Issue 14: Collecting the Classics

Cant say I know..Hopefully they are out there somewhere still on the air!!!

 

Boat anchors are lots of fun, but my teen memories are of building equipment from scratch and putting it on the air. And that's still what I love today. My homebrew tube receivers way outperform the old boat anchors, and my solid state receivers are even better. They sit on the bench right next to the old rigs that inspired them.

 

Homebrewing and Kit Building is another category of "sub hobby" that gets spoken of regularly in ham radio circles. We should feature this category somewhere down the line in Trials and Errors. Thanks David, Dave W7DGJ

 

I can't overstate how excited that makes me. I got into the hobby in order to jerry rig crazy contraptions, like my homebrewed Yaesu FT-70D APRS board:

 

Very cool Chris! I'm going to reach out to you when the time comes and get your input, or feel free to write me at my Zed email. Regards, Dave

 

Awesome! Those are skills I wish I had. My background is as an electronics technician, not an engineer. I can (usually) fix broken radios, but design is a whole different ball game. If I had the chops, I'd design a screaming, stable receiver that was "boat anchor" like -- a large front panel with retro knobs and NO digital menus. And no plastic.

73 - Steve, KW4H

 

Several years ago, I bought a Kenwood TS-520SE with the notion that I should be able to keep it running virtually forever as there were no specialized ICs inside. Later, I gave in for something more modern; a TS-480SAT and an Icom IC-7300, discarding my earlier "theory of sustainability" over the potential for "modern obsolescence in our throw-away society" mentality. I have regrets, but I do love my new-tech conveniences. Perhaps I'll dip my toes into the boat-anchor waters again someday...

 

Thanks for the comment Phil, and I love that photo on your QRZ page! Is that you, or Eddie Albert? Dave

 

I love vintage stuff. I got my Novice ticket back in the late 60s/early 70s and find myself drawn by equipment I wished I could get if I had passed code for General. I have a Swan 250 for 6 meter and I have a FleaBay HW-101 which is supposed to be here tomorrow. I have a few HP-23 power supplies that I have reworked so it made sense to get Heathkit to go along with them. As a novice I salivated over the entire SB line and would dream about having a complete SB station but that never happened.

I like the vintage stuff because for the most part it is well made and easy to work on. The tube rigs are relatively forgiving and I've found you really have to try to fry one! Another thing I like about vintage is the way it makes me feel operating it, good for the soul...

73,

Justin B.
KI5GKD

 

A lot of the love for vintage gear is often written off as "nostalgia". That's actually not true, and here's why: there's a WHOLE lot of boat-anchory, vintage gear that many of us would never consider worthy of anything but the landfill. The real attraction to the old gear isn't because it's old, it's because some of it was just downright excellent. And the big difference is that you controlled how it operates -- it doesn't control you. No sub-menus needed, and no computers to connect. It just worked, and you drove the train. I know that I'm attracted to boat anchors because, as a computer security professional, I work all day, every day, with computers -- and all of their problems. If my ham radio hobby became an extension of my work it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable. YMMV.

73 - Steve, KW4H

 

Steve - I'm also ex-IT and have a strong distrust/aversion to heavily automated stuff. That's why I still have a '57 chevy with points as a backup ride! As far as radios, some people refer to me as a "knob-dicker", I love radios with a plethora of knobs and switches and not nested menus. The only "modern" radios I have are my uBITX QRP rigs.

73,

Justin B.
KI5GKD

 

I think of myself as fairly immune to the romantic effects of nostalgia. That is until I find that perfect under-$10,000 baby blue 1968 Volkswagen Beetle like the one I drove in college. Then I'll swear off again nostalgia later.