much fun as a swap. I found my Viking 500 in them I drove from Detroit to Fort Wayne in an ice storm to pick it up. Man was my wife pissed off. I bought it off a CB‘er who couldn’t get it to work. I trade him a Cobra CB, that I went out and bought for him and a linear. And he was a happy guy so I had about $200.00 into it what a deal. I don’t think I’ll ever see a deal like that again.

John N8QPC

[W4AAB]

I had a friend of mine who was a subscriber. I didn't have the money to subscribe back then(late '70's and early 1980's), but I found who the big-time traders were in my area, and checked with them when I had extra money. Yes, I am sure that the internet killed it off.It was fun to see what was selling. Great memories!!
                                                                     Joe W4AAB

[k4kyv]

I subscribed to it for nearly two decades, from the late 60s through some time in the 80s.  Got a lot of my stuff through it and the QST  Ham-ads. One  thing I can say for the ham community back then was that in the many times I sent m.o.'s and checks to strangers who were selling stuff through those ads, I never once got ripped off.  A couple of times I was disappointed because the merchandise wasn't exactly what I had expected, but never did anyone take my money and not send the item.

During one of the occasions while I was living overseas in the late 60s, I took out an air-mail subscription, and used to order stuff and have it sent to my parents' house.  Again I never got  ripped off.  My parents must have been glad when I returned to the states and came by and took all that stuff away.  It must have been at least a pick-up truck load, still fully boxed.

Just before the Yellow Sheets demise, the writer/publisher Al Brand as I remember, sold out to a slick commercial swap journal, but that one went out of business only a few months afterwards.

[W3GMS]

Oh, the Yellow Sheets, they were great.  I poured over them the day they came in the mail.  

Back in the early 70's a Johnson Ranger II was listed for $750.00.  I was desperately looking for a mint one.  No way could I have afforded or could justify spending that kind of money.  I decided what the heck and called the guy on the phone.  I remember it was a long distance call to Tennessee.  He told me he had no calls about the rig and by the way, the price was a misprint!  He said he was looking to get $75.00 for it and obviously I bought it!  At the time $75.00 was top dollar for a Ranger II.  He said the rig had been sitting on the same table in his mothers sewing room since he bought it new.  He had all the original packing material along with the original box.  When it arrived it was as perfect as he described it.  I am still using that same Ranger II to this day.  

The typing on the Yellow Sheets was kind of crude.  I am not sure if the typewriter was old or what but the letters typed were in not that great of shape and sometimes filled in with an pen.

Joe, W3GMS

      

[Mike/W8BAC]

I lived in Northern California from the mid 70's through 2000 and the Yellow Sheets was something I looked forward to each month. We had the 40 meter swap each weekend run by Clarance, W6DFG and following that was the hollow state, "Radios That Glow In The Dark" net hosted by Jack Osborn (can't remember his call).

Ad's in the Yellow Sheets seemed to almost always be sold. Especially if it was a good deal. I have no idea how many times I called only to find the item had been sold weeks before. The sheets arrived that day and the item was sold two weeks prior? Just like voting results used to be, California was the last on the list.The nets on 40 came real time so if you spent the time listening or listing you could find what you wanted or sell your surplus stuff. Hundreds of people did the same as me and listened religiously.

Thanks for reminding me John!

[KD0HUX]

 IN THE 80s I BOUGHT MY R390a $200 ALSO A EF JOHNSON VALIANT $125 FROM THE YELLOW SHEETS.  MY OUTLAW 11 METER STATION .  WITH THE INTERNET THE YELLOW SHEETS COULD NOT SURVIVE TODAY.I THINK THE INTERNET IS KILLING THE HAM FEST ALSO .

[w1vtp]

Yellow sheets completely passed me by.  I feel like Rip van Winkle.

[k4kyv]

Notice how the Ham-Ads in QST have dwindled?  They used to take up pages and pages.  Now at most a page or two, and half of each of those pages is display ads.

Ad's in the Yellow Sheets seemed to almost always be sold. Especially if it was a good deal. I have no idea how many times I called only to find the item had been sold weeks before. The sheets arrived that day and the item was sold two weeks prior? Just like voting results used to be, California was the last on the list.

Back in the early 80s I ran the service dep't at a two-way radio shop.  The owner also sold ham gear, and ran a display ad every month in QST. Those who ran display ads got a "sneak preview" QST, usually about 10 days before they went out to the regular mailing list. I always kept a close eye for QST whenever it arrived.  I would immediately grab it and go through the Ham-Ads.  If I found something that interested me, I would immediately call the seller, and usually clinched the deal a week or more before most subscribers had received their copies of the magazine.

That's how I got one of my 75A-4s.  A guy had one listed for "make an offer". I called him on the phone and offered $100, thinking that would be a starting offer and maybe we might end up settling on a mutually agreeable price.  To my surprise and delight, he accepted my initial offer, and almost seemed anxious that I might back out before we had finalised the deal.  About a week later, the A4 came well packed without any shipping damage.

The seller did tell me that the spinner knob was "cracked" and that the crack had been repaired, but a better description would have been that the knob was a mosaic. It must have been broken into half a dozen pieces, and glued back together with something that looked like epoxy.  It was in one piece, but the pieces were not fitted back together very well, and it had about a 15° wobble.  In addition, the set screws that held the 4:1 gear reduction mechanism on the shaft had been destroyed by someone who had attempted to loosen them with the wrong tool, and I ended up having to file through the brass bushing to get the wheel off the main tuning shaft to allow me to remove the front panel to work on the  dial cord.

Talking to the seller as we were making the initial deal, it was obvious he didn't know much about the receiver.  Later he told me he was a lawyer by profession and didn't have his ham licence yet.  I suspect he thought he was ripping me off with that receiver, which included all three stock Collins filters, for $100.

I replaced the spinner knob and vernier mechanism with an original 1:1 tuning knob.  It worked, but I  didn't like the fast tuning rate, but what the hell, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth.  Then, an issue of the Yellow Sheets came, and one of the ads had a spinner knob/4:1 vernier mechanism kit for $35.  I called the guy and he still had it, so I purchased it.  When it came, I noticed it was a new-old-stock Collins kit, still unopened, complete with instruction manual and separate tiny little manilla envelope holding each little washer and other piece of hardware, each with the Collins part number stamped on the envelope.  I installed it on the receiver per the instructions, and of course, it worked great.

To-day one of those kits would cost several times what I paid for the whole receiver, and a "collector" would probably buy it and put it on a shelf as a museum piece and never open it, because breaking the seal on the unopened box would immediately reduce its value to a small fraction of what it would bring in unopened  condition.

[KX5JT]

I started in this hobby too late to remember the Yellow sheets.  I suppose QTH.COM swap is pretty similar but in an electronic format. 

I would imagine the "Yellow sheet" was something like the Yellow "Trade-a-Plane" magazines that came for my dad (he was an ag-pilot) through out my childhood.  I remember I enjoyed looking through those and all the planes for sale.

[W4AAB]

I believe the Yellow Sheets were printed on a mimeograph. Al Brand enlisted his daughter to keep the Yellow Sheets going during the winter months while he wintered in Florida. I can concur with your comments, Don, about never being ripped off by any of the folks that sold or traded in that publication. People had more ethics then, IMHO.
                                      Joe W4AAB

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I had a friend of mine who was a subscriber. I didn't have the money to subscribe back then(late '70's and early 1980's), but I found who the big-time traders were in my area, and checked with them when I had extra money.

Same thing for me, Joe - just a few years later in the early-mid 80s. My elmer was a former BC engineer who had also been the state MARS screener in the 50s-60s, so he was a packrat at heart. Once he discovered that I was equally-afflicted, he'd call me up and say "The new Yellow Sheets are here, I should be done with them by the time you get here", at which point I'd hit the road to his place 5-6 miles away. His wife would make coffee and get snacks for us while we sat there and commented on the equipment for sale. At least as enjoyable as reading the sheets was hearing Ray relate his impressions and stories of the different items from first hand experience. He helped his dad build and install commercial radio towers in the 40s, so between that and his military & commercial experience, there wasn't much he hadn't seen, used, or owned at some point.

I'm sure I bought items from them, just can't remember what. I do recall buying my second transceiver, a 1966 KWM-2A and supply out of the back of CQ magazine though, in 1985, for the then-princely sum of $550 which I got by selling off some of my other equipment. Not so sure I'd roll the dice that way today, but the sale and shipment were flawless.

There also used to be a SSB swap net on 75 call the Hosstraders net, can't recall the frequency. Maybe 3980? Purchased a pair of KWM-2 cabinets from a guy in Alabama from that net, a whopping $100 shipped. No issue beyond his expert repaint job, runs and drips no extra charge.

While online dealing is not necessarily any safer, nearly instant access to pictures and plenty of questions tend to help. I do miss reading the Yellow Sheets, though. Like reading an old QST magazine vs reading it from a CD or online, it just had a more familiar, comfortable feel to it. A lot my knowledge and no doubt enjoyment today comes in some part from the time spent with the Yellow Sheets and my friend Ray.

[K5UJ]

I remember when the classifieds in the back of QST went on and on.  You could spend hours going through them, at least that's what it seemed like.  Back then I didn't need reading glasses; I do now.    CQ had a deal for subscribers--you could get a two line ad for free IIRC.  Now, the only thing I know of, that comes anywhere close to the old magazine classifieds are what's in the back of ER.   I missed the heyday of the Yellow Sheets.  They seem to have flourished about the time I went QRT in college and were defunct by the time I got back into active ham mode.

[Detroit47]

Thinking about the Yellow Sheet’s reminded me of my teenage years. When the Fair radio catalogue came it was like so much radio porn. I would look thru it for hours plotting and planning. I used to order the surprise box as they called it. It was an assortment of miscellaneous treasures that was sold by the pound. Those were good times when there where real surplus stores. In the Detroit area we had Lee Ricks surplus and Silverstein's Army-Navy Surplus. They even had a tank parked in front of the store and a 50 caliber machine gun inside. I used to spend the whole afternoon on a Saturday at the store figuring out how to spend my previous week’s paycheck from my paper route. As most of the other fellows have related everyone wasn’t out to rip you off. I never did get one but I recall they had a stack of R392’s stacked like cord wood. I wish I had one now.

73 John

[KM1H]

The Yellow Sheets, 75 and 2M swap nets, and hamfests were great at the time and a lot of my toys came via or found new homes thru them.
The Yellow Sheets also had a few scammers and bandits similar to Radiomart these days.

[N0WEK]

I started in this hobby too late to remember the Yellow sheets.  I suppose QTH.COM swap is pretty similar but in an electronic format. 

I would imagine the "Yellow sheet" was something like the Yellow "Trade-a-Plane" magazines that came for my dad (he was an ag-pilot) through out my childhood.  I remember I enjoyed looking through those and all the planes for sale.

Trade-a-Plane still exists, along with the company's other publications "Boats and Harbors" (which I get) and "Rock and Dirt" for heavy equipment. Yellow paper!

All of those have online versions but it's nice to have the hard copy to look through. If you're in the business you subscribe to the full 3 issues per month with first class mail, pricey, but when you're dealing in two million dollar aircraft or earth moving equipment it's worth it. I just get the once a month version for $15 per year.

[W1GRC]

Back in the late 80's I couldn't wait for Friday night and the 3898 traders net....listening for that great deal

[K5UJ]

I vaguely remember that "magazine" that consisted entirely of classified ads that came out monthly I guess.  It was printed on pulp paper but I forget what it was called.  That must have been the thing that replaced the Yellow Sheets. 

When did the FCC rule about conducting business on the air change (the Order a Pizza on the Repeater rule)?  That rule was what put the kaibosh on the on-air swap nets, which also aided the print publications.  Remember when you could not (supposedly) make a deal with anyone for any gear in a QSO?

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Back in the late 80's I couldn't wait for Friday night and the 3898 traders net....listening for that great deal

I seem to remember it being on Monday nights.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I started in this hobby too late to remember the Yellow sheets.  I suppose QTH.COM swap is pretty similar but in an electronic format. 

I would imagine the "Yellow sheet" was something like the Yellow "Trade-a-Plane" magazines that came for my dad (he was an ag-pilot) through out my childhood.  I remember I enjoyed looking through those and all the planes for sale.

Trade-a-Plane still exists, along with the company's other publications "Boats and Harbors" (which I get) and "Rock and Dirt" for heavy equipment. Yellow paper!

All of those have online versions but it's nice to have the hard copy to look through. If you're in the business you subscribe to the full 3 issues per month with first class mail, pricey, but when you're dealing in two million dollar aircraft or earth moving equipment it's worth it. I just get the once a month version for $15 per year.

Trade-a-Plane and the others area owned by TAP Publishing, Crossville, TN. I believe they acquired the "yellow sheets" and morphed it into the monthly "Amateur Radio Trader" news rag classifieds publication. I use to advertise with them for a number of years before it dwindled down to almost nothing.

[k4kyv]

When did the FCC rule about conducting business on the air change (the Order a Pizza on the Repeater rule)?  That rule was what put the kaibosh on the on-air swap nets, which also aided the print publications.  Remember when you could not (supposedly) make a deal with anyone for any gear in a QSO?

I believe that was an urban legend.  Never heard of anyone being cited by the FCC for working out an occasional non-commercial radio swap or sale with another ham.  But you never have legally been able to use amateur radio to conduct a commercial retail business or regularly offer merchandise for sale over the air. Nevertheless, some people got so paranoid for a while that they were afraid to mention prices over the air when they let another ham know they had something like a DX-100 or transmitting tube they were willing to sell or trade.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Most on-the-air swap nets of 70's through the 90's included in their preamble , "no commercial dealers". You had to list the stuff as your own personal property and not running any kind of "business". Also, no third party sales would normally be permitted ( i.e. you couldn't advertise that a ham buddy across town had a radio to sell). There was no rule that price couldn't be stated on the air. There was also no rule that said you couldn't move the seller to another frequency to discuss the equipment for sale and/or consummate the deal. By the mid-90's, swap net attendance started to dwindle as Internet swap and shop classifieds, and ebay and others (much larger audience) started to take away much of that activity.

[KM1H]

Back in the late 80's I couldn't wait for Friday night and the 3898 traders net....listening for that great deal

And the early Sunday evening one run by WA1???, now NR1R, Ray Sylvester

[KX5JT]

The Texohma (maybe it's spelled with the "ohm" in it?) Traders Net still operates on Saturday mornings, 3890 AM in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and others within reception range.   Although it is technically a swap meet net, non-swap checkins are encouraged to simply promote the AM mode.  It usually has between 30 and 40 checkins every week and even calls for *gasp* SSB mode checkins towards the end (just incase maybe someone wants to "UPGRADE" to an AM rig).

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Back in the late 80's I couldn't wait for Friday night and the 3898 traders net....listening for that great deal

That's the one. For some reason I thought it was higher, probably with respect to the place us AMers operated on 75. I remember there was a guy that hung out in the background saying 'Roddddddney' quietly throughout the night, until he built up to where he'd belt out a strong "Rodney!", then disappear. Wasn't a malicious jammer type, just some light comic relief. 

That rule was what put the kaibosh on the on-air swap nets, which also aided the print publications.  Remember when you could not (supposedly) make a deal with anyone for any gear in a QSO?

Nonsense. The only thing the FCC ever regulated was commercial use of amateur radio. No doubt some interpreted that broadly, generally the channel cop types. Several swap nets still exist, including one here in 4 Land on Tuesday night run by (I think) WA4KCY. The CCA was still running one a few years back. Seems like N8ECR ran one a couple years back, too. The Thursday Night 75m AM Swap Net was active off and on through the 80s-90s and made a comeback a few years ago, but coincided with the conditions where the band would go long early, rendering it useless. IIRC, Dave the 'APEman was net control as were Wayne/SSJ and the UAG, among others. Was it first Thursday of the month?

If anything affected these nets, it was the convenience of the internet along with finding folks to help out. The same few got stuck with it and some eventually got sick of it.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Back in the late 80's I couldn't wait for Friday night and the 3898 traders net....listening for that great deal

That's the one. For some reason I thought it was higher, probably with respect to the place us AMers operated on 75. I remember there was a guy that hung out in the background saying 'Roddddddney' quietly throughout the night, until he built up to where he'd belt out a strong "Rodney!", then disappear. Wasn't a malicious jammer type, just some light comic relief. 

Now I remember, the 3898 Net was on Monday and Friday nights. I could only check into the Monday night net because I bowled on Friday nights and couldn't make the net.

Here's a step back in time. Bry, AF4K, has a list of some of the nets that were active back in the "good old days" of the 90's: http://www.af4k.com/mega/swapnets.htm