Removing Engraved Numbers

[flintstone mop]

I want to sell a radio.
The radio has a social security number engraved with one of those electric engraving 'pens' near the rear. Part of the metal heat sink of the radio. Will this radio be permanently mine or can I eradicate a crazy suggestion from times past?

Thanks
Fred

[WBear2GCR]

Image please??

Makes a difference as far as what is possible.

For example, if it is engraved on a black heatsink, the options are more limited... also the placement matters.

[Opcom]

you can obliterate it by creating a rectangle about each character and filling. Use the same pen.
Alternately epoxy a piece of aluminum stip over it,
- or use a dremel tool to slightly grind or smooth it.
Touch up with black paint after, if on a heatsink.

[flintstone mop]

you can obliterate it by creating a rectangle about each character and filling. Use the same pen.
Alternately epoxy a piece of aluminum stip over it,
- or use a dremel tool to slightly grind or smooth it.
Touch up with black paint after, if on a heatsink.

Thanks....The Dremel tool seems like a better approach...trying to match the color might be a challenge. It is a Kenwood 440. A silvery color.

And WBear2GCR and image is not possible...it is a social security number

Fred

[KE5YTV]

Fred, I think I would get rid of the numbers on all of your radios. If they were stolen you sure
wouldn't want the crooks having your S.S. number. 

Mike

[flintstone mop]

Fred, I think I would get rid of the numbers on all of your radios. If they were stolen you sure
wouldn't want the crooks having your S.S. number. 

Mike

So true!! I was about to put the radio for sale on AMFONE or eBay and then I saw the SS#. NOPE not in toady's world do we want SS#'s floating around.

[KD6VXI]

Where is your social at?   I have a complete spare here,  receive only....   

If it's not too hard to replace....   Then again,  no matter what,  it's manual labor....


--Shane
KD6VXI

[w1vtp]

My Bird 43 has one of my friend's SS# on it.  I must grind that off and soon.  Oh the innocence of bygone days when it was the smart thing to put one's SS# on your important stuff.  NOT ANY MORE!!  If anyone has a really neat way of doing the removal I'd be interested.  Yes, I have a Dremel grinder

[Opcom]

Nice thing about the Dremel is that it can also polish out any scratchy looking marks from grinding.

[W2VW]

I'm sorry you have turned to a life of crime Fredd.

[flintstone mop]

I'm sorry you have turned to a life of crime Fredd.

LIFELOCK, Dave

I'm going the Dremel route and use the various tools to smooth out the numbers and fill it in with a little JB Weld. Is there any epoxy the color of a TS440? Even a slight mismatch would not stop someone buying the radio.
Fredd

[Steve - K4HX]

Why would anyone EVER put their SSN on an item or piece of equipment? WTF?

[WZ5Q]

Why would anyone EVER put their SSN on an item or piece of equipment? WTF?

I have worked in the Aircraft Industry all my life and for certain government contracts you were REQUIRED to engrave your SSN on each and every tool in your tool box. This was part of the FOD (Foreign Object Debris) Prevention Program. You were mandated to do this, as well as "shadow" your tool box with foam to cradle each and every tool. Every day you had to fill out a "Tool Card" that was a detailed list of each tool and item you had on your person when on the Aircraft. If this inventory changed, then you needed to reflect this on the Tool Card. During the course of your shift, there were little Nazi's that would come and check you to be sure you were doing this correctly.

At the end of the day you would perform a tool inventory and if one of your tools/items were unaccounted for, you had to initiate a Lost Tool Report. An entire search of the aircraft was then performed to find the missing tool. If someone found the tool/item on the Aircraft and there was no Lost Tool Report on file, you faced suspension or more then likely termination. If your lost tool caused the loss of Aircraft or God forbid, Loss of Life, then things would be much, much worse for you.

I still have tool boxes full of tools with my SSN engraved on them.

[w1vtp]

Why would anyone EVER put their SSN on an item or piece of equipment? WTF?

I have worked in the Aircraft Industry all my life and for certain government contracts you were REQUIRED to engrave your SSN on each and every tool in your tool box. This was part of the FOD (Foreign Object Debris) Prevention Program. You were mandated to do this, as well as "shadow" your tool box with foam to cradle each and every tool. Every day you had to fill out a "Tool Card" that was a detailed list of each tool and item you had on your person when on the Aircraft. If this inventory changed, then you needed to reflect this on the Tool Card. During the course of your shift, there were little Nazi's that would come and check you to be sure you were doing this correctly.

At the end of the day you would perform a tool inventory and if one of your tools/items were unaccounted for, you had to initiate a Lost Tool Report. An entire search of the aircraft was then performed to find the missing tool. If someone found the tool/item on the Aircraft and there was no Lost Tool Report on file, you faced suspension or more then likely termination. If your lost tool caused the loss of Aircraft or God forbid, Loss of Life, then things would be much, much worse for you.

I still have tool boxes full of tools with my SSN engraved on them.

At  Raytheon we had the same drill except we were told to use our employee number NOT OUR SS#.  That is definitely not brave new world of "hack or be hacked"

FOD WAS VERY IMPORTANT.     FOOD - THAT WHAT ANOTHER MATTER. Could not have that in the lab either.  SS#'s Must guarded at all cost. I never bring my Medicare card to a doctors office. I still do NOT understand the government unwillingness to provide an identity unique to a person who also have a SS# with either workingl

[Steve - K4HX]

Those government contracts are likely in violation of PII laws and regs. The Contracting Officer must have been a schmuck. I guess these clowns never heard of an Employee ID number or similar. Geez.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I seem to recall in one of the ARRL's older Hinks and Kinks books there was a tip to engrave your SS#  on all your equipment.
Even in the 70's, the IRS 1040 book I received every year included on the mailing label my SS#.

[w8khk]

When I enlisted in the Air Force in 1966, everyone was assigned an Air Force serial number, mine was AF########, an eight digit number.  This was of course stamped on our pair of dog tags which we were required to wear on a chain around our neck, 24/7.  Later on, we got replacement dog tags, with our SSN replacing the old AFSN.  The excuse was that it was less record keeping, avoiding a lot of duplicate numbers.  I can see this might make sense with the cost of storage on computers in those days.  But today with identity theft issues, it seems a big step backward.  I wonder what the AF policy is now.  I was discharged in 1971, so I do not know how they keep records now.

We did not have to identify our tools with any engraved ID number.  But any service we did that grounded the F4 Phantom had to be inspected and signed off by a higher ranking enlisted person than the one performing the service, before the aircraft was again considered airworthy.  Inspection and cross-checking was thorough.  Back then  it was a pleasure to service and calibrate the avionics systems, and we received many compliments from the pilots and ROs. If it were not for some of the restrictions at the time, I likely would have re-enlisted for a second hitch.  The F4 was some piece of engineering in its day.

[K9DXL]

'KHK, I had a similar experience.  When I was drafted into the Army in 1969, I was issued a serial number, US--------.  While still in basic, we were told to switch over to SSNs.  I had just memorized the old number (and still know it!)  On the civilian side, I remember some police departments offered to loan engraving tools to people who wanted to mark their property as a crime prevention measure.  How times have changed...

[WBear2GCR]

put a piece of tape on part of the number so that it can not be copied --- then take a picture.
cover the last 5 numbers for example... or the first several, etc... easy enough.

               _-_-

[Pete, WA2CWA]

put a piece of tape on part of the number so that it can not be copied --- then take a picture.
cover the last 5 numbers for example... or the first several, etc... easy enough.

               _-_-

And then, after you sell it, the new owner can pull off the tape and/or resell the equipment again and new buyer can pull off the tape exposing the SS#.

[n1exi]

when i would wont to - i would just to inscribe N!EXI - kiss method
if i am getting rid of it - and if someone want's to steal it - good luck - back surgery in the future for you!
greg - n1exi

[KB2WIG]

How about engraving S/N and a few more numbers ? ??


klc

[W2VW]

There used to be a guy on ebay who sold retouched TS-440 front panels. They were sort of ok on the corners in low light after a night of heavy drinking. Maybe he would spill the formula. Good guy ham or something was his name.

I'd just scratch the numbers up to make them impossible to read and mask off/paint a rectangle over them.

[KE5YTV]

In college in the late 60's- early 70's our student number was our SS number. It was on every piece of paperwork and form we came in contact with. We gave it freely in class.  I wonder when that all changed?

Mike

[K1JJ]

In college in the late 60's- early 70's our student number was our SS number. It was on every piece of paperwork and form we came in contact with. We gave it freely in class.   I wonder when that all changed?

Mike

My guess is it probably started getting ripe around 1995 when anyone in the whirl, from Nigeria to  China could try their luck over the internet applying for credit cards (and much later on submitting fake tax returns for refunds)  with that info.

The internet beginning accelerated a black market for identity theft info sales... [sigh]     Even Yaz can get a credit card these days.


BTW, etching our SS # or callsign onto a rig is like doing it on the hood of our new Mercedes.  Automatic hambone depreciation.

T