The eBay auction for the 1905 Vibroplex Original I've been watching all week ended today, and I'll have to say I was a little surprised.
The key — mostly complete and in fair condition for its 100-plus years — sold for right at $350, a price much cheaper than I anticipated.
The key isn't mint by any means, but how many early Vibroplexes do you see floating around these days? Not many. The early bidding stalled at less than $50, so I put in a bid of $250. I really expected the bidding to far surpass that mark, and I think if the seller had timed the auction to end on a Sunday evening instead of Friday afternoon, he would have had a larger audience to sell to.
That's my theory, anyway. I suspect that most key collectors are either retired or have Web access at work, and if they had to bid on company time, would do so in order to snag a prime key. Carpe keyum, indeed.
My wife said I should have watched the auction and snagged the key, but I really didn't need to spend that kind of money on code key. Of course, she was looking at it as an investment for resale later. It would be interesting to put the key back on eBay — with a different description and optimize the end date — to see what would happen.
USED RIG PRICES. After looking at the auctions I'm watching this weekend, there's not much I'm really very serious about pursuing. There are a couple of run-of-the-mill bugs priced quite low that I might keep an eye on (if they sell low enough, they're worth the price in parts alone).
The price of used ham gear — particularly older gear that's not considered collectible — seems to have jumped since November.
There have been several Tempo 2020 HF rigs (manufactured by Uniden for Henry Radio Co.) on eBay; I have a complete 2020 station and it's a nice rig from that hybrid era. I bought a second VFO to replace the one I have now because its a little beaten up looking. I'll put the old one on eBay later.
The Tempo is a very stable rig, too. Its VFO only covers 100 kHz at a time; the user selects one of 5 buttons that select the 100 kc range of each band you want to tune. Smart idea too, it's a lot easier to keep the VFO stable and tracking well over 100 kc than 500 or 750 kc.
Anyway, Tempo 2020s have been selling for $250 and up — a hefty price for such an old rig. One fellow had the whole station — rig, vfo and speaker — listed for $450 with no takers. He would do better to split it up — he'll get close to that selling it separate.
Other old rigs that have continue to bring big bucks include:
Yaeus FT-101 series. Includes all models, $200 and up.
Kenwood TS-520/530 series. You'll be hard pressed to buy an operating one under $250. I watched these rigs for a while before deciding they were too pricey for such an old rig, at least on eBay.
Kenwood TS-820/830 series. These rigs are hot sellers, particularly the 830, which go for $300 and up.
Icom 735. This rig is a feature laden peformer. Good ones bring nice money. Nice rig.
Kenwood TS-430/440 series. I've owned both of these and would happily own another. I should never had sold my TS-440, I bought it for song and made $100 on it when I sold it. My loss!
Swan 350/500/700 series. I have a couple Swan rigs, and they work OK. Not the most stable things, and decidedly old tech — both things I can deal with. Lately even a junker seems to go for $150 without a power supply. Too much money!
Yaesu FT-757GX, GXII, FT-767 series. The 767 commands a healthy price, particularly if outfitted with VHF/UHF modules. The basic rig will bring in the mid-$300s depending on condition. The FT-757GX is bringing $300-375 for the rig alone; add $100 or more if the matching power supply or ATU is paried with it.
I was flipping through a 1975 years worth of QST, and the equipment ads were interesting at how much of the equipment of that day is so much in demand now. But yet, some of the gear of that day is long gone and forgotten. Remember the Brimstone 2-meter rig? The Wilson Handie Talkies? Genave gear?
Of course, maybe it's just a sign of the times — new gear keeps getting more expensive, and that makes older gear look more attractive. None of my older gear really holds a candle to my late-model Icom rigs, but they're close.
MAN, DON'T BUG ME. I was tuning across 80 cw a little while ago and I ran across a familiar fist, a fellow who checks in on the KSN from time to time, and whom I've QSO'ed several times.
Back before Christmas, the fellow bought a new vertical bug from K4VIZ, Tom Desaulniers. Tom has a small set of iambic paddles and two versions of his bug, a vertical one and a 90-degree version. Both are in brass and nicely done and reasonably priced.
But the vertical bug, from what I've read, is a fast, fast key. And this fellow's QSO was proof that he was still having trouble controlling his dits. It made his CW tough to copy at times; the first time I heard him on the air, I considered sending him instructions on my homebrew bug tamer, but he's smart enough to figure it out. His sending was better than the first time I heard him the day or two after he got the key, but when he signed at the end of the QSO, he couldn't send just two dits, he sent two bursts of two or three dits.
I'm interested in his 90 degree bug, but its just not THAT interesting to me yet. I still would love to try one … maybe I'll have that chance at Dayton this year.
Time for me to sign out … GN es CU AGN de KY4Z SK … dit dit ….