Not much big news going on regarding eBay, at least in regard to my shack. The biggest news outside the shack is that I finally broke down and bought the kids a Nintendo Wii. Gah! A $400 waste of time! I swear, everytime I see how much people love that Wii thing I can't help but think of that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the crew is mesmerized (literally) by a gaming headset they wear. If I recall correctly, it was young Wesley Crusher and alien babe-o-rama Ashley Judd who find out the truth. Anyway, I digress …
I've stalled as long as Daddily possible. The kids broke my wife's will (and that's no small task, trust me!), and then she began whining about a Wii as well. I'm still not sure that Nintendo isn't taking over our minds, one Wii at a time. Of course, the Rule the World, Nintendo would require users to buy the accessory Wii Mind Control interface for $139.99.
If I was a programmer, I would create a ham radio game for the Wii. Yeah, why not? How about “Wii-Q Contest, Wii-Q Contest”. You have a virtual rig on the TV, with split screen for running PSK31 and RTTY. Hell, add a bandscope, DSP, and a Begali paddle/controller and you have a first-rate DX station.
You could have variations of the game, depending on your favorite mode/band/contest/whatever your like. I would even add a “75 Meter Roundtable” varation, complete with QRM'ers, farting and potty mouths. You would get points for running off anyone with “/AG” appended to their callsign, and for running 6kHz SSB signals overtop of a traffic net (everyone hates traffic nets, right?).
I've already played one simulator that's pretty sharp — Morse Runner. Just bring the idea up to date with a different interface and port it to the Wii.
Enough of that! Please pardon my Wii little rant … something tells me when the Wii arrives, I'll fall under its spell like everyone else. Goodbye brain cells, I hardly knew ye …
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SPEAKING OF MISSING BRAIN CELLS. Not the slickest segue, eh? Well, that's as good as it gets tonight I'm afraid!
What pushed me into this topic were a couple of auctions I have been watching. Auction watching is a hobby, and hey, its as legitimate as house watching my wife does in the real estate section, right??
AUCTION 1. Vintage Vibroplex carrying case. This is the faux leather-covered wooden carrying case that is the ideal way to store and protect that Vibroplex key when not in operation. I've purchased several cases when the price was right, and I'm always looking to pick up another. I was watching this one too, but my sniped bid came in woefully low — the winning bidder paid $78! Yikes! I've paid that for a Vibroplex key with the case, but never that much just for a case. My limit is about half that, depending on condition. I have a Vibroplex case that's in very poor condition, and I've considered taking it apart and making patterns for duplicating these cases on my own. Beneath the faux leather, its just plywood and felt with a bit of padding. I need a couple dozen of them myself!
AUCTION 2. Heathkit HW-16 “Novice” transceiver. I already own a couple of these, and I keep one at the operating position with the HG-10B VFO. A good CW rig for nostlagia's sake, but not so hot for summer static conditions. Anyway, these rigs are common on eBay, and sell for $50-80 or so. Well, the one I was watching brought $202, and its not exactly mint. As described, it “shows normal ware…” with a chipped crystal socket. It looks fairly good, but even gold plating wouldn't bring the value to above $200.
SPEAKING OF EBAY … The mailman brought me a long-awaited Vibroplex Original I picked up for a song early one morning on eBay. This is a 1946 Vibroplex Original with case, and its in excellent condition. It saw some use on a railroad, but wasn't used as hard as most RR bugs you see. It needs a good cleaning mostly. I was getting worried about this key, I won the auction 3 weeks ago and it just showed up today. Even parcel post isn't that slow. The postmark shows it didn't get mailed for more than a week after the auction. What matters is that it arrived, I never bugged the guy about it because I've been in his shoes myself. I've had buyers start complaining about not getting it 3 days from the end of the auction.
Thunderstorm heading this way, time to unplug the gear. 73 … dit [static CRASH!] dit ….