I got Fair's catalogs throughout my 60 years in ham radio first by US mail and later via Internet, of course. I occasionally bought various parts from them. In fact, I still have some ceramic standoff insulators and ceramic tap switches I got from them in the last 10 years. The owner's closing info said he had been in business for more than 50 years. He must not be the original owner. Fair's website as well as catalogs said they were in business since 1947. Back then they were selling the good stuff from WW2 as were numerous other surplus outlets across the country in the 1950s. There was one in Nashville that I and my granddad would go to, Southeastern Supply Co. They had parts and equipment piled all around the warehouse on pallets, just as it came from the military depots...all mixed up. It was great to go there on Saturdays. The place smelled like cosmoline preservative which many things came packed in.
Yes but we can make a new era! It doesn't have to end negatively if we push a positive direction and create a new era. How we achieve that, well my vision falls short on, but others will figure it out I am sure of it!
Then there was Meshna in Lynn Massachusetts in the 1970s! I remember visiting John’s store on Allerton Avenue one time and he had ART-13s piled to the ceiling. He gave me one for delivering two to a customer who was on my way home. Every once in a while I drive by the old store and remember the good times I had there.
My wife was from Lima..... It was great to visit the in-laws as it allowed me the opportunity to spend hours exploring the shelves of Fair Radio. I wish the Fair Radio folks the best.....
Many specialized mall businesses are owned and managed by one person with multiple skills that would require multiple well-paid people to replace the owner. You do not know if he made an effort to sell.
Of course, I do not know of said effort in this particular case. It was not intended as an insult by any means. It was more of an observation. I've seen the same thing happen with other small businesses in other industries. You know, maybe some of it is I'd like to think that there was some level of opportunity still there in these smaller businesses. That there is value in their continued existence. Perhaps a bit naïve of me.
same here Joe, I used to love buying this type of equipment and messing with it, even today I would some surplus gear. Sadly, these type stores, family run or not are becoming a thing of the past and sooner or later they will be a thing of the past,
What we have is a hobby with old technology and old participants... Youth have Zero interest in what we as hams enjoy... The Columbus Hamfest last Saturday was attended by 95% retirees... I told one of the helpers of the event that within six years they would not have an event... He agreed... Same with the legacy electronics businesses such as Fair... Yes, I bought plenty from them and attended their hamfest/flea mkt... In its' day it was thriving but the customer base has died off... I doubt they were really making any profit lately, just keeping the lights on... Time Is Marching On, Like It Or Not...
I'm one of those folks entering the hobby. The only place ancient, large, awfully-heavy radio equipment has for me is in a museum. Especially since I'm a portable QRP operator; a 75+ pound radio that requires large amounts of power has no place in reasonable field activities. Further, I simply have no room for large, old equipment and no time to constantly fix or tweak it. Apple won over millions with their "it just works" style of computing, and modern lightweight radios are an "it just works" style of operation. Is it like the tinkering days of yore? Maybe not to the same degree. But we are admonished by the Amateur's Code to keep our stations up to date and efficient. These old piles of scrap are neither up to date nor efficient.
That is true, however you dont learn about how components interact with the modern ultralight, factory produced gear other than how to part with your cash. Tinkering with the older gear you do learn a lot more. So they are heavy and you cant take them afield! Thats what a shack bench is for, its also the place you will learn the most. The code you speak of is just one small part of a much larger knowledge base And besides amateur radio is much, much more than just pota, sota, and contesting Depending on your perception there is a certain magic to the hobby, making a contact on a sub watt radio that you built or seeing its signal on a distant websdr site is just amazing, Making a rare dx contact on an old radio you repaired ( fantastic) Or you could spend kilobucks on the latest multimode name brand brick, top of the line portable antennas, and flood the airwaves with contesting. Or you could even be the ham that erects super bird toaster antennas cranking out the legal limit of power. All we are saying is dont get tunnel vision on just one small aspect of the hobby. And ive only had my license about a couple of years now so im pretty much entering myself.
OOOH BOY! The young ham posted the future Belongs to the lightweight, ez to transpot and 'it just work gear! It's energy efficient, usually needs No AC mains power and it's just as much fun, maybe more.. I've been selling off / giving away all of my BoatAnchors as fast as I can these past 5 yrs... Have to before everyone who wants them or knows anything abt them is dead... They were fun for me, at one time in my life, but I've since moved on as we all must...
While boat anchors are nostalgic they are inefficient both in energy and operationally. Parts are increasingly thinning out more and more and more, no one manufactures parts that are this old anymore. Unfortunately as much as I would love to maintain my land with an old Farmall, my modern high speed, computerized Kubota can do 1000x more work in half the time at a fraction of the cost in fuel and I can get repair parts galore. Boat anchor gear is rusting away and eventually will be so hard to replace or even find for that matter in working condition that you might as well sell it off now if you are quitting or buy it all you can including parts while you still can scavenge the internet for anything that might still exist. As a Gen X'r ham, I appreciate the old equipment very much but prefer and perfectally adapted to new and emerging technology such as SDR radios that are lightweight, portable, can run on solar, and can allow me global communications from anywhere a backpack and two legs can take me. I can't do that with your boat anchor. They had their place and they had their time but their time is over and their place is in a shack where someone can appreciate the glory days.
If equipment you worked on in the service was in the new Fair Radio catalog, your first gray hairs weren't far behind.
