On Sat, 1 Nov 2014, Stan Barr wrote:

On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:23:42 -0400, Michael Black wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014, gareth wrote:

50 years ago the world was buzzing with AR88s (both D and LF), HROs,
CR100s and the like.

What has happened to them all?

Surely no self-respecting radio amateur would ever think of putting
them in the garbage?

But that's exactly what happened to them.

Indeed. A lot of them were dismantled for parts, I can recall HRO
tuning mechanisms etc. being used in homebrew projects. You have to
remember back in the '60s these were just "old radios" not antiques.

I'm sure that did happen, but in the case of parts, they were also
available. So you could get HRO dials and tuning capacitors off the shelf,
though I'm not sure if from National or Millen. I gather there were spare
variable capacitors for the Command Sets, though since the transmitters
were so cheap, it was often easier to strip one down for the tuning gear
and capacitor. I have a tuning capacitor that's never been soldered to,
and it certainly looks like the one used in a BC-221 frequency meter.

You could certainly get Eddystone dials without ripping one apart.

But yes, the equipment lived its life, then was reused as best it could
be. There was also that period where older equipment was updated. Fred
Brown had an article in CQ in early 1970 about updating his HRO, which was
mainly about replacing the octal tubes with miniature tubes, complete with
lower power consumption. Or Hank Cross took a BC-348 and transistorized
it, in effect using the relatively cheap surplus receiver as a chassis to
build a solid state receiver on. That sort of thing happened too, to
extend the life of something that was getting old and not as appropriate
in the days of lower power consumption and SSB.

There have been a few HROs and AR88s on UK eBay recently, so they're
still out there. Prices aren't too bad either.

Some are saying it will all flatten out. That there was a peak, in
interest and price, as people got to a certain age, and lusted after old
equipment, or regretted getting rid of old equipment, but there aren't
that many coming into boatanchors to keep the prices high. It does make
sense. I can look at the ads in the old magazines, and wish for this or
that, but it's mostly nostalgia, I would have very little practical use
for a Clegg 66er, though a Swan 250 six metre SSB rig could still find
use. But if you didn't grow up with the stuff, or at least read about it
when younger, there may not be the same incentive to pursue it now. Once
everyone is satisfied, there won't be new people wanting the same stuff.
For that matter, like that TMC GPR-90, the owners will fade away and fewer
people interested in what remains.

Michael