"TECHNICAL EYES"

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I have this problem, maybe you have it as well: I'm watching a movie or a TV show, and if someone is using a radio for communications, I'll freeze-frame it if I can to ID the radio. Here's a couple examples:

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Last night I was up all night and while flipping through the Direct TV menu I came across an old one that I hadn't seen in years called "Rollercoaster". Timothy Bottoms plays a pyscho bomber who likes to blow up rollercoasters. George Segal and Richard Widmark are the good guys trying to hunt him down.

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Towards the end of the movie, as they are hunting for a bomb on a rollercoaster, Widmark and Segal are in an office communicating with the bomb squad (who are using typical police sized walkie-talkies) and it took a couple scenes but I could see that Widmark was talking on a Courier 23. The movie was made in 1977, but the Courier looked almost new, maybe it was a leftover prop from a much older movie...(picture of courier 23 is from Ztins ebay auction - click HERE.)

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The night before, I was having a "Bond-A-Thon", watching the James Bond sets No.1 and 3. The last movie up was "Dr. NO". I've seen that movie more times than I can remember, but THIS time, in the very beginning when an agent and his secretary are killed (she is killed while warming up the shortwave set), my eyes went right to the radio! I paused the DVD and could see the name "K.W. Vanguard". I kept the DVD on pause, went into the other room, got on the computer and googled the name. On one of the first links I tried I found myself looking at the rig from Dr. NO. Here it is! Once satisfied, I was able to return to the comfort of the couch and continue watching movie...

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"FROM THE SHIPPING DEPT."

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Did you notice a spike in shipping costs during the Christmas/New Year Holidays this year on EBAY? There were so many items I would have bid on if shipping was accurate. Example: Desk microphone, shipping charge $29 (smaller than a D104) from one US location to another US location. Compare this to an FT-101b I bought and paid $27 to ship from New York to Texas! I know the FT-101 was accurate because the seller took it to UPS after packing it up to get the shipping cost to my Zip. Example 2: Dualband HT, with original accessories in original box (modern small dualbander). The Buy-it-now price was reasonable but $34 to ship??

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These are but two examples out of many I encountered. Some sellers admitted their shipping calculator was incorrect after I emailed them, and was given a much lower (and accurate price). Other people weren't as nice, and didn't appreciate me pointing out the fact they were making money sometimes $20-$30 on shipping. Of course, whenever you buy something on EBAY, it is a contract and it's your fault if you didn't check the shipping charge. As far as I know, it's not a crime to charge so much extra. Did anyone else run into this? Drop me a line...

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"FROM THE I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT PRICE DEPT"

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First of all, the price the seller wants is high, but secondly, it's hard to fathom paying $600 for it originally. Click HERE to see what I'm talking about.

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And now my friends, you've come to the end of another posting! Next Post - Reader Mail!!

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Woody

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