A moment of silence, please

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Sat Aug 16 13:00:53 1997

> I totally agree. And again, I was referring mainly to swap meets. You
> don't generally build long term relationships at swap meets.

I have to disagree here - swap meets are great places to build
relationships. The best way is to become a regular, setting up a table
with a few things for sale or trade (it need not be much) - of course, be
sure to place a big WANTED sign in front so everyone can see. If you have
something small (micro guys!), bring it along as a bit of a display. When
I lived in Chicago, I did this for my radio and radar collecting
interests, along with a fellow military radio collector. In a couple of
years, we became fixtures of the hamfest/swapfest scene, and the leads
just poured in. Many an old radioman would see something he used in a
radioroom and come over and talk, and occaisonally they would have some
extra things sitting in the basement they want moved out!

Bringing out a PDP-8/e or Altair 8800 or whatever could have the same
effect. Many of the hackers of the 1960s and 70s are still around, and
still have the stuff, not knowing that someone would ever want. I
acquired one of my PDP-8s and a carload of ancient 6800 systems (Sphere
and SWTPC) that way.

> The scrap
> dealers are a much different story.

True. They can not keep systems sitting around, waiting for a really good
price - the next truckload is just around the corner. They are generally
happy to sell something for scrap value (no less, do not even try!) - if
you get to know them well. It saves them the labor of scrapping the big
boxes, and gives them quick money.

Keep in mind scrap prices can be quite large. AN IBM 360 is worth about
$800, a typical big PDP-11 may be worth $125. The gold in the old
machines is often quite thick. The iron value is often a liability to the
scrap men (2-3 cents per pound), so if a box you lust for is mostly
steel, do not get taken!

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Sat Aug 16 1997 - 13:00:53 BST