I need some advice

[Jerry]

The local SK ham that I have been talking about, has family members who are ready to divide his estate.

My X cousin - cousin , is advising them how much to sell his possessions for.

The problem is - my cousin works for a large container company and makes very decent money, so money to him is just a number.
The value of the possessions are not exactly top dollar, but the equipment was good stuff - although some if not most of it was broke at one time or another and repaired by other hams and not sent back for service.

One of the items up for sale is a Ameritron 600 watt amplifier.
Truthfully, this guy had so many antenna's on his roof and in his yard, he didn't need a amplifier to talk anywhere he wanted.
My cousin told them to sell it for $600 and that was what he was asking sight unseen.

They are going by Ebay prices and not actual value for the stuff they are trying to get rid of.

The one other item was his good HFrig - a Yaesu FT 950 with mic for $1200 smackers. The radio is probably 5 or more years old and they don't want to throw in the power supply.
I knew the guy, and he had just bought a new power supply, so there is probably something wrong with the old power supply. He had cancer and he bought ham radio equipment right up until the day he died. The truth is - he died because he couldn't afford his medicine - but he always found the money to buy ham radio stuff.

The MSRP is only about $1450 for the radio with no extra's.
I asked if the external speaker went with the radio and the answer was NO - get your own.
It isn't exactly my dream radio - but it would make a decent radio - if the price was right. Unfortunately I just started a new job and I am only bringing in $8.25 a hour. So I have to work a lot of hours - just to make up what I am going to spend to buy this stuff.
My pay this week was only $285.00 - so I'm not exactly pooping nickels here.

I guess to a person that makes $1000 a week take home, these prices are just chicken feed and he is trying to help the family out to cover the burial expenses.

The other thing was - he had several sections of used Rohn 25 tower - painted and ready to be put up, which tells you that the galvanize was gone. They want $65 per each 10' section.
I might be crazy, but I'm not dumb. I bought lot's of tower - even off the guy that is brokering the deal - for $10 a section.

I think that sometimes when a person dies and they were a ham and had a lot of stuff that the family gets dollar signs.
The other thing is - I don't know if my X cousin is trying to make a couple of bucks on the deal by picking it up himself and bringing it home and then reselling it at a higher price to compensate him for what he is doing and what he wants out of the estate.

There is a lot of dirty pool that goes on - on these types of deals.
I'm not a grave robber, but I know if I can buy a brand new radio for $1400 - with a warranty, why buy a used one for $1200 that has issues.

We had a little fight right before he died. I hit the mic button one time to check in on a net when I was trying out his radio and the mic burned up. When he took it apart, he had several layers of clear scotch tape over the contacts and it was burning through the tape and arcing against the body of the mic - with the stock 100 watt output of the radio. He bought another mic, just before he died, USED - but there is nothing to say that the problem isn't internal and not the fault of the mic.
His claim was that I pushed the mic button too hard and broke it.
He wanted me to buy him a new mic.
God bless him, he had cancer, what can I say.

So do you people think that this is a reasonable amount of money to pay for these items?

[N8YX]

First off:

AFAIK, "Antron" never made an HF amplifier. If in fact there's such a contraption out there, post a few pics of it and let's see what we have.

"Dentron", on the other hand, did. Their 600w-out line included the GLA-1000 and Clipperton. I would pay $300-350 max for the latter, and no more than $225-250 for the former - it used TV sweep tubes and they're getting very hard to come by.

If the tower has been stored laying on its side on the ground - don't touch it for $5 a section.

What is market value for the FT-950? I would think around $700 for a working (no faults) example. The example you cited is likely in need of some surgery to fix the mic issue, and this is probably gonna co$t. I would offer no more than $500 for it, assuming you have the skills to fix SMT electronics - or know someone who does.


The other thing is - I don't know if my X cousin is trying to make a couple of bucks on the deal by picking it up himself and bringing it home and then reselling it at a higher price to compensate him for what he is doing and what he wants out of the estate.

Majick 8-Ball sez: You can bet the farm on that statement.

[Jerry]

Its a Ameritron amplifier.

Sorry - I have short term memory loss and I am a new ham.
If this is how you treat all new comers - then I don't know if I want to associate with you.

I just started working again - this is my third consecutive week since my automobile accident 4 years ago.
Just got my first pay check - not a lot $285.00 after taxes.

I invested $14 in a long distance telephone call tonight to a guy that runs the program at the place where I took two of my ham radio exams to get my license - I am a Amateur Extra Class License Holder.

His advice mirrored your advice - he said not to give more then $750 for the radio - even though the Flea Bay people are charging around $1200.00
We discussed the mic issue and the tower issue.

I told him about a tower in Chicago that was on Flea Bay last week for $300 - 65 feet with 4 antenna's - you take down and haul away.
Rohn DX or something.
His first comment was that - that model didn't come in a 65' length, his second comment was that it was free standing and could only support about 100 lbs of antenna and 10 sq feet of antenna at that - so there was no way it would hold 4 beam type antenna's.
He went on to say that he wouldn't even climb a tower like that - because the lattice is riveted on and is very sharp - you have to make sure to wear rubber sole shoes or it will cut right through the shoes.

So it seems that most if not all the deals I find these days are rip off's.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.
Jerry

[W5RB]

Rohn BX tower came in heights up to 64' , in 8' sections . Still available new . Self-supporting , not recommended for yagis with booms longer than 10' , though this has been exceeded . It is less comfortable to climb than some others , but quite strong , and I've seen many of 'em in use 30 years plus . Nobody should climb in tennis shoes , or anything less than a boot with a steel shank , really . In those , BX is as manageable as 25 . See particulars at the link below .

http://www.alabamatower.com/BX.asp

[K7SGJ]

Rohn BX tower came in heights up to 64' , in 8' sections . Still available new . Self-supporting , not recommended for yagis with booms longer than 10' , though this has been exceeded . It is less comfortable to climb than some others , but quite strong , and I've seen many of 'em in use 30 years plus . Nobody should climb in tennis shoes , or anything less than a boot with a steel shank , really . In those , BX is as manageable as 25 . See particulars at the link below .

http://www.alabamatower.com/BX.asp

A real man chews on a spare tower bolt while he climps it barefooted. In the rain, During a lightning storm. Naked.

[NQ6U]

A real man chews on a spare tower bolt while he climps it barefooted. In the rain, During a lightning storm. Naked.

With a ground strap clipped to his you-know-what.

[KG4CGC]

With a ground strap clipped to his you-know-what.Hamstring?

[W5RB]

A real man chews on a spare tower bolt while he climps it barefooted. In the rain, During a lightning storm. Naked.

I'm pretty sure I have those pix around here somewhere ....

[KC2UGV]

I wouldn't pay e-Bay prices for equipment. eBay prices are inflated. If the estate wants to get eBay prices, they should sell it on eBay.

So, my advice: RUN.

[N8YX]

Its a Ameritron amplifier.Sorry - I have short term memory loss and I am a new ham.If this is how you treat all new comers - then I don't know if I want to associate with you.Completely your choice, but no malice was inferred by my original comments. When it comes to gray (and black)-market RF amplifiers, there were a lot of garage-quality specials that were offered under "popular" name brands. (Palomar is but one example.) It wouldn't surprise me in the least if some fly-by-night firm did in fact market an "Antron" amplifier to the CB crowd at one time...ergo, my commentary about posting a pic or two of the estate equipment you were considering.

[KG4CGC]

Either stand up to your cousin, with a vengeance, and tell him that he's ignorant to the market price of the equipment or just walk away from the whole thing. All of it.
Me, I'd tell him to take a big healthy bite off a turd sandwich and make sure he wasn't able to get a word in edgewise. It's not for everyone but then again you have to be willing to bring your inner keyboard kommando up in his face and not back down.
Choose your battles carefully young padawan.

[W3WN]

Jerry:

Afraid I'm going to have to chime in with everyone else on this.

The prices you are being asked to pay by your cousin are on the high side, to put it mildly.

Yes, you can find bargains on eBay, but as a rule, you'll find prices inflated as they are often bid up by people who don't know what they're looking for, or who have been caught up in the excitement of "winning" the bid. (But if you're looking for a particular item, sometimes you have nowhere else to turn, regardless of the cost)

Your best bet would be to join up with a local club... and there are probably more than one in your area, so check around first... and get some help and guidance on the spot from some of the more experienced hams there. The ARRL web site should list clubs in your area that are affililated, so if you don't know where else to start, that's one.

Regarding the tower... a lot more issues here than can be discussed in any depth. But if it were me, I'd get someone who's experienced at dealing with towers (see local club, above) to look at it and give you his/her recommendation, especially in terms of condition, weight and wind load restrictions, and so forth. Suffice to say that new towers may be deliberately underrated for safety reasons (which doesn't mean you should excced those guidelines, mind you), used towers have their own issues, and some people overload towers when they shouldn't, and get away with it because their luck hasn't run out... yet...

[WX7P]

Its a Ameritron amplifier.

Sorry - I have short term memory loss and I am a new ham.
If this is how you treat all new comers - then I don't know if I want to associate with you.



Yer trashing the wrong guy, big Jer.

N8YX is just about the best resource out there...

Just sayin...

[KG4CGC]

Yer trashing the wrong guy, big Jer.

N8YX is just about the best resource out there...

Just sayin...
X a BAZILLION!

[Jerry]

I joined one local club here back in March and I attended meetings at two other clubs on various occasions throughout the year.

The only thing I am going to say is - the one club did not make me feel welcome and I drove 45 miles one way 4 times to attend their meetings and was never once told thanks for coming or asked to join their club. Their president is a real horses petutie.

The other club invited me to their Field Days event, then stuck me on their GOTO station on the 10 meters with a broke old CB type radio and a old junk 100 watt amplifier and Dipole antenna.
I'm not complaining, but they basically said, bring your own food - because we are not going to feed you and find yourself a place to stay - because our camp is full.
So I brought a cake, a pan of Rice Krispy treats and a Banana bunt-cake that I baked myself and I bought a bag of chips and a 12 inch long sub and two cases of soda.

No one said the cake or bunt cake or Rice Krispy treats were good, but I took home empty pans. I guess things like compliments are hard to come by these days because some people were not raised like that.
On the plus side - the club asked me to join - $39.00 a year, and they told me that I needed to move closer to them so I could talk to them on their repeaters and be a active member of the Ham Radio Community.

No one from my club has ever asked me if I wanted to come over and talk on their HF radios or beam antenna's.

The club that asked me to join had a SK back in the spring, but just like the EBay - they advertised that they had stuff the family would like to sell. Some wise guy came along and bought the whole deal - package deal, and took what he wanted, raised the prices of everything else to cover the cost of what he kept and in the end - there was nothing of any interest to me - and yet he sold all that stuff and still made lot's of money.

Like I said before - those EBAY people are crooked because they are trying to make a living off selling stuff on the internet and they rig the prices and that was exactly what this guy done also. I sent 3 emails inquiring about the radios that were for sale in the end, the guy that told the club about the ham gear for sale - said that he lost my email address. You could just see the smile in his face - because he was probably on the receiving end of the deal that had transpired between the SK hams family and the guy that bought everything and kept what he wanted and put the rest up for sale again.

It seems like all the hams in my area are just grave robbers - just waiting for someone to die so they can get that guys stuff cheap or someone looking to make a killing, buying cheap and selling high.

[N8YX]

Jerry's experiences with clubs are by no means unique - or even 'current'. I've been aware of segregation within the amateur ranks for as long as I've been licensed and it's a safe bet to say that the practice has existed for a hell of a lot longer than that.

Fortunately, we are blessed with this thing called the "Internet" and through it one can seek out alternatives to 'Club Silverback' (as 'TUX once called them in an Island thread).

There are a lot more non-joiners out in RadioVille than one would think, due in part to those clubs which ostracize potential members. Who are in effect cutting their own throats, as someone has to pay for that nice repeater....right?

Here in NE Ohio many of the cliques, clubs, repeaters and old guard have gone SK. We now have a flourishing FM simplex community on the VHF and UHF bands...and a few of us have taken the leap and built our own OPEN repeaters for the area ham population to use. A population that shows less and less interest in repeater operations as the years go by, due to attrition, the cell phone and the relaxation of test requirements which have allowed easier access to popular HF spectrum.

These groups I advise the newcomer to seek out. Most of said folk are interested in "radio", not bragging rights about which office(s) they've held at the local club. Truthfully, a lot of the so-called 'silverbacks' cannot address the simplest technical or operational problem no matter how hard they bluster to the contrary...so why waste your time with their negative attitudes?

As far as the gear vultures are concerned: That practice has been going on for years and will continue to go on for years. All it takes is a greedy seller and suckers with money.

[W3WN]

Jerry, sorry to hear that you ran into some less than friendly folks. All I can tell you is, it wasn't my club. Keep looking around, there are a lot of clubs, and they're not all like those two groups.

Regarding the vultures... that's been a sad fact of radio for decades, nothing new under the sun there. There's ALWAYS someone looking for a bargain, and when you consider that most widows (and a few widowers, but most hams are men and most ham's spouses aren't licensed) not only don't know the value of what they have left, but often just want "all that radio garbage OUT OF THE HOUSE!" it's no wonder that these vultures get a lot of good equipment for near nothing, and then sell it for top dollar. Hell of a way to make a living, no thanks.

[kb2vxa]

Sounds like a hamfest to me.
Seller: My shit is worth its weight in gold.
Buyer: I'm not about paying gold prices for shit.

I don't takes sides, just comment to my partner in crime in a voice loud enough to be heard over the crowd. "Johnson never sprayed their equipment with clear lacquer. Fully restored or not it's JUNK!" (;->)

Afterthought:
Frankly I don't give a shit, I sell it for fertilizer. Take a lesson from a master, even shit is worth money if you know where to sell it.

[WX7P]

I joined one local club here back in March and I attended meetings at two other clubs on various occasions throughout the year. etc. etc.



Jerry, I think what you're talking about isn't unique to ham radio. Most collectors/fans of a particular hobby tend to be clannish and somewhat hard to get to know initially.

I used to be big into license plate collecting. I drove out to Mentor, Ohio from CA for their national convention in 1979 and basically got the cold shoulder from most of the people there. It wasn't until I had been "seen" a few times did they begin to get friendly. So, despite all the camaraderie noise you read in the enthusiast literature, real world experience is almost always different. Remember, people doesn't always get along with everyone. It took me a while to find my first batch of ham radio friends after numerous tries with clubs and repeaters. Just another example, I wouldn't have anything to do with 98% of the people who post on QRZ. That's just the way it is.

As far as the rudeness goes, that doesn't surprise me a whole lot. Again, some of that comes from people not being comfortable around people they don't know. It's the same way on the air. You can call CQ, and get an answer from someone that doesn't want to talk, or more likely, doesn't know how. I have a few standard things I do to get people to talk, like acknowledging where they are from with some factoid ("oh, you're from Hope, Ark? Isn't that where Bill Clinton is from?"). That usually works. The same technique works in person except it's easier for people to run away in person.

The gear deal sounds kinda slimy because of the way you described it. Having said that, I don't see anything wrong with buying a bunch of equipment and selling off the stuff you don't need. I've done that a few times in the past. If you're going to get mad about that, you'll stay mad, because it happens all the time. Sometimes you get in on the action, sometimes you don't. Life isn't always fair.

I'd ignore all the dufus behavior and the idiots and find the positive stuff about the hobby that interests you and focus on those things. For example, when I lived in Santa Rosa, CA, I found a repeater that was full of sarcastic young at heart people who liked to basically screw around on the radio. Nothing obscene, just fooling around kind of stuff. That was really fun and I got to know some of those guys really well off the air. I also like to contest and play around here, even though this isn't really ham radio.

What's your call, station? (C'mon, guys, you'd be disappointed if I didn't ask Jerry that!)

[W7XF]

With a ground strap clipped to his you-know-what.

*rimshot*

[W7XF]

Jerry....
Most hams in my local area treat me as if I'm a leper....try being openly gay and have Asperger Syndrome (autistic)..... I am literally persona non grata on local repeaters and clubs, although the SAME club that disses me is the one that administered ALL 3 of my exams (Tech, General and Extra). C'est la vie... when I'm home I hang out on simplex, 6m SSB or 10m SSB and talk to the locals that don't give two shits about what I am, except a fellow ham.

As far as FleaBay.....my advice is RUN FOR THE HILLS!! I've found by observation that you'll spend damn near new retail on there....pay the few extra $$$ to HRO/AES/GiggleParts, et. al. and get the warranty with the rig.