"BIG BUX"

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It's been awhile since I pointed out some pricey auctions, and it's obvious that CB collecting is still picking up steam!

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Here is one that hasn't ended yet (pictured on right) an EFJ 4230 in-the-box! You know folks are going crazy when they bid this rig up into the stratosphere (currently it's at $305.00, high bidder suitable called "EF Johnson Nut").

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There's nothing wrong with that, only (IMHO) these were the ugliest Johnsons made. This is an AM only rig, and at it's current bid price, it's much more than I paid for a Viking 4740 AM/SSB mobile, also NIB. Let's look at some others...

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This Tram D62 just fetched $153 which is fairly high considering they didn't know if it transmitted or received, and was an "AS-IS" auction.

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What bugs me is when the rig isn't even powered "ON" to show a display.

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Other Auctions:

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Uniden Grant Old-style, NIB $270

NOS Cobra 142 - $260 (I'd rather have a used 2000)

Tram D64 NIB - $227.50 (A little high, but not bad)

Used A/S Super Scanner Antenna - $325 (ouch)

Used Midland 79-999 - $305

Used after market "Gold" covers for MarkIII/IV $225 (personally I think they make the rigs look cheap when you put 'em on)

HA-150 Lafayette Walkie-Talkies (pair) - $128.50

Demco Super Satelite - $450

Realistic "Mini-Six" mobile - $73

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All-in-all, not bad for the sellers! But as we all know, it's all a matter of luck: Having the seller place the ad when there are several people wanting it (really bad)at that same moment. I've seen it go the other way too, but that's another story.

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"UGLY MOBILES"

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How many of you really care how pristine and beautiful your mobile is?? And if you do - what's the point? When I buy a used radio for the S.O.W. I don't care how scratched up it is, as long as it works like it's supposed to. I know one fellow who has to buy collector quality mobiles for his vehicles, but when he sells them later on, they are far from pristine...so why bother.

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Some of my best rigs in the car have been beat up, ugly looking things that for sure, no thief would steal, yet they worked just as good as one out-of-the-box. To a certain extent the external signs of age are like signs of character. The worst looking rig I ever owned was an old Icom IC-725. Half of the backlight was out, the ON-OFF button was gone, and it was scratched to hell and back, but it worked like a charm. I think I sold that ugly beast at least 3 times, only to buy it back again when I was in need of a cheap rig. The last time I sold it though, it was on EBAY and it was sent to the great Northwest corner of our country. Sometimes I wonder where it is now, but I figure that it's changed hands several times, is ugly as ever, but still kicking butt on the airwaves...

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"I'll TAKE MINE RARE"

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It seems like almost every radio from the 80's and backwards is "RARE" these days, if you believe everything you see on EBAY. But "RARE" has a definition which changes with time. For example:

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At one time, Stoner Pro40's were hard to find rigs, and then someone tacked a "RARE" to their description line. I forget how high the auction went, but believe me, the final price reached nose bleed status. But then the animal we know as greed struck those who had silently observed the auction, and some realized "Hey, my Uncle Charlie (ed.- no relation) has one of them thar radios in his closet". Soon after, what was rare, had now become common.

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I've seen it happen with all sorts of "RARE" rigs, and I'm sure you have too. Of course the cycle changes, much like alternating current or sunspot cycles, and now Pro40's don't show up very much (if at all). The problem with the tag is for those who aren't so well informed as to what is really rare, and these buyers tend to assume that the seller is an expert, thus if they say it's rare, so it must be. After all, we all know how "RARE" the 50th Anniversary edition EFJ 250 is right?? Whoever the winner of the auction is, I'm sure that they are bursting with pride when they snag that rare beast, but I really feel for 'em when the same rig sells for a song a week or two later.......

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So if you're one of those buyers I've just mentioned, and maybe you're just starting your collection, take the sellers description with a grain of salt. And if you're really serious about buying older CB's, then I suggest you subscribe to Andale.com (I think it's about $6 a month for the basic service). Andale has a decent research engine which allows you to go back six months or so of EBAY auctions and see how many of the rig you're looking for were for sale, and what the average price was. I've been using their research service for years and highly recommend it.

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Woody

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"A CLASSIC EXAMPLE"

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The faces and names may change, the wording may be different, but the meaning remains the same:

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"This item is used and in OK physical condition. We do not have the proper equipment or knowledge (ed.- which begs the question: how smart do you have to be to plug it into the AC socket??) to test this unit any further. Please note that we really don't know if this unit works...."

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And that leaves the prospective buyer with a couple options - A). Forget that auction and move along or B).Write the seller. I don't know how many e-mails I've had to send asking "Can you just PLUG IT IN AND TELL ME IF IT LIGHTS UP OR MAKES ANY SOUND???"

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It's a simple step that the seller can perform: They have the rig, a power cord, and (hopefully) electricity in their home. Plug the bastard in and add to the description- "But we plugged it in and it did light up, the channel selector seems to change, and we can hear a little static through the speaker".

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It's the simple things in life that can make or break a sale (or irritate someone like me).

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FIRST "COOL" FRONT HITS TEXAS!

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Most call it a Cool front, some weather folks on TV are going crazy calling it our first "Cold Front" of the year, but what it boils down to is that we're going to have 2 or 3 days where it's in the mid 60's when we get up, but still reach the 90's for a high, however (BIG however)we'll also have much less humidity.

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I don't mind the sweat....as long as it goes somewhere, but living where I do, there is usually no evaporation, and cotton clothes soak up as much as possible so you feel like you're on another planet with a tad more gravity.

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Maybe I can replace that mobile unit on the blink before it returns....

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"WHEN A REACTOR CALLS...."

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I disabled the link to the incomplete version.

HERE is the full version!

view at 100%, small, but better looking.

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"GOLDEN SCREW....DRIVERS"

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I guess we've all run across these guys, and today was yet another chance to see how dense some people are.

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Example No.1 - I'm working on some video editing, listening to channel 38 LSB when some DX floats in from Colorado Springs Colorado. About 15 minutes into their conversation I hear someone whistling into their microphone. This goes on for about 20 minutes until one of the fellows asks "Who they heck is that??"

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Turns out it someone in the Houston area (ed. - we'll just call him "cbBuddy") who is apparently tuning either his rig or amp, or both....who knows. The Colorado group is polite, and "cbBuddy" apologizes with the excuse that he didn't know the channel was in use. (ed. - less whistling, and more listening)

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Example No.2

Later this evening, on another channel, our hapless self-taught tech "cbBuddy" is waaaaay off frequency. He's got some Houston locals talking in the background and it pretty much goes like:

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Local conversation

cbBuddy: "Wahh-wah....wahh-wah"

Locals: "Too low" (and he was)

Local conversation

cbBuddy: "Blah-blah-blah-blah"

Locals: "Too high"

Local conversation

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And I'm thinking to myself - "He was on frequency earlier, just annoying with the whistle, so obviously he's inside the rig". The wahh-wah/blah-blah goes on (with appropriate pauses while the locals talk and he screws with the rig for about half an hour. Finally he's on frequency and he briefly tells them he has several rigs to take in for repair now and he's down to his last one.

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ADVICE:

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1. If you don't have a meter, a second rig/receiver and a dummy load - take it somewhere where they do.
2. If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it, and especially don't do it ON-THE-AIR.
3. Repeat step No.1
4. Even if it seems funny to you about how many rigs you blow up, don't admit to it....and if you do, there's always AM.
5. Never lead off a transmission with "I think Cherokee is a GREAT radio".
6. Repeat step No.1 AND donate all small screwdrivers to a Hurrican relief fund.

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Woody

A QUICK UPDATE

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With all the craziness going on, I forgot that I'd agreed to create another "Safety" film for work (Some of you may have seen parts of the first one I did, 2+ years ago, on my website).

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Well, it came to being expected in 2.5 weeks, so I've been busy recording and editing. I really didn't have a story in mind, but a friend of mine (Robin) had an idea of making a safety video based on the story/movie "When a stranger calls". She wrote what I consider an excellent script, with great dialogue and we grabbed a few "actors" at work and began our deadly task of meeting the deadline (yesterday, the 24th).

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So, for the past couple weeks I've been up nights, editing, and putting the puzzle together. We did make the deadline, and everyone seemed to enjoy it - even though it was longer than my typical video. This one clocked in at 27min and 10 seconds.

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Here's a link to the nearly finished version (missing some shots and a couple chapters at the end, but if you have broadband and wanna look -

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"When a Reactor Calls"

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Woody

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GO TO YOUR HAPPY PLACE

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Sometimes bad things just seems to line up in place and wait for the one catalyst to come along to set things in motion. These "Bad Things" have a mind of their own, and at times, a unique dry sense of humor - Why not give the poor bum a break so he thinks he's outta the woods, then lower the boom (ed. - Mic Boom, so-to-speak).

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I speak from first hand experience

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For example, I'd just finished my last posting in awhile on July 16th, with plans to write another one in about two weeks.....just when my wife's great aunt died. For me, not a real tragedy (I barely knew her - Hell, I don't even know my own, as our family is splintered throughout the country), but on the XYL's side of the family it's much, much different. Think of the movie "Bio Dome", where a group a people are locked into a sealed environment. Now expand that group to a whole family....from the great-great-uncle/aunts/grandparents all the way to the current generation (like my wife).

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As in a Bio-Dome, they are restricted in distance between each other, and in my wife's family, many generations live within about a 1.5 mile circle (most closer - 1/2 mile), so when a death happens, it's a really BIG deal.

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Moving down the chain, the recently deceased great-aunt's sister (my wife's grandmother, who Michele takes care of better than any nurse or other human would do) falls to the floor and injures her back, is taken to ER, released, and even now (2 weeks later) doesn't want to leave bed because it's too painful. With my back issues of the last few days, I can't blame her.

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On my end of things, I take 3 days off to provide a shoulder to lean on, and it puts me 3 days behind at work, where I report to the director in my building as well as a supervisor in a building 13 miles away. Each of them have lists and projects for me to do, but I'm not complaining - the "shoulder" and my wife come first. One project is due by August 24th - a "Safety related video". Sounds easy (if I could clone myself) but with all that is going on, really makes timeliness tight. Ebay auctions that WEREN'T paypal stack up: Where are the Money Orders? Where's the Checks? Most importantly, "Where's the envelope that should have been mailed out??" Last, but not least, this past Thursday my back goes out. That damned slippery disc which hasn't created havoc for quite some time, slips all the way out (hard to walk, stand, lay in bed, etc)....which brings us to the "Happy Place".

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THE "HAPPY PLACE"

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Everyone needs a happy place to go to, and usually it's a memory...a period of time where nothing could have been better. Because we all grew up differently, but mine as you would expect revolves around two-way radio, and at that time period CB RADIO. I've managed to purchase the same type radios I owned back in the '69-'74 period (my golden age) and it's amazing the therapeutic results I get from the radios, magazines, and catalogs of that time. Sure, other folks who don't share your happy place will ask (like someone at work did last week) "Why do you keep buying this junk???"

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There is no explanation I could give them, there is no $$$ value in much of what I bought, there is only the slip of a smile on my face that appears on my face and slight glint in my eyes as I drop down for a visit to that place where comments, and people that make them, cannot reach. And sometimes, when I think that "Hey, maybe I have gone a bit bonkers" I get e-mail like this:

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Hi Woody,
I was looking at your CB museum and recognized the radio on your desk when you were younger. I grew up in the boom of the CB craze in the 1970's and purchased one of those Navaho Base Stations that you had on your desk in the picture - "young Woody". I also had several walkie talkies during that time period. It would be neat to see all the different walkie talkies they had at the time. I remember lafayette, cobra, realistic, president, SBE, and a lot more. Thanks for organizing all the CB's into a neat site.
Shawn

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And then I realize, there are others that long for their own "Golden Age"....My Blog, and Website isn't just for me, it's for you.....Enjoy!!

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'Nuff Said

Woody

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