Cheap Radio

[KA4DPO]

I can remember when you could buy war surplus radio equipment for a few dollars. After a few simple modifications you could be on the air cheap and easy. I wonder if there are any sources of low cost surplus radio equipment now days.

[K3UD]

I remember those days.

I got on 1296 mHZ back in the 60s using a WWII APX 6 IFF transponder. Got it for free. That was a different time though and surplus was still plentiful.

Check out companies like Fair Radio Sales who still deal in surplus.

http://www.fairradio.com

73
George
K3UD

[K6BBC]

Try EBAY - oh wait! Did you say WAY OVER PRICED?

K6BBC

[AI4EP]

What...do you mean some old 20th century idea of --

one amateur radio operator selling a USED radio to another amateur radio operator at a ( fair ) cheaper than almost-but-not-quite-now price ?

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

You have got to be kidding !

It is dog-eat-dog out there in USED equipment...if that nice.

I have seen yeasu ft-1500 2 meter mobiles you COULD buy for $119 brand new in-the box go for over $140 .

Sheesh, every one these days has their hand out waiting for a fool to give them their money on used stuff...suuuure you have the mounting bracket...suuure you have the power cord.....sure you have the owners manual & the box it came in.................but is that any reason to sell it so high ?

These folks selling this stuff...IF some one else had it for sale at the price you advertised for it, would YOU give that much for it ? in most cases, the answer is a very loud NO !!




---dont get me started ---

[N0DIT]

Might as well save your soda money and go buy new equipment. You might get lucky and find someone selling out but don't hold your breath. When I first got my ticket I couldn't even get anyone in my club to turn loose of used equipment. You know they have it because they talk about it all the time but as soon as you try to buy it they lock the doors and bar the windows. So much for helping the new guy. Ebay is a super high risk. I got mine off eBay and lucked out because the seller ripped off the next 3 buyer after me.

[KB1ILS]

One word: HAMFESTS!!!

The key is, of course, to get there early. At Boxboro 2004, within the 1st half hour I was able to pick up a Cherokee AH50 6m HT, new in box, seller even let me try it out, for $50, and a two-year-old Alinco 2m mobile (don't recall the model #...I have since sold it) for $25 that AES was selling for $120 in their used/consignment list.

So the deals are out there, just look hard, and don't waste your money on what you don't need. Be determined to get what you want and it will come to you.

[KJ5T]

Quote[/b] ]Check out companies like Fair Radio Sales who still deal in surplus.

http://www.fairradio.com

Thanks UD for the link.. one fo these days when I feel like getting me some kind of electronic kit, I will have to check that site out. they had several that sounded interesting.

[KA4DPO]

Quote[/b] (K3UD @ Feb. 23 2005,19:04)]I remember those days.

I got on 1296 mHZ back in the 60s using a WWII APX 6 IFF transponder. Got it for free. That was a different time though and surplus was still plentiful.

Check out companies like Fair Radio Sales who still deal in surplus.

http://www.fairradio.com

73
George
K3UD

There must be some surplus military radio equipment out there somewhere. Modifying surplus equipment is a great way to learn about radio and electronics without spending a fortune and have fun in the process. Unfortunately, most modern radios, made after about 1985 are too complex for the average ham, or anyone for that matter, to repair or modify. Stuff from the 60's through the mid 80's using mostly discrete components is fairly easy to work on and has to be out there somewhere..

[K8ERV]

My guess is that modern mil gear is not sold as surplus since it may contain "secrets", as tho the US were the only country to know how to design and build state-of-the-art items.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[WB2WIK]

Depends on how old you are...

I grew up near NYC where we had Cortlandt Street and "Radio Row," all of which is now buried under the rubble created by the 9/11 WTC tragedy. But in the mid-sixties when I was a kid getting interested in radio, I could buy parts for a nickel each (almost didn't matter what they were: tubes, transformers, coils, capacitors...pretty much everything was a nickel, and stocked in wooden barrels) and entire "rigs" for five dollars -- stuff like ARC-5's only brought $5 and, connected to suitable power supplies, usually worked!

I bought an SCR-522 RAF surplus. Damned thing weighed more than I did and ran about 20W output on two meter AM. I think it cost $10, which would have been about ten cents per pound.

But not only have times changed, so has technology. Most of that revered stuff wouldn't be welcome on the ham bands today, so its value would be mostly "experimental" and not "practical."

I picked up a surplus homebrew (amateur) transmitter with a pair of 4-400's powered by the high voltage transformer from a BC-610. Practical? Geesh, the transformer by itself was probably 250 pounds, without the amplifier, and was about half the size of a refrigerator. Not only wouldn't I want that today, but I'd pay someone to haul it away!

Fair Radio Sales stuff used to be a great deal years ago, but their presence on the internet has opened the market for them and now their prices are a lot higher, on average, than they used to be. Locally to me (Los Angeles), we have APEX Electronics in Sun Valley. Huge place, has a bit of everything, and most of it can be negotiated to be purchased by the pound -- including electronic components. I'm happy to live within a short drive of the place.

WB2WIK/6