> > Yes I know, $500 rangers. But look, you don't have to buy it! Just how > > bad do you want one anyway? > > This is the main point. No one is being forced to pay anything. Strictly a > choice. > > > I have 2 that I paid $25.00 each for. > > Money in the bank collecting interst? You bet. To be certain, I would not > > pay $500 for any Johnson Ranger, not even NIB. But I already have 2. > > Would you sell them for $25? For 'the good of ham radio'? If I find a gold piece > in the dirt, should I give it to someone else because I was in the right place > at the right time and found it? That seems to be what some would like us to do.
I don't know about you, but I didn't get into Ham Radio, and subsequently AM because I wanted to make a business out of my Radio Hobby. Example: I needed some 872's. I know of a Ham who had some, and he offered them to me. A mutual ham friend needed some 8008's. Due to some misfortune, what was to be a pair of 872s turned out to be one (the other was cracked). So, the guy who wanted 8008's was asked if he had any spare 872's. He did. I only wanted 1 more, but for the trouble of traveling to Ham B's house (which was on the way) and dropping off the 8008's, I was rewarded with 3 (three) 872's. And I got them ... because they had them. John Coleman was putting his 250TH rig back together. As he was tightening the grid cap on one, I said "John, don't tighten the screw too tight you'll (sickening sound of glass breaking around the small, thin grid pin) "CRACK!" ... break one... :-( I was going back to John's the next weekend, and I had a spare or two... so I brought all my 250TH's I had, at the time - let him pick and choose which one he wanted, and he put one in his rig, and off it went. No money. Why? Because I had spares, because John needed one. Because John is a friend I made, through Ham Radio. And a truer friend can not be found. Jim Candela/WD5JKO and Scotty/W5CCV came down from Austin, TX this week because I was having trouble neutralizing my rig. Still am, but that doesn't excuse the FACT that Jim and Scotty were HAM enough to come help another ham who's back was up against a wall over a problem that shouldn't be a problem (but still is :-< ) Tony Cypert/W5OD (the guy who started this) is in the process of building a rig with a 450TH in the final. I had gotten a filament transformer from Ronnie/W5SUM for my 450TL modulator project, and I had an extra 7.5v @ 12amp filament transformer, laying around. At a ham's place I did a deal at, I dropped off the filament transformer for Tony (no charge, and it's 150 miles closer to him, than being here) because it was 'extra'. THIS, gentleman, -is- the true spirit of Ham Radio. Where have all the HAMS gone? What ever happened to HomeBrewing? Johnson Rangers, indeed! Xtal -> 6C4 -> 12BY7 -> pair of 6146's = 100w. <SARCASM> Oh, wait - I know... There are no junk boxes anymore, because people would rather BUY something that was commercially made, 60 years ago... </SARCASM> I'm not in this business to make a living (aka: be a Feather Merchant) I, too, want to promote Ham Radio, and especially AM. But if I'm going to have to start paying the prices being asked for things like 250TH's (anywhere from $150 to $300 PER TUBE!) then I might as well turn in my ticket and exchange it for a re-sellers license. There's my .02c -=- keep the change. 73 = Best Regards, -=Jeff/W5OMR=-
