As I prepare to unload my garage of the old boat anchors it became apparent that I made a serious mistake when I started collecting them.
Mistake should not be singular as I made quite a few mistakes (plural). I want to share those with you in hopes of informing you to not do what I did. Easily I own 30 boat anchors. That was Mistake #1.
Many were inexpensive to purchase and so the low cost was a driver. But in reality, they were low end radios and today are not too good on the ham bands. I am talking SBE-33/34's, National NCX-3/NCX-200 and the SWAN SW series the 120/140/175/240. Throw in a Hallicrafters SR-160 and a Drake TR-3 and you get the picture. I also have two WRL DB-84 Duo-Bander transceivers, and we should not forget the Transcom SBT-3, (SBT = Side Band Turkey) and the Ten Tec Triton II.
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Mistake #2 was that even though they were low cost, I spent a lot of money. I would have been better off buying just a few radios that were a higher quality, feature rich and more desirable collectibles. (Collins, Drake, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu). The cash outlay would be a wash.
Mistake #3... The Tech Special. Spend the cash and get an operational radio. I have been lucky so far, as I have had a better than 90% success rate in repairing the Tech Specials. But over time something else fails. Trust me 1950's/60's radio designers never envisioned a radio that would work 100% some 60 years later. If a radio becomes a Tech Special, it never fully recovers! Words from the Oracle at Zip 91320.
Mistake #4. The Boat Anchors I purchased I grew up with and may have even owned one at the time they were introduced to the market. But my radio time horizon is 70 years. I submit the bulk of US hams are that age so the disconnect is the radios they grew up with are a later generation, usually solid state with better frequency stability. That also brings up the 300 Pound gorilla in the room... power supplies. Most of my boat anchors need a high voltage power supply and not just any supply as many supplies have specialized voltages and not universal with any boat anchor. The solid-state radios want 13.8 VDC and as long as there is sufficient current any supply will work with any radio.
Mistake #5, The Repair Parts. Technically finding tubes, resistors and capacitors is not too much of a problem although finding higher Voltage Caps can be an adventure. Mechanical parts are another matter. Many of the boat anchors had shields and internal structures which are not something you can find at Bozos. Replacement knobs and meters are also a very big issue.
A really good example of missing mechanical parts is the Ten Tec Triton series that had a piece of edge slotted plastic strip on the top side that interfaced between the front panel and top cover. My Triton II is missing that strip and a quest to find one has resulted in a nil outcome.
Mistake #6, even at deep discounts it will take a long time to clean out the garage. The added constraint is the current economy which strongly hints that radio purchases are on the downside of the curve. So, time is of the essence, and it must start in January 2026.
So, my tale of woe... If you want a few boat anchors for the shack, shop wisely and just a few really good ones are a far better deal than a whole bunch of crap.
I would be remiss if I did not include a hint of what to collect. Here are some suggestions:
Collins KWM-2A (not good for the CW op)
Drake TR-7
Drake C Line
Icom IC-775A
Yaesu FTdx-1000D
Kenwood TS-950-SDX
The burning question: Is there a Boat Anchor Parallel Analogy with a near octogenarian running a country? [For us in Radio Land that is a BAPA.] The internet is rife with the symptoms, and a Swan 350 is no match for an Icom 7300. About 60 years ago the Swan 350 was the radio du jour. Today it is just a stale, old, tired, cranky, out-of-touch, tone deaf and featureless appliance box.
Them that know can make things go.
Question of the day: With only 9 days left, will this be a bleak Christmas for you and your family. At my house there will be an empty chair at the Christmas dinner table, so that is my starting point. For others it is being unemployed
73's
Pete N6QW
